LG C5 OLED review: a gorgeous TV, in the right setting

The LG C5 OLED combines a sleek design with superb image quality, particularly for cinematic content or darkroom viewing. It can be found at more affordable prices than some other OLED options on the market, and features a no-nonsense design with built-in inputs.

It’s not as bright or as cheap as MiniLED displays, which are increasingly dominating the market, but the C5 stands on its own amid a competitive year in TVs.

LG C5 specs

LG C5 design: Ultra-thin, premium build

Quick take: This is one of the more stylish models I’ve seen this year

The LG C5 impresses right out of the box. Its ultra-thin frame, while a bit daunting to get out of the box, immediately conveys a premium build and thoughtful design.

I also appreciate that LG acknowledges that you can have a gorgeous thin display while still having inputs hardwired to the back of the television. I’m looking at you Samsung.

The back of the C5 features a sort of faux black marble finish, which, even though most users will never see this once they mount or set up their TVs, is still a nice touch.

This TV is heavy and feels as well built as it looks, so be sure to have an extra set of hands available to help you set it up and get it mounted on its stand.

The C5’s stand has a brushed metal plate on its more visible front half, while its back half is hard plastic.

It’s not as hefty as some pure metal stands I’ve seen this year, but those aren’t really necessary, as this is just as sturdy.

My biggest gripe in the design of the LG C5 has nothing to do with the TV, but with its totally subpar remote. The remote is light, flimsy and not backlit.

An LG OLED is unquestionably after a more premium market segment and I’m not seeing the reason for skimping on this.

My Roku streamer features a backlit remote and TCL offers backlit remotes for its QM8K and QM9K, both of which cost less than the LG C5 for equivalent sizes. Surely LG had the budget for one but chose to forgo it for some reason.

Design score: 8/10

LG C5 interface: Slow, unintuitive and feels dated

Quick take: webOS might be my least favorite TV interface, but it doesn’t really affect much.

I found the LG C5’s webOS interface to be an absolute dog. The menus are slow to navigate, the TV is slow to boot and nothing is intuitive. It’s not visually appealing, and it’s cluttered.

That being said, when discussing a TV’s interface I’m quick to note that I don’t think it matters much anymore. First of all, most of these apps are set it and forget it. Once you go through the trouble and log in, you’ll probably be pushing the shortcuts on the remote control anyway.

Or you are like me, one of millions of users with streaming devices that you’ll be connecting via HDMI. I only really need webOS for one thing and that’s tuning to HDMI 1. Even that was a pain, by the way.

Interface score: 5/10

LG C5 SDR picture: Fantastic color, a tad dark

Quick take: The LG C5 has near reference level color accuracy.

The LG C5 color accuracy in SDR is darn near perfect right out of the box. I measured at a brightness of 100 nits in filmmaker mode with all extra image processing features turned off and I measured a Delta E average of 0.32, with a max of 0.78. This is excellent considering the TV had not been calibrated yet.

The C5 has a sharp image, with excellent color volume, covering ~97% of DCI-P3. Where I found it lacking was its brightness. The image always felt too dark to me, especially in a well-lit room. Peak brightness measured at roughly 600 nits. For context, the TCL QM9K is roughly double that in real-world scene scenarios.

This is a near-constant battle with OLED and not an indictment of this particular model. OLED panels are best viewed in dark rooms. If I could afford a 120-inch OLED to put in a theater room with blackout curtains, I would do it. But for daily living room viewing near sunlit windows, it struggles. Luckily the reflection handling is pretty decent on the C5 so a brighter room is less of deal breaker.

SDR picture score: 8/10

LG C5 HDR picture: OLED is the undisputed king of contrast

Quick take: Dolby Vision looks gorgeous on the LG C5.

What can I say about the HDR image quality on a high-end OLED display that hasn’t already been said? It’s stunning, way too dark for bright rooms, but absolutely stunning.

Here again the colors are extremely accurate right out of the box and the silky blacks of OLED’s infinite contrast bring depth and a film-like quality to cinematic content.

But as usual, it’s so dark. Some scenes I measured didn’t even exceed 300 nits in brightness and even a peak 10% window measured just ~1000 nits, a far cry from the 3,000+ from a MiniLED display.

The trade-offs are always the same and most would-be buyers know this by now.

HDR picture score: 9/10

LG C5 audio: Decent bass for built-in audio

Quick take: The audio performance on the C5 isn’t blowing anyone away, but it’s not bad.

Built-in audio on a TV is almost never anything to write home about. Half the time I go in expecting it to be terrible and I’m pleasantly surprised when it’s even halfway decent. After all, there is such a robust market of soundbar and speaker systems that it sometimes feels like TV manufacturers just don’t see the point in spending money on audio.

The LG C5 at least came to play. It’s 2.2-channel setup has bass that offers a real rumble, if a small one and clarity at lower volumes that sounds crisp. Still, there are limitations and dialogue can be a bit hard to understand in noisier moments.

The audio quality here is fair. That is to say it’s not exactly punching above its weight but it’s at least as good as I’d expect at this price point if not a touch better.

Audio score: 8/10

Should you buy the LG C5?

If you like the look of an OLED display and are in the market for an ultra-thin TV, then you might consider picking up the LG C5. Sales can easily be found bringing it down to almost half the MSRP, including directly from LG.

If you’re a gamer that primarily uses your main TV then you should also consider the C5 since it has 4 HDMI inputs and supports Nvidia G-Sync up to 144Hz.

Why not try

• TCL QM8K: Even more affordable with an excellent image quality
• Sony Bravia 9: Great contrast, brightness and Dolby Vision. Also has near reference quality color accuracy after calibration.
• Samsung QN900D: If you can find this year-old model on clearance and like Samsung TVs then you’ll enjoy a pretty color-accurate panel with great black uniformity and excellent contrast.

How we tested

The LG C5 served as my daily television for weeks. In that time I watched movies, TV shows, football games and streamed a lot of YouTube. I tested the TV with cinematic content, as well as sports and cable television.

I used both the native webOS and, at times, my Roku Ultra. Testing was performed using a Calibrite Display Pro HL and DisplayCal software on Windows 11, as well as my own observations from looking at many, many different TVs over the years.