Why final 12 months’s LG C5 OLED is the neatest TV purchase proper now – particularly at 50% off

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I might argue that essentially the most essential facet of any tv set is its image high quality. By no means thoughts its sensible capabilities, model status, or super-high refresh charge. For human beings, at first look anyway, the visible stimulus overrides all else.

That is why whenever you stroll into Costco, you’re arrested by the beautiful photographs flashing on a bunch of big-screen TVs set to “Retail Mode,” peacocking their 4K magnificence. First impressions are at all times primarily based on look. 

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By that criterion alone — image high quality — LG’s 2025 C5 OLED ranks among the many finest OLED TVs you should buy right this moment. That appears like a matter-of-fact assertion, however I stand behind it as a result of as quickly as I fired up our evaluate unit for testing, I knew it was a win. It is that good this 12 months. (And for those who’re out there for one this season, likelihood is excessive that you can choose one up for greater than $1,300 off.)

The C5 has a novel development and a futuristic aesthetic. For one factor, it has one of many thinnest screens I’ve ever seen — at a mere 0.25 inches thick. When lifting it out of the field, my colleague and I had been cautious of dealing with the display edges as a result of they appeared so delicate. The decrease part of the panel is extra substantial, one thing to seize onto whereas setting it up. 

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It is as if LG’s engineers had been capturing for “more screen, less panel” on this 12 months’s design, an angle they pulled off efficiently. It is nearly 4 occasions thinner than the fashionable Body TVs in the marketplace, however that solely accounts for about two-thirds of the display’s floor space. 

I might like to present a shout-out to whoever designed the packaging for this mannequin. Whenever you open the cardboard field high, you instantly discover the distant management in its personal little sleeve, with batteries preinstalled. The bottom plate (stand) and all its elements are in one other styrofoam field, which makes it simple to drag out and get going. (These are belongings you discover whenever you unbox just a few too many 65-inch TVs.)  

Different nice particulars distinguish the C5, such because the black marble sample on the again of the display, and tiny sq. silicone pads on the underside of the bottom plate that forestall the TV from scooting. 

LG is a pioneer in OLED know-how, so we are able to anticipate every iteration it produces to enhance on the final. Whereas the C5’s picture high quality alone is a testomony to LG’s persevering with pursuit of perfection, quite a few {hardware} upgrades account for this 12 months’s progress. 

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There’s the Alpha 9 Gen 8 processor, which powers an extended checklist of AI options. The whole lot from AI Tremendous Upscaling — which reinforces the standard of lower-resolution content material to look extra like 4K for streaming providers — to AI-assisted Deep Studying, which analyzes and learns your viewing preferences to optimize image and sound settings only for you. 

I additionally examined AI Concierge, which takes into consideration your viewing preferences and content material to counsel your subsequent binge-worthy present. These options aren’t causes to improve to the newest fashions per se, however they seem to be a step in the proper course for AI instruments most customers can use.

Whereas I am admittedly enamored of the C5’s default visuals, it additionally comes with a bunch of options that make calibrating your viewing expertise a breeze. Instantly, it gives two choices for organising: utilizing your cellphone or the distant. Opting on your cellphone requires downloading the LG ThinQ app. I did this, and it made life simpler, initially asking in case your TV is resting on a stand or wall-mounted, which could(?) have an effect on efficiency.

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Humorously, in response to my ThinQ instructions, the TV responded with a feminine voice that was talking tremendous quick, as if studying the disclaimer on the finish of a Micro Machines industrial. That is okay, although, as a result of it made the method go by faster.

Then the C5 invitations you to activate sure AI features like AI Image Professional. This phase exhibits a quick video clip of a child (doing child issues) with a left-to-right display sweep. This real-time upscaling demonstration impressed me a lot that I enabled the characteristic (which may be turned off anytime).

How’s the visible efficiency?

The LG C5, although a step down from the corporate’s actual flagship, the G5, examined for a visible expertise that was excessive up on our efficiency checklist.
Apart from placing TVs via numerous systematized calibrations and stress assessments on the ZDNET lab, I take a look at TV efficiency by scrutinizing sure film scenes with demanding visuals, like “Avengers: Endgame,” with its explosive battle scenes and CGI spectacle. 

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From the darkest moments (like Tony Stark’s soliloquy in the beginning) to the second Thanos snaps his fingers, the LG C5 OLED delivers a picture high quality surpassing my expectations. Colours are stunningly vibrant, the distinction is pure and exact, and the picture particulars are spookily particular.

Even when the C5 is at relaxation, it manages to impress. With its “Always Ready” operate, the TV’s movement sensor shows wallpaper or movement graphics in response to exercise within the room. That is the place I observed the true-black nature of this OLED, which provides a component of depth that approaches 3D, as for those who can attain behind the silent, glittering fireworks exploding on-screen, ready on your interplay. 

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I wasn’t as eager on LG’s AI Sound Professional tuning, so I saved that turned off regardless of it making the TV louder. The characteristic took the pattern music from the background to the foreground, presumably doubling in decibels however not in high quality. It was a lot tinier and better in treble, though including a soundbar may simply treatment this.

I like to recommend turning off any Vitality Saver modes to get pleasure from the very best HDR brightness. Vitality-saving modes on AI sensible TVs are gimmicky and impractical as a result of they “save” solely a modicum of electrical energy utilization, impacting the C5’s efficiency in a vibrant room. In numerous lighting situations, I discovered the ISF Knowledgeable Shiny Room setting to be the perfect.

In regards to the Magic Distant

LG nonetheless makes use of its Magic Distant characteristic to navigate the UX, which I’ve by no means been an enormous fan of; I do not get pleasure from feeling like I am utilizing a Wii controller to vary settings. Fortunately, the cursor a part of navigating with the Magic Distant is now an non-obligatory characteristic (invoked and commanded by the wheel button) reasonably than the only real means for choosing gadgets. You can too use the directional pad for navigation.

Notably, the distant lacks a vital button on any distant — the Mute button. Streamlined to the Nth diploma, the left rocker swap doubles as Mute whenever you pull it downward, and you have to maintain down the amount rocker for actually two seconds for the TV to go silent. Additional — and this may be peevish of me — I discover it disappointing each time a brand new TV’s distant will not be backlit. All remotes ought to have illuminated buttons for the sake of accessibility. (And an enormous Mute button.)

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

The LG C5 OLED is an exemplary TV that’s fairly the looker — whether or not the display is turned on or off. At its value (on sale on the time of writing), the 65-inch C5 gives upgrades over its predecessor which are par for the course however not essentially game-changing. For example, take a look at measurements of the C5 solely barely exceed the 2024 C4 collection unit (akin to a marginal improve of nits for brightness). 

Equally, the C5 does not step up from the C4 when it comes to refresh charge, which continues to max out at 144Hz as an alternative of 165Hz like we’re seeing on some higher-end (and competing) fashions. Till that price ticket drops, you may be simply as effectively off selecting up a C4 collection unit for half the value of the C5.

The way it compares

Replace log:

• This text was initially printed on April 29, 2025, and was up to date on February 26, 2026, after an intensive truth test and modifications to its latest gross sales pricing. A specification chart evaluating the LG C5 OLED and G5 OLED has additionally been added to notice key variations.