LG C3 OLED Review – just what we’ve come to expect from LG, sensational

When it comes to choosing a TV you pretty much need to start at the top and work your way down, because for most people a new TV is a decision that fits within a budget, not one that sits alongside a burning need. Our review of the LG C3 OLED shows us just how the company has solidified their place in the market with 10 years of OLED leadership.

I’m a massive fan of the newer TV technologies we’ve seen in recent years, new advances in Quantum dots, new lighting technology like Mini LED and it’s all doing one thing. Making more TVs get closer to being like OLED. But none of them are OLED.

What you want to strive for is a picture quality without compromise, and the biggest issue for years has been the “blooming” around bright areas that infringes on what should be black space on the screen.

Thanks to the self-lit pixels no an OLED there is no issue with this on an OLED TV. Which is why more and more companies are selling OLED models to ensure that when you the savvy buyer goes into a store looking for this worldwide proclaimed king of TV technologies, you’ll consider more than just LG. And that’s fine, totally.

Thing is, LG have been at this for 10 years, so you’ve gotta give that some standing in your decision making.

The C3 series of TV’s in 2023 is the mid-range and the big seller for LG. The B3 series is one step down, not getting the more modern “evo” panel, while the G3 series above it is a step up on brightness and has an anti-glare screen plus is designed with a single thickness top to bottom making it perfect for wall-mounting.

But most people will be drawn to the C3, which is why it’s a great first step for our review.

Now being spoilt, we’ve seen OLED TVs every year, so this is not a remarkable TV. But if you’re coming off a 4-7 year old TV and upgrading the viewing experience in your home for the first time – strap yourself in, this is going to be a great TV.

For stand mounting, the setup is excellent and simple with just seven screws in total, and for the 48 incher it’s a one person job.

On-Screen setup via WebOS is just as easy. Some simple questions, and with the help of the Magic Remote – it’s a breeze.

That remote has evolved over the years, but is very much the same as it’s always been, offering excellent shortcuts to the main streaming services at a glance.

LG Channels is one shortcut, but to be honest, it’s the most disappointing part of the LG TV. Doesn’t hold a candle to Samsung’s TV Plus offering, and I’d prefer that button was in some way customisable – I’d use YouTube way more than “LG Channels”.

Fire up some 4K content and the picture is impressive. Thanks to a small letterboxing on Stan’s Yellowstone, I could check that top edge for blooming and unsurprisingly it’s rock solid.

While the 48 inch C3 does not have LGs “Brightness Booster” tech, I don’t think this TV lacks much brightness.

I think the 42 and 48 inch version are destined for the man-cave of gaming rig, and that’s not being setup next to a window getting afternoon sun. If you are in a bright room, look at the G3 series, or larger size C3 series for sure.

It is a very glossy screen, so everything in the room is like a mirror until the picture turns on, though i didn’t find it distracting when in normal viewing.

For gamers, who as I say, I think will be big buyers of this TV, I’m confident it ticks all the boxes, NVIDIA G-Sync, AMD FreeSync Premium, Nvidia GEFORCE Now,VRR, ALLM, eARC, HGiG – yep, tick!

And critically, the LG Game Dashboard & Optimiser – this is a great gaming specific settings menu which appears on pressing the settings button when you have a PC or Console plugged in. Really tightly done and perfect for gamer optimisation.

Honestly, it’s a joy to watch anything on an LG C3 OLED TV.

My only real issue is the price. It’s a lot of money to justify right now when compared inch to inch with a huge range of other TVs. On price, there are 85 inch TVs in this price point – that’s hard to walk away from, but for the specific use that is this smaller under 50 inch setup (gaming in particular), there’s no comparison.

Web: JB HiFi, Harvey Norman, LG