The LG C5 delivers exceptional out-of-the-box picture quality. Its Filmmaker Mode provides industry-standard image accuracy, allowing all viewers to easily experience movies and TV shows as the creators intended. For its cost, the C5 is an outstanding cinematic performer, challenging its competitors to match its capabilities.

If you already own an LG G4 with MLA OLED, then a 20% brightness boost is not necessarily enough to justify an upgrade – and may not even be visibly significant – but if you own an older TV with peak brightness below 1000 nits, the jump to G5 will definitely be noticeable. Both in HDR content and in the overall – fullscreen – brightness surplus and the ability to turn it up so high that you can watch the Tour de France in a living room regardless of the weather outside. Three years ago, it was hard to justify choosing LG's G model over a C model, but this year's 4-layer OLED panel has increased the gap to the cheaper models, so it is no longer just the design you are paying a premium for.

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. Pixel response times of the C5, as tested with the Leo Bodnar test units, were only average -- about 13ms. The best I've seen is around 9ms on TVs like the Samsung S95D or the Roku Pro Series. These discrepancies probably won't be noticeable during play, but I know that after playing FPS games on all four OLED screens, the tiny differences in response gave me motion sickness.

The LG C5 is excellent for mixed usage. It looks its best in a dark room thanks to its perfect black levels and vivid colors, but you barely lose any image quality when you turn your lights on, which is great. It also has the brightness needed to overcome glare from indirect light sources, but it does struggle more with reducing the intensity of light sources that are directly facing the screen. The TV is loaded with a ton of modern gaming features, making it fully compatible with modern consoles and a terrific addition to your PC gaming setup. Finally, its wide viewing angle makes it a solid choice for watching the game with a large group of friends. Overall, this is a versatile TV.

While the C5 is a fantastic TV and in every way equal or better than the C4, its improvements aren't earth-shattering or breathtaking enough to justify spending significantly more on it. (As of writing, the 65-inch C5 is $1,000 more than the C4.)

The LG C5 continues to show the versatility and excellent performance we've come to expect from LG's mid-range OLED series. Delivering excellent picture quality, superb gaming performance, and an intuitive smart TV platform with new AI features, the C5 is a top-notch TV. While it is only a slight upgrade over its predecessor, the LG C4, and its sound could be better, it's hard to argue with how good the C5 really is.

Another excellent all-rounder OLED with engaging HDR images, extensive streaming smarts and gamer-friendly connectivity.

Whether you love movies, TV shows, or games, the LG C5 makes them look as good as possible. Though not cheap right out of the gate, and not quite perfect around the edges, the C5 gets enough right to set the standard for OLED TVs in 2025.

LG's latest C-series OLED TV delivers a rich, punchy and crisp image that's easy to enjoy, while its four HDMI 2.1 sockets continue its legacy as a go-to gaming TV – we just wish it sounded a bit better