LG CX (OLED65CX) 4K OLED TV Review & Comments

Most people would not see any difference in picture quality between the CX and the 2018 C8. It’s the same panel with just some software tweaks, especially if you are not gaming.

OLED has not advanced much in the last two years. C8 was a good step up from the C7, but since then improvements have been marginal at best, except for gaming... not worth upgrading yet in my opinion.
It's not the same panel (different pixel structure for a start) and there are differences to be seen, I have a C8 here and use it when not reviewing TVs. But, I get what you're saying in that most end users wouldn't notice the improvements.
 
If you implement the BFI the issues were mitigated slightly. But for some reason, there seems to be an error with the code values for Brightness at 50 (default) because if you click two under it resolves itself in most cases, or in the case of Stranger Things, it looked far better with just the occasional light flash and very slight black crush.

What I'm suggesting is perhaps there was some adjustment to how the panel is being driven at the low end to allow for the 120Hz BFI to be implemented finally - considering how BFI works and how the fix applied to the 2018/19 models relies on dithering. Maybe in trying to strike a balance issues were introduced?

I know I'm being highly speculative here (and I'm far from any kind of engineer), just thinking out loud.
 
I’m buying an OLED tomorrow. I’ll mostly be gaming on it, watching UHD content and sports. I’m also planning to calibrate the set myself using the CalMan AutoCal, i1Display Pro Plus and CalMan home for LG. I will also mostly be watching this in a dimly lit to dark room with no reflections.

I’m upgrading from GX800 which was a good enough TV for me, to give you some context, so my question is what would be a more sensible choice for me? Get B9 55 or CX 48?
Is the £400 price difference noticeable?

I’ll not mind a slightly slower OS which was mentioned in the B9 review I’m only after picture quality and colour reproduction out of the box as I won’t be getting it calibrated straight away.

Thank you in advance.
Your feedback will be much appreciated.
 
What I'm suggesting is perhaps there was some adjustment to how the panel is being driven at the low end to allow for the 120Hz BFI to be implemented finally - considering how BFI works and how the fix applied to the 2018/19 models relies on dithering. Maybe in trying to strike a balance issues were introduced?

I know I'm being highly speculative here (and I'm far from any kind of engineer), just thinking out loud.
Yes, that's not a bad idea and it could be a possible issue.
 
Why is it that the 77ich C9 is the same price as the 77ich CX? That doesn’t make any sense....
 
@Phil Hinton, thanks for the Review. This matter of the TV being 40Gbps, and not the full 48Gbps, does that make any real difference at this stage of TV development / OLEDS in general?
 
Hmm, sounds like a rough start out of the gate for the CX - I'd even go as far as to say it actually seems like a downgrade from the 2019 C9.

The floating black thing would be most annoying but given LG's history I'd be confident in a firmware fix - eventually.

I think the biggest negative sounds like the lack of Freeview Play, this would bother me on LG more than on any other display, simply because they have a superb smart platform when compared to all others. I'm not sure the implications of the lesser 40Gbps ports compared to last year.

I think the lack of Freeview Play does harm the 2020 models given one of LG's key strengths is their WebOS, so a large part of the appeal is relying on their Smart TV platform and skipping an external box entirely.

Either way, if I were in the market for a new OLED currently I think these two omissions from the CX would actually drive me towards the C9, and that's even if they were the same price. Obviously price is a factor and this just makes the C9's value proposition much, much more appealing.

I know there's a lot of buzz about Filmmaker mode this year, which the C9 is lacking, but if I understand this correctly it's just an accurate preset with all the processing turned off by default. So you could pick the most accurate preset on the C9, and have the one time inconvenience of turning the processing stuff off, and you have the same result anyway? Or maybe there's more to it than that...
 
@Phil Hinton, thanks for the Review. This matter of the TV being 40Gbps, and not the full 48Gbps, does that make any real difference at this stage of TV development / OLEDS in general?
It shouldn't make any difference on a 4K TV. 40Gbps is enough.
 
Hmm, sounds like a rough start out of the gate for the CX - I'd even go as far as to say it actually seems like a downgrade from the 2019 C9.

The floating black thing would be most annoying but given LG's history I'd be confident in a firmware fix - eventually.

I think the biggest negative sounds like the lack of Freeview Play, this would bother me on LG more than on any other display, simply because they have a superb smart platform when compared to all others. I'm not sure the implications of the lesser 40Gbps ports compared to last year.

I think the lack of Freeview Play does harm the 2020 models given one of LG's key strengths is their WebOS, so a large part of the appeal is relying on their Smart TV platform and skipping an external box entirely.

Either way, if I were in the market for a new OLED currently I think these two omissions from the CX would actually drive me towards the C9, and that's even if they were the same price. Obviously price is a factor and this just makes the C9's value proposition much, much more appealing.

I know there's a lot of buzz about Filmmaker mode this year, which the C9 is lacking, but if I understand this correctly it's just an accurate preset with all the processing turned off by default. So you could pick the most accurate preset on the C9, and have the one time inconvenience of turning the processing stuff off, and you have the same result anyway? Or maybe there's more to it than that...

A new firmware out in the US fixes/improves that floating black issue from what I have read.
The next firmware due anytime adds freesync premium as well.

Apart from DTS and the catch up apps missing currently, I do think will get the apps at some stage though.

I wouldn't go as far as calling it a downgrade.

The biggest omission for me is the DTS though, in the future it might not be an issue but people that have large library of files or discs with DTS is an issue if they wish to connect direct to TV.
 
Hmm, sounds like a rough start out of the gate for the CX - I'd even go as far as to say it actually seems like a downgrade from the 2019 C9.

The floating black thing would be most annoying but given LG's history I'd be confident in a firmware fix - eventually.

I think the biggest negative sounds like the lack of Freeview Play, this would bother me on LG more than on any other display, simply because they have a superb smart platform when compared to all others. I'm not sure the implications of the lesser 40Gbps ports compared to last year.

I think the lack of Freeview Play does harm the 2020 models given one of LG's key strengths is their WebOS, so a large part of the appeal is relying on their Smart TV platform and skipping an external box entirely.

Either way, if I were in the market for a new OLED currently I think these two omissions from the CX would actually drive me towards the C9, and that's even if they were the same price. Obviously price is a factor and this just makes the C9's value proposition much, much more appealing.

I know there's a lot of buzz about Filmmaker mode this year, which the C9 is lacking, but if I understand this correctly it's just an accurate preset with all the processing turned off by default. So you could pick the most accurate preset on the C9, and have the one time inconvenience of turning the processing stuff off, and you have the same result anyway? Or maybe there's more to it than that...


I'm surprised smart apps are a dealbreaker for people.

DTS for those without an AVR would be a dealbreaker, and even for those with, a huge annoyance due to lack of pass through.

40gbps affects 0.05% of people potentially (those using PC GPUs to drive 12-bit data and unable to specify/output 10-bit).

The CX has better motion, better PQ and more accurate presets.
The C9 has better apps, can accept a 12-bit signal at 4k/120 and has DTS.

I think most home theatre enthusiasts would still lean towards the better PQ and motion upgrades than the few extra features of the C9.

However, I agree when you take into account price; the C9 is a steal. But that is always the case with last years model at its lowest price and this year's model at its highest. If they were the same price, which would you pick?
 
However, I agree when you take into account price; the C9 is a steal. But that is always the case with last years model at its lowest price and this year's model at its highest. If they were the same price, which would you pick?
When I bought my 77 (just over two weeks ago) it was cheaper than I could source a C9. I could get a nice discount off the CX, it was hard to even find the C9 in stock (at any reputable dealer).

Also, something many people fail to mention is support. These TV's are generally only supported with firmware updates for new features and security updates for 2 years. A CX will almost certainly get a year extra support / enhancement over the C9.

For Catch-up services I really hope that LG do add them. But in the meantime I just use my Apple TV.
 
I'm surprised smart apps are a dealbreaker for people.

DTS for those without an AVR would be a dealbreaker, and even for those with, a huge annoyance due to lack of pass through.

40gbps affects 0.05% of people potentially (those using PC GPUs to drive 12-bit data and unable to specify/output 10-bit).

The CX has better motion, better PQ and more accurate presets.
The C9 has better apps, can accept a 12-bit signal at 4k/120 and has DTS.

I think most home theatre enthusiasts would still lean towards the better PQ and motion upgrades than the few extra features of the C9.

However, I agree when you take into account price; the C9 is a steal. But that is always the case with last years model at its lowest price and this year's model at its highest. If they were the same price, which would you pick?
Yeah, it's just odd that a new model is missing some features that are present on previous generations.

The lack of Freeview Play might not bother some, but when you factor in LG's WebOS, I would argue that they have the best OS of any TV, so much so that it can mean many people can even disregard the need for an external app box entirely.

Personally I am in the camp of Panasonic with an FZ802 currently, but I did have a C8 previously. My main concern with LG is their handling of the flashing or chrominance overshoot debacle. I can see from HDTVTest's recent videos that this is still a factor on 2020 models.

I do watch a lot of streamed/compressed content, so I'll be sticking with Panasonic who seem to have a tighter lid on this overshoot thing.

The main thing I really miss from the C8 is the WebOS, their large suite of apps, and of course that magic remote. The combo of a Harmony Elite remote and Apple TV 4K seems to be working for me currently though.

The main appeal for the C9/CX for me right now would be the additional gaming features from the 48/40Gbps 2.1 ports.
 
When I bought my 77 (just over two weeks ago) it was cheaper than I could source a C9. I could get a nice discount off the CX, it was hard to even find the C9 in stock (at any reputable dealer).

Also, something many people fail to mention is support. These TV's are generally only supported with firmware updates for new features and security updates for 2 years. A CX will almost certainly get a year extra support / enhancement over the C9.

For Catch-up services I really hope that LG do add them. But in the meantime I just use my Apple TV.

All good points.

I don’t think LG will release catchup apps tbh. Think they will come back next year.
 
I don’t think LG will release catchup apps tbh. Think they will come back next year.

Most people will have access to BBC catchup and others on other devices, like PVR, PS4, Amazon or Roku type HDMI sticks etc, so it is not a deal breaker.
 
Most people will have access to BBC catchup and others on other devices, like PVR, PS4, Amazon or Roku type HDMI sticks etc, so it is not a deal breaker.
But it IS a travesty on a TV costing £5k. We should be able to remove such devices and have all our apps consolidated in 1 place.

It's also "lucky" (?) that all these catch-up services are in HD at best. Otherwise my Amp wouldn't even pass through the 4k.
 
It's not the same panel (different pixel structure for a start) and there are differences to be seen, I have a C8 here and use it when not reviewing TVs. But, I get what you're saying in that most end users wouldn't notice the improvements.
Especially if nothing to compare it to.
 
I sold my ATV as the 9 series > now has apple tv app with atmos etc...so its very handy having the iplayer onboard, it's a real shame. Not fussed about the others, but if you want UHD content from the BBC, you need the iplayer, the next Olympics whenever that will be will require it (one would assume)
 
It’s the same panel with just some software tweaks
That's not true.

Here is the pixel structure on the 2019 panel:

souspix2-lg-c9.jpg


Here is the pixel structure on the 2020 panel:

LG-OLED65CX-pixels-600x351@2x.jpg
 
An interesting review as I'm looking forward to the 48" version. There is no mention of the sound quality from this TV. Although I have a 5.1 system for watching drama and movies I tend to stick to the internal speakers for day to day stuff. At these sorts of prices I would expect better than reasonable sound performance. The lack of catch-up apps is just shoddy and shows no effort being made in securing rights to Apps that are pretty much universal on other TVs.

I also feel that prices for OLEDs need to drop, although they will inevitably fall later in the lifetime of this model. £1500 is a ridiculous price for a 48" TV. I will be interested to see how the Sony 48" OLED compares to this as they use the same panel. LG seem to use their monopoly in the manufacture of OLED screens to ramp up prices. It might have been justifiable a few years ago when yields were low, but now they can mass produce the panels. If some new technology were to come along OLED would be dead in the water especially as there is a lack of confidence with the 'burn in' issues. My son had an LG OLED which had to go back after a couple of years because of images imprinted on the screen. Currys replaced it with a Sony.
 
I also feel that prices for OLEDs need to drop, although they will inevitably fall later in the lifetime of this model. £1500 is a ridiculous price for a 48" TV.

Yep. The original price of these comes down really significantly.

For TVs, I try never to buy before Black Friday. This year I had to due to a previous TV going faulty. That cost me about £150 compared to the Black Friday price, but still much less than the original price.

The CX seems to indicate that they are happy to sell more units at the lower price - introduce an incremental improvement over the C9 and then dropping some of the apps that some people will find useful as well whilst the C9 is still freely available for £700 less.

By the time the C9 has sold out and the CX gets the apps (?), we'll be at the start of discount season anyway.
 
I also feel that prices for OLEDs need to drop, although they will inevitably fall later in the lifetime of this model. £1500 is a ridiculous price for a 48" TV.

My last Philips 32inch CRT TV cost £1,400 a few years ago, so £1,500 for a quality 48inch OLED seems very cheap in comparison. :D
 
@hamiltone Just a few years ago? ;)

The CX line was introduced at lower price points than previously seen and for the first time the 77" came in at under £5k MSRP.
 
Bought the 48" version a month ago - finding it ideal in a fairly bright family room.

Ref the internal audio - before I picked up the Arc I was surprised how good it sounded compared to my Panasonic plasma's internal speakers (which are dreadful). I was in two minds whether to go for the soundbar, but figured I'd notice the difference on content where I wanted more bang!

I'm not fussed about the lack of catchup services, as the Q box delivers any I really want, and if I move away from Sky I'll just plug a fire stick or chromecast in, if LG fail to deliver updates for the 2020 sets.

The built in Netflix, Disney+ and Plex apps work well for me.

It installed a newer firmware on installation, but not noticed anything since.....

On price, you can save £100 by using topcashback and vouchers easily enough - the C9 wasn't an option as couldn't accommodate a 55" screen in the space available. It'll always be cheaper a few months down the line, but I'm very pleased with it :)
 

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