The LG C4 OLED is the 2024 iteration in LG's popular C Series lineup and replaces last year's LG C3 OLED. It sits above the LG B4 OLED and below the LG G4 OLED. It uses LG's new α9 AI Processor Gen7, designed to provide better overall image processing than its predecessors. New to the C4 is the ability to game up to 144Hz, an upgrade from the maximum 120Hz on the models from the past few years. It also adds 'Filmmaker Mode' as a picture setting for Dolby Vision, designed to provide an accurate image without needing to tweak any settings. The TV uses the 2024 version of LG's webOS, and it has 40W 2.2 channel speakers built-in that can be virtually up-mixed to 9.1.2 using the α9 AI Sound Pro feature. It's available in six sizes: 42-inch, 48-inch, 55-inch, 65-inch, 77-inch, and 83-inch.
The LG C4 is amazing for mixed usage. If you're a console or PC gamer, this TV is a fantastic choice due to its advanced gaming features. It has a nearly instantaneous response time for clear motion, which also makes it fantastic for playing video games, but also makes it excellent for watching sports or for use as a PC monitor. The TV is suitable for use in a bright room due to its very good SDR brightness and outstanding reflection handling. However, it also looks remarkable in a dark room thanks to its nearly infinite contrast ratio, with highlights that stand out in HDR content due to its great HDR brightness. Its wide viewing angle makes it suitable for watching TV with a group, but there's a noticeable green tint when viewed from an angle.
The LG C4 is excellent for watching TV shows. It has very good SDR brightness and outstanding reflection handling, so it overcomes glare in a bright room. If you regularly watch shows on DVD or from low-quality streams, this TV does an excellent job of smoothing out low-quality content and is very good at upscaling low-resolution content. The built-in webOS is loaded with streaming apps, so finding the newest show you want to check out is easy. The TV is suitable for watching shows with friends due to its wide viewing angle, but unfortunately, there's a noticeable green tint the more you move off-center.
The LG C4 is excellent for watching sports. There's no noticeable blur behind quick-moving players and objects due to the TV's nearly instantaneous response time. If you watch sports like hockey and football that have large areas of uniform colors, you won't be distracted by the dirty screen effect due to the TV's excellent uniformity. It overcomes glare thanks to its outstanding reflection handling and very good SDR brightness, so it's well-suited for a bright room. The TV is suitable for watching the game with friends due to its wide viewing angle, but unfortunately, there's a noticeable green tint the more you move off-center.
The LG C4 is outstanding for playing video games. The TV has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on all four of its ports and supports up to 4k @ 144Hz with VRR, so it's a fantastic choice to pair with modern consoles or modern gaming PCs. The TV's exceptionally low input lag delivers a responsive gaming experience with no noticeable delay between your controller inputs and the action on screen, and there's no noticeable blur behind fast motion due to the TV's nearly instantaneous response time. The TV is suitable for use in a bright room due to its outstanding reflection handling and very good SDR brightness. It looks exceptional in a dark room due to its nearly infinite contrast ratio that delivers deep and inky blacks. Enabling Game Optimizer doesn't noticeably affect image quality, so you don't have to worry about trading picture quality for performance while gaming in SDR.
The LG C4 is incredible for watching movies in a dark room. The TV's remarkable contrast and incredible black uniformity deliver deep, inky blacks with no blooming when bright highlights are on screen, so it looks exceptional in a dark room. It removes 24p judder from any source, so movies are judder-free regardless of how you watch them. If you care about accuracy in SDR, its very good pre-calibration accuracy delivers an image that is mostly accurate, although it can be made better with calibration. This TV has an excellent wide color gamut and very good color volume, displaying lifelike, vibrant, and fairly bright colors in HDR. Finally, highlights in HDR content stand out due to the TV's great HDR brightness, so HDR content has impact.
The LG C4 is fantastic for playing video games in HDR. It has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on all four of its ports for up to 4k @ 144Hz, and it supports VRR for a nearly tear-free gaming experience, so it's a fantastic option to pair with modern gaming consoles or PCs. It displays fast motion with no noticeable blur due to its nearly instantaneous response time, and its exceptionally low input lag delivers a responsive gaming experience with no noticeable delay between your controller inputs and what happens on screen. The TV looks remarkable in a dark room due to its nearly infinite contrast ratio, with deep, inky blacks. Unfortunately, the TV's HDR brightness is lower in Game Optimizer than in other picture modes, although highlights are still bright enough to deliver an impactful HDR gaming experience.
The LG C4 is superb for use as a PC monitor. Its excellent uniformity means you won't be distracted by the dirty screen effect when looking at large areas of uniform color, like browsing the web. The TV has very good SDR brightness and outstanding reflection handling, so it overcomes glare in a bright room, and its nearly instantaneous response time means there's no noticeable blur behind quick cursor movements or when scrolling through pages. You also get a very responsive desktop experience due to its exceptionally low input lag. Its incredibly wide viewing angle means you can sit close to the screen and the sides remain consistent with the center. The TV properly displays chroma 4:4:4 from a PC, which is essential for clear text. Unfortunately, due to its WRGB subpixel layout, there are still minor clarity issues with text, although most people won't be bothered by it.
We bought and tested the 65-inch LG C4 (OLED65C4); these results are also valid for the 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.
Size | US Model (Wi-Fi 5) | Costco Variant (Wi-Fi 6E) |
---|---|---|
42" | OLED42C4PUA | OLED42C4AUA |
48" | OLED48C4PUA | OLED48C4AUA |
55" | OLED55C4PUA | OLED55C4AUA |
65" | OLED65C4PUA | OLED65C4AUA |
77" | OLED77C4PUA | OLED77C4AUA |
83" | OLED83C4PUA | OLED83C4AUA |
Our unit was manufactured in March 2024; you can see the label here.
The LG C4 OLED is an amazing TV that further cements the C Series lineup as some of the best WOLEDs on the market. It's a bit brighter than the LG C3 OLED in HDR, has slightly better PQ EOTF tracking and color volume, and ups the maximum refresh rate to 144Hz. Unfortunately, like the C3, it doesn't maintain its HDR peak brightness while in Game Optimizer. It also has a worse overall viewing angle, with a noticeable green tint that worsens as you move more off-center. Unless you need the 144Hz refresh rate or its other small upgrades, you're better off getting the cheaper LG C3 OLED while it's still available and regularly on sale. You can even find last year's better and higher-end LG G3 OLED on sale for less than the C4 currently is.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best OLED TVs, the best gaming TVs, and the best TVs for watching movies.
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.
The LG G3 OLED is better than the LG C4 OLED. The G3 is the brighter TV overall, so highlights stand out more in HDR content, and it handles more glare in a bright room when watching SDR content. The G3 also has better color volume for brighter colors, and the image barely degrades from an angle and doesn't have a noticeable green tint as the C4 does. However, the C4 supports 144Hz, so it's better for those looking to get the most out of their powerful gaming PCs.
The LG C4 OLED is better than the LG C2 OLED. The C4 gets a lot brighter in HDR, so highlights stand out more than they do on the relatively dim C2, leading to a more impactful HDR experience. The C4 also has better color volume for brighter colors, better HDR gradient handling for less banding, and better upscaling with low-resolution content for a sharper image. On top of that, the C4 supports 144Hz, so it's the better option for gamers with powerful PCs.
The LG C4 OLED is better than the LG C1 OLED. It gets brighter overall, so it overcomes more glare in a bright room while watching SDR content, and highlights pop way more while watching HDR content. The C4 has significantly better pre-calibration accuracy, so colors are displayed much more accurately, and it displays colors brighter in HDR due to its better color volume. The C4 also has a sharper and cleaner image when watching low-resolution or low-quality content due to its better image processing and has less banding due to its better HDR gradient handling. On top of that, the C4 supports 144Hz, which is great for PC gamers with high-end rigs.
The LG G4 OLED is better than the LG C4 OLED. The G4 gets brighter overall, so it overcomes more glare in a bright room while watching SDR content, and highlights pop more in HDR content. The G4 also maintains its HDR brightness much better while in 'Game Optimizer.' On top of that, the G4 is more accurate before calibration, has less banding in colors, and doesn't have a green tint when viewed from an angle.
The Samsung S90D/S90DD OLED is mostly better than the LG C4 OLED. The Samsung gets brighter in HDR, so bright highlights stand out more on it, and it maintains its HDR brightness better while in 'Game Mode.' The Samsung TV also has a wider color gamut, better color volume, and better HDR gradient handling, so colors in HDR are more vibrant, lifelike, brighter, and have less banding. The Samsung has a wider viewing angle, and the image doesn't have a green tint that worsens as you move off-center, so it's the better choice for watching TV in a group setting. However, the LG supports Dolby Vision and DTS audio formats, so it's the better option for those looking to get the most out of their physical media.
The LG C4 OLED is better than the LG B4 OLED for the most part. The C4 has better reflection handling and slightly better SDR peak brightness, so it handles a bit more glare in a bright room, and it has better low-quality content smoothing. The C4 also has better overall HDR brightness, so highlights in HDR content stand out a bit more on it. However, the C4 is noticeably dimmer while using the Game Optimizer, whereas the B4 maintains its brightness, so they are very similar in brightness while using that mode.
The LG C4 OLED is better than the Samsung QN85D/QN85DD QLED, but they use different panel technologies. The LG is an OLED, so it has perfect contrast, making it far superior to the Samsung when viewed in a dark room. The Samsung TV's QLED panel is brighter than the C4 in SDR content and in Game Mode when playing games, although the LG isn't far behind. Ultimately, the LG is the better product, except perhaps for those who almost exclusively watch SDR content in very bright rooms.
The LG C4 has a very sleek and modern design. It's very similar to last year's LG C3 OLED, but the back has a unique stone-like finish. The TV's bezels are incredibly thin, so you barely see them while watching.
The included stand on the 65-inch LG C4 is identical to the stand on last year's LG C3 OLED. The TV wobbles a bit when pushed on, but it quickly recovers, so this doesn't cause any issues. The stand lifts the screen about 2.7 inches above the table, so most soundbars fit underneath without blocking the screen. The 83-inch model uses a bigger stand, and the 42-inch model uses two wide-spread feet instead of a stand.
Footprint of the 65-inch stand: 18.5" x 9.0"
The back of the TV is made from plastic that is grainy to the touch and has a unique stone-like finish that really separates it from other TVs. Outside of that, the back is the same as the LG C3 OLED, with a large plastic central panel that houses the inputs. The inputs face the right which makes them easy to access if you have the TV on the stand, but they're still hard to reach when the TV is wall-mounted.
The back of the TV has clips that you can funnel cables through, and then they can be put through the clip on the stand to help with cable management.
The LG C4 is an OLED and has no backlight, so its self-lit pixels give it the same performance as a TV with perfect local dimming and no zone transitions. We still film the zone transition video on the TV so you can see how it compares to a TV with local dimming.
The LG C4 has great HDR brightness. It gets bright enough for most highlights to pop, but it's not bright enough to properly display very bright highlights. Still, it delivers an impactful HDR experience. Unfortunately, large bright scenes are significantly dimmer than smaller, specular highlights due to its aggressive Automatic Brightness Limiter (ABL).
These measurements are after calibrating the HDR white point with the following settings:
The LG C4 is noticeably dimmer while in Game Optimizer. It's still bright enough to provide an impactful HDR gaming experience, but you notice the drop in brightness compared to the TV's other picture modes.
These measurements are after calibrating the HDR white point with the following settings:
The LG C4 has fantastic PQ EOTF tracking. Some darker shadows and mid-tones are a bit brighter than intended, but the TV tracks the curve very closely. With content mastered at 600 or 1000 nits, there's a very small roll-off to preserve some detail in highlights. With content mastered at 4000 nits, there's a much more gradual roll-off to preserve detail in very bright highlights.
The LG C4 has very good SDR brightness. It gets bright enough to handle glare in a bright room, and the TV's Automatic Brightness Limiter isn't aggressive in SDR, so you don't have to deal with the screen dimming considerably when large areas of brightness are present.
These measurements are after calibration with the following settings:
The LG C4 has an excellent color gamut. It has outstanding coverage of the DCI-P3 color space used in most HDR content. Colors are mapped well in the DCI-P3 color space, but all colors are undersaturated and off the mark to some degree. These results are with an aggressive 75% stimulus level. With a more realistic 50% stimulus, color accuracy is much better.
The TV has good coverage of the wider Rec. 2020 space, which is increasing in popularity. Colors are more off in the Rec. 2020 color space, with cyans and greens being the most off, and all colors are undersaturated.
The LG C4 has very good color volume. It displays dark, saturated colors very well, and its ability to display bright whites is outstanding. It doesn't display other colors as brightly as it does whites, but it's still enough to display bright and vibrant colors.
With the TV set to Game Optimizer, there's a visible decrease in color luminance, and you can see the measurements below.
The LG C4 has very good pre-calibration accuracy. Its white balance is decent, but there's too much red in almost all shades of gray. Gamma is very close to our target of 2.2, but very dark scenes and brighter scenes are a bit too bright. Color temperature is very good, but it's warmer than our target of 6500K, and color accuracy is excellent, with only noticeable inaccuracies in whites and lighter yellows.
The TV has exceptional accuracy after calibration to the D65 white point. The white balance and gamma are now essentially perfect. Color accuracy is even better than before, with no noticeable inaccuracies, and color temperature is incredibly close to our target of 6500K.
You can see our full calibration settings here.
The TV has outstanding reflection handling. Its glossy screen finish significantly reduces the intensity of indirect reflections and does a fantastic job of reducing the intensity of direct reflections.
The TV has very good HDR native gradient handling. There's some noticeable banding in bright grays, dark grays, and bright greens, but all other colors have minimal banding or no banding at all.
The LG C4 does a very good job at upscaling low-resolution content like DVDs or lower-resolution streams. Details are clear enough, but very fine details are hard to make out.
Sharpness processing was calibrated with no over-sharpening for low-resolution content, with the following settings:
The LG C4 uses a WOLED panel with a WRGB pixel structure where all four pixels are never lit at the same time. Due to its subpixel layout, it has minor issues with displaying text on Windows since ClearType isn't well optimized to non-RGB subpixel layouts, but most users won't be bothered by this.
The LG C4 has a nearly instantaneous response time, resulting in incredibly clear motion with almost no blur behind fast-moving objects. Due to the sample-and-hold nature of OLED technology, there's still some persistence blur when gaming at 60Hz, but it's not noticeable at higher refresh rates.
The LG C4 doesn't have a traditional backlight and doesn't use pulse-width modulation (PWM) to dim each pixel, but it's not completely flicker-free. There's a slight dip in brightness that corresponds to the TV's refresh rate. This differs from the PWM flicker on TVs with LED backlights and occurs on every OLED we've tested. It's not noticeable, and most people won't be bothered by this, but it can still bother people who are extra sensitive to flicker.
The TV has an optional black frame insertion (BFI) feature that reduces the appearance of persistence blur caused by the TV's nearly instantaneous response time. It can only insert black frames at a 60Hz refresh rate.
The TV has an optional motion interpolation feature to help improve the appearance of motion. It works well with slower scenes but struggles with fast-moving action, so there's noticeable haloing and artifacts present in busier scenes, especially if you use the settings too aggressively.
Unfortunately, due to the TV's nearly instantaneous pixel response time, there's stutter with low frame rate content, which is most noticeable during slow panning shots.
The TV removes judder when watching 24p movies or TV shows when the Real Cinema setting is enabled, even from sources that can only send a 60Hz signal, like a cable box. Unfortunately, movies and TV shows aren't judder-free when BFI is enabled because the BFI feature only flickers at 60Hz.
The TV supports FreeSync and HDMI Forum VRR and is certified as G-SYNC compatible, ensuring a nearly tear-free gaming experience from any VRR-enabled source.
The LG C4 has exceptionally low input lag when set to Game Optimizer with 'Prevent Input Delay' set to 'Boost,' resulting in a very responsive gaming experience with very little delay between the actions on your controller and what happens on screen. For chroma 4:4:4 to work properly, you must set the input label to 'PC,' or the '4:4:4 Passthrough' setting must be enabled.
If you're a retro gamer, you can see the input lag results in 4:3 @ 60Hz below.
The LG C4 supports all common formats. It displays chroma 4:4:4 properly, which is important for clear text from a PC.
There are two settings you can use to passthrough proper chroma 4:4:4. The first is to change the input label to 'PC.' The second is to enable the '4:4:4 Passthrough' setting in the 'HDMI Settings' menu. Both of these options work the same and lock you out from using the 'Peak Brightness,' 'Noise Reduction,' 'MPEG Noise Reduction,' 'Smooth Gradation,' and 'Real Cinema' settings.
The TV is fully compatible with everything the PS5 offers, like 1440p @ 120Hz and 4k @ 120Hz, as well as HDMI Forum VRR. It also supports Auto Low Latency Mode, so you don't have to worry about switching to Game Optimizer to get the lowest input lag.
The TV is fully compatible with everything the Xbox Series X|S offers, including 1440p @ 120Hz, 4k @ 120Hz, HDMI Forum VRR, FreeSync Premium Pro, and Dolby Vision gaming. It also supports Auto Low Latency Mode, so you don't have to worry about switching to Game Optimizer to get the lowest input lag.
The LG C4 supports the full 48Gbps bandwidth of HDMI 2.1 on all four HDMI ports. This allows you to take full advantage of multiple high-bandwidth devices, like if you own both current-gen consoles and a high-end gaming PC.
The TV supports many audio formats, including DTS audio formats, which is great if you like to watch DVDs or Blu-rays, as they often use DTS for their main audio tracks.
The LG C4 has an alright frequency response. The TV speakers produce a small amount of bass, but it's not enough to have much impact on the viewer. The sound profile is well-balanced enough that the dialogue is clear, but the TV doesn't get very loud, and there are compression and pumping artifacts at maximum volume.
The TV runs the 2024 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.
The TV has a bug that causes the occasional black screen when changing resolutions and refresh rates frequently in a short period. The only fix for this is to unplug and re-plug the TV, but this is unlikely to happen with real-world usage.
There are two settings in the 'Home Settings' menu, namely the 'Home Promotion' and 'Content Recommendation' settings. These settings remove the top banner ads and suggested content from the home screen. This gives your home screen a clean look, but there's no way to remove ads from the apps page.
The LG C4 has a great selection of apps, so it's easy to find your favorite content. You can also cast content from your phone onto the TV or play videos from a USB stick.
The LG C4 has the same Magic Remote as the LG C3 OLED. You can use the remote as a pointer or use the traditional buttons to control the TV. The TV also supports hands-free voice control through microphones on the unit itself. You can use your voice to change inputs, open apps, search for content, and ask for the weather and time.