LG CX OLED – The LG CX OLED - The best TV in its price range?

The design of the CX is excellent and makes a first-class impression. It is very similar to the look of its predecessor, the C9. The look is almost the same, so it’s not easy to tell them apart when the power is off. The front of the CX is made of metal, which makes it look very high quality. Only the back is made of plastic, but still makes a good impression.

The TV has a very narrow frame and is extremely flat. Therefore it looks great when mounted on the wall. If the stand is used, it supports the TV very well so that it has a firm stand and does not wobble. However, the stand is quite large and protrudes far back. It should therefore only be used in a setup with enough space. The cables can be bundled through the stand for neat cable management, giving a very tidy impression.

The connections are partially oriented to the side and to the back, which can be a bit annoying when mounted on the wall.

Because OLED displays do not require backlighting, the CX has a perfect black that is unattainable for LCDLCD = Liquid Crystal Display – a type of screen using liquid crystals for creating the image or ordinary LED displays. This design also has a very positive effect on the contrast. OLEDs have the great advantage that each pixel can be individually controlled. Therefore, its brightness can be controlled independently of its nearby pixels. This means that, theoretically, an infinite contrast ratio is possible if one pixel is lit at full brightness and the nearby pixel is switched off.

In order for HDRHigh Dynamic Range – image/video with more dynamic range (contrast range) content to be displayed to its best effect, a sufficiently high brightness is required. At slightly more than 800 nitsSI unit of luminance: 1 nit = 1 cd/m² – The best way of measuring and comparing a TVs brightness  , the CX is sufficiently bright to present highlights well, but the Automatic Brightness Limiter reduces the brightness in large bright scenes. This is a kind of protective function of the TV, so that the organic LEDs do not get too hot and burn-in does not happen. Therefore, the ABL cannot be deactivated.

Another advantage of the OLED design is the extremely wide viewing angle. Even at very oblique viewing angles, there are only slight color changes and the black level remains almost unchanged.

In a dark environment, the CX can develop its full potential. The image result is underlined by the perfect black and the colors look even more realistic than they already do. In a very bright room, the quality is not quite as convincing, but the brightness and reflection handling are also sufficient for this.

Just like the 2019 models, the device also has HDR10HDR10 Media Profile – HDR with a color depth of 10 Bit in the Rec. 2020 colorspace and Dolby VisionDynamic HDR-format with a color depth of up to 12 Bits and Mastering of up to 10,000 Nits. For calculating the algorithms of image processing, the powerful LG Alpha 9 of the third generation is built in – which definitely has enough power.

The motion handling is, as with its predecessor the C9, exceptionally good. The display has a Refresh Rate of 120 HzHertz is the derived SI-unit of frequency with 1Hz=1/s – When talking about TVs this means how many different pictures a TV can display in one second., which is indispensable for good motion handling. The CX’s Response TimeTime it takes for a pixel to change color of 0.3 ms is almost perfect, which is especially excellent for fast content; there is therefore almost no motion blur. However, this has a negative effect on content with a low refresh rateHertz is the derived SI-unit of frequency with 1Hz=1/s – When talking about TVs this means how many different pictures a TV can display in one second., as there is no blur to smooth the image transitions between two frames. This can result in jarring movements during slow camera pans, which can be corrected well by motion interpolationArtificial calculation of more frames than the source material has to offer. To further minimize motion blur, the CX is equipped with an excellent black frame insertion feature that ensures a very clear picture.

With the CX’s excellent motion handling, the gaming experience is also outstanding. The minimum input lag is ~7 ms at 120 fps and a resolution of 1080p. At 4K @ 60 fps, the input lag is higher at 14 ms, but this is still a good value. In combination with the good response time there is hardly any delay or blurring, which is excellent for gaming.

To avoid Screen-Tearing, a Variable Refresh RateVariable Refresh Rate – synchronizes the display’s refresh rate with the output refresh rate of the graphics card is available, which can be used either via HMDI Forum VRRVariable Refresh Rate – synchronizes the display’s refresh rate with the output refresh rate of the graphics card or via Nvidia G-SyncVariable Refresh Rate for Nvidia graphics cards. With G-Sync the TV is also compatible with PCs that contain a newer GeForce graphic card. There is no FreeSyncVariable Refresh Rate with AMD graphics cards or consoles available, but this is less important, because HDMI Forum VRR is also supported by the Xbox One and therefore there is also a possibility to use VRR. Due to an Auto Low Latency Mode a connected console is recognized and the input lag is reduced to a minimum value. Like the C9, the CX is also equipped with HDMI 2.1. Therefore it is well prepared for the upcoming consoles, as this interface allows the TV to receive and display content with 120 HzHertz is the derived SI-unit of frequency with 1Hz=1/s – When talking about TVs this means how many different pictures a TV can display in one second. at a 4K resolution. This should be available on both the Playstation 5 and the Xbox Series X.

Although it does not make much of a difference, the HDMI 2.1 port does not have the standard bandwidth of 48 Gbps, but only 40 Gbps which allows 4K @ 120 Hz @ 4:4:4.

The CX has an integrated 2.2 channel sound system with 40 W (RMS). Dialogues are reproduced clearly and the speakers can become quite loud. The sound is reasonable, but as with most integrated speaker systems, the bass is a bit weak. Strong basses are especially effective to create the right atmosphere in action scenes or while gaming. Unfortunately, the CX is lacking this possibility to create the appreciated atmosphere. For a home cinema or gaming setup, an upgrade with a soundbar or hi-fi system could help here. Since the TV has an integrated HDMI eARC interface, the dynamic sound format Dolby AtmosObject-based surround sound format with 3D-Sound from any direction is supported. Unfortunately, the TV does not support DTSMulti-channel-sound-system (Surround Sound) competing with Dolby Digital, which is probably the case with all 2020 devices from LG.

The LG CX uses the smart WebOS 5.0 operating system, which is very easy and intuitive to use and is controlled by LG’s Magic Remote. This allows the user to control a cursor with hand movements, which is very similar to the way the Nintendo Wii is controlled. But it’s also possible to use classic navigation using the arrow keys on the remote, depending on your preference. The included remote control is excellently designed and allows the user to navigate very smoothly through the interface. The CX also has integrated Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant, which allows the voice control of the device. Apple Airplay 2 is also integrated. The choice of apps is huge and app classics like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube are pre-installed.

With LG ThinQ, the TV becomes the control center of other smart home applications, which can be conveniently displayed and controlled on a dashboard.

In addition, a twin tuner is integrated, which enables the Time Shift function and recording to external USB storage devices.