LG OLED C4 vs LG OLED B5

The results of HDR materials are definitely among the better ones. Practically every film significantly exceeds the 700 nits barrier, allowing for a very realistic image. Of course, none of them surpasses the magical thousand, yet the combination of such results and unlimited contrast and black effectively boosts the outcome optically. The last of the scenes, featuring a full-screen burst of sunlight, is actually less bright than the others, although it still represents a commendable level. It is also worth mentioning the excellent coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette, which will allow for achieving extremely vivid colours.

The LG B5 is a moderately bright OLED television. Regardless of the scene, it can generate around 500 nits of peak brightness. Interestingly, it achieves this even in full-screen shots saturated with white, where most OLEDs typically struggle. So is this screen suitable for HDR films? Indeed – and very much so, because such brightness allows you to truly feel the magic of HDR effects. However, it is worth noting that compared to last year's B4 model, the new B5 is darker – by about 100 nits. It may seem like a small amount, but at such average peak values, it makes quite a significant difference. Fortunately, the television compensates with another advantage – excellent coverage of the DCI-P3 and BT.2020 colour gamut. As a result, HDR films look really colourful, vibrant, and impress even in more demanding scenes.

The best factory mode implemented in the tested television was "Filmmaker". It was this mode that we used during all tests. This mode proved to be quite good in terms of colour reproduction; however, other shortcomings effectively detracted from the enjoyment of viewing. Starting with the most basic aspect, the white balance, it was easy to notice that it was marked by a dominance of red, which overall changed the characteristics of the image. We could thus see a strong yellowing of the whites and a shift of all colours towards warmer shades. The gamma, which is a curve just as important, if not more so, was quite significantly lowered, resulting in a considerable drop in contrast, except at the beginning of the graph, where the television insidiously lost details. That’s all regarding SDR materials. Taking a closer look at films with a wide dynamic range, we can observe exactly the same phenomenon of yellowing of the white balance as in films with a standard colour palette. The EOTF curve, which replaces our gamma curve, is practically perfect and cannot be faulted.

We tested the B5 in Filmmaker mode and... we would love to see more TVs like this straight out of the box. Truly. The white balance is set very well – there's practically nothing to complain about. Well, if one were to nitpick, one might notice a slight deficiency in blue, which makes the overall image seem slightly yellowish. But that’s just our editorial quibbling. Most of you probably wouldn’t even notice it. We also have minimal reservations about brightness management in HDR format. The EOTF curve – which is responsible for how the TV distributes brightness in a scene – is slightly below ideal. In practice, it may happen that the darkest parts of the image are displayed too dark and simply… disappear. But these are details that only come out in measurements. Generally: we are impressed. However, we also know that LG TVs respond very well to professional calibration. You can achieve almost reference-quality picture from them, so – while it's already very good out of the box – we allowed ourselves to go a step further and refine everything to perfection.

As we mentioned earlier, LG televisions are equipped with advanced tools for carrying out the calibration process. We therefore used them to model the image in the way that the director intended. And without modesty, we must admit that we achieved this phenomenally. Both SDR and HDR materials present a level that clearly indicates that this is how a film should look. It is worth looking at the colour errors on the "ColorChecker" palette here, where practically none of them exceeds "1", apart from two samples.

We must admit that we didn't have much work with the LG B5. It's one of those televisions that look good right from the start, but after calibration… they can really impress. The white balance was brought to almost perfect levels – to the point of errors that are invisible to the human eye, unless you are a professional colourist with a magnifying glass at the screen. We also managed to master the tendency of the television to slightly dim the darkest details, particularly in HDR scenes. After proper tuning, everything looks cohesive: black remains deep but does not consume information. Highlights maintain their natural sparkle, and colours align with the director's vision. This is truly one of those models that shows you don't have to spend a fortune to have an almost reference-quality picture. If you can opt for professional calibration – it’s definitely worth it in the case of the B5.

Once again, we will take a look at the function responsible for smooth gradation, but we will also address the one that aims to improve the quality of lower-quality materials. The default smoothing of tonal transitions, as we have seen, was not the worst, but it can still be improved. The function has a slider, which allows us to adjust its strength. We recommend using the first one, as it yields very good results and does not blur important details.

Image scaling in LG C4 is quite good; however, it cannot be said to be without flaws. The image is slightly sharper by default, although not in a very noticeable way. Admittedly, there are jagged edges on the trees, but this is not a major issue compared to other manufacturers.

LG B5 really positively surprised us in terms of handling lower quality content. Thanks to the enhancement and smoothing features, materials in HD resolution or even SD gain a second life. Importantly – when this option is activated at the "low" or "medium" level, we do not feel that the image is artificially softened or smoothed out unnecessarily. Details remain intact, film grain does not disappear, and the edges of objects do not look washed out 😉. This is truly a useful tool – especially if you are watching terrestrial television, archival materials, or content from YouTube in lower resolutions. The image is clear, coherent, and simply pleasant to the eye.

Scaling as such works very well – even content of poor quality is reproduced with surprising fidelity. Unfortunately, there was a slight hiccup. Although the menu contains the option to disable overscan, the television still has issues with correctly displaying images of very low resolution. It may seem like a detail, but when watching older materials – it can be irritating.

The maximum refresh rate that we can set on the LG G4 is 144 Hz. Naturally, this is only possible when connecting the television to a very powerful PC. In other cases, we will be operating at a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz, which is recommended if we primarily want to watch sport or content with a lot of motion dynamics. For those requiring high fluidity of the image, the manufacturer has implemented a multi-step motion smoother called "TrueMotion". It has been divided into two separate sliders that adjust the sharpness of moving images (De-Blur) and judder (De-Judder). Both sliders can be set within a range from 0 to 10, with each degree affecting the degree of smoothing, allowing everyone to find their golden mean.

The LG OLED C4 panel features an average response time of less than 1 ms (which directly results from our measurements), allowing for an incredibly clear image that is unattainable for LCD televisions, whose response times can be as high as several milliseconds. This is clearly visible in the pictures from the "UFO Test," showing no trailing blur behind the object.

LG B5 is a television with a 120 Hz OLED panel. It may not sound as impressive as the marketing claims of “144 Hz” or “165 Hz” found in gaming monitors, but honestly? The smoothness is excellent nonetheless. The picture is sharp, fluid and simply enjoyable to watch – even when there is a lot happening on screen. The organic panel does its job – the pixel response time is almost instantaneous, meaning there’s no sign of smearing or blurring that can spoil dynamic shots. Sport, fast-paced games – everything looks clear and distinct.

We also have the classic LG smoothness enhancer, TruMotion. This allows you to smooth out films shot at 24 frames per second – which, to put it bluntly, is most of what you watch on Netflix or from Blu-ray discs. If you set lower values on the “De-Judder” slider, you’ll get a picture closer to a cinematic look – with a slight judder, but without any artificiality. Higher settings? A soap opera effect is guaranteed. Fortunately, LG gives you the option to tune everything to your liking.

We can already say that LG C4, like practically every OLED television from the manufacturer, is exceptionally good in terms of compatibility with consoles and PCs. Thanks to the implementation of four full bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports at 48 Gbps, the manufacturer has included all features that enhance the gaming experience, among which we find simultaneous support for FreeSync and G-Sync technology. With such a tandem, gamers with a graphics card from AMD or Nvidia can confidently opt for C4. However, what should delight the players requiring the highest possible quality the most is the simultaneous implementation of HDR Dolby Vision and HGIG mode. The first is particularly important as it works with extremely low input lag in all settings.

A standard in the Korean manufacturer's televisions is also the implementation of GameBar, allowing for quick adjustments of settings "on the fly" without the need to exit the game. It also enables image adjustments for visually impaired individuals, which is a very nice touch. Another important piece of information is that when VRR technology is enabled, we will not experience a drop in contrast. This is, of course, due to the panel's design and the absence of conventional backlighting. However, it is normal for shades of grey to flicker slightly, although this is a characteristic feature of this function regardless of the manufacturer and television.

In summary: LG C4, just like all of the manufacturer's OLEDs equipped with high refresh rate panels and HDMI 2.1 ports, creates a harmonious whole with consoles. In practice, it is a complete television, and if we expect the highest possible performance in gaming, C4 will be an ideal choice.

There are already a few televisions on the market with the label “for gamers” that, in practice, don’t understand what that means. The LG B5 is not one of them. Everything here is spot on – there are four HDMI 2.1 ports, it has 120 Hz, VRR, and ALLM, and it even has a Game Bar that is actually useful, not just looks good in the brochure. You connect your console – it works. You set 4K at 120 Hz – it works. You have an Xbox and want to play in Dolby Vision – it works too. And this is not in the sense of “theoretically supports”; it really turns on, looks good, and you don’t need to fiddle with the settings for half an hour. Additionally, there’s the HGiG picture mode that LG implemented correctly – which means HDR in games doesn’t turn the screen into a flash lamp, but shows exactly what it should. There are no surprises here, no strange limitations, no “buts.” And you know what? That’s how it should be. Cheers to the LG B5!