LG OLED C4 vs LG NANO81A / NANO80A

The HDR performance of the LG OLED C4 is impressive, firmly placing it in the higher tier. Most films exceed 700 nits, delivering a highly realistic image. While none surpass the 1,000-nit mark, the combination of these results with the TV’s infinite contrast and perfect blacks significantly enhances the visual experience. The final scene, with a full-screen flash of sunlight, is slightly less bright than the others but still maintains a solid level of brightness. Another highlight is the excellent DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage, which ensures incredibly vibrant colours. The HDR technology in the LG OLED C4 delivers exceptional colour and detail reproduction. The dynamic tone mapping feature optimises brightness levels, ensuring ideal light reproduction in every scene, even in the most demanding high-dynamic films.

If you're counting on HDR in the NANO81A to bring tears to your eyes, I have to disappoint you. This TV is simply too dark to show what this format is really about. With a brightness of just 250 nits, HDR here essentially exists only on paper. In practice, during a viewing session, it's very hard to distinguish whether we're watching high dynamic range content or regular SDR – it simply lacks that "punch" of light in bright areas of the image. But, to not have all criticism, we do have a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel – and it’s quite clear. It's about color gamut coverage. Here, the NanoCell filter shows that it's not just marketing nonsense. Our measurements indicated that the coverage of the DCI-P3 space is around 88%. This is really a solid result that positions this model significantly above typical budget models based on regular white LED lights without any filters. Of course, it's still a bit lacking compared to the level of quantum dot TVs (QLED) or advanced panels with PFS filtering, but for this price range, the colors are surprisingly saturated and vibrant. It's just a shame that this low brightness doesn’t allow them to fully "spread their wings" with the Nano filter.

The best factory mode on the tested television was "Filmmaker," which served as the basis for all evaluations. In terms of colour reproduction, this mode performed reasonably well; however, certain flaws significantly detracted from the overall viewing experience. The most fundamental issue was the white balance, which exhibited a noticeable dominance of red, skewing the image characteristics. This resulted in a pronounced yellow tint to whites and a general shift of all colours towards warmer tones.

The gamma, an equally crucial—if not more important—aspect, was notably lowered, leading to a marked reduction in contrast. Additionally, the television frequently lost detail at the start of the gamma curve. These issues were most apparent in SDR content.

When examining HDR materials, the same yellowing effect in the white balance was observed, as seen with SDR content. However, the EOTF curve, which replaces the gamma curve for HDR, was near perfect and left little room for criticism.

For every movie fan, the natural choice in LG televisions is the Filmmaker Mode. This mode is designed to display the image as the director intended – without unnecessary "enhancements." Unfortunately, in the case of our test unit NANO81A, the factory settings left something to be desired. The main issue turned out to be white balance. Measurements showed a clear deficiency of blue color, which practically translated to many scenes having a slightly yellowish, almost "too yellow" tint. The white was not perfectly clean, which detracted from the freshness of the image. Additionally, brightness management was not ideal either – the factory-set gamma was too low. The image often appeared oversaturated, as if it had been pulled too much from the shadows, losing its naturalness and depth. Fortunately, LG, even in this relatively low price segment, does not block access to advanced settings. The calibration capabilities of this model are immense, which is a big plus for those who like to "dig around" in the menu. We decided to approach the topic in our own way and see how much we could extract from this panel with professional calibration.

As mentioned, LG televisions come with advanced tools to facilitate an accurate calibration process. By utilising these tools, we meticulously adjusted the image to align with the director’s original vision. Without overstating, the results were outstanding. Both SDR and HDR content now achieve a level of visual fidelity that reflects how films are intended to be seen.

Examining the colour accuracy on the "ColourChecker" palette reveals impressive results, with almost all colour errors falling below a delta of "1," aside from two minor exceptions. Post-calibration, the LG OLED C4 demonstrated a marked improvement in colour reproduction, particularly in SDR and HDR modes. Testing the TV after calibration highlighted its capacity for delivering exceptionally accurate colours, underlining the high calibre of this model. The LG C41LA offers a stunningly precise colour palette, sure to satisfy even the most discerning viewers.

After calibrating the NANO81A, it's a completely different television. What LG offers in terms of image enhancement tools even in such an inexpensive model deserves a big plus. We were able to completely eliminate that annoying yellowing of whites and make the colors natural, juicy, and simply "true." In SDR content (such as regular TV, YouTube, or older films), the picture now looks infinitely better – it's clear, well-balanced, and no longer strains the eyes with strange hues. It's evident that this panel has considerable potential, which is simply wasted by poor presets out of the box. However, we have one serious reservation that calibration cannot fully overcome – it's about brightness management in HDR mode. The algorithm LG uses in this model is designed very conservatively. The television deliberately dims the image in HDR to avoid overexposing an already weak black from the IPS panel. The developers faced a choice: either provide more light and accept that black will turn light gray, or reduce the brightness to maintain any contrast. They chose the latter. Nevertheless, after our adjustments, watching anything on the NANO81 is significantly better.

Let us revisit the function responsible for smooth gradation and consider its role in improving lower-quality materials. The default smoothing of tonal transitions, while decent, can be further enhanced. The feature includes a slider for adjusting its strength, and we recommend selecting the first option. This setting strikes a balance, offering excellent results without compromising important details through unnecessary blurring.

The image scaling on the LG C4 is commendable, though not entirely without flaws. By default, the image appears slightly sharper, though not to an intrusive degree. While jagged edges on elements like trees are occasionally visible, this issue is relatively minor compared to similar offerings from other manufacturers.

It often happens that cheap 4K panels mercilessly bring all the "dirt" and imperfections of lower resolution materials to light. However, in the case of the LG NANO81A, the situation is quite different. It’s a really solid performer when it comes to handling content that is far from ideal. The built-in processor does a great job with upscaling. Even older recordings look quite decent on this screen – the image is coherent, cleaned of digital noise, and simply pleasant to the eye. A big plus is the gradation reduction feature that you will find in the settings. It is exceptionally effective in combating color banding, which is a lifesaver when watching low bitrate materials, for example from some streaming services or older files from the internet. However, it is worth maintaining a certain vigilance. Since we are dealing with a less efficient chip than in LG's top models here, too aggressive an adjustment of this option can sometimes result in minor artifacts or a slight blurring of details. Despite this risk, I definitely encourage experimentation with this feature – in many cases, it can save the viewing experience and make low-quality material fully watchable.

The LG G4 supports a maximum refresh rate of 144 Hz, achievable only when connected to a high-performance PC. Otherwise, the television operates at a maximum of 120 Hz, the recommended setting for viewing sports or content with fast-paced motion. For those prioritising smooth image quality, LG has included a versatile motion smoothing feature called "TrueMotion." This function is split into two adjustable sliders: De-Blur, which sharpens moving images, and De-Judder, which reduces jitter. Both sliders offer a range of settings from 0 to 10, enabling users to fine-tune the motion smoothness to their preference.

The LG OLED C4 boasts an impressive average response time of less than 1 millisecond, as confirmed by our measurements. This results in exceptional image clarity, far surpassing LCD televisions, which often have response times of several milliseconds. This clarity is evident in tests like the "UFO Test," where no trailing blur is visible behind moving objects.

In terms of motion fluidity, the NANO81A unfortunately has a few drawbacks. The TV is based on a panel with a refresh rate of 60 Hz. If you're looking for perfect sharpness in dynamic football matches or fast-paced action games, you might feel somewhat unsatisfied. With such a low native refresh rate, fast-moving objects on the screen will always be a bit blurry.

The LG C4, like nearly all OLED televisions from the manufacturer, excels in its compatibility with consoles and PCs. With the inclusion of four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports supporting 48 Gbps, the TV incorporates a range of features to enhance the gaming experience. Notably, it offers simultaneous support for FreeSync and G-Sync, making it an ideal choice for gamers using AMD or Nvidia graphics cards. For those seeking the best possible gaming quality, the integration of HDR Dolby Vision and HGIG mode is particularly impressive. HDR Dolby Vision operates with remarkably low input lag across all settings, ensuring smooth and responsive gameplay.

A standout feature in LG's televisions is the GameBar, which allows users to adjust settings in real-time without leaving the game. This includes options for customising the image for viewers with visual impairments, a thoughtful addition. Additionally, enabling VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) does not result in a loss of contrast—a benefit of the OLED panel's self-emissive technology, eliminating the need for conventional backlighting. While some slight flickering of grey tones may occur, this is a characteristic of VRR technology across all manufacturers.

In summary: The LG C4, like the brand's other OLED models equipped with high-refresh-rate panels and HDMI 2.1, provides a seamless and immersive gaming experience. For gamers demanding top-tier performance, this TV is an outstanding choice.

NANO81A is unfortunately not a device designed for e-sports. The lack of support for a 120 Hz signal is a fact that users planning to purchase this model must simply come to terms with. Nevertheless, LG engineers have worked hard to squeeze the maximum capabilities out of this 60 Hz panel, offering a set of features that genuinely enhance the gaming experience. Above all, the television supports VRR technology (in the range of 48–60 Hz) and ALLM. As a result, the image remains stable and does not "tear," and the device automatically switches to low-latency mode as soon as it detects a signal from the console. Managing these settings is incredibly simple thanks to a dedicated system overlay that allows for a quick overview of parameters without leaving the game. A significant advantage is the support for the HGiG format. This solution is crucial for owners of modern consoles, as it enables the TV to correctly "understand" the intentions of game developers regarding HDR tone mapping. In practice, this helps avoid the effect of "blown out" bright spots, such as clouds or light sources, which unfortunately is a common issue in budget LCD televisions.