LG C8 OLED 4K HDR TV REVIEW

LG’s OLED65C8PUA 120Hz Smart TV

Ever since OLED TVs hit the market in 2013, I’ve been a big fan of their awesome picture quality which is driven by emissive technology and consists of self-illuminating OLED’s (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) that provide the infinite contrast range and perfect black level capabilities that make OLED picture images simply amazing.

Over the years, LG has improved on its OLED technology making its current lineup of OLED displays their best yet, which brings me to the focus of this review – the 65” OLED C8PUA.

The OLED C8 is also available in 55” and 77” screen sizes.

Design/Features

The C8 is a sleek and beautifully designed display with extremely thin borders that surround the 65” screen and measure approximately 0.35” in width. The top half of the screen is exceptionally thin, whereas the bottom half of the TV which contains the electronic components, is a bit thicker and gives the display its maximum depth of 1.89”.

The stand on the C8 is not your typical two piece foot design, yet instead features a wide and sloped form factor that not only retains an attractive aesthetic quality but also serves the purpose of redirecting sound from the downward-firing speakers towards the viewer. The stand also provides good stability for the 65” panel it supports.

The supplied Magic Remote is the compact/black oval designed wand that LG has used for a few years now, having had continual updates to the buttons and their layout. The remote continues to be one of my favorite remotes to use due to its layout and functionality and user-friendliness. It also contains a voice command function that can be used to operate LG’s latest webOS 4.0 smart TV platform which is one of the best available. I also enjoyed using the mouse pointer built into the remote to operate the TV.

Other features include:

• webOS 4.0: LG’s latest webOS 4.0 on-screen menu system is easy to learn and use. The initial setup is smooth and simple while connecting to other devices and searching for content is very convenient. The intuitive webOS 4.0 brings together your content choices and delivers entertainment options that neatly organize your recent viewing history, what’s on Live TV, what you might like to watch next, and the latest movies, TV shows, apps and games from the LG Content Store.
• LG’s AI (Artificial Intelligence) ThinQ w/ Voice Control, lets you use your voice to control television functions, search for content, and even manage your connected smart home devices. It also has Google Assistant built in, so you can control compatible smart home devices using just your voice. And it also works with Amazon Alexa devices.
• LG’s α (Alpha) 9 Intelligent Processor is their most powerful processor ever and provides true-to-life images with incredibly rich colors, sharpness and depth to deliver the ultimate picture quality with more realism. As a result of the new image processor, 2018 LG OLED TVs can display any content at maximum quality to enhance your viewing experience.
• 4K Cinema HDR w/ Enhanced Dynamic Tone Mapping optimizes picture images with the correct amount of brightness and contrast, so HDR and SDR content can be optimally displayed on the C8.
• C8’s compatible High Dynamic Range (HDR) formats: HDR10, Dolby Vision, HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma) and Advanced HDR by Technicolor.
• The 10-bit panel displays more colors with finer steps of gradation for better color reproduction with HDR sources.
• Netflix Recommended TV
• Audio: 2.2 speaker system (10 watts x 2, plus 10 watts x 2 for woofers)
• Bluetooth wireless audio streaming to a compatible speaker or set of headphones
• Dolby Atmos Support: The LG C8 currently supports Dolby Atmos playback via Dolby Digital Plus through internet streaming apps (like Netflix & Vudu), over-the-air cable broadcast, and USB. Dolby Atmos playback delivered via Dolby TrueHD through Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray is also supported over a non-ARC HDMI input.
  

  Rear Connections

   

Connectivity

• 4 HDMI inputs – 2.0b/HDCP 2.2
• 1 Composite input using the supplied adapter
• 1 Digital optical output
• 3 USB inputs v2.0
• 1 Ethernet input
• 1 RF input for antenna/cable/satellite
• Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi
  

  Rear Connections

Performance

When I first viewed the OLED C8, it was like seeing an OLED TV again for the first time… that’s just how amazing the picture image was on this display. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – OLED TVs produce the best picture quality currently available (IMO) and it definitely shows on the C8.

Images on this TV essentially popped from the screen delivering an exceptionally dynamic portrayal of what I was seeing. Furthermore, fine detail and clarity were presented very well on this TV, leaving nothing left to desire among the objects and landscape foliage I viewed on the C8.

Overall, I admired how OLED technology allowed the C8’s picture quality to appear so life-like and three dimensional with exceptional image depth; it was like looking into a window that you could reach into and remove the objects from within. That’s just how great the images were on this TV.

The extreme contrast range of the C8 made for the deepest black levels which were completely black when the on-screen images required it to be, and without a hint of any grayish overtones. Shadow detail was also very good on this TV revealing plenty of detail on objects that were cast in dark environments with minimal lighting.

Color reproduction on the C8 was simply mesmerizing – I couldn’t have asked for a bolder or richer color palette. Colors were accurate and very natural looking with proper tonal balance, which gave on-screen images a very real and life-like appearance.

The results I experienced above held true with all the HD images I viewed on the C8. But I have to point out that HDR images appeared the best to my eyes on this display, which certainly came as no surprise being that HDR images provide so much more contrast range and allow for a greater range of peak brightness (highlights) and black levels, in addition to better picture detail and more vibrant colors.

Screen uniformity – black screen uniformity was perfect on this display thanks to the OLED’s (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) used to create the picture image on the C8. These self-illuminating diodes can be shut off completely depending on the picture content for an absolute black display screen.

Viewing angle– side angle viewing on this TV was excellent with no contrast or black level loss. Color saturation also stayed neutral when viewing this TV at wide angles.

Motion blur control was very good on this TV. I detected no motion blur on the fast action content I viewed. These results were thanks in part to LG’s TruMotion technology.

Sound quality – The C8 has above average sound quality for a flat panel TV, delivering open and detailed sound that remained clear even when played at higher than normal volume levels. Bass output wasn’t bad either, putting out a decent amount of punch which helped to balance the overall sound output.

Conclusion

LG’s OLED65C8PUA is a great 4K OLED Ultra HD TV with absolutely breathtaking picture quality that is hard to find fault with. With that said, the only setbacks with this display’s picture image really worth mentioning is a possibility of image retention/burn-in if static images remain on the screen for long periods of time. Also, picture brightness may change with certain “bright” content due to the TV’s  Automatic Brightness Limiter (ABL) feature.

These two shortcomings would not be a deal breaker for me considering what is gained in the C8’s outstanding picture quality and excellent feature suite.

Since their arrival, OLED’s have been my favorite TV technology and LG’s OLED65C8PUA is at the top of that list. I highly recommend this 4K Ultra HD display and consider it one of the best TVs currently available.