LG OLED Evo C3 TV review: The only TV you’ll ever need in life
Picture-perfect
As far as OLED TVs go, the LG C Series is the stuff of legends. Since foraying into OLED technology in 2010, the company has been leading innovation in the smart TV market through constant refining and evolution. The LG C Series is the tech giant’s best-selling and most popular range of OLED TVs, and more generally, the world’s number one OLED TV for 11 consecutive years for good reason.
Known for delivering superior picture quality, powerful performance and convenient smart features, the C Series is OLED technology at its finest. The LG OLED Evo C3 TV is the newest product in the range released in 2023 and represents the amalgamation of LG’s technological advancements in delivering the ultimate cinematic and gaming experience for movie enthusiasts, gamers and families.
As an avid movie buff, TV show binger and YouTube fiend (in other words: a professional couch potato), I’ve long since dreamed of having an immersive smart home cinema. Never stop manifesting, dear readers! In October 2023, I was able to try the LG OLED Evo C3 TV in my new home and the experience thus far has been exceptional (dare I say it has ruined me for other TVs?).
Paired together with the Sound Bar LG SC9S, the cinematic and auditory experience is unrivalled. LG’s upgraded WebOS interface and ThinQ app also greatly bolstered this with a slew of smart home features, giving me more control than ever before.
Ahead, here are seven reasons why the LG OLED Evo C3 TV is one near-perfect smart 4K HD TV that you will ever need for ultimate home entertainment.
1. Unparalleled visuals that jump out of the screen
Of course, we have to start with the C3’s gorgeous picture quality. In case you didn’t know, OLED stands for ‘organic light-emitting diode.’ Essentially, this means that every single pixel that makes up a picture illuminates. When the TV is switched on, millions of these pixels light up. Therefore, OLED delivers more vibrant visuals compared to LED and LCD displays. At the same time, the OLED’s self-lit pixels can turn on and off to achieve infinite contrast, preventing any backlight leakage for a perfectly black panel displayed on the LG OLED TV.
Notably, the C3 has a Brightness Booster feature whereby brightness is mapped and controlled on a pixel-by-pixel basis. The upgraded feature incorporates brand-new light control architecture and light-boosting algorithms that increase brightness in the C3 up to 20 per cent more than its predecessors. As a result, it produces realistic images in perfect blacks for infinite contrast and naturalistic colours; every single detail is not left unnoticed.
Watching Our Planet and Life in Our Planet has been a visual treat as the C3’s contrast stands out even more. Jaguars in camouflage stick out with their hypnotising spots. Further, the naturalistic colour balance reveals so much more detail in panoramic views of oceans, waterfalls and rainforests as fogs are still kept soft and misty while trees and water glisten in the sun without looking too overexposed.
Much of this is thanks to the C3’s compatibility with Dolby Vision, which brings picture quality up to 4K High Dynamic Range (HDR). This is where the LG OLED Evo C3 really comes into its own. With the Evo’s panel technology that brightens up SDR and HDR content, I love the enhanced shadow detail that triumphs in the dimmest of scenes.
In saying that, the LG OLED Evo C3 still shines outside of 4K definition—even conventional 1080p Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) content looks great from the get-go, delivering balanced and sharp images without much tinkering. Watching House of the Dragon on my Astro box set, the contrast and richness of Vermithor in the dark cave is superbly done and Matt Smith’s lack of eyebrows is as terrifying as ever. Its ability to upscale from different picture qualities is undoubtedly one of the C3’s strengths.
Funnily enough, one of my only minor gripes with the OLED TV is its ability to pack the blacks a little too well at times. As such, seeing your reflection on the screen or having to draw your curtains during the day is almost unavoidable. I think it’s fair to say that the C3 looks the best in darker rooms, anyway. As someone who lives on ambient lighting, this wasn’t a huge issue for me.
2. Sleek and seamless design and functionality
There are two options to display the C3 which was either on a stand or wall-mounted. I went with the latter as I prefer a clean, floating look. If you’re not into that, it does come with the WOW Bracket, which is an exclusive bracket designed for the OLED C Series and unique to the SC9S Sound Bar. It can be used as a TV stand or mounted on the wall to be directly attached to the TV without additional damage to your wall.
There are five screen sizes for the LG C3 that range from 48 to 83 inches. I opted for the 65-inch and it looks stunning on my wall! With its lightweight composite fibre construction with silver trim, an almost bezel-free screen and an ultra-thin profile of 4.7cm, the LG C3 delivers a premium feel and that ‘wow’ factor.
3. Smart home convenience at your fingertips
With the release of the LG OLED Evo C3 TV comes a smarter and more personal home cinema experience. This year’s webOS has been refined and condensed to only two pages, with the first featuring Quick Cards of apps and features lined up together such as Home Hub, Music, Netflix and Disney+.
Entering the Home Hub gives you an overview of your smart home ecosystem and the ability to control all your connected smart devices from your couch. It’s a larger display than an otherwise similar look you can get on the mobile ThinQ app with the same amount of control.
While I appreciate the advancements in webOS 23, a few user interface (UI) improvements such as a better categorising system for apps and features would make it a much more seamless experience. Because of this, I haven’t been engaging with webOS 23 as much as I would have liked; however, I am looking forward to more upgrades that will certainly change that.
On the other hand, the LG ThinQ app is a different experience. Its new upgraded UI makes me go back to it frequently because of its clean and intuitive layout. Through the app, I can log in to streaming apps and arrange them by most frequently used. I can remotely switch the TV on or off, control volume and activate voice control.
All LG OLED Smart TVs come with a Magic Remote. The device works like a desktop mouse with a free-moving cursor on the screen—a patented technology by LG. As a result, the point-and-click function as well as shortcut buttons such as Netflix and Disney+ makes it easier and quicker for me to access content.
I also like that it supports voice commands and gestures for various Smart TV functions; however, it takes some getting used to as the sensitivity of the cursor is very high which can impact its precision. Further, there are a few rare occasions that Voice Assistance is activated when I’m not using it, which briefly takes me out of my viewing experience.
Overall, it’s still simple enough to navigate. With just a click of the Quick Settings button, I can immediately access the C3’s picture modes, sound modes, brightness settings and the like and change them on a whim.
4. Designed for the best viewing experience
If you know how you like to watch your content, this is where you can really have fun! While the C3 already supports 4K content and a range of HDR content such as HLG, HDR10 and Dolby Vision, you can still further customise your calibration settings—and there are tons to give you an immersive smart home cinema experience that is personal to you. It takes a while to familiarise yourself with the various picture settings and it can get quite technical but once you do, you’ll be able to cater to different types of content.
Fortunately, SDR content already looks great right out of the box as even the Standard Mode fares well. For Dolby Vision content, the Cinema Home and Cinema Mode are the best: the former in ambient lighting and the latter for dedicated dark cinema rooms.
Another picture mode I enjoy is the Filmmaker Mode. This is great for stylised films that tend to experiment with aspect ratios, brightness levels and filters. Essentially, this mode removes any unnecessary processing and displays the footage as the filmmakers originally intended.
Animations also jump out on the LG OLED Evo C3 TV. I find that the Vivid Mode works really well for this as the depth of colours comes out even more bold, robust and vibrant.
5. A booming sound system that completes the full picture
For the ultimate smart home cinema experience, the visuals and the auditory must go hand-in-hand. If one isn’t as up to par as the other, the results are strikingly obvious. In the LG OLED Evo C3 TV’s case, the sound system is just as lifelike and spunky as its picture quality.
While the TV comes with two speakers that can split into nine channels for virtual surround sound, I would argue that the C3 and Soundbar SC9S must go together. After all, the soundbar is designed specifically to pair harmoniously with the OLED TV. Otherwise, you won’t be getting the delicious full-bodied effect of Dolby Atmos and DTS:X’s 3D audio.
The LG Sound Bar SC9S is the world’s first Dolby Atmos soundbar with triple up-firing channels. Together with the Subwoofer, it creates a 3.1.3 channel. Using these sound systems with Dolby Atmos creates a vibrational 360-degree immersive sound audio for a first-class home cinema experience.
To bolster audio, there are several sound modes to choose from in the Quick Settings. Wow Orchestra is my go-to for SDR and HDR content as it is designed to marry the C3 TV’s speakers with the LG Sound Bar for enhanced audio.
However, when it comes to 4K Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision-optimised content, I use the HDMI eARC/ARC as it passes high-resolution audio straight from the Sound Bar to my TV. As a result, it amplifies every subtle detail. Personally, the ARC is where the Sound Bar’s potential is fully realised—don’t just stick to Bluetooth because you’re seriously missing out!
One of the greatest qualities of the SC9S is its bass response. As someone who loves a deep, rich bass, my favourite is the Bass Blast+ effect which intensifies low tones for an instantly deeper echo in action scenes such as the rumblings of Godzilla and the thrum of engines in Fast & Furious. With the Subwoofer giving an extra edge in the bass without sounding too woolly, this is a great function for music lovers too.
6. A powerful processor that packs a punch
If you’re wondering how the LG OLED Evo C3 TV can produce such realistic images, it’s all because of the latest Alpha 9 Gen 6 processor. It utilises LG’s most sophisticated AI-assisted Deep Learning tech to provide images that are more lifelike and enhanced.
Some of the powerful upgrades for image processing include Dynamic Tone Mapping Pro, which independently brightens up 20,000 individual zones in each image instead of the whole screen; AI Upscaling Pro, which reduces noise in upscaled 4K content without losing original film grain; and Object Enhancer, which sharpens foreground objects for extra depth and three-dimensionality.
7. The ultimate gaming companion
With such a powerful chip, you can bet that the C3 is also optimised for gaming. All four HDMI 2.1 inputs support up to 4K resolution at an impressive 120Hz frame rate. Further, gamers can switch on the Game Optimiser mode to customise their settings and easily download games via in-built gaming services such as Geforce Now and Steam.
With a whip-fast variable refresh rate (VRR) and auto low-latency mode (ALLM), gaming graphics are as smooth as can be. If you’re serious about your cinema and gaming, the LG OLED Evo C3 TV handles both with ease.
All in all, the LG OLED Evo C3 TV is a near-perfect premium display in the market that is hard to beat when you also consider its price point. From its vibrant highlights, inky contrasts and lifelike images, the OLED TV has proven to be a powerhouse in picture quality, sound processing and gaming. While some improvements wouldn’t be amiss, most of them seem minor in comparison to the C3’s overall solid performance. If you’re planning to invest in a smart home cinema, look no further than the match-made pair of the LG OLED Evo C3 TV and LG Sound Bar SC9S!
LG OLED Evo C3 TV 65”
MSRP: RM14,999*
Availability: Website, official retailers
LG Sound Bar SC9S
MSRP: RM4,599*
Availability: Website, official retailers
*Disclaimer: Please refer to LG’s authorised retailers and official LG e-commerce stores for the latest prices.
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