Manufacturer: LG

Release Date: 02/18/2018

MSRP: $2,999.99

TVs aren’t something this household uses very often. With this being only my third TV in 10 years, I made sure I got what I really wanted this time. My first choice for a TV this time around was LG, as they seem to be ahead of the curve with OLED TVs, which are the next step for 4K TVs as they show clearer, deeper, and more vibrant colors than LED or even LCD, and the prices have finally come down to something reasonable. LG’s brand of TVs comes with “a” processors, which help process HDR and the webOS built into the TV. One thing I couldn’t stand with my last Samsung 4K TV I reviewed was the slow as molasses OS that was buggy and never really got updated over the 3 years I had it. Sure, it looked great for the technology at the time, but LG has a silky smooth OS and UI that just can’t be beaten by any other company right now.

The TV itself is actually the heaviest and bulkiest thing I have ever purchased, despite how paper-thin it is once you get it out. This thing has a very heavy base where all the main components sit, and the screen sticking out is nearly paper-thin. The stand was a bit complicated to put together as I had to YouTube it as LG’s instructions are pretty much useless, and this TV DOES require two people to unpack and set up or you will most likely damage something. It’s too big and cumbersome for one person.

So, out of the box, that’s something you will notice first: the amazing OS. This TV also comes with an awesome smart remote that uses motion tracking like the Nintendo Wii, so you can actually point and click at what you are doing, which is a huge step forward in smart TV interactivity. The TV recognizes most inputs when they are turned on, and you can customize each input with its own picture and sound settings, which is nice. One of the biggest selling points of this TV for me was the Dolby Atmos processing and Dolby Vision and HDR by Technicolor, which display the most vivid HDR picture I have ever seen on a TV. It’s truly stunning and turns heads for sure.

I tested the TV out with an Xbox One X and a few HDR-ready games, and I was just blown away by the stunning colors this TV displays. They are so deep, rich, and vivid that it seems impossible that a TV can look this incredibly visceral. The TV has plenty of picture enhancement options for older content as well as the ability to turn it all off in the game mode and HDR picture modes. HDR is automatically detected, and the picture settings are actually perfect out of the box. LG is known for having the best-calibrate out-of-the-box displays, from TVs to monitors, and of the four LG products I have owned in the past, I can attest to this. I don’t have to mess with anything, even though I feel like I somehow have to. The options for calibrating are incredibly deep, with actual dark and bright room calibration picture profiles for professional calibrators. Most of us just have to choose the content we are watching and stick with that profile.

The TV’s speakers are surprisingly decent, with 40W speakers that are slightly bigger than the average 20W speakers most smart TVs come with, and it is equipped with Dolby Atmos built-in. The smart features of this TV are incredibly diverse, including being able to connect it to Google Assistant and Alexa, so the TV can be connected to either for smart home use. The content sharing and Bluetooth features are great for streaming to a smart device or listening to music off of your phone. There are just so many apps and features in this TV that it just feels truly like another smart device rather than a TV stuck in limbo like my previous Samsung TV that is slow and buggy and doesn’t quite have as many features as saying my phone would have.

Overall, the LG C8 is a fantastically amazing TV and the best in its class, with maybe only Sony being able to come close to picture clarity and features. LG’s WebOS is a buttery smooth experience, the Magic Remote is a step in the next generation direction for interacting with TV menus, and the number of picture options will make a video nut blush. If you have the money to spend, just go for the best on the market.