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CNET
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNET
I'm a TV Reviewer, and This New OLED Made Gaming More Fun With One Key Feature
CNET's key takeaways The LG G5 series is the best and brightest OLED I've ever tested in the CNET Labs. At $3,400 for the 65-inch size, it's expensive compared to some of the competition. The G5's best-in-class brightness made gaming easier and more enjoyable than I expected. As a Call of Duty player, I know that quick responses can be the difference between clinching victory and languishing at the bottom of the leaderboard. But until I played Call of Duty Black Ops 6 on the new LG G5 OLED, I didn't know there was something else just as crucial. I've tested dozens of the best TVs over the years. My CoD session helped cement my opinion of the G5 as the best OLED I've ever tested. Why? One reason is this model's best-in-class brightness: It's the brightest OLED I've ever seen in the CNET TV lab. Its clarity ensured I was able to see both the bright and dark parts of the screen -- in a way the other TVs I've tested couldn't reproduce. For instance, it was harder for enemies to hide in murky doorways because the TV rendered shadows more crisply. Brightness for the win. My experience with LG G5 Evo AI OLED Carly Marsh/CNET Picture quality is so important when it comes to gaming because some of the latest advances, such as HDR10 and Dolby Vision, help to elevate the gaming experience in a meaningful way, and the G5 can take full advantage of these. Zooming around the Protocol map from Black Ops 6, I found out it was the clarity of the G5's images that really struck me. I toured the grounds of this map's old naval fort -- the sky was a brilliant blue and the buildings popped up out of the sea -- everything looked more lifelike, like in the way it would if you were actually wandering here on a fall afternoon. But in the middle of my reverie, I found that people were shooting at me. Like, a whole lot. Now Playing: LG C5 vs. LG G5: Which OLED Gives the Most for Your Money 03:03 As part of my testing, I compared the LG G5 against four other TVs, including the new Samsung S95F, the LG C5 and two LCDs, all connected to the same Xbox. (With five screens playing at once, it felt like I was starring in my own personal esports event.) I played several different games, including Doom, Ori and the Blind Forest, but Call of Duty was where I saw the biggest improvements. The thing that immediately stood out about the G5 when playing games was how bright it was. When combined with the TV's deep contrast, the G5's picture popped in a way that the competition didn't. The LG G5 is the best TV I've reviewed yet Ty Pendlebury/CNET That brightness I saw on the G5? That's thanks to LG's new four-stack panel, which literally stacks two blue OLEDS (and a red and a green) on top of each other for its dazzling light output. This is a technology that seems to be unique to the G5 for now, but it's not the only advantage it has over the slightly cheaper -- and slightly dimmer -- Samsung S95F. Unless something changes, a Samsung TV will never tick the Dolby Vision check box -- it's HDR10 only. So if you're an Xbox completionist, then the LG G5 (and others) will help you max out the Xbox 4K compatibility test. (Profile & system > Settings > General > TV & display options > 4K TV details). The specs Available screen sizes: 55-, 65-, 77-, 83- and 97-inch Screen type: OLED Native refresh rate 120Hz (165Hz variable refresh rate) HDMI ports: 4 Weight: 48.5 pounds without its stand (65-inch) CNET's buying advice YMMV Carly Marsh/CNET I can't say playing on the G5 in the CNET lab made me a better player -- there are other crucial factors, including networking, that can decrease lag -- but I had a blast revisiting old maps and new ones on this fantastic television. It's definitely a "must-see" for serious gamers. If you simply want a good TV for gaming, you don't need to spend $3,000; there are plenty of great budget TVs under a grand, and most of them will give you an enjoyable gaming experience. Even so, if you're looking for your ultimate gaming setup, then the LG G5 has everything you need.
CNET
24-05-2025
- CNET
I've Tested Over 80 TVs and This LG OLED Is the Best One Yet
CNET's expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise. 8.8 / 10 SCORE LG G5 Series Pros Highest brightness of any OLED TV yet Stunning image quality Cons Brightness boost not visible in all content Remote is not as good as previous versions Expensive LG G5 Series 8.8/10 CNET Score OLED TVs have consistently demonstrated the best picture quality according to our head-to-head tests -- with the best shadow detail, contrast, color and black levels. Yet, there is one thing LCD-based TVs have always done better: sheer brightness. That is, until the LG G5 came along. Finally, OLED can reclaim its place at the top of the TV technology leader board with a model that performs brilliantly in almost every single respect. When LG claimed its G5 had a 40% brightness increase I was skeptical because companies make these types of announcements all the time. Furthermore, OLED has typically been an incremental technology, with small gains made every year. The year 2025 is an exception and LG has made a major leap forward in light output. The G5 is bright. Very bright. Based on my measurements, the claimed improvement is right on the money. Be aware that it is only one of the first 2025 OLEDs, and while I have compared its brightness to the Samsung S95F (review forthcoming) and the LG won, there are still others, like the Sony Bravia 5 II, to come. The catch to all that brightness is that its impact varies with different types of video. While I was watching typical Blu-ray movies or streaming HDR TV shows, it was difficult to tell the difference between the LG C4 from 2024, the less expensive C5 I reviewed earlier and the G5. It was mainly in console gaming or particularly well-mastered 4K material that I saw the advantages. The extra brightness helped in bright rooms too. For a roughly $600 premium on the 65-inch C5, the G5 offers nearly twice the potential brightness and better color saturation too. While most OLED generations have experienced a small bump, the G5 is demonstrably better than any other OLED TV on the market. If you want the punchiest OLED picture available right now, it's the LG G5. As a counterpoint, if you want maximum bang for buck, then last year's C4, at a savings of more than $2,000 on the G5, is the OLED to buy. LG G5 OLED TV sizes and series comparison I performed a hands-on evaluation of the 65-inch LG G5, but this review also applies to the other screen sizes in the series. All sizes have very similar specs and should provide very similar picture quality. The G5 evo AI series, to use its full name, is the company's premium wired TV for 2025. The flagship M5 announced at CES is the same panel but it features a wireless connection to the input box. The rest of the range is made of the mid-level C5 and the entry-level B5. Class from the ground up Ty Pendlebury/CNET While the C series goes for a slim profile, the G series is a lot chunkier, being about an inch thick. It goes without saying that when you're watching TV on either of these the differences in thickness don't matter. The G5's bezel design is classy with a thin, black border and a faint metallic rim. One thing I appreciate about the G5 is that it includes a slim wall mount in the box -- no more flailing around on Amazon for a suitable mount, it's right there. The company also produces a separate "desktop stand" which is a gun metal pedestal. I used the stand instead of the wall mount and found that it was easy enough to attach. LG's Magic Remote has been redesigned for 2025. Ty Pendlebury/CNET While I am used to the "infrared thermometer" remote that has shipped with LG OLEDs for the past decade, the 2025 models switch it up with a more traditional candy-bar shape. It's still a "magic" remote with a motion-sensitive cursor I could wave around the screen, but you can also use it as if it's a regular clicker. It has fewer buttons than before, yet more with AI functions, and I do miss the dedicated input button (you now need to hold down Home). Smart TV and AI Ty Pendlebury/CNET The LG G5 comes with the latest version of the company's webOS software, which features dozens of streaming apps as well as integration with the company's ThinQ smart platform. Progressively, companies such as Samsung, Google and LG are focussing on the TV as the center of the smart home and let you control your compatible devices. As evidence of this, the LG remote's ThinQ button brings up a home screen of your smart devices as well as the TV's inputs -- although I still want a dedicated input button! From the name alone you can tell the "G5 evo AI" is a 2025 TV and it certainly goes overboard with the robots: Alpha 11 AI Processor Gen2, AI Picture Pro, AI Super Upscaling and AI Concierge. While most of these functions relate to picture processing, and are something TVs have done in an un-AI guise for years, the Concierge is new. I tested the TV's AI Concierge feature on the cheaper C5 and didn't find it to be all that helpful. While the AI is supposed to learn from your watch history it's more limited than that -- it bases its content recommendations on your interactions with the AI. This is separate from using another voice assistant or just the remote control to pick your content -- some people may find use for this AI feature but I foresee many people giving up quickly. Like most TVs today, the LG C5 has a gallery mode that also includes the ability to create your own AI art or upload a photo gallery. Watch this: LG C5 vs. LG G5: Which OLED Gives the Most for Your Money 03:03 Higher brightness is just the start The G5's OLED panel features the company's Brightness Boosting Ultimate tech, which magnifies each individual pixel, and it boasts a new four layer design ("four stack") that includes two blue filter layers. This is a departure from the G4 that had a micro-lens array but the differences equate to the higher brightness. The G5 has an anti-reflective treatment that has been certified by safety organization UL as "glare free." The G5 comes with a 120Hz native refresh rate for smoother motion, as well as Dolby Vision and HDR 10 for more vivid gaming and movie watching. The TV is compatible with Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium with 165Hz VRR for console and PC gaming. 120Hz Native (VRR 144Hz) Four HDMI inputs with HDMI 2.1, HDCP 2.2 Three USB 2.0 ports Optical digital audio output RF (antenna) input RS-232 port (minijack, for service only) Ethernet (LAN) port Wi-Fi 6E While LG was one of the first adopters of the NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0) standard, the company has not included tuners in its TVs since 2023. High-end OLED comparison: LG G5 vs LG C5 vs Samsung S95D TV and movies While I was able to get a perfectly great picture via Netflix or Fandango at Home I didn't realize the TV's full potential until I broke out the Blu-ray player. With the right material, the G5 is noticeably brighter than the G4. From my experience, Fandango at Home is one of the best ways to watch streaming movies, with higher-than-normal bit rates. Yet, when set to their respective Filmmaker Modes, the LG C4, LG C5, LG G5 and Samsung S95D all behaved very similarly when watching my selection of test movies. I also compared these TVs against a TCL QM8, and it was the only one that demonstrated the most significant differences (spoiler, it looked worse than the OLEDs). The opening scene of It Part One is a great test of a TV's capabilities with its high-contrast images and I was a little surprised to see the four OLEDs perform to a similar level. As Georgie starts to descend the stairs into the basement you will see an area of wall next to the railing with some low-level shadow detail. The C4, C5 and TCL shadows looked a little more detailed than the G5 and Samsung but it was only by a small amount -- I had to look really hard. In the intercut shots of his brother Bill, the view through the windows looked a lot brighter and bluer on the TCL than the OLEDs. The drawbacks of LCD technology were also on display in the cellar as there was a little bit of blue hazing in completely black areas of the screen -- and this is something that OLED doesn't do, the pixel is simply off. After inconclusive results with It I tried a number of colorful and very dynamic movies including Mad Max: Fury Road. In Mad Max (at 4:48) there is a moment in a chase scene where the war boys are fighting Max in a water-filled room. There is a flame at the right of frame which looked a little brighter on the G5 than the others. The G5 also had a little more solidity to it, but again not much. I followed that up, then, with a 4K Blu-ray test disc from Spears and Munsil comprising mostly static footage and, apart from gaming, here is where the C5 and G5 showed the differences in performance. The C5 still looked very good, with deep contrast and plenty of color saturation, but the G5 showed where the extra $600 was going: brighter images and clearer, less-green snowy fields. White was more vibrant on the G5 while the C5 was a little green and color popped a little better on the G5, too. Most movies don't look like test discs but at least I could finally see a difference between the two. Read more: How We Test TVs Bright room Light output in nits TV Brightest mode (HDR) Accurate mode (HDR) Brightest mode (SDR) Accurate mode (SDR) LG G5 2,813 2,297 1,030 412 LG C5 1,434 1,187 480 288 TCL QM851 3,183 3,183 3,084 1,262 Hisense U8Q 4,080 4,070 4,107 436 Samsung S95D 1,734 1,666 544 265 Samsung S95F 2,150 2,150 391 297 LG G4 1,799 1,420 792 792 LG C4 1,213 968 414 390 With its ultra-high brightness the LG G5 is already a great candidate for bright room viewing but this OLED also does a great job dealing with annoying TV glare. In terms of reflectivity I graded each of the OLED TVs subjectively from worst to best: LG C4> LG C5 > LG G5 > Samsung S95D. The G5 had the second-least reflective screen but the "winner" Samsung had another potential issue. It had the lightest black levels that translated to kind of gray in a lit room. That's the compromise with the Samsung vs the LG G5, you can choose either deep blacks or more reflectivity. I have tested the brightness of the flagship 2025 Samsung S95F and found that it is not as bright, about 2100 lumens, but have yet to compare it formally head-to-head. Watch this space. With its gamma of roughly 2.4 in Filmmaker Mode, the G5 is designed to be watched in a dark room, although its high brightness offsets this a little. Gaming I'd argue that the two main reasons to buy a high-end TV like this are to a) watch movies and b) play HDR games. Well, having tested it, I can say these ARE the two reasons to buy it -- it's great at both. Gaming image quality is where the G5 really pulled ahead of the others, with more consistency than with movies. In a lineup of four OLED TVs, the G5 had the clearest-looking gaming mode on my Xbox Series X -- brighter than the Samsung and two C series LGs. I played Call of Duty, which had better HDR contrast on the G5, although the Samsung did have slightly better color. I played several different games on my four-TV setup and it was here that the biggest differences between the G5, in particular, and the rest of the lineup appeared. While the C5 looked as good as the higher-end Samsung S95D during games, it didn't stand up to the G5. The G5's pixel response time as tested with the Leo Bodnar test units was about 9ms with Game Optimizer Boost mode enabled (Settings>General>Game Optimizer>Game>Prevent Input Delay>Boost). This response time is equivalent to the best I've seen with TVs like the Samsung S95D or the Roku Pro Series. The TL:DR is: this TV is great for gaming. Uniformity and viewing angle The G5 was consistent with most OLED TVs in that its picture was uniform across the panel. When viewed off-angle there was no appreciable color shift which means the G5 will look good whether you're in the dead center or sitting in the grandparent chair. Picture settings and testing notes In testing -- both in measurements and in the real world -- the G5 is a massive improvement over the G4 from brightness to color and more. It's worth mentioning that some TVs can give a better response in darkness than the G5, which has a Gamma 2.4. This "gamma curve" may be an industry standard but in our tests, 2.2 gives a better experience with more shadow detail. Filmmaker mode proved to be the overall best picture mode on the G5, both from our quantitative measurements and with the bare eye. Cinema mode was a close second but it enables some smoothing, which can create the often undesirable soap opera effect. LG C5 test measurements Test Result Score Black luminance (0%) 0.000 Good Peak white luminance (SDR) 1030 Good Avg. gamma (10-100%) 2.39 Average Avg. grayscale error (10-100%) 1.66 Good Dark gray error (30%) 1.00 Good Bright gray error (80%) 2.06 Good Avg. color checker error 1.21 Good Avg. saturation sweeps error 1.24 Good Avg. color error 1.80 Good 1080p/24 Cadence (IAL) Pass Good Input lag (Game mode) 9.87 Good HDR10 Black luminance (0%) 0.000 Good Peak white luminance (10% win) 2813 Good Gamut % UHDA/P3 (CIE 1976) 99.81 Good ColorMatch HDR error 1.63 Good Avg. color checker error 1.01 Good Input lag (Game mode, 4K HDR) 9.33 Good Portrait Displays Calman calibration software was used in this review.
WIRED
21-05-2025
- WIRED
LG G5 OLED TV Review: The Best Model of 2025?
Even after last year's incredible run of the best OLED TVs we'd ever tested, I thought the search for the perfect TV was never-ending. With a viewing experience that's virtually flawless by nearly every metric we measure, LG's new G5 makes me wonder. Highlights include immaculate black levels and contrast, stirring clarity and picture processing, expansive and accurate colors that bring every image to life, and a brightness boost that keeps pace with today's fieriest premium QLED TVs. After refining its already searing MLA ("Microlens Array") OLED panel for last year's G4 (and the fabulous Panasonic Z95A), LG flipped the script for the G5 with its new four-stack OLED panel that's significantly brighter and more capable. I've only had limited time with the similarly potent new QD-OLED panel behind the latest Samsung and Sony flagships, and Panasonic's Z95B once again uses LG's best display, so I'll reserve judgment on the best TV of the year for now—but the G5 will be tough to beat. Not everything is superb. The new remote is more minimalist, but much less user-friendly. LG's WebOS smart system is zippy and loaded, but I experienced a few streaming fails, particularly galling at this price. Still, while real-world perfection remains elusive, this TV's visual performance comes close. Glittering Glass Void The G5's sleek design is as stylish as ever, with taut bezels up front and sleek silver borders at the back. At just an inch deep, my 65-inch review model is remarkably thin, yet stout enough to feel robust during assembly. Its slim frame doesn't leave much room for sound quality, but with a screen this nice, you'll want to pair it with the best soundbar or speakers you can afford. The TV is designed for mounting, including a custom mount to sit flush on your wall, but a rotating pedestal stand is available for an additional fee. Most striking after setup is just how deep and dark the screen looks, even in a well-lit room, offering excellent glare reduction without the matte-like look of Samsung's S95 series. Beneath the void is LG's new four-stack panel that uses two layers of blue elements and independent layers of red and green. This is designed to improve the RGB color structure of the TV's emissive OLED lighting system that turns on or off each of its millions of pixels independently, while also increasing the amount of light produced by each layer, according to LG. LG says the TV offers 33% higher peak brightness (the brightest it gets in small highlights) than last year's model, and it's been independently measured at over 2,000 nits peak brightness in real-world tests. That translates to eye-tingling HDR that meets or beats many of the best QLED TVs, like Samsung's QN90D (8/10, WIRED Recommends), without QLED hangups like raised black levels, light bloom/haloing, or off-angle image degradation. There are brighter QLEDs out there, but for flagship screens, only Sony's Bravia 9 QLED (9/10, WIRED Recommends) gets notably brighter. WebOS Highs and Lows Setting up LG's webOS smart system is refreshingly simple, with only Google TV offering a notably better experience. The Home screen sports a ton of ads by default, but going into the Home Settings lets you turn them off. You can also turn off the screensaver ads, a new addition that has annoyed some folks, but it only popped up once for me over several days. More annoying is the fact that the TV froze on me a few times while streaming with both Apple TV+ and Disney+, usually when trying to rewatch or fast-forward a scene. A streaming box is an easy solution, but I'm hoping LG will address these issues in a future update. The G5's Gaming Portal is the only place I couldn't seem to kill the ads, but the 2025 iteration makes up for it with the addition of Xbox Cloud streaming, alongside options like Amazon Luna, Nvidia GeForce Now, and others. The TV is built for gaming on all fronts, with four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 inputs, support for VRR at up to 165 Hz with compatible PCs, and Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM). Games look brilliant by default, and LG's Game Optimizer provides loads of customization options. There are plenty of other ways to customize your experience, including multiple 'AI' features such as LG's AI Picture and Sound modes. AI is a big theme with the G5 (it's even in the full name), including the new AI Concierge, which is a helpful if clunky navigation tool.
CNET
15-05-2025
- CNET
Brighter Than Any OLED Yet, This Is the Best TV I've Ever Tested
CNET's expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise. 8.8 / 10 SCORE LG G5 Series Pros Highest brightness of any OLED TV yet Stunning image quality Cons Brightness boost not visible in all content Remote is not as good as previous versions Expensive LG G5 Series 8.8/10 CNET Score OLED TVs have consistently demonstrated the best picture quality according to our head-to-head tests -- with the best shadow detail, contrast, color and black levels. Yet, there is one thing LCD-based TVs have always done better: sheer brightness. That is, until the LG G5 came along. Finally, OLED can reclaim its place at the top of the TV technology leader board with a model that performs brilliantly in almost every single respect. When LG claimed its G5 had a 40% brightness increase I was skeptical because companies make these types of announcements all the time. Furthermore, OLED has typically been an incremental technology, with small gains made every year. The year 2025 is an exception and LG has made a major leap forward in light output. The G5 is bright. Very bright. Based on my measurements, the claimed improvement is right on the money. Be aware that it is only one of the first 2025 OLEDs, and while I have compared its brightness to the Samsung S95F (review forthcoming) and the LG won, there are still others, like the Sony Bravia 5 II, to come. The catch to all that brightness is that its impact varies with different types of video. While I was watching typical Blu-ray movies or streaming HDR TV shows, it was difficult to tell the difference between the LG C4 from 2024, the less-expensive C5 I reviewed earlier and the G5. It was mainly in console gaming or particularly well-mastered 4K Ultra HD material that I saw the advantages. Of course, the extra brightness helped in bright rooms too. For a roughly $600 premium on the 65-inch C5, the G5 offers nearly twice the potential brightness and better color saturation too. While most OLED generations have experienced a small bump, the G5 is demonstrably better than any other OLED TV on the market. If you want the punchiest OLED picture available right now, it's the LG G5. As a counterpoint, if you want maximum bang for buck, then last year's C4, at a savings of more than $2,000 on the G5, is the OLED to buy. Read more: Best TVs of 2025 LG G5 OLED TV sizes and series comparison I performed a hands-on evaluation of the 65-inch LG G5, but this review also applies to the other screen sizes in the series. All sizes have very similar specs and should provide very similar picture quality. The G5 evo AI series, to use its full name, is the company's premium wired TV for 2025. The flagship M5 announced at CES is the same panel but it features a wireless connection to the input box. The rest of the range is made of the mid-level C5 and the entry-level B5. Class from the ground up Ty Pendlebury/CNET While the C series goes for a slim profile, the G series is a lot chunkier, being about an inch thick. It goes without saying that when you're watching TV on either of these the differences in thickness don't matter. The G5's bezel design is classy with a thin, black border and a faint metallic rim. One thing I appreciate about the G5 is that it includes a slim wall mount in the box -- no more flailing around on Amazon for a suitable mount, it's right there. The company also produces a separate "desktop stand" which is a gun metal pedestal. I used the stand instead of the wall mount and found that it was easy enough to attach. The redesigned Magic Remote for 2025. Ty Pendlebury/CNET While I am used to the "infrared thermometer" remote that has shipped with LG OLEDs for the past decade, the 2025 models switch it up with a more traditional candy-bar shape. It's still a "magic" remote with a motion-sensitive cursor I could wave around the screen, but you can also use it as if it's a regular clicker. It has fewer buttons than before, yet more with AI functions, and I do miss the dedicated input button (you now need to hold down Home). Smart TV and AI Ty Pendlebury/CNET The LG G5 comes with the latest version of the company's webOS, which features dozens of streaming apps as well as integration with the company's ThinQ smart platform. Progressively, companies such as Samsung, Google and LG are focussing on the TV as the center of the smart home and let you control your compatible devices. As evidence of this, the LG remote's ThinQ button brings up a home screen of your smart devices as well as the TV's inputs -- although I still want a dedicated input button! From the name alone you can tell the "G5 evo AI" is a 2025 TV and it certainly goes overboard with the robots: Alpha 11 AI Processor Gen2, AI Picture Pro, AI Super Upscaling and AI Concierge. While most of these functions relate to picture processing, and are something TVs have done in an un-AI guise for years, the Concierge is new. I tested the TV's AI Concierge feature on the cheaper C5 and didn't find it to be all that helpful. While the AI is supposed to learn from your watch history it's more limited than that -- it bases its content recommendations on your interactions with the AI. This is separate from using another voice assistant or just the remote control to pick your content -- some people may find use for this AI feature but I foresee many people giving up quickly. Like most TVs today, the LG C5 has a gallery mode that also includes the ability to create your own AI art or upload a photo gallery. Watch this: LG C5 vs. LG G5: Which OLED Gives the Most for Your Money 03:03 Higher brightness is just the start The G5's OLED panel features the company's Brightness Boosting Ultimate tech, which magnifies each individual pixel, and it boasts a new four layer design ("four stack") that includes two blue filter layers. This is a departure from the G4 that had a micro-lens array but the differences equate to the higher brightness. The G5 has an anti-reflective treatment that has been certified by safety organization UL as "glare free." The G5 comes with a 120Hz native refresh rate for smoother motion, as well as Dolby Vision and HDR 10 for more vivid gaming and movie watching. The TV is compatible with Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium with 165Hz VRR for console and PC gaming. 120Hz Native (VRR 144Hz) Four HDMI inputs with HDMI 2.1, HDCP 2.2 Three USB 2.0 ports Optical digital audio output RF (antenna) input RS-232 port (minijack, for service only) Ethernet (LAN) port Wi-Fi 6E While LG was one of the first adopters of the NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0) standard, the company has not included tuners in its TVs since 2023. High-end OLED comparison: LG G5 vs LG C5 vs Samsung S95D TV and movies While I was able to get a perfectly great picture via Netflix or Fandango at Home I didn't realize the TV's full potential until I broke out the Blu-ray player. With the right material, the G5 is noticeably brighter than the G4. From my experience, Fandango at Home is one of the best ways to watch streaming movies, with higher-than-normal bit rates. Yet, when set to their respective Filmmaker Modes, the LG C4, LG C5, LG G5 and Samsung S95D all behaved very similarly when watching my selection of test movies. I also compared these TVs against a TCL QM8, and it was the only one that demonstrated the most significant differences (spoiler, it looked worse than the OLEDs). The opening scene of It Part One is a great test of a TV's capabilities with its high-contrast images and I was a little surprised to see the four OLEDs perform to a similar level. As Georgie starts to descend the stairs into the basement you will see an area of wall next to the railing with some low-level shadow detail. The C4, C5 and TCL shadows looked a little more detailed than the G5 and Samsung but it was only by a small amount -- I had to look really hard. In the intercut shots of his brother Bill, the view through the windows looked a lot brighter and bluer on the TCL than the OLEDs. The drawbacks of LCD technology were also on display in the cellar as there was a little bit of blue hazing in completely black areas of the screen -- and this is something that OLED doesn't do, the pixel is simply off. After inconclusive results with It I tried a number of colorful and very dynamic movies including Mad Max: Fury Road. In Mad Max (at 4:48) there is a moment in a chase scene where the war boys are fighting Max in a water-filled room. There is a flame at the right of frame which looked a little brighter on the G5 than the others. The G5 also had a little more solidity to it, but again not much. I followed that up, then, with a 4K Blu-ray test disc from Spears and Munsil comprising mostly static footage and, apart from gaming, here is where the C5 and G5 showed the differences in performance. The C5 still looked very good, with deep contrast and plenty of color saturation, but the G5 showed where the extra $600 was going: brighter images and clearer, less-green snowy fields. White was more vibrant on the G5 while the C5 was a little green and color popped a little better on the G5, too. Most movies don't look like test discs but at least I could finally see a difference between the two. Read more: How We Test TVs Bright room Light output in nits TV Brightest mode (HDR) Accurate mode (HDR) Brightest mode (SDR) Accurate mode (SDR) LG G5 2,813 2,297 1,030 412 LG C5 1,434 1,187 480 288 TCL QM851 3,183 3,183 3,084 1,262 Hisense U8Q 4,080 4,070 4,107 436 Samsung S95D 1,734 1,666 544 265 Samsung S95F 2,150 2,150 391 297 LG G4 1,799 1,420 792 792 LG C4 1,213 968 414 390 With its ultra-high brightness the LG G5 is already a great candidate for bright room viewing but this OLED also does a great job dealing with annoying TV glare. In terms of reflectivity I graded each of the OLED TVs subjectively from worst to best: LG C4> LG C5 > LG G5 > Samsung S95D. The G5 had the second-least reflective screen but the "winner" Samsung had another potential issue. It had the lightest black levels that translated to kind of gray in a lit room. That's the compromise with the Samsung vs the LG G5, you can choose either deep blacks or more reflectivity. I have tested the brightness of the flagship 2025 Samsung S95F and found that it is not as bright, about 2100 lumens, but have yet to compare it formally head-to-head. Watch this space. With its gamma of roughly 2.4 in Filmmaker Mode, the G5 is designed to be watched in a dark room, although its high brightness offsets this a little. Gaming I'd argue that the two main reasons to buy a high-end TV like this are to a) watch movies and b) play HDR games. Well, having tested it, I can say these ARE the two reasons to buy it -- it's great at both. Gaming image quality is where the G5 really pulled ahead of the others, with more consistency than with movies. In a lineup of four OLED TVs, the G5 had the clearest-looking gaming mode on my Xbox Series X -- brighter than the Samsung and two C series LGs. I played Call of Duty, which had better HDR contrast on the G5, although the Samsung did have slightly better color. I played several different games on my four-TV setup and it was here that the biggest differences between the G5, in particular, and the rest of the lineup appeared. While the C5 looked as good as the higher-end Samsung S95D during games, it didn't stand up to the G5. The G5's pixel response time as tested with the Leo Bodnar test units was about 9ms with Game Optimizer Boost mode enabled (Settings>General>Game Optimizer>Game>Prevent Input Delay>Boost). This response time is equivalent to the best I've seen with TVs like the Samsung S95D or the Roku Pro Series. The TL:DR is: this TV is great for gaming. Uniformity and viewing angle The G5 was consistent with most OLED TVs in that its picture was uniform across the panel. When viewed off-angle there was no appreciable color shift which means the G5 will look good whether you're in the dead center or sitting in the grandparent chair. Picture settings and testing notes In testing -- both in measurements and in the real world -- the G5 is a massive improvement over the G4 from brightness to color and more. It's worth mentioning that some TVs can give a better response in darkness than the G5, which has a Gamma 2.4. This "gamma curve" may be an industry standard but in our tests, 2.2 gives a better experience with more shadow detail. Filmmaker mode proved to be the overall best picture mode on the G5, both from our quantitative measurements and with the bare eye. Cinema mode was a close second but it enables some smoothing, which can create the often undesirable soap opera effect. LG C5 test measurements Test Result Score Black luminance (0%) 0.000 Good Peak white luminance (SDR) 1030 Good Avg. gamma (10-100%) 2.39 Average Avg. grayscale error (10-100%) 1.66 Good Dark gray error (30%) 1.00 Good Bright gray error (80%) 2.06 Good Avg. color checker error 1.21 Good Avg. saturation sweeps error 1.24 Good Avg. color error 1.80 Good 1080p/24 Cadence (IAL) Pass Good Input lag (Game mode) 9.87 Good HDR10 Black luminance (0%) 0.000 Good Peak white luminance (10% win) 2813 Good Gamut % UHDA/P3 (CIE 1976) 99.81 Good ColorMatch HDR error 1.63 Good Avg. color checker error 1.01 Good Input lag (Game mode, 4K HDR) 9.33 Good Portrait Displays Calman calibration software was used in this review.
CNET
14-05-2025
- CNET
LG G5 Series Review: Best OLED TV I've Ever Tested
CNET's expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise. 8.8 / 10 SCORE LG G5 Series Pros Highest brightness of any OLED TV yet Stunning image quality Cons Brightness boost not visible in all content Remote is not as good as previous versions Expensive LG G5 Series 8.8/10 CNET Score OLED TVs have consistently demonstrated the best picture quality according to our head-to-head tests -- with the best shadow detail, contrast, color and black levels. Yet, there is one thing LCD-based TVs have always done better: sheer brightness. That is, until the LG G5 came along. Finally, OLED can reclaim its place at the top of the TV technology leader board with a model that performs brilliantly in almost every single respect. When LG claimed its G5 had a 40% brightness increase I was skeptical because companies make these types of announcements all the time. Furthermore, OLED has typically been an incremental technology, with small gains made every year. The year 2025 is an exception and LG has made a major leap forward in light output. The G5 is bright. Very bright. Based on my measurements, the claimed improvement is right on the money. Be aware that it is only one of the first 2025 OLEDs, and while I have compared its brightness to the Samsung S95F (review forthcoming) and the LG won, there are still others, like the Sony Bravia 5 II, to come. The catch to all that brightness is that its impact varies with different types of video. While I was watching typical Blu-ray movies or streaming HDR TV shows, it was difficult to tell the difference between the LG C4 from 2024, the less-expensive C5 I reviewed earlier and the G5. It was mainly in console gaming or particularly well-mastered 4K Ultra HD material that I saw the advantages. Of course, the extra brightness helped in bright rooms too. For a roughly $600 premium on the 65-inch C5, the G5 offers nearly twice the potential brightness and better color saturation too. While most OLED generations have experienced a small bump, the G5 is demonstrably better than any other OLED TV on the market. If you want the punchiest OLED picture available right now, it's the LG G5. As a counterpoint, if you want maximum bang for buck, then last year's C4, at a savings of more than $2,000 on the G5, is the OLED to buy. Read more: Best TVs of 2025 LG G5 OLED TV sizes and series comparison I performed a hands-on evaluation of the 65-inch LG G5, but this review also applies to the other screen sizes in the series. All sizes have very similar specs and should provide very similar picture quality. The G5 evo AI series, to use its full name, is the company's premium wired TV for 2025. The flagship M5 announced at CES is the same panel but it features a wireless connection to the input box. The rest of the range is made of the mid-level C5 and the entry-level B5. Class from the ground up Ty Pendlebury/CNET While the C series goes for a slim profile, the G series is a lot chunkier, being about an inch thick. It goes without saying that when you're watching TV on either of these the differences in thickness don't matter. The G5's bezel design is classy with a thin, black border and a faint metallic rim. One thing I appreciate about the G5 is that it includes a slim wall mount in the box -- no more flailing around on Amazon for a suitable mount, it's right there. The company also produces a separate "desktop stand" which is a gun metal pedestal. I used the stand instead of the wall mount and found that it was easy enough to attach. The redesigned Magic Remote for 2025 Ty Pendlebury/CNET While I am used to the "infrared thermometer" remote that has shipped with LG OLEDs for the past decade, the 2025 models switch it up with a more traditional candy-bar shape. It's still a "magic" remote with a motion-sensitive cursor I could wave around the screen, but you can also use it as if it's a regular clicker. It has fewer buttons than before, yet more with AI functions, and I do miss the dedicated input button (you now need to hold down Home). Smart TV and AI Ty Pendlebury/CNET The LG G5 comes with the latest version of the company's webOS, which features dozens of streaming apps as well as integration with the company's ThinQ smart platform. Progressively, companies such as Samsung, Google and LG are focussing on the TV as the center of the smart home and let you control your compatible devices. As evidence of this, the LG remote's ThinQ button brings up a home screen of your smart devices as well as the TV's inputs -- although I still want a dedicated input button! From the name alone you can tell the "G5 evo AI" is a 2025 TV and it certainly goes overboard with the robots: Alpha 11 AI Processor Gen2, AI Picture Pro, AI Super Upscaling and AI Concierge. While most of these functions relate to picture processing, and are something TVs have done in an un-AI guise for years, the Concierge is new. I tested the TV's AI Concierge feature on the cheaper C5 and didn't find it to be all that helpful. While the AI is supposed to learn from your watch history it's more limited than that -- it bases its content recommendations on your interactions with the AI. This is separate from using another voice assistant or just the remote control to pick your content -- some people may find use for this AI feature but I foresee many people giving up quickly. Like most TVs today, the LG C5 has a gallery mode that also includes the ability to create your own AI art or upload a photo gallery. Now Playing: LG C5 vs. LG G5: Which OLED Gives the Most for Your Money 03:03 Higher brightness is just the start The G5's OLED panel features the company's Brightness Boosting Ultimate tech, which magnifies each individual pixel, and it boasts a new four layer design ("four stack") that includes two blue filter layers. This is a departure from the G4 that had a micro-lens array but the differences equate to the higher brightness. The G5 has an anti-reflective treatment that has been certified by safety organization UL as "glare free." The G5 comes with a 120Hz native refresh rate for smoother motion, as well as Dolby Vision and HDR 10 for more vivid gaming and movie watching. The TV is compatible with Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium with 165Hz VRR for console and PC gaming. 120Hz Native (VRR 144Hz) Four HDMI inputs with HDMI 2.1, HDCP 2.2 Three USB 2.0 ports Optical digital audio output RF (antenna) input RS-232 port (minijack, for service only) Ethernet (LAN) port Wi-Fi 6E While LG was one of the first adopters of the NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0) standard, the company has not included tuners in its TVs since 2023. High-end OLED comparison: LG G5 vs LG C5 vs Samsung S95D TV and movies While I was able to get a perfectly great picture via Netflix or Fandango at Home I didn't realize the TV's full potential until I broke out the Blu-ray player. With the right material, the G5 is noticeably brighter than the G4. From my experience, Fandango at Home is one of the best ways to watch streaming movies, with higher-than-normal bit rates. Yet, when set to their respective Filmmaker Modes, the LG C4, LG C5, LG G5 and Samsung S95D all behaved very similarly when watching my selection of test movies. I also compared these TVs against a TCL QM8, and it was the only one that demonstrated the most significant differences (spoiler, it looked worse than the OLEDs). The opening scene of It Part One is a great test of a TV's capabilities with its high-contrast images and I was a little surprised to see the four OLEDs perform to a similar level. As Georgie starts to descend the stairs into the basement you will see an area of wall next to the railing with some low-level shadow detail. The C4, C5 and TCL shadows looked a little more detailed than the G5 and Samsung but it was only by a small amount -- I had to look really hard. In the intercut shots of his brother Bill, the view through the windows looked a lot brighter and bluer on the TCL than the OLEDs. The drawbacks of LCD technology were also on display in the cellar as there was a little bit of blue hazing in completely black areas of the screen -- and this is something that OLED doesn't do, the pixel is simply off. After inconclusive results with It I tried a number of colorful and very dynamic movies including Mad Max: Fury Road. In Mad Max (at 4:48) there is a moment in a chase scene where the war boys are fighting Max in a water-filled room. There is a flame at the right of frame which looked a little brighter on the G5 than the others. The G5 also had a little more solidity to it, but again not much. I followed that up, then, with a 4K Blu-ray test disc from Spears and Munsil comprising mostly static footage and, apart from gaming, here is where the C5 and G5 showed the differences in performance. The C5 still looked very good, with deep contrast and plenty of color saturation, but the G5 showed where the extra $600 was going: brighter images and clearer, less-green snowy fields. White was more vibrant on the G5 while the C5 was a little green and color popped a little better on the G5, too. Most movies don't look like test discs but at least I could finally see a difference between the two. Read more: How We Test TVs Bright room Light output in nits TV Brightest mode (HDR) Accurate mode (HDR) Brightest mode (SDR) Accurate mode (SDR) LG G5 2,813 2,297 1,030 412 LG C5 1,434 1,187 480 288 TCL QM851 3,183 3,183 3,084 1,262 Hisense U8Q 4,080 4,070 4,107 436 Samsung S95D 1,734 1,666 544 265 Samsung S95F 2,150 2,150 391 297 LG G4 1,799 1,420 792 792 LG C4 1,213 968 414 390 With its ultra-high brightness the LG G5 is already a great candidate for bright room viewing but this OLED also does a great job dealing with annoying TV glare. In terms of reflectivity I graded each of the OLED TVs subjectively from worst to best: LG C4> LG C5 > LG G5 > Samsung S95D. The G5 had the second-least reflective screen but the "winner" Samsung had another potential issue. It had the lightest black levels that translated to kind of gray in a lit room. That's the compromise with the Samsung vs the LG G5, you can choose either deep blacks or more reflectivity. I have tested the brightness of the flagship 2025 Samsung S95F and found that it is not as bright, about 2100 lumens, but have yet to compare it formally head-to-head. Watch this space. With its gamma of roughly 2.4 in Filmmaker Mode, the G5 is designed to be watched in a dark room, although its high brightness offsets this a little. Gaming I'd argue that the two main reasons to buy a high-end TV like this are to a) watch movies and b) play HDR games. Well, having tested it, I can say these ARE the two reasons to buy it -- it's great at both. Gaming image quality is where the G5 really pulled ahead of the others, with more consistency than with movies. In a lineup of four OLED TVs, the G5 had the clearest-looking gaming mode on my Xbox Series X -- brighter than the Samsung and two C series LGs. I played Call of Duty, which had better HDR contrast on the G5, although the Samsung did have slightly better color. I played several different games on my four-TV setup and it was here that the biggest differences between the G5, in particular, and the rest of the lineup appeared. While the C5 looked as good as the higher-end Samsung S95D during games, it didn't stand up to the G5. The G5's pixel response time as tested with the Leo Bodnar test units was about 9ms with Game Optimizer Boost mode enabled (Settings>General>Game Optimizer>Game>Prevent Input Delay>Boost). This response time is equivalent to the best I've seen with TVs like the Samsung S95D or the Roku Pro Series. The TL:DR is: this TV is great for gaming. Uniformity and viewing angle The G5 was consistent with most OLED TVs in that its picture was uniform across the panel. When viewed off-angle there was no appreciable color shift which means the G5 will look good whether you're in the dead center or sitting in the grandparent chair. Picture settings and testing notes In testing -- both in measurements and in the real world -- the G5 is a massive improvement over the G4 from brightness to color and more. It's worth mentioning that some TVs can give a better response in darkness than the G5, which has a Gamma 2.4. This "gamma curve" may be an industry standard but in our tests, 2.2 gives a better experience with more shadow detail. Filmmaker mode proved to be the overall best picture mode on the G5, both from our quantitative measurements and with the bare eye. Cinema mode was a close second but it enables some smoothing, which can create the often undesirable soap opera effect. LG C5 test measurements Test Result Score Black luminance (0%) 0.000 Good Peak white luminance (SDR) 1030 Good Avg. gamma (10-100%) 2.39 Average Avg. grayscale error (10-100%) 1.66 Good Dark gray error (30%) 1.00 Good Bright gray error (80%) 2.06 Good Avg. color checker error 1.21 Good Avg. saturation sweeps error 1.24 Good Avg. color error 1.80 Good 1080p/24 Cadence (IAL) Pass Good Input lag (Game mode) 9.87 Good HDR10 Black luminance (0%) 0.000 Good Peak white luminance (10% win) 2813 Good Gamut % UHDA/P3 (CIE 1976) 99.81 Good ColorMatch HDR error 1.63 Good Avg. color checker error 1.01 Good Input lag (Game mode, 4K HDR) 9.33 Good Portrait Displays Calman calibration software was used in this review.
