Top SA Gamer, Mister Flak’s honest review: LG’s OLED C1 vs C2
Console gaming is one of the most popular forms of gaming, with record stats showing there are 800 million console gamers around the world. Impressive yes, but even more awe-inspiring is the new technology coming to the fore to fuel the gaming craze. Consoles nowadays are designed to give gamers the best possible experience with revved-up graphics, high frame rates, and super-fast gameplay. But without a top-quality display to go with their consoles, gamers simply won’t experience their games’ full potential.
The LG OLED C1 was unveiled in 2021 and quickly positioned itself as one of the best, most innovative TVs ever created, especially when it comes to gaming. Now, LG has released the OLED C2, which has been designed for an even more mind-blowing experience.
Mister Flak, South African gamer and YouTuber, knows all about the incredible gaming experience the C1 has to offer, so who better than him to put the brand-new C2 through its paces? Keep reading for his full account on the latest OLED available in stores and online now.
First impressions
Mister Flak was blown away by the gaming experience on the OLED C1, and now, after some time playing around with the OLED C2, we want to know what his verdict of the new model is.
What was your overall experience of the OLED C2?
“The C2 feels phenomenal. I already said the C1 was the best gaming TV on the planet. The C2 is everything the C1 is, with added sprinkles. And not just for gaming but for movies and series, plus its built-in software and apps too. An absolute polished work of art and I hate that I can’t fault it. I’m a realist, so I love finding faults. But on this one, I got nada.”
What games did you play on the OLED C2?
“All my games – Forza, Rust, Apex Legends. I’m even playing games I don’t usually play because the C2 makes everything feel completely different from my normal gaming screen. I’m loving the high-speed games; those fast-moving pixels on the 120 hz OLED are such a treat for the eyes.”
Brighter than ever before
The OLED C2 offers infinite contrast thanks to self-lit pixels that illuminate individually. Taking this technology to the next level are the α9 Gen5 AI processor and Brightness Booster, which delivers 20% more luminance.
How has the brighter display impacted your gaming experience?
“The C1 was already very bright; the C2 is somehow brighter. I found the C2 better in darker games – the extra oomph really helps.”
How did you experience the contrast and colour quality in darker scenes?
“On traditional gaming screens, darker scenes felt very washed out. The OLED naturally excels at dark scenes, so everything feels better, sharper, clearer, darker. It’s very difficult to describe with words. One has to witness it to experience it.”
Brains and beauty
Upgrading from the α9 Gen 4 AI Processor chip to the Gen 5 allows the system to be even smarter when analysing behaviours and optimising your content. The processor uses Body and Object Enhancing to detect and sharpen objects. Foreground and Background Enhancing maximises the field of depth for lifelike images.
How would you describe the visuals? Could you feel the difference of the upgraded processor?
“Yes. Other than the brighter OLED panel, the webOS interface on the C2 is faster, menus are snappier. The C1 was already perfect, so finding improvements on the C2 wasn’t easy. As I said before, the C2 is like the C1, with added sprinkles, turned to 11.”
With a response time of 0.1 ms, gamers can always expect clear visuals. Low latency means buttons pressed on your controller result in near-instantaneous action on screen. VRR (a certified specification of HDMI 2.1) keeps up with changes in frame rate to reduce image tearing, and NVIDIA G-Sync and AMD Freesync Premium also keep images smooth without tearing or stuttering.
Did you notice any tearing or stuttering?
“Nothing. I love to brag about the C2 being the world’s best gaming TV. I adore showing my gamer friends games on it. Every time it’s just adoration and dropped jaws. 120 hz refresh rate, less than 1 ms response time, G-Sync – all of it absolutely destroys any choppiness.”
Stylishly sleek and modern
OLEDs are known for their seamless design and ability to enhance your space. Luckily, the OLED C2 comes in a variety of sizes (42″ to 83″) to best suit the dimensions of your home.
What size TV would you recommend to your followers for the best immersive gaming experience?
“Definitely 48″! While I love my 55″ C1, it’s too big for shooters. 48″ is big enough to enjoy but small enough to be effective for shooters. 48″ is the sweet spot.”
Does a great gaming TV really make a difference to your performance?
“Having an actual gaming screen is the single most important upgrade a gamer can make. An office screen and a gaming screen are worlds apart, and so are a TV and a gaming TV. The former in both examples are 60 hz, meaning they display 60 frames per second. Consoles now display 120 frames per second, so if you use a regular TV, you’re losing half the game info to a slow screen, making games feel sluggish. Consoles have only recently reached the 120 hz mark. The TV market hasn’t completely caught up yet, so even new TV models are coming out in 60 hz. If you aren’t running 120 hz in 2023, you’re basically playing on old console specs.”