On trial: LG’s OLED C3 television

It isn’t controversial to say that LG knows how to make a good TV. It’s been making OLED ones for more than 10 years, with last year’s C2 winning more awards than I care to list. So it shouldn’t really come as a surprise that the C3 is something special.

It’s no secret that LG OLED displays are the gold standard when it comes to TVs, but even still, I’ve yet to watch something on the C3 and not do my best Owen Wilson ‘wow’ halfway through. And this is coming from someone whose prior TV was a 2020 QLED from Samsung. I tried out the 55-inch model but LG has a range of sizes.

It’s got all your standard bits – 4K, HDR, Dolby Vision and the like, but the C3’s party piece has to be the Brightness Booster. Dark scenes are now packed with details you’d otherwise miss – fabulous news if, like me, you were looking for an excuse to rewatch The Last of Us for the umpteenth time. 

And if you really want that extra ‘ooh-la-la’, there’s plenty of AI upscaling and enhancing picture tech to play with too.

Punchy – certainly when you consider the screen is literally thinner than my iPhone. You can add a soundbar if you’re really keen for that home-cinema experience, but otherwise, it’s great as is. Dialogue comes out clear, action scenes pack a punch, and it’ll handle every episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race without breaking a sweat. Trust me, I tried it – for research purposes, obviously…

I love it. It’s where the C3 really shines. There’s support for almost every conceivable gaming feature on the planet. If you’re nerdy like me, you’ll know how much of a godsend 120Hz refresh rates and NVIDIA G-Sync compatibility are, but for anyone in the dark, just know this means you get buttery-smooth visuals, improved responsiveness and crystal-clear graphics.

Oh, and shoutout to the Game Optimizer menu. It puts a dizzying selection of game-related settings right at your fingertips so you don’t have to fumble with too many menus mid-game.

Honestly, I’m a big fan. It’s super quick to turn on, menus are snappy from the off, and there’s hardly any delay in switching from one app to another.

The initial setup took a bit longer than I would have liked, but that’s more just me being nostalgic for the days of plug-and-play TVs. And I may have been so excited to use it I forgot to look at the instructions…

My one (albeit minor) gripe would be the remote. It’s a real Marmite job. LG kitted it out with a mouse-like cursor that’s meant to be used instead of your usual navigation pad. Unique, sure, but it’s a precision-requiring irritant I would rather avoid. It’s almost impossible to click the button to select without inadvertently rotating the scroll wheel – something that’s true even when I use the navigation pad instead.

Also, would it have killed them to put a play/pause button somewhere on the remote?

I’m not sure I’d ever be prepared to call a TV sexy, but the C3 changes you. There’s just something so satisfying about its impossibly thin design. All four HDMI ports are easily accessible, neatly tucked around the back, and the sloping slab of a stand looks like it belongs in the Tate, let alone my dingy flat.

Well… it’s currently a hefty £1,499. Crazy expensive, but still, crazy good. And as someone much wiser than I once said, ‘Spend money where you spend the most time.’