It won’t surprise anyone that LG’s OLED TVs offer the best picture on the market, at a price that’s a little less crazy today. The surprise with the very latest OLED evo C3 is that we’ve added some pretty awesome features. However, we would like Bluetooth management to be easier.
Posted at 11:08 am.
We love
LG has been offering a range of OLED TVs for around ten years that have only received good reviews. As tradition demands, the consumer has the choice between the entry-level model, the B model, the high-end G and the model we tested, here the evo C3, in its 65-inch version.
Ruined just four years ago, for more than $4,000, this model will sell for $2,400 in 2023, with constant discounts of a few hundred dollars. Okay, it’s almost twice as much as the non-OLED models offered by Hisense and Samsung, but the image quality is unrivaled.
The key to OLED TVs’ dominance is that they consist of a single panel of light-emitting diodes capable of changing from pure black to white with the millions of colors in between. As for the other technologies, there are some variations with blue or yellow LED backlighting, but they all use two panels. The first sends the light, the second filters it according to the desired color. As a result, we never achieve the perfect black of OLED, which is particularly notable for images in dark environments, in menus and in video games that rely on strong contrasts.
Our OLED evo C3 therefore offers a great picture with infinite contrast, whether you are watching live TV, a film on Netflix or Tou. TV and, especially in our case, is completely tailored to video games. This is obviously a 4K TV with a resolution of 3840 x 2160 and a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz, equipped with all the specifications for demanding amateurs such as Dolby Vision, HDR 10 and HLG. There are ten preset modes for the image to suit, for example, blurrier content in the cinema, less bright for a video game or very vivid for sports. We also note that you can quickly adjust the brightness for dark rooms in three ways so as not to be too blinded.
Note that this is one of the rare flat-screen TVs where careful attention has been paid to audio output with 40-watt speakers. We offer four HDMI 2.1 inputs with eARC for audio return and three USB inputs. For those who have previously struggled with the inputs on the back of a wall-mounted TV, here’s some good news: all inputs, even the antenna input, are now on the side.
Over the years we have developed a complementary interface when the TV detects a video game, an “optimizer” that allows you to see the most important information at a glance, including brightness, refresh rate and reduced latency. . Very few parameters can be changed here; more often you have to play in the console.
On the software side, the OLED evo c3 is agile, slightly better than the 2020 CX, which is our benchmark with its sixth-generation AIα 9 4K processor. Nimble enough to offer a whole host of pretty awesome features, even if we’re sometimes surprised by their usefulness. For example, we now have four submenus on the home screen that offer a fireworks display of functions. In the “Home Office” we find the possibility of connecting to cloud services such as Google Drive and Windows 365, messaging services such as Messenger and even remote access to your PC. All the better, but we wonder who really wants to work on their TV with their Magic Remote and virtual pointer as their only tools.
The second section is interesting: here we have compiled cloud video game services such as GeForce Now, Luna, Utomik, Blacknut Cloud and Boosteroid Cloud. The performance varies depending on the service and game. Our test of GeForce Now was rather convincing, that of Luna was acceptable with slowdowns in one out of three games.
In addition, in the “Sports” section we can configure the results of the matches of our favorite teams, display two contents on the screen at the same time (for example, a terrestrial channel and one of the four HDMI inputs) and control some home automation devices in the “Sports” section. Platform for the home.” This last possibility is of little interest, it only allowed the display of two of the dozens of devices we use, those of TP-Link.
Finally, and there is good potential here, the music section brings together a number of services, including Spotify and YouTube, and in particular the in-house channels called Ambiance LG. We have a choice of free music content grouped by themes such as meditation, coffee, camping, summer, autumn.
Finally, the Magic Remote has a microphone that activates a rather brilliant LG voice assistant. We could order a specific series on Netflix, view the weather, switch to a specific HDMI input, or ask for the volume to be turned down.
We like less
As we’ve noticed for years, LG hasn’t given much thought to who uses Bluetooth headphones to watch TV. With its Bluetooth 5.0, which is not the newest on the market, our OLED evo C3 rarely detects our headphones. You will then need to multiply the eyebolt, a total of seven commands to select and activate it.
It may be marginal, but in our case it is a notable absence: the Tablo application to control a digital recorder that we use every day is no longer available in the LG store. This application has not been updated in this store for a long time.
LG OLED TVs not only require a significant investment, but their price also drops very slowly. The 65-inch 2021 C1, for example, still costs $2,200.
You buy ?
There is little doubt that this model is the reference in 2023 for every lover of beautiful images. It’s also a nice compromise between LG’s B3 and G3 OLEDs, more powerful and brighter than the first and essentially packing the same features as the second.
Of course, we can rightly refuse to pay double, as excellent non-OLED 4K TVs will satisfy the majority of users. The ultimate test remains in the screening room: If you don’t notice the difference that an OLED offers, you are not the target group.
Sheet: oled65c3pua
Manufacturer: LG
Price: $2399.99
Rating: 9 out of 10