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LG C3 OLED  TV Review

Review updated Nov 08, 2024 at 09:18am
Tested using methodology v1.11 
LG C3 OLED
9.0
Mixed Usage 
Value for price beaten by

Not at the latest test bench

8.6
TV Shows 
Value for price beaten by

Not at the latest test bench

8.8
Sports 
Value for price beaten by

Not at the latest test bench

9.4
Video Games 
Value for price beaten by

Not at the latest test bench

9.0
HDR Movies 
Value for price beaten by

Not at the latest test bench

9.1
HDR Gaming 
Value for price beaten by

Not at the latest test bench

9.4
PC Monitor 
Value for price beaten by

Not at the latest test bench

 207
 TV Settings
Notice: This TVs was replaced by LG C4 OLED

The LG C3 OLED is the mid-range model in LG's 2023 OLED lineup, sitting above the entry-level OLED 'B' series LG B3 OLED and below the 'Gallery Style' LG G3 OLED. Aside from the G3's Micro Lens Array (MLA) technology, the C3 comes with everything the G3 does, like the 2023 version of LG's proprietary webOS smart interface and four full HDMI 2.1 bandwidth ports. It also has LG's α9 AI Processor Gen6, which promises improved image processing through LG's Brightness Booster Max and AI Tech technologies, as well as the ability to up-mix 2-channel audio into virtual 7.1.2 channel sound using AI Sound.

Our Verdict

9.0
Mixed Usage 

The LG C3 OLED is a remarkable TV overall. The very good brightness in both SDR and HDR makes it well-suited to watching anything, from SDR content to the latest hit movies in HDR. It also has superb reflection handling, so the TV can handle bright rooms or glare without issue. But like almost every OLED on the market, it's better suited for a dark room, where its OLED panel, with its deep inky blacks, truly performs at its best. Its very low input lag makes it a gamer's dream, as your inputs are translated almost instantaneously to the screen, and its superb response time makes it a great choice for any fans of fast-moving content, be it sports or games, as action stays clear and crisp throughout. The TV also supports DTS, making it a fantastic choice for your home entertainment center.

Pros
  • Fantastic reflection handling.
  • Image remains accurate at a wide angle.
Cons
  • Aggressive ABL can get distracting with large areas of brightness.
8.6
TV Shows 

The LG C3 OLED is an excellent TV for watching TV shows. It has fantastic reflection handling, and combined with its very good peak brightness in SDR, it can handle bright rooms or rooms with lots of glare. Its viewing angle is superb, so the image remains consistent even when viewing the TV entirely from the side. If a group is sitting around the TV to watch the latest episode of their favorite show, they'll have a great viewing experience no matter where they're sitting. The TV also has very good sharpness processing, so lower-resolution content is upscaled well, and when combined with the panel's excellent low-quality content smoothing, your shows will still look great.

8.8
Sports 

The LG C3 OLED is an amazing TV for watching sports. It has exceptional reflection handling, which is great when watching shows in a room with glare, and the TV gets bright in SDR, so it handles bright rooms well. The TV's viewing angle is superb, so the image remains consistent even when viewing the TV from the side, so those sitting off-center will have a pleasant viewing experience. It has an incredible response time, so motion, like fast-moving players, is crisp and sharp, with no blurring. The TV has very good color uniformity, so when watching sports with large areas of uniform color, like hockey, you won't be distracted by annoying smudges or color variations in the image.

Pros
  • Fantastic reflection handling.
  • Image remains accurate at a wide angle.
  • Excellent low-quality content smoothing.
Cons
  • Aggressive ABL can get distracting with large areas of brightness.
9.4
Video Games 

The LG C3 OLED is a fantastic TV to spend your evenings immersed in your favorite games. Enabling Game Mode doesn't noticeably affect image quality, so your games simultaneously look great and feel super responsive due to the TVs incredibly low input lag; your inputs are translated to the on-screen action almost instantly. The TV has fantastic reflection handling, and combined with its very good peak brightness in SDR, this makes it a fantastic OLED for bright rooms or rooms with glare. The response time is exceptionally low, so no matter how fast the action moves, you won't have any blur or ghosting.

Pros
  • Fantastic reflection handling.
  • Very low input lag.
  • Impressive gaming features.
  • HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on all four ports.
Cons
  • TV is a bit dimmer in Game Mode.

9.0
HDR Movies 

The LG C3 OLED is an excellent TV for watching the latest hit movies. Like all OLEDs, it has incredible contrast, with deep, inky blacks and no blooming around bright highlights. It has very good HDR peak brightness, so bright highlights look great next to the perfect blacks. It also has excellent low-quality content smoothing and very good low-resolution upscaling, so whether you like to watch movies on legacy formats like DVDs or through streaming services like Netflix, your content is free of macro-blocking, and details are preserved. The TV handles judder perfectly, so your movies are judder-free. The TV's color accuracy is excellent, so you don't need to worry about having it calibrated.

Pros
  • Automatically removes 24p judder from any source.
  • Wide color gamut for HDR content.
  • Supports DTS audio formats, which is great for DVDs and Blu-rays.
  • Excellent low-quality content smoothing.
Cons
  • Fast response time results in noticeable stutter.
  • Colors aren't as bright as pure white.
9.1
HDR Gaming 

The LG C3 OLED is an outstanding TV to be blown away by the latest hit games in HDR. The TV has remarkably low input lag with Game Mode on, so games feel super responsive; your inputs almost instantly translate to the on-screen action. The TV can handle all commonly used resolutions, like 1440p @ 120Hz and 4k @ 120Hz. It has fantastic reflection handling, and when combined with the TV's satisfactory HDR brightness in Game Mode, you'll enjoy gaming on the C3 even during the day. Still, it's certainly better suited to playing in a dark room. The response time is exceptionally low, so no matter how fast the action moves, you won't have any blur or ghosting.

Pros
  • Wide color gamut for HDR content.
  • Very low input lag.
  • Impressive gaming features.
  • HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on all four ports.
Cons
  • Colors aren't as bright as pure white.
  • TV is a bit dimmer in Game Mode.

9.4
PC Monitor 

The LG C3 OLED is a fantastic TV for use as a PC monitor but with some caveats. It has a nearly instantaneous response time and incredibly low input lag, so games, or your mouse cursor, are fluid and responsive, with almost no distracting motion blur behind fast-moving objects. Its viewing angle is amazing, so even if you sit in front of the TV, you won't notice any discoloration or dimming at the edges. It gets bright in SDR and has amazing reflection handling, so it'll look great even if your office setup is in a bright room or in front of some windows. Unfortunately, like many TVs, the C3 doesn't use a standard RGB subpixel layout, so text isn't very clear when used as a monitor. Finally, as with all OLEDs, there's a risk of permanent burn-in when exposed to static elements, like the UI elements of a computer desktop.

Pros
  • Fantastic reflection handling.
  • Image remains accurate at a wide angle.
  • Very low input lag.
Cons
  • Aggressive ABL can get distracting with large areas of brightness.
  • 9.0
    Mixed Usage
  • 8.6
    TV Shows
  • 8.8
    Sports
  • 9.4
    Video Games
  • 9.0
    HDR Movies
  • 9.1
    HDR Gaming
  • 9.4
    PC Monitor
  • Changelog

    1.  Updated Nov 08, 2024: 

      We updated the text throughout this review to align it with our current style guide.

    2.  Updated May 02, 2024: Mentioned the newly-reviewed LG C4 OLED in the HDR Brightness section of this review.
    3.  Updated Dec 20, 2023: Mentioned the newly reviewed Samsung S89C OLED in the HDR Brightness In Game Mode section of this review.
    4.  Updated Nov 29, 2023: We retested the TV's input lag outside of Game Mode with firmware 03.20.17. It's now higher than it was and more in line with the LG G3 OLED and LG C2 OLED. We updated the TV's input lag results and text box.

    Check Price

    Differences Between Sizes And Variants

    We bought and tested the 65-inch LG C3 (OLED65C3), but it's also available in 42, 48, 55, 77, and 83-inch sizes. Note that the last three letters in the model number (PUA in this case) vary between retailers and individual regions, but there's no difference in performance. The Costco/Sam's Club variant carries the suffix 'AUA,' supports Wi-Fi 6E (the PUA variant has Wi-fi 5), and comes with store-specific perks, like extended warranties.

    SizeUS Model (Wi-Fi 5)Costco Variant (Wi-Fi 6E)
    42"OLED42C3PUAOLED42C3AUA
    48"OLED48C3PUAOLED48C3AUA
    55"OLED55C3PUAOLED55C3AUA
    65"OLED65C3PUAOLED65C3AUA
    77"OLED77C3PUAOLED77C3AUA
    83"OLED83C3PUAOLED83C3AUA

    Our unit was manufactured in March 2023; as shown on the label.

    Popular TV Comparisons

    The LG C3 is an excellent OLED TV and is an incremental improvement over its predecessor, the LG C2 OLED. It doesn't have the LG G3 OLED's MLA focusing layer, which allows the G3 to get extremely bright, so there's a big difference between the two TVs when it comes to peak brightness. Still, that alone isn't worth the price difference for most people. You could also save some money by going with the cheaper LG B3 OLED, which is dimmer overall, is limited to only two HDMI 2.1 bandwidth ports, but otherwise has the same feature set. When compared to OLEDs from other brands, the Sony A95K OLED, the Samsung S95B OLED, and the Samsung S95C OLED are all marginally better than the C3 when it comes to image quality, as QD-OLED panels are very colorful and can output very bright and saturated colors.

    If you're still shopping for the best TV for your needs, check out our recommendations for the best OLED TVs, the best 4k TVs, and the best TVs for watching movies.

    LG C4 OLED

    The LG C4 OLED is slightly better than the LG C3 OLED. The C4 gets brighter in HDR, so highlights pop a little bit more on it. The C4 also has slightly better PQ EOTF tracking, so it's a bit more accurate when it comes to the content creator's intent, and its better color volume delivers slightly brighter colors. If you're a PC gamer looking to take full advantage of your high-end graphics card, the C4 supports up to 144Hz versus 120Hz on the C3, so it's the better option for that. However, when viewed from an angle, the C4 has a noticeable green tint, so the C3 is the better choice for wide seating arrangements.

    LG B4 OLED

    The LG B4 OLED and the LG C3 OLED are very similar overall. The C3 has better low-quality content smoothing, and its viewing angle is a bit better, with less color shift as you move off-center. The C3 also gets brighter overall, so it overcomes a bit more glare while watching SDR content in a bright room, and highlights stand out a bit more in HDR content. However, the C3 is noticeably dimmer while using the Game Optimizer, whereas the B4 maintains its brightness in that mode, which makes it a bit brighter overall while using Game Optimizer.

    LG C2 OLED

    The LG C3 OLED and the LG C2 OLED are very similar TVs, with the C3 being a marginal improvement over its predecessor. The C3 is a bit brighter, but this isn't noticeable in practice. The C3 also has better low-resolution sharpness processing, making legacy content on DVDs or low-resolution online streaming look better than on the C2. The C3's biggest improvement over the C2 is its support of DTS audio formats; this makes it a much more interesting TV for home entertainment fans, as Blu-rays and DVDs tend to use DTS for their audio tracks. 

    LG G3 OLED

    The LG G3 OLED is better than the LG C3 OLED. They're both nearly identical, except that the G3 doesn't come with a stand, instead having a slim wall mount included in the box and a fully flat profile that allows the TV to be completely flat on the wall when wall mounted. In theory, the G3 can also get much brighter than the C3; however, in practice, you won't see much difference except in certain contexts, such as when bright white clouds are displayed. They both offer DTS audio support, which is a clear improvement over both preceding models.

    Show more 

    Video

    Test Results

    perceptual testing image
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    Category:
    All
    Design
    Style
    CurvedNo

    The LG OLED C3 has the same design as 2022's LG C2 OLED. It has a thin silver border, with bezels so thin you can barely notice them when sitting from a normal viewing distance. It looks sleek and modern.

    Accelerated Longevity Test
    Uniformity PicturesN/A
    Stand

    The stand on the 65-inch LG C3 is identical to the stand found on the 65-inch LG C2 OLED, and it has the same issues: it's a bit small, and the TV wobbles on it. However, it doesn't take the TV long to settle after it starts wobbling, so it isn't an issue in practice. The stand lifts the bottom of the screen 2.7" above the table, so most soundbars will fit without blocking the screen.

    The 83-inch model uses a bigger stand, the same as on the 83 and 48-inch LG C2 OLED or the LG C1 OLED. The 42-inch model of the C3 uses two feet on each side of the screen instead of a central stand.

    Footprint of the 65" stand: 18.5" x 9.0"

    Back
    Wall MountVESA 300x200

    The back of the TV feels quite nice; it's made of textured, brushed metal. It almost feels like fabric to the touch. A large plastic panel is on the back, with the inputs on its right-hand side. The TV comes with cable management clips through which you can funnel cables towards a small plastic cover and exit through another clip on the back of the stand for cable management. You can also route cables through the small plastic cover.

    Borders
    Borders0.22" (0.6 cm)
    Thickness
    Max Thickness1.77" (4.5 cm)
    9.0
    Build Quality

    The LG OLED C3 series is incredibly well-built. It feels premium, the fabric-like texture on the back feels unique and nice to the touch, and the TV itself doesn't flex much. The stand is small and doesn't take much space, but unfortunately, the TV wobbles quite a bit on it; again, it does settle in quickly, and it's not a problem in practice. Overall, it's very solidly built.

    Picture Quality
    10
    Contrast
    Contrast
    Inf : 1
    Native Contrast
    Inf : 1

    The LG OLED C3 has a nearly infinite contrast ratio like every other OLED. As each pixel can individually control its own brightness due to OLED's self-emissive technology, you can have super bright highlights next to pixels that are completely off, leading to perfect blacks with no blooming or haloing. It's very impressive in a dark room.

    10
    Blooming

    Since pixels can be completely turned off next to pixels that are lit up to their maximum brightness, the blacks surrounding bright elements are perfect and don't have any blooming.

    10
    Lighting Zone Transitions
    Local Dimming
    No
    Backlight
    No Backlight
    Dimming Zones Count Of Tested TV
    8,294,400

    As with other OLED TVs, this TV doesn't have a backlight, but its self-emissive pixels give it the equivalent of a perfect local dimming feature with no zone transitions. We still film the zone transition video on the TV so you can see how the screen performs and compare it with a TV that has local dimming.

    9.5
    Contrast And Dark Details In Game Mode

    There's no difference in dark scene behavior between the calibrated picture modes and Game Mode. It looks fantastic.

    8.1
    HDR Brightness
    Hallway Lights (~1950 cd/m²)
    729 cd/m²
    Yellow Skyscraper (~700 cd/m²)
    581 cd/m²
    Landscape Pool (~300 cd/m²)
    326 cd/m²
    Peak 2% Window
    801 cd/m²
    Peak 10% Window
    815 cd/m²
    Peak 25% Window
    522 cd/m²
    Peak 50% Window
    311 cd/m²
    Peak 100% Window
    153 cd/m²
    Sustained 2% Window
    784 cd/m²
    Sustained 10% Window
    781 cd/m²
    Sustained 25% Window
    477 cd/m²
    Sustained 50% Window
    311 cd/m²
    Sustained 100% Window
    150 cd/m²
    Automatic Brightness Limiting (ABL)
    0.101

    The LG C3 has very good HDR peak brightness. In certain scenes, it's a noticeable improvement from the LG C2 OLED. Like other OLEDs, large bright scenes are significantly dimmer than smaller highlights due to the Automatic Brightness Limiter (ABL). It's not very noticeable during normal viewing, as the brightness transitions are typically smooth and seamless. However, the TV is much dimmer when watching very bright HDR content for extended periods, and the ABL is distracting when using the TV as a PC monitor.

    Setting Peak Brightness to 'Off' reduces the ABL feature's aggressiveness but also reduces the panel's peak brightness in all scenes, which makes the TV look dimmer all the time.

    These measurements are after calibrating the HDR white point with the following settings:

    • HDR Picture Mode: Cinema (User Settings)
    • OLED Pixel Brightness: 100
    • Adjust Contrast: 100
    • Auto Dynamic Contrast: Off
    • Dynamic Tone Mapping: Off
    • Expression Enhancer: Detail
    • Peak Brightness: High

    Check out the newer LG C4 OLED if you want a very similar TV with better HDR brightness.

    7.4
    HDR Brightness In Game Mode
    Hallway Lights (~1950 cd/m²)
    776 cd/m²
    Yellow Skyscraper (~700 cd/m²)
    434 cd/m²
    Landscape Pool (~300 cd/m²)
    175 cd/m²
    Peak 2% Window
    806 cd/m²
    Peak 10% Window
    808 cd/m²
    Peak 25% Window
    394 cd/m²
    Peak 50% Window
    269 cd/m²
    Peak 100% Window
    184 cd/m²
    Sustained 2% Window
    786 cd/m²
    Sustained 10% Window
    780 cd/m²
    Sustained 25% Window
    367 cd/m²
    Sustained 50% Window
    268 cd/m²
    Sustained 100% Window
    147 cd/m²
    Automatic Brightness Limiting (ABL)
    0.105

    The LG C3 is dimmer in Game Mode than in other picture modes, and it's noticeable if you swap between Game Mode and other modes. Still, it's bright enough for a pleasant HDR gaming experience, and it's an improvement over the LG C2 OLED. For a much better Game Mode performance, see the Samsung S89C OLED.

    These measurements are after calibrating the HDR white point with the following settings:

    • HDR Picture Mode: Game Optimizer (User Settings)
    • OLED Pixel Brightness: 100
    • Dynamic Tone Mapping: HGiG
    • Expression Enhancer: Off
    • Peak Brightness: High

    9.2
    PQ EOTF Tracking
    See details on graph tool
    600 Nit Tracking Delta
    0.0056
    1000 Nit Tracking Delta
    0.0054
    4000 Nit Tracking Delta
    0.0051

    The LG C3 has fantastic PQ EOTF tracking. As it's an OLED, it has perfect blacks and follows the PQ EOTF curve very well. When the TV gets near its peak brightness, its tracking acts differently based on the content it's displaying; the TV can display most content mastered at 600 and 1000 nits, so no roll-off is necessary. For content mastered at 4000 nits, the TV does tone mapping; however, its roll-off is pretty quick, so it won't preserve as many fine details here as the LG C2 did.

    Note that this particular PQ EOTF tracking curve was done with the new Expression Enhancer setting set to 'Detail', as with the setting set to 'Off,' the TV was over-brightening most of the EOTF.

    7.9
    SDR Brightness
    Real Scene Peak Brightness
    474 cd/m²
    Peak 2% Window
    409 cd/m²
    Peak 10% Window
    412 cd/m²
    Peak 25% Window
    396 cd/m²
    Peak 50% Window
    379 cd/m²
    Peak 100% Window
    216 cd/m²
    Sustained 2% Window
    405 cd/m²
    Sustained 10% Window
    407 cd/m²
    Sustained 25% Window
    390 cd/m²
    Sustained 50% Window
    375 cd/m²
    Sustained 100% Window
    214 cd/m²
    Automatic Brightness Limiting (ABL)
    0.041

    The LG OLED C3 has very good peak brightness in SDR. It's a bit brighter than the LG C2 OLED, especially noticeable when bright elements take up most or all of the screen. Its Automatic Brightness Limiter (ABL) is a bit less aggressive than on the C2, but it still dims large bright scenes significantly compared to smaller highlights.

    Setting Peak Brightness to 'Off,' which bypasses the ABL, reduces the peak brightness to about 200 cd/m², which is a much more radical reduction than what we saw on the LG C2. Note that setting the input to Game Mode or PC Mode or setting the 4:4:4 Pass Through option to 'On' also locks the Peak Brightness option to 'Off.'

    These measurements are after calibration with the following settings:

    • Picture Mode: Expert (Dark Space, Night)
    • OLED Pixel Light: 100
    • Peak Brightness: High
    • Color Temp: Warm 50

    8.7
    Color Gamut
    Wide Color Gamut
    Yes
    DCI P3 xy
    98.72%
    DCI P3 uv
    99.51%
    Rec 2020 xy
    72.79%
    Rec 2020 uv
    76.01%

    The TV has an amazing color gamut. Like most TVs in this market range, the LG C3 has nearly perfect coverage of the DCI-P3 color space, which most current HDR content uses. However, when displaying very bright images, its color accuracy is off; it struggles with displaying accurate greens, and all colors are generally undersaturated.

    Its color mapping is also off, struggling with accurately mapping desaturated colors. Note that these results are done with the TV receiving a near 1000 nits stimulus signal; in actual usage, the TV's color accuracy and tone mapping is much better, as our results here amount to a stress test.

    The TV also has good coverage of the Rec. 2020 color space used by some content. Still, it can't display the full range of greens or cyans; colors are again generally undersaturated, and its tone mapping still struggles with desaturated colors. If you're looking for a more color-accurate OLED, take a look at the Samsung S90C OLED.

    7.9
    Color Volume
    1,000 cd/m² DCI P3 Coverage ITP
    73.8%
    10,000 cd/m² Rec 2020 Coverage ITP
    34.1%
    White Luminance
    856 cd/m²
    Red Luminance
    92 cd/m²
    Green Luminance
    298 cd/m²
    Blue Luminance
    34 cd/m²
    Cyan Luminance
    325 cd/m²
    Magenta Luminance
    118 cd/m²
    Yellow Luminance
    363 cd/m²

    The color volume is basically identical to 2022's LG C2 OLED, and it's still very good. The LG C3 can push its white luminance a bit further, yet it's still far from pure white. It also displays dark saturated colors well.

    8.9
    Pre Calibration
    White Balance dE
    1.50
    Color dE
    1.30
    Gamma
    2.24
    Color Temperature
    6,305 K
    Picture Mode
    Expert (Dark Space)
    Color Temp Setting
    Warm 50
    Gamma Setting
    2.2

    The LG C3 has truly excellent pre-calibration accuracy in SDR. Its gamma is slightly above the 2.2 target for a moderately lit room, so it's on the darker side overall, except in very bright scenes where it's a tad too bright. Its color temperature is fantastic, albeit a bit warm. Its color accuracy is also fantastic, and its white balance is amazing, with both having very minor accuracy errors throughout.

    The results above were with the Peak Brightness setting set to 'Off.' The TV is less accurate with it set to 'High.' Here are charts with Peak Brightness set to 'High':

    And measurements with Peak Brightness set to 'High':

    • White Balance dE: 1.33
    • Color dE: 4.48
    • Gamma: 2.22
    • Color Temperature: 6,341K

    9.6
    Post Calibration
    White Balance dE
    0.18
    Color dE
    0.87
    Gamma
    2.20
    Color Temperature
    6,495 K
    White Balance Calibration
    22 point
    Color Calibration
    Yes

    After calibrating to a D65 white point, the LG C3 has truly fantastic accuracy. The grayscale was easy to configure, and all white balance issues are gone. The colors, which were already fantastic, are even better. The TV's gamma and color temperature are now exactly on target.

    See our full calibration settings.

    The results above were with the Peak Brightness setting set to 'Off.' The colors are much more difficult to calibrate with Peak Brightness set to 'High,' and the resulting calibration is less accurate overall. Here are charts with Peak Brightness set to 'High':

    And measurements with Peak Brightness set to 'High':

    • White Balance dE: 0.62
    • Color dE: 4.17
    • Gamma: 2.21
    • Color Temperature: 6,545K

    8.5
    Gray Uniformity
    50% Std. Dev.
    1.288%
    50% DSE
    0.134%
    5% Std. Dev.
    0.350%
    5% DSE
    0.100%

    The LG C3 has excellent gray uniformity, but much like the LG C2 OLED and the LG G3 OLED, there are faint vertical lines in very dark scenes and faint pinkish vertical bands on the screen when uniform colors are shown. It's a common issue with the panel technology used in LG's OLEDs, but they're subtle, and you won't notice them in practice. There are no signs of the grid pattern that affected some 2021 units and no signs of the "Venetian blind effect" either.

    10
    Black Uniformity
    Std. Dev.
    N/A
    Native Std. Dev.
    0.093%

    Black uniformity on OLEDs is perfect due to their self-emissive pixels; there's no blooming or halo effect around bright objects.

    9.3
    Viewing Angle
    Color Washout
    63°
    Color Shift
    34°
    Brightness Loss
    70°
    Black Level Raise
    70°
    Gamma Shift
    70°

    The TV has an outstanding viewing angle. It's not the basically perfect viewing angle of the LG G3 OLED, but it's not far off; like on the LG C2 OLED, the colors shift slightly when you watch the screen at an angle, but it's a bit less pronounced than it was on that TV, and it's nit-picking as you really won't notice this in practice.

    9.5
    Reflections
    Screen Finish
    Glossy
    Total Reflections
    1.1%
    Indirect Reflections
    0.2%
    Calculated Direct Reflections
    0.9%

    The LG C3 has fantastic reflection handling and avoids much of the purple hue of the LG G3 OLED's anti-reflective coating, which is good. Overall, glare isn't an issue for this TV.

    7.8
    HDR Native Gradient
    100% Black to 50% Gray
    6.0
    50% Gray to 100% White
    8.0
    100% Black to 50% Red
    8.0
    50% Red to 100% Red
    10
    100% Black to 50% Green
    8.0
    50% Green to 100% Green
    6.0
    100% Black to 50% Blue
    8.0
    50% Blue to 100% Blue
    8.0

    The TV's HDR native gradient handling is very good, although a static image stress test shows some noticeable banding in dark grays and bright greens. In real content, the TV fares even better.

    8.6
    Low-Quality Content Smoothing
    Smoothing
    9.0
    Detail Preservation
    7.5

    The TV has excellent low-quality content smoothing. There's no noticeable macro-blocking in dark areas, and details are preserved well.

    8.0
    Upscaling: Sharpness Processing

    The LG C3 has very good sharpness processing with low-resolution or low-bitrate content. Some small details are lost, but the image is upscaled well overall.

    Sharpness processing was calibrated for low-resolution or low-bitrate content, with no over-sharpening, with the following settings:

    • Adjust Sharpness: 16
    • Super Resolution: Off

    Pixels
    Subpixel Layout
    RWBG
    TypeOLED
    Sub-Type
    WOLED

    The LG C3 OLED TV uses the same panel as 2022's LG C2 OLED, namely the 2022 WBE panels dubbed 'Ex.' The manufacturer advertises these panels to be brighter, have better heat dissipation, and be less prone to burn-in than those found on the 2021 LG C1 OLED. Like all LG OLED TVs, all four subpixels are never lit simultaneously. Also, note that this TV uses an RWBG subpixel layout, so it has issues with text display on Windows, as ClearType isn't well-adjusted to non-RGB subpixel layouts.

    Motion
    9.9
    Response Time
    80% Response Time
    0.2 ms
    100% Response Time
    2.3 ms

    Like all OLEDs, this TV has an incredibly fast pixel response time. There's very little blur behind fast-moving objects, but due to the sample-and-hold nature of OLED technology, there's still some noticeable persistence blur. There's some overshoot in nearly black scenes, but it only happens when coming out of a fully-off state and then quickly settles, so you won't notice it.

    10
    Flicker-Free
    Flicker-Free
    No
    PWM Dimming Frequency
    0 Hz

    The TV isn't quite flicker-free, as a small decrease in brightness corresponds with the display's refresh cycle. It's very different from pulse width modulation flicker (PWM) on TVs with LED backlights and isn't noticeable.

    Black Frame Insertion (BFI)
    Optional BFI
    Yes
    Min Flicker For 60 fps
    60 Hz
    60Hz For 60 fps
    Yes
    120Hz For 120 fps
    No
    Min Flicker for 60 fps in Game Mode
    60 Hz

    The LG C3 TV has an optional black frame insertion feature (BFI) that reduces the appearance of persistence blur caused by the TV's nearly instantaneous pixel response time. Like the LG C2 OLED, it can only flicker at 60Hz. BFI also reduces the TV's perceived brightness, which is noticeable in practice.

    Motion Interpolation
    Motion Interpolation (30 fps)
    Yes
    Motion Interpolation (60 fps)
    Yes

    Like all of LG's high-end OLEDs, the optional motion interpolation feature works well. However, it also introduces what is commonly known as the 'soap opera effect,' which will annoy some people. Motion appears significantly smoother, with less persistence blur, thanks to the higher frame rate, but again, there are some noticeable artifacts in busy scenes.

    5.0
    Stutter
    Frame Hold Time @ 24 fps
    39.4 ms
    Frame Hold Time @ 60 fps
    14.4 ms

    Like all OLEDs, there's noticeable stutter with low frame rate content due to their incredibly fast pixel response time. It's very noticeable in slow panning shots in movies, although some people are more sensitive to it than others. The black frame insertion feature and the motion interpolation feature can help reduce the appearance of stutter, but they both have their drawbacks.

    10
    24p Judder
    Judder-Free 24p
    Yes
    Judder-Free 24p via 60p
    Yes
    Judder-Free 24p via 60i
    Yes
    Judder-Free 24p via Native Apps
    Yes

    The LG C3 can remove judder when watching 24p movies or TV shows, even from sources that can only send a 60Hz signal, like a cable box. Like the LG G3 OLED, the Real Cinema setting has to be enabled to remove judder. Sadly, movies aren't judder-free when BFI is enabled because the black frame insertion (BFI) feature can only flicker at 60Hz on the C3.

    9.4
    Variable Refresh Rate
    Native Refresh Rate
    120 Hz
    Variable Refresh Rate
    Yes
    HDMI Forum VRR
    Yes
    FreeSync
    Yes
    G-SYNC Compatible
    Yes (NVIDIA Certified)
    4k VRR Maximum
    120 Hz
    4k VRR Minimum
    < 20 Hz
    1080p VRR Maximum
    120 Hz
    1080p VRR Minimum
    < 20 Hz
    1440p VRR Maximum
    120 Hz
    1440p VRR Minimum
    < 20 Hz
    VRR + Local DimmingNo Local Dimming

    The TV supports FreeSync and HDMI Forum VRR and is G-SYNC Compatible certified, ensuring a nearly tear-free gaming experience from any VRR-enabled source. It works well across a wide refresh rate range, even when it drops very low, as the TV supports Low Framerate Compensation (LFC).

    Inputs
    9.7
    Input Lag
    1080p @ 60Hz
    10.4 ms
    1080p @ 60Hz Outside Game Mode
    89.7 ms
    1080p @ 120Hz
    5.7 ms
    1080p @ 144Hz
    N/A
    1440p @ 60Hz
    10.5 ms
    1440p @ 120Hz
    5.4 ms
    1440p @ 144Hz
    N/A
    4k @ 60Hz
    10.3 ms
    4k @ 60Hz + 10-Bit HDR
    10.5 ms
    4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
    10.2 ms
    4k @ 60Hz Outside Game Mode
    89.6 ms
    4k @ 60Hz With Interpolation
    77.5 ms
    4k @ 120Hz
    5.5 ms
    4k @ 144Hz
    N/A
    8k @ 60Hz
    N/A

    The TV has low input lag, resulting in a very responsive gaming experience. Although it's still not as good as high-end gaming monitors, it's better than most TVs and good enough for most gamers. These results are with the Boost Mode setting set to 'on' in the 'Game Optimizer' menu, which reduces input lag by 2-3 ms. Like most TVs, the input lag is too high outside of Game Mode for competitive reaction-based games. The input lag is higher when forcing a 4:3 aspect ratio versus setting it to 'original.' Here are some measurements, all done at 120Hz:

    When set to 'Original' aspect ratio:

    • 1920x1440: 10.1 ms
    • 640x480: 27.3 ms
    • 320x240: 28 ms

    When set to '4:3' aspect ratio:

    • 1920x1440: 26.8 ms
    • 640x480: 27.4 ms
    • 320x240: 28 ms

    Note that to get the lowest input lag with Chroma 4:4:4 support, you need to set the input to 'PC' with Game Mode enabled. Like on the G3, the C3 can enable 4:4:4 Pass Through in the 'Game Optimizer' settings, resulting in Chroma 4:4:4 support with the lowest input lag. Enabling 4:4:4 Pass Through disables motion interpolation settings and a few picture processing settings and is identical to setting the input to PC.

    Enabling BOOST in the 'Game Optimizer' settings or setting the input to PC Mode does not noticeably affect gamma when compared to having BOOST disabled. Similarly, gamma is not noticeably affected when comparing PC Mode to HDMI input or the 4:4:4 Pass Through option enabled. You can check out a few examples here:

    9.6
    Supported Resolutions
    Resolution4k
    480p @ 59.94Hz (Widescreen)
    Yes
    720p @ 59.94Hz
    Yes
    1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
    Yes
    1080p @ 120Hz
    Yes
    1080p @ 144Hz
    No
    1440p @ 60Hz
    Yes (forced resolution required)
    1440p @ 120Hz
    Yes
    1440p @ 144Hz
    No
    4k @ 60Hz
    Yes
    4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
    Yes
    4k @ 120Hz
    Yes
    4k @ 120Hz @ 4:4:4
    Yes
    4k @ 144Hz
    No
    8k @ 30Hz or 24Hz
    No
    8k @ 60Hz
    No

    This LG C3 OLED supports all common formats, and it displays chroma 4:4:4 properly, which is important for clear text from a PC.

    PS5 Compatibility
    Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM)
    Yes
    4k @ 120Hz
    Yes
    1440p @ 120Hz
    Yes
    1080p @ 120Hz
    Yes
    HDR
    Yes
    VRR
    Yes

    This TV is fully compatible with everything the PS5 supports, like 1440p @ 120Hz and 4k @ 120Hz, as well as HDMI Forum VRR. It also has four ports supporting HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, which is great if you have multiple HDMI 2.1 consoles or want to connect a PC.

    Xbox Series X|S Compatibility
    Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM)
    Yes
    4k @ 120Hz
    Yes
    1440p @ 120Hz
    Yes
    1080p @ 120Hz
    Yes
    HDR
    Yes
    VRR
    Yes

    This TV is fully compatible with everything the Xbox Series X|S offers, including 1440p @ 120Hz, 4k @ 120Hz, Dolby Vision, HDMI Forum VRR, and FreeSync. All four HDMI ports support the full bandwidth of HDMI 2.1, which is great if you have both consoles or a PC you plan on using with the TV.

    Inputs Specifications
    HDR10
    Yes
    HDR10+
    No
    Dolby Vision
    Yes
    HLG
    Yes
    HDMI 2.0 Full Bandwidth
    Yes (HDMI 1,2,3,4)
    HDMI 2.1 Class Bandwidth
    Yes (HDMI 1,2,3,4)
    CECYes
    HDCP 2.2Yes (HDMI 1,2,3,4)
    ATSC Tuner
    1.0
    USB 3.0
    No
    Variable Analog Audio OutNo
    Wi-Fi SupportYes (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz)

    As with LG's 2022 OLEDs, all four HDMI ports on the LG C3 support 48Gbps bandwidth. It allows you to send 4k @ 120Hz signals with 12-bit color and full chroma 4:4:4, which is great for PC users.

    Input Photos
    Total Inputs
    HDMI4
    USB3
    Digital Optical Audio Out1
    Analog Audio Out 3.5mm0
    Analog Audio Out RCA0
    Component In0
    Composite In0
    Tuner (Cable/Ant)1
    Ethernet1
    DisplayPort0
    IR In0
    Audio Passthrough
    ARC/eARC Port
    eARC
    eARC: Dolby Atmos Over Dolby Digital Plus
    Yes
    eARC: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
    Yes
    eARC: LPCM 7.1 Over Dolby MAT
    Yes
    eARC: Dolby TrueHD 7.1
    Yes
    eARC: DTS:X Over DTS-HD MA
    Yes
    eARC: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
    Yes
    eARC: LPCM Channels (Bitstream)
    7.1
    ARC: Dolby Digital 5.1
    Yes
    ARC: DTS 5.1
    Yes
    Optical: Dolby Digital 5.1
    Yes
    Optical: DTS 5.1
    Yes

    This LG OLED EVO C3 supports many audio formats, making it a movie lover's dream. In particular, both this TV and the LG G3 OLED now support DTS audio formats, which is great if you like to watch DVDs or Blu-rays, as they tend to use DTS for their main audio tracks.

    Sound Quality
    6.9
    Frequency Response
    See details on graph tool
    Low-Frequency Extension
    80.00 Hz
    Std. Dev. @ 70
    1.14 dB
    Std. Dev. @ 80
    1.98 dB
    Std. Dev. @ Max
    5.55 dB
    Max
    85.9 dB SPL
    Dynamic Range Compression
    5.31 dB

    The TV's speakers' frequency response is alright. They have an okay low-frequency extension, but like most TVs, they can't produce much bass. The LG C3 doesn't get very loud; even then, it can't avoid compression and pumping artifacts at max volume. The TV does have a well-balanced sound profile at moderate listening levels, resulting in clear dialogue.

    6.9
    Distortion
    See details on graph tool
    Weighted THD @ 80
    0.085
    Weighted THD @ Max
    0.545
    IMD @ 80
    4.49%
    IMD @ Max
    8.04%

    The LG C3 has fair distortion performance. The speakers struggle to handle distortion when being fed multiple simultaneous frequencies, as seen in their high levels of intermodulation distortion. The TV performs better when dealing with distortion from individual fundamental frequencies (THD).

    Smart Features
    8.5
    Interface
    Smart OSwebOS
    Version23
    Ease of Use
    Easy
    Smoothness
    Average
    Time Taken to Select YouTube
    2 s
    Time Taken to Change Backlight
    3 s
    Advanced Options
    Many

    The TV runs the 2023 version of LG's proprietary smart interface, webOS. The interface is fast and easy to use, and it supports user profiles, so you can customize the home page for different users.

    0.0
    Ad-Free
    Ads
    Yes
    Opt-out
    No
    Suggested Content in Home
    No
    Opt-out of Suggested Content
    No

    Unfortunately, like almost all smart TVs, there are ads throughout the smart interface, and you can't fully disable them. There are two settings in the 'Home Settings' menu, namely the 'Home Promotion' and 'Content Recommendation' settings, which remove the top banner ads and suggested content from the home screen, but there's no way to remove ads from the apps page.

    8.0
    Apps and Features
    App Selection
    Great
    App Smoothness
    Average
    Cast Capable
    Yes
    USB Drive Playback
    Yes
    USB Drive HDR Playback
    Yes
    HDR in Netflix
    Yes
    HDR in YouTube
    Yes

    Like other webOS-equipped TVs, the LG C3 OLED has a great selection of apps, and you're sure to find your favorite content.

    9.0
    Remote
    Size
    Large
    Voice Control
    Many Features
    CEC Menu Control
    Yes
    Other Smart Features
    Yes
    Remote AppLG ThinQ

    The TV uses the same Magic Remote as the LG C1 OLED and the LG C2 OLED. You can use it as a pointer if you prefer to navigate menus that way instead of using the buttons. There are also microphones on the TV, allowing for hands-free voice control. Voice control on the LG C3 OLED isn't as good as on the LG C2 OLED; you can't ask it to change the backlight, change inputs, or ask basic questions like the weather in your current area. Luckily you can still ask to open apps and search within apps.

    TV Controls

    A single button is on the bottom of the TV in the middle. You can use it to turn the TV on or off with it, change inputs or channels, or control the volume.

    In The Box

    • Remote (with 2x AA batteries)
    • Cable management clips
    • User manuals
    • IR blaster (with mounting stickers)

    Misc
    Power Consumption95 W
    Power Consumption (Max)239 W
    Firmware03.10.85

    Comments

    1. Product

    LG C3 OLED: Main Discussion

    Let us know why you want us to review the product here, or encourage others to vote for this product.

    PreviewBack to editorFormat guide
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      The FMM + ALLM trick has been around for years now. We’ve checked other C Series OLEDs in the past for this, and other reviewers/enthusiasts have shown their results using that combination. For at least the past few C Series models, switching to FMM with the game optimizer enabled adds about 8ms of lag at 120Hz compared to just using the game optimizer picture mode on its own. For 60Hz, it’s around 15ms of additional lag.

      Nevermind, I’ve just seen Vincent Teoh of HDTVTest actually measured the C3’s input lag in FMM with ALLM enabled and got 21ms at 60Hz and 13ms at 120Hz, which is actually better than the C5 from your measurements.

    2. 3
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      Are you inferring this from the C5 measurements?

      The FMM + ALLM trick has been around for years now. We’ve checked other C Series OLEDs in the past for this, and other reviewers/enthusiasts have shown their results using that combination. For at least the past few C Series models, switching to FMM with the game optimizer enabled adds about 8ms of lag at 120Hz compared to just using the game optimizer picture mode on its own. For 60Hz, it’s around 15ms of additional lag.

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      Hello! We don’t have the exact numbers for this, but it should be around 25ms at 60Hz, and around 15ms at 120Hz.

      Are you inferring this from the C5 measurements?

    4. 2
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      Hi, what’s the input lag in Filmmaker Mode with Game Optimizer Enabled and the Input Label Set to ‘PC’?

      Hello! We don’t have the exact numbers for this, but it should be around 25ms at 60Hz, and around 15ms at 120Hz.

    5. 3
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      Hi, what’s the input lag in Filmmaker Mode with Game Optimizer Enabled and the Input Label Set to ‘PC’?

    6. 3
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      Hi! I just wanted to highlight some issues I’ve encountered with this TV as it’s not been smooth sailings. Some firmware updates back an unbearable amount of chrominance overshoot was introduced and possibly more colour banding gradient issues. On my end the overshoot is so bad that I stopped using it in favour of going back to my old C2, which suffers from it much less severely and only visible in much narrower conditions, almost a non issue. But thanks a firmware update the C3 is basically E-Waste to me now. Another issue is that WebOS update bricked the HDMI causing a scrambled unusable image. (It might be fixed now due to me resetting the TV and connecting it to another HDMI and PC, at the very least the issue is not present on that PC - No updates/hotfixes have been released since then, even though some people have complained about issues with that particular update in forums, and it’s been months now.) I was wondering if any of you have noticed the overshoot issue or if it is present on your models? My C2 is perfectly useable even on the latest firmware but the issue became so severe on the C3 after a firmware update (I’m not sure which one, but it’s not the latest one) I had to just stop using it. Hope they fix the issue cause this is just not great.

      Update:

      An abundance of firmware updates have been given out, a while ago they did fix the specific omnipresent and very bad overshoot issue on the C3 :) both the C2 and C3 are now closer in parity in overshoot issues, however the C3 is still worse at handling it and I still prefer not using it.

      A mitigation that these TV’s have are a combination of static/reactive + dynamic film grain in the affected areas which help a lot with the issue, however they are simply not tuned aggressive enough. If it’s not possible to fix these issues definitively without compromises in firmware updates, please give us the ability to tweak and adjust the low brightness film grain settings. Using Reshade I have found that breaking up these problematic greys with low light film grain + a tiny bit of black crushing is the best/cheapest/least destructive to image quality way to mitigate it, even fixing it 100% with super aggressive settings (Although its very grainy, still less ugly than the overshoot). Another thing that helps in some cases is debanding.

      I’ve probably spent 20-50 cumulative hours spanned across months trying to fix this, I probably should not have to be spending this amount of time trying to make my premium 2000$+ TV’s usable. This was not an issue when I bought them. I don’t know if this is a firmware issue or some sort of degradation issue that happens with time.

      But I deeply appreciate the engineers working on the firmware updates because there have been way more of them and some improvement attempts even though the TV’s themselves are very stinky apparently. It kinda sucks that even after accepting that VRR flicker would likely never be fixed on them and so it remains unused, not knowing it was an issue before buying as no one talked about it at first, to then be later dealing with this issue as well, and be like OMG is the only real fix here to buy another 2000$ oled and hope it doesn’t suck this time xD

      P.S the HDMI bricking/scramble issue was due to me using a custom resolution via the Nvidia control panel, after a firmware update you just can’t do that anymore without bricking the HDMI, weirdly if you have 2 screens turned on the HDMI won’t brick and will work fine, at least on the C3. I can confirm this as I had not updated the C2 in a while, custom resolution worked fine until I updated it. The issue presents itself after turning the TV off and on again.

      Edited 2 months ago: Changed the hours to be more accurate, It's hard to estimate it, embarrassing amount
    7. 2
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      With my C3 when I give the TV a 720p 60hz signal with the Boost Mode (for input lag in game mode) There is a horizontal line of tearing near the top of the screen. From my testing it stops tearing when I turn the input lag setting to standard or use a different resolution like 1080p. I tested this on a Nintendo Switch by changing its output resolution setting.

      I swapped HDMI cables known to be good and swapped HDMI ports. I also tested with my SNES classic which is default 720p 60hz and it had the same line of tearing at the top of the screen. Seems like it’s an issue with the C3 with Boost mode. Several months ago when I first encountered this issue I sent it to LG just in case they eventually fix the issue. I’ve had several LG C3 firmware updates since then but every time I test the issue it still exists. It’s not a huge deal to me, just a weird quirk of my C3.

      Have you seen this on your C4?

    8. 2
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      Will this be updated to reflect the new 2.0 ratings?

      A complete list of the TVs we’ll update with our newest methodology can be found at the bottom of this article. Unfortunately though, the C3 is not one of them!