LG C8 OLED review | TechSwitch

There’s little doubt in our minds that LG’s billion greenback gamble paid off in spectacular model final 12 months, as its OLED TVs dominated the premium finish of the market. A mixture of efficiency, options and a few pretty aggressive pricing resulted in LG beating Samsung’s QLED when it got here to higher-end fashions. So, what’s LG’s subsequent transfer? Simple, simply make the very best even higher.The new C8 isn’t massively totally different from its 2017 counterpart – the LG OLED C7 – so you continue to get an intensive set of options that features nearly each excessive dynamic vary format and Dolby Atmos sound. New for this 12 months is the design of the TV itself, to not point out the inner parts the place LG has built-in its new Alpha 9 processor and added some new image options to ship a TV that units the OLED bar very excessive certainly.It’s price noting that the C8 is available in three sizes: a 55-inch (OLED55C8), 65-inch (OLED65C8, reviewed right here) and 77-inch (OLED77C8). Pricing and availabilityThe LG C8 OLED is out there now, with various costs relying on what measurement you favor to get. Prices for the panels (together with VAT) are available in at 55” for AED 9,449, 65” for AED 17,849, and the 77” for AED 41,999. With the quantity of detailing and picture precision you are getting with the LG C8 OLED, it is cash properly spent – belief us.DesignThe C8 is yet one more winner from the LG design crew, with a sublime simplicity that successfully emphasises the ultra-thin nature of the OLED panel. There’s no bezel, only a black metallic trim across the periphery, reinforcing the sense of a measurement zero display screen.The TV is mere millimetres thick on the high however widens out on the backside, the place the electronics, audio system and connections are housed. The rear is a two-tone affair, with brushed aluminium on the high and darkish gray plastic additional down, and the general construct high quality is excellent.The TV sits on a large and sloped stand that not solely retains a lovely aesthetic high quality but additionally serves a sensible goal, redirecting sound from the downward-firing audio system in the direction of the viewer. There is a real magnificence to the streamlined minimalism of the C8, and it’s a beautiful wanting TV. The stand itself is a little bit of a course of to place collectively, so enlist somebody to assist preserve issues secure whilst you repair every little thing up.LG abandons minimalism for a extra complete strategy to the connections, which embrace 4 HDMI inputs: three on the facet and one dealing with the rear. There are additionally three USB ports, with one on the facet and two dealing with rearwards, together with a terrestrial and satellite tv for pc tuner, a LAN port, a CI slot, an optical digital output, a line out and a headphone jack. On the wi-fi facet, there’s built-in WiFi, WiDi and Bluetooth help.Operating the C8 stays a pleasure because of the Magic distant, an extremely exact movement controller. This handset makes use of a mix of on-screen pointer and scroll wheel, permitting you to simply entry menus, navigate the sensible platform and management the TV. You’ll shortly admire the deserves of the Magic distant, making different TV controllers appear antiquated by comparability.Design TL;DR: The C8 is superbly designed, combining model and minimalism to ship a TV that completely enhances the spectacular image high quality. Smart TV (webOS with ThinQ AI) LG C8 OLED SpecsScreen Sizes: 55-, 65-, 77-inches | Tuner: Freeview Play, satellite tv for pc HD| 4K: Yes | HDR: Yes | Panel expertise: OLED | Smart TV: Yes, WebOS and ThinQ AI | Curved: No | Dimensions: 1449(w) x 831(h) x 47(d)mm | 3D: No | Inputs: 4xHDMI, 3xUSB, 2xRF, optical, analogue, headphones, CI slotLG’s WebOS stays largely unchanged from earlier years – however, if it ain’t broke why repair it? That stated, you’ll be able to anticipate the identical intuitive and extremely responsive sensible platform that also makes use of a launcher bar alongside the underside this time round.Here you’ll be able to select from varied streaming providers and linked gadgets, in addition to different options such because the Gallery (which has been expanded this 12 months), Content Store and Web Browser.There’s additionally a really helpful Recommendations service that may be accessed by transferring the Magic distant cursor to the right-hand facet of the display screen. This screens your viewing habits and makes suggestions primarily based on a predictive algorithm.WebOS is extremely simple to make use of, however regardless of its inherent simplicity you’ll discover quick access to your favourite app corresponding to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube. The latter three embrace help for 4K, HDR and, within the case of Netflix, each Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.If you’re on the lookout for different methods to manage the C8 apart from merely utilizing the Magic distant, there’s the choice of LG’s efficient distant app.There’s additionally voice management, which makes use of a microphone constructed into the Magic distant and has been upgraded this 12 months with pure language processing, making interplay extra ‘conversational’. It’s a step up from utilizing voice management on earlier LG TVs, in order that’s an instantaneous plus level of not having to repeat ourselves. It’s truly fairly efficient and may show very helpful, particularly when looking for content material. When voice controlling the TV, there are additionally easy tips in-built that may be accessed utilizing the suitable button on the distant.The improved voice management is a part of ThinQ AI, which is a proprietary synthetic intelligence expertise that LG has added to WebOS this 12 months. It relies on the Internet of Things (IoT) and makes use of ThinQ open-standard management protocols to allow its TVs to speak with different gadgets that help ThinQ.Speaking of speaking with different gadgets, ThinQ additionally contains compatibility with Google Home and Amazon Echo AI audio system.Smart TV TL;DR: WebOS was a recreation changer when first launched and it stays the very best sensible platform, with a complete set of streaming providers and simple management by way of distant, app or voice. HD/SDR Performance The C8 delivers a number of the greatest HD/SDR pictures we have now ever seen, with the deep blacks that one associates with an OLED TV and beautiful saturated colours. LG has taken nice strides in eliminating points that affected OLED screens prior to now, corresponding to crushed blacks or poor display screen uniformity. The C8 has none of those issues; only a beautiful image that is freed from any crush, discoloration or uniformity points.There are quite a few image modes to select from however Technicolor and ISF ship extremely correct pictures with pure colours, correct whites and any pointless processing turned off. For those that desire their TV image with a bit extra punch, the Standard mode leads to pictures which can be vibrant, vibrant and detailed, because of some glorious processing.The new Alpha 9 processor is extremely efficient, taking HD pictures and upscaling them to match the native 4K decision of the panel. The outcomes had been significantly spectacular with good high quality HD sources, the place the processing was in a position to retain all of the wonderful element and keep away from any undesirable artefacts.  However it was additionally in a position to take decrease high quality HD pictures and clear them as much as a level, eradicating undesirable noise while retaining a natural-looking picture.LG have added a brand new de-contouring function to the Alpha 9 processor, which is activated by deciding on the low setting within the MPEG Noise Reduction management. This is designed to take away contours (banding) in supply materials and we discovered that it truly labored very successfully on content material the place this is a matter, such because the skies in The Martian or the opening of In the Heart of the Sea.The movement dealing with has been improved since final 12 months and soccer specifically seems significantly better, with the C8 monitoring the ball and gamers with better precision. Although we might suggest turning TruMotion off for movies and TV dramas, except you wish to endure the dreaded ‘soap opera effect’ (SOE), it may be very efficient with quick sports activities motion.This 12 months LG have additionally added Motion Pro, which is a ’black body insertion’ (BFI) function that, because the identify suggests, actually provides a black body between each different body. This leads to higher movement with out introducing SOE, however it does end result within the picture darkening and a few folks will see flicker attributable to the black frames, so it’s not for everybody.If you like gaming, the C8 is bound to please with an especially responsive 21ms enter lag that ought to be low sufficient for even probably the most demanding players. To get such a low enter lag you’ll want to pick Game mode however the outcomes are as spectacular as they’re responsive and we actually loved gaming on the C8. We marvelled at God of War and Horizon: Zero Dawn on our PlayStation 4 Pro, with colours and pictures wanting breathtaking in each scene. A phrase of warning, OLED is a self-emissive expertise and there’s a risk of picture retention and even display screen burn, so bear that in thoughts in case you recreation for hours on finish.HD/SDR Performance TL;DR: A mixture of deep blacks, vibrant colors, very good processing and improved movement dealing with leads to a powerful efficiency with HD/SDR content material.