In this article, we take a closer look at the 2022 LG G2 OLED, LG’s flagship TV this year, and share our initial thoughts. This is the best and brightest LG G2 OLED I’ve ever used, and we know it has LG’s latest evo panel with every gaming feature you’ll ever need, as well as incredible picture quality. But what makes this the best TV in 2022?
Well, I’ve spent the last two weeks watching movies and using it with the Playstation 5, racking up over 100 hours of usage so far, so hopefully my review will give you some idea of just how good this TV is. and how it compares to the C1 and C2 OLEDs.
Also Read: NEW LG 75 Mini LED Gaming TV Review
Picture Quality
The picture quality—after watching about ten movies and dozens of hours of gaming over the last few weeks, it’s safe to say that the g2 is absolutely stunning, with its 4K resolution and self-illuminating pixels providing incredible contrast and perfect black levels.Then there’s the colour reproduction and the overall image quality; everything that I’ve watched all play just looks great, but that sounds a lot like every OLED TV that we’ve seen in the last five years.
What makes the g2 different is that now that it has a heatsink, it allows the TV to actually be brighter than any other OLED TV. that we’ve had before, max. After using last year’s C1 oled, the peak brightness is now 1000 nits.
I didn’t think I would notice much of a difference, but I was wrong as soon as I turned this on. It was noticeably brighter than the C1. Not only does this mean that the overall picture is brighter, but the image looks so much better; the highlights are elevated but not washed out. and the colours really pop; this gives the entire image and screen a more vibrant look without compromising on those black levels.
The HDR content looks great here, and this is where you’ll really notice the peak brightness, so anything with the Dolby Vision or HDR logo is likely to support HDR. You’re able to turn this on in the console settings to make the most out of the TV. Not everything is in HDR; there’s still a lot of HDR content out there to watch. And, based on what I’ve seen so far, the G2 does an incredible job of displaying a relatively clear image, so normally sdr content appears noisy or grainy.but the A9 Gen 5 chip seems to clear that up and leave us with a pretty decent image.
If you want to be blown away by the picture quality, just stick any HDR animated movie on. So I mentioned that I’ve watched about ten movies on here so far, and that’s not an exaggeration; when I test these TVs out, they literally become my primary TV for the next two weeks for the entire family. I’ve been watching a variety of content over the last few weeks to test it out. and there’s not a single time where I felt this TV was lacking in terms of the picture quality during the day being bright enough to see what’s on the screen. There are no compromises here, and at night, where you’re more likely to notice issues with the dark scenes in the movie, again, it’s been perfect. is the only issue
that I’ve personally found with this TV is the fact that it’s only a 65-inch model instead of the 77-inch. I’m used to the picture quality, which isn’t the problem here; it’s the overall enjoyment of the larger screen that I’m used to. It’s safe to say that a 65-inch screen is just too small for my room.
Gaming on LG G2
Not everyone will want to use a TV for gaming, but the g2 just so happens to be one of the best gaming TVs out there. It quite literally ticks every single box for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox One Series X, which include 4K at 120 Hz and a variable refresh rate.
It’s packing the same features from this year’s c2 and technically more than last year’s c1 and g1. We’ve got four HDMI 2.1 ports, and these can handle 4K at 120 Hz. Not only that, but they are capable of 48 gigabits per second, which is up from last year’s 40 gigabits per second.
This gives us more bandwidth for gaming, although if you’re on the PS5 or Xbox One X, you won’t really see a difference. Now, every game, whether it’s a fast-paced fps or a story-driven game, just looks insane. On the G2, that extra brightness really shows here; in fact, I had to dial it back a little bit just so I could record this. The motion handling is on par with what we’ve seen before, which is very good, especially for gaming.
Then we have the LG Game Optimizer Mode, which is an overlay that we get when pressing the settings button on the remote control. From here, you can see the current frame rate and whether VR is running, or you can go ahead and tweet the picture profiles. To be honest, I usually set this up when I get the TV.
I never used it again, and we can of course see the frame rate and the resolution of the game just by pressing the green button on the remote control multiple times. One thing to note, which might not be a big deal for most, is that BFI, or black frame insertion, is no longer included at 120 hertz, only at 60 hertz.
You can enable OLED motion in the settings, which will help with the motion handling, but it will drastically reduce the brightness of the screen. Although this doesn’t work when VRR is enabled, if you are looking for one of the best TVs out there for gaming on both the Playstation 5 and the Xbox One Series X, you will struggle to beat this TV.
Reflections and Viewing angles
We’ve talked about the picture quality and just how nice this TV looks during the day and at night. But what’s it like for viewing angles and reflections if the viewing angles are insane? You can watch the g2 at pretty much any angle in your room and still get a perfect picture; this makes it ideal for rooms with off-center seating or where you cannot watch it straight on.
If there was one downside or one negative to this TV that’s worth considering, that would be the reflections. This TV is glossy, and even with the tinted glass, it’s still very reflective, which means if you’re going to be using it in a bright room with lots of windows, you will struggle to see what’s on the screen. For me, it’s not a problem even with the side windows.
It’s not super bright in here, but if I had a window directly opposite the TV, say, behind my sofa, it would be almost impossible to watch without having to close the blinds or limit the light coming through everyone’s rooms, which are obviously different. If you watch it at night or you can control the amount of light coming into the room, the G2 will be perfect in those situations.
Burn-in and Warranty
When it comes to burning on the g2, I’ve obviously not experienced that at all, but that’s no surprise as it is only two weeks old. The new heatsink that’s included with this model is supposed to help reduce the risk of damage to the screen.
Only time will tell, but I’ve never experienced burning with any of the oleds or plasmas I used to have years ago, including the C9 that I have upstairs and that my children use on a daily basis.There are no signs of burning, but to really keep your mind at rest, LG provides a five-year panel warranty on the G2. The first year gets you free parts and labor, while years two to five get you just parts; labour is not included.
Is LG G2 Productivity Monitor
This is obviously a TV, and the chances of you using it as a productivity or work monitor are pretty slim. There’s nothing stopping you from using it this way. If you wanted to, the colour reproduction of the screen is incredible. if you wanted to use this for editing. You definitely could, although my Macbook Pro and the TV are capable of 120 Hz. The hdmi port on the side of my Mac is actually limited to 60 Hz; this is not the fault of the TV; it is the fault of Apple.
but even with the limitation, it’s still obviously usable at 60 Hz, and it runs very smoothly if you enable the PC mode on the input settings of the TV. Without that, you’re likely to notice a slight delay when moving the mouse around. Using this LG G2 as a monitor definitely has its downsides. For one, there’s no display port or USB-C on the TV, which means you cannot charge at the same time.
Also, as mentioned, you won’t get 120 Hz via the hdmi port on the new Macbooks. Another thing is that you cannot wake it from sleep, so if you wake your laptop or PC, it won’t automatically wake the screen like a normal monitor does. Finally, the abl, or auto brightness limiter, which isn’t a big deal unless you’re on a big bright screen for a long period of time, will gradually reduce the brightness, then resume as soon as you move the mouse or change the page or browser.It will pop back to full brightness again.
Smart Home Integration
The g2 is distinguished by the inclusion of AirPlay and various app integrations.If you wanted to connect your iPhone, iPad, or Macbook to your TV without using cables.Well, you can just hit the “Airplay” icon and within a few seconds, There is a noticeable input delay when doing it this way. So you wouldn’t want to use this for work, but sharing images or your screen is absolutely fine. Not only that, but it also works with Amazon Alexa and Google Home, and you can integrate it with your existing apps, rooms, or routines.
If you wanted to, you could use your hands-free assistance for searching for movies or TV shows, and one of my favourite features is the Home Kit integration. So once set up, you can turn the TV on and off from the control centre on your phone. This might seem a little gimmicky at first, but pair this with a routine, and you can turn all of your lights on and off in one go.
Speakers and Sound
The LG G2 does have built-in, downward-firing speakers, totaling 4.2 channels.These support Dolby Atmos and LG’s AI Sound Pro. TV speakers will only ever sound okay, but these are without doubt the clearest TV speakers. I’ve heard you can change the sound settings to see which one works for you, but take a listen to this.
If you are spending this much on a TV, I would still recommend getting yourself some external speakers or at least a soundbar. The sound makes a huge difference to the whole experience. When watching movies, in addition to the internal speakers, the g2 also supports Bluetooth audio.
If you’ve got some Bluetooth headphones, all you need to do is turn them on and pair them with your TV, and once that’s done and it’s set up, you can now enjoy your movies or TV shows whenever you like without annoying your neighbours or your family late at night.
Picture Settings
Picture settings are one of the most frequently asked questions I get when I show these TVs, but I’m not sure why. If you want to compare them or think they might look good or bad, but they’re here anyway, make sure you pause it. We have the picture settings for sdr content here if you need them; I always start with “isf expert bright” and then tweak it from here.
Next are my hdr picture settings I really only use these for Netflix or the other streaming apps; again, these are just minor tweaks to the default settings. As for me, they are pretty good out of the box, and finally, the gaming settings I probably spend 90 percent of my time on the PS5, as the Xbox doesn’t get much play time at the moment, but these are the settings I use for both consoles.
LG G2 Design
As for the overall look of the G2, well, it’s slick, minimal, and has that awesome gallery edition design to it. The brushed metal frame gives it a picture frame look, and it’s one of the best-looking TVs available right now.
This TV is designed to be wall mounted; you can either use the provided brackets or any VESA-compatible brackets. I’m using one here that tilts and swivels. It’s not as flush as I’d like, but it’ll do for now, and you could always add a tabletop stand. I’ve seen mixed reviews on just how stable they are. If you are going for a G2, you’re likely going to wall mount.
Menu and Home Screen
The LG G2 is running the latest WebOS 2022 version. This is a slight step up from the Web OS 6.0 we had on last year’s models. It has a more user-friendly interface, multiple user profiles, and even more advertisements. I have an Apple TV hooked up, but I still often use the native apps on the TV, like Netflix Prime and even Apple TV. They always load fast, and we get the full 4K HDR quality on anything that we watch.
G2 vs G1 C2, and C1
Now that I’ve used them all, I was curious how the 2022 G2 compared to the C2 and C1 from last year.I will give you my honest opinion on each one, so the 2021 G1 is cheaper, has the same great 120 hertz 4K capability, and actually has the BFI. If you want or require that from 120hz content, the overall picture quality is very similar.
It’s not going to get quite as bright as the G2. The menus are also a little more laggy in comparison with the 2022 C2, and that’s even cheaper. It has a tabletop stand, the new Web OS with 48 gigabits per second, hdmi ports, and an EVO panel. Then there’s last year’s c1, which is what I’ve been using.
This is the cheapest out of the lineup, and it’s really hard to beat. You’re getting probably 95% of the same features and picture quality for a fraction of the cost. In my eyes, this is the best value for money right now, but you are obviously missing out on that brighter screen.
Is LG G2 the best tv?
If you’re after the best TV that you can buy right now that you want to use for movies and gaming and maybe even some productivity, the LG G2 is 100% the one to go for. It’s the most expensive, but you are getting more features than last year’s g1 and c1, plus a brighter panel and that five-year warranty.
It also looks a lot nicer than the c2 with this gallery design, but ultimately, you cannot go wrong with any of the 2021 or 2022 g or c series models. Simply stick to your budget and desired size, and then proceed from there.Now for myself, going back to the 77 in the C1 is going to be tough. I’ve definitely been spoiled with this LG G2, but saying that, I am looking forward to the larger screen as this 65-inch just feels way too small. Let me know which model and size you would choose in the comments.
