The TV I am going to review is a part of the series which has been the most popular in India in the OLED TV series. The LG C2 range is the successor to its earlier C1 and CX ranges. The series promises better performance and power, and brings the benefits to TVs with OLED screen technology. Is this the best 55-inch premium TV under Rs 2 lakh that you can buy? You will find out in this review.
LG C2 55-inch OLED TV (OLED55C2PSC) Design and Specs
The LG C2 series comes in a variety of sizes. TVs from 42 inches (Rs 1,39,990) to 83 inches (Rs 11,74,990) are available in this. The unit sent to me for review was 55 inches which costs Rs 2,19,990. All sizes of TVs in this range are Ultra HD (3840×2160 pixels) OLED TVs with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz and almost identical specifications. Dolby Vision IQ and Dolby Atmos have also been supported in this series of TVs.
LG’s C series TVs aren’t known for flashy, premium designs. Its 55-inch C2 TV is also not as attractive as the Samsung 55QN95B. Still, the company has made it into a slim profile with thinner bezels, easier access to ports and sockets, and a thinner border around the screen, allowing you to focus more on the screen.
There is no marking on the front side of the TV, even the LG logo is not given in it. At the bottom, only the power button is given, which is housed in a module and which also houses the status light and IR receiver. All the ports and sockets are located on the left side of the screen and are easily accessible, even when the TV is mounted on the wall. Speaker bottoms are firing. Overall the design of the TV is quite straightforward.
The LG C2 55-inch TV weighs 12.7 kg without the stand and 14.4 kg with the center stand, which comes in the box itself. The stand design is such that the TV can be placed on a small table as well. For review, I got the TV mounted on the wall itself. Wall mount kit is not included with the TV but can be provided free of charge upon request at the time of installation.
Talking about the ports and sockets of the TV, it has four HDMI ports. All have 4K support with 120Hz. One of these supports eARC. The TV has three USB Type-A ports, LAN, optical digital audio-out, single-socket AV-in, antenna and cable socket. It also has an analog socket for an IR blaster. The TV has no connectivity for wired headphones.
In addition, there is NVIDIA G-sync, variable refresh rate (VRR) and AMD FreeSync support for gaming. The LG C2 supports dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 for connectivity, and comes with a 2.2-channel speaker system with 40W rated sound output. The television is powered by LG’s a9 Gen 5 AI processor at 4K. It supports a variety of AI features.
LG C2 55-inch OLED TV (OLED55C2PSC) Remote and Features
LG’s Magic Remote concept has been quite popular. The same remote comes with the C2 55 Inch. It is a full size unit and the bottom is made heavy for better grip. The remote displays a floating cursor on the screen. You can click and set the cursor at any point by moving the remote in front of the TV. Apart from this, a scroll wheel has also been given in it and button controls have also been given. The remote is easy to use and the interface quickly starts to feel friendly.
Hot keys for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney + Hotstar have been given in the remote of the TV. Separate buttons have been given for Google Assistant and Alexa. Usefully you can use both the features simultaneously on the TV. This feature is not usually seen in TVs. The rest of the remote is standard, with buttons for power, volume, source selection, and opening the settings menu. You can open them at any time.
Talking about other features of the TV, it also has support for Apple Air Play and HomeKit. In addition, it also supports hands-free voice control and LG’s AI ThinQ suite. With its help, it can sense the surrounding light so that it can adjust the picture and sound accordingly. The TV can be connected with the LG ThinQ app. You can connect it through your smartphone, after which you can use the phone as a TV remote and also change a variety of settings.
LG C2 55-inch OLED TV (OLED55C2PSC) Software and Interfaces
LG’s web OS platform has been around for many years, which was originally built for Palm smartphones. Now it comes as the default operating system of the TV. Changes have also been made to it in the last few years. Now it has been upgraded for Content Recommendation. Some elements span the entire screen, such as settings and the source selection menu, etc. Most of its interface covers the entire screen.
It gets a home dashboard in which the connected devices are shown in a tile display. From here, there’s quick access to AirPlay and any IoT device you’ve connected via the LG ThinQ app. The main interface of the Smart TV appears on full screen, showing the weather, content recommendations, apps and web browser. As soon as you press the home button, now playing things are paused, which was not the case earlier.
The popular apps you want to watch in Smart TVs are pre-installed in it like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney + Hotstar etc. You can install other apps by going to the Library. Many types of games and social media apps have also been given in the TV. The app library of webOS is quite good. Apps work the same way they work on other TV platforms.
Overall, I found the software experience a bit hectic and felt that things were taking a little longer to load. Other than that I didn’t find much problem with it and found webOS useful.
LG C2-inch OLED TV (OLED55C2PSC) Performance
At a price of over Rs 2,00,000, the LG C2 55-inch TV is clearly a premium option. Going by the price, it is inevitable to expect similar performance from it. LG’s OLED televisions typically deliver on this basis, and the C2 is no different. It is one of the best TVs in its segment right now when it comes to picture quality and overall performance.
Looking at its specifications, the TV is ready for all types of content. It supports various HDR formats with features like Dolby Vision IQ, Dolby Atmos audio, pixel level dimming. One thing that stands out about its picture performance is that it adjusts the picture according to the lighting and the situation in the room. This enables it to display the content in the best picture quality so that whatever is visible on the screen can be seen in its best form.
Ultra-HD Dolby Vision content was at the top of this list for me. I watched many shows and movies on TV. These included titles such as Obi Wan Kenobi, The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals, Uncharted, and Man Vs Bee. TV performed amazingly in this regard, especially when it came to the contrast level.
The true pixel level of an OLED TV means that the contrast goes to virtually infinity, but maintaining the right amount is a challenge. The LG C2 does its job here and delivers picture quality that doesn’t seem like too much struggle for a picture and the need to highlight deep blacks, as in the case of affordable OLED TVs. gets to see.
Colors were fine in their place, instead of showing bright colors, there is more focus on the accuracy of the colors. Here the impact of Dolby Vision’s ability to handle colors is clearly visible. Especially when The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals features gorgeous locations.
According to the lighting of the room, the brightness was on point. Here LG’s AI ThinQ function works and sets the picture proper. Picture collaboration is accurate in the detailed scenes of Obi Wan Kenobi. Although, at times, the TV takes a few minutes to respond to the change in light conditions, but when it does its job, the picture quality comes out to be amazing.
OLEDs are not known for having very high brightness levels. Here the company has claimed to make the C2 brighter than the previous models. This was not a problem for me as I mostly watch TV in the dim light of the room during night time. But many times during the day time it got troublesome.
Unlike the Samsung QN95B Mini LED TV, the LG TV struggles to adjust to the picture in high light during the day. For this I had to pull down the curtains of the room. This can become a challenge in rooms with high light. Dolby Vision and HDR10 content was worth watching in high-lit rooms, thanks to the brightness of the TV. There was some difficulty in viewing non-HDR content in such a room. The episodes of Better Call Saul were quite detailed, which was amazing for the TV’s Ultra HD resolution. But it was difficult to watch this wonderful show in the night time dull scenes. Black levels were handled well, but the show’s sub-urban setting lacked character and feel at times.
I did have a slight problem with the brightness, but there was no shortage in the sharpness and motion handling of the TV. TV focused on Rowan Atkinson’s facial expressions in the slow scenes of Man Vs Bee. On the other hand, Uncharted’s fast and stimulating action sequences looked quite clean, with precise blur levels and hardly any artefacts.
The TV performs well with low-resolution content and displays decent brightness and color levels. There were many disappointments while watching The Batman on Amazon Prime Video. With the low resolution, the TV was not able to do much and the picture in streaming looked mostly of poor quality. However, in this case, better results were found on the Philips Ambilight 7900 series TVs. This shows that the LG C2 needs a lot of improvement to process light quality content.
The sound quality of the LG C2 55-inch proved to be very good in many places. Thanks to Dolby Atmos, the sound remained clear even in standard content, even if the volume was high. However, this was also a problem for me. I have a habit of often turning the TV volume down to 90 percent to hear things better. But, while watching movies like Uncharted and The Batman in this TV, I did not get that level of loud sound. You may feel the need to install a soundbar or speaker system in it.
our decision
Premium televisions come with high expectations and the LG C2 55-inch TV priced at Rs 2,19,990 delivers the kind of flagship experience you would expect from it. Maintaining amazing colours, contrast level, black level, sharpness and motion, the TV delivers an amazing viewing experience with high quality content.
It also has some drawbacks. If these drawbacks match with your needs and viewing conditions, then you might also prefer to buy one of its rivals. These drawbacks include poor brightness, poor performance with low-resolution content, and a built-in speaker system with less loud sound. In this case, your choice can also become Samsung QN95B.
Despite this, overall LG C2 55 inch is the best choice with the good design, features, software of the TV. If you are going to buy a premium TV recently, then you can definitely keep this in your list.