The LG 48CX OLED TV: A Premium Viewing Experience in a Compact Package
OLED TVs are renowned for their exceptional picture quality, offering stunning colors, deep blacks, and incredible contrast. However, they are often associated with larger screen sizes, making them impractical for smaller living spaces. Enter the LG 48CX, a groundbreaking OLED TV that challenges the norm with its 48-inch display, making it the smallest mainstream OLED TV available in India. Priced at ₹1,99,990, the LG 48CX promises a flagship-level viewing experience in a compact form factor, catering to users who crave OLED brilliance without sacrificing space. But does this innovative TV deliver on its promises? Let’s delve into our detailed review to find out.
LG 48CX OLED TV Design and Specifications
While OLED TVs are often synonymous with expansive screens and substantial weight, the LG 48CX breaks this perception. Weighing in at nearly 15kg, it’s relatively hefty for its size, yet surprisingly compact. Its 48-inch Ultra-HD HDR OLED display boasts a resolution of 3840×2160 pixels with support for Dolby Vision and HDR10 Pro formats, ensuring a visually immersive experience.
The TV’s minimalist design emphasizes the screen. Thin borders surround the display, with a subtle frame widening towards the bottom. The absence of an LG logo on the front enhances the sleek aesthetic and maximizes the screen-to-body ratio. A single indicator light and a multi-function button for power, source selection, and volume adorn the bottom bezel.
Despite being significantly smaller than most OLED TVs in its price segment, the LG 48CX packs a full suite of features. These include Dolby Atmos audio support, 40W sound output from a 2.2-channel speaker system, Apple AirPlay 2, Nvidia G-Sync, Bluetooth connectivity, and the intuitive webOS smart TV operating system. Other notable features include LG’s alpha-9 Gen 3 AI picture processor, ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) with a claimed response time of around 1ms, and a 120Hz refresh rate on all four HDMI ports.
The LG 48CX offers a generous array of connectivity options. However, the port placement can be a tad inconvenient. While three HDMI ports (all HDMI 2.1, one with ARC support) and one USB port face the left of the screen, the remaining connectivity options – including two additional USB ports, one additional HDMI port (HDMI 2.1), Component and AV inputs, Optical audio output (Toslink), 3.5mm audio output, Ethernet, and an antenna input – are located towards the back of the TV. This positioning might complicate wiring, especially if you plan to wall-mount the TV.
The LG 48CX includes a one-piece center-fitted stand for table mounting. You can also opt to wall-mount the TV using a VESA-compatible mount (not included in the package).
LG 48CX OLED TV Remote and Features
Beyond basic smart TV functionality, the LG 48CX offers a range of features that elevate the overall user experience. Notably, it boasts gaming-focused features like ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) and Nvidia G-Sync support. The integration of Apple AirPlay 2 allows for seamless screen and audio sharing from compatible devices, while Apple HomeKit support enables seamless integration with your smart home ecosystem. If you’re an iPhone or Mac user, these features will be particularly welcome.
Furthermore, you can use the LG 48CX as a monitor for PC gaming or productivity tasks. This versatile feature makes it an ideal option for users who value flexibility.
The LG 48CX leverages both Google Assistant and Alexa for voice commands, allowing you to choose your preferred assistant. Unlike Android TV-powered televisions, Chromecast is not built-in, but you can still screen-mirror from an Android device through the LG ThinQ app.
The "magic" remote of the LG 48CX OLED TV features a familiar design, characterized by a large, curved body and several dedicated buttons. Similar to other LG TVs, it allows for wand-style navigation. You can navigate menus by gently waving the remote while pointing it at the TV. If you prefer a more traditional approach, the remote includes a d-pad and scroll wheel for conventional navigation. The scroll wheel also doubles up as the main selection button.
The remote is well-equipped, providing quick access to various UI elements, including settings, the home menu, hotkeys for Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, and dedicated controls for source selection, volume adjustments, and more. While functional, the remote can feel somewhat clunky and heavy.
LG 48CX OLED TV Software and Interface
A seamless software and UI experience is crucial for a positive smart TV experience. LG’s webOS, acquired from HP in 2013, has evolved into a robust smart TV platform. Its simplicity and user-friendliness make it a standout amongst other smart TV operating systems. Accessing apps, streaming services, and various tools is effortless, and the absence of a traditional home screen minimizes clutter, ensuring a focused experience.
The TV has a basic home dashboard that offers quick access to sources, sound devices, AirPlay activation, and Bluetooth sound share, enabling you to use the TV as a Bluetooth speaker. However, the dashboard isn’t essential for day-to-day use. Pressing the "Home" button brings up an app drawer overlay on the screen, without interrupting active content.
The "Home" button allows you to switch between apps, bringing up a full list of installed apps, the search bar, app store, quick-access tools like the art gallery for screen savers, and the file manager for connected devices like USB drives. Dedicated buttons on the remote provide access to source selection, settings, and other functions, displayed as overlays rather than interrupting content with full-screen interfaces.
All streaming service apps are built for smart TV use and function seamlessly, regardless of whether you use the floating cursor or the d-pad for navigation. The apps are comparable to those found on Android TV or Fire TV OS and support the highest resolution and HDR formats. Essential streaming services have dedicated apps for webOS, ensuring compatibility and smooth performance.
The LG 48CX offers voice assistant support for both Google Assistant and Alexa, alongside LG’s own ThinQ AI system, enabling more specific voice commands for TV functions.
LG 48CX OLED TV Performance
The LG 48CX stands out for its unique size, offering a comprehensive set of features and specifications in a compact form factor. At 48 inches, it’s the smallest OLED TV readily available, making it an ideal choice for smaller living spaces or for those who prefer a more intimate viewing experience.
The OLED technology employed by the LG 48CX delivers exceptional picture quality. Black levels and contrast are remarkably superior to even high-quality quantum-dot televisions. The smaller screen size contributes to a sharp and detailed image, making optimal use of the available pixels. This translates to an impressive viewing experience across various resolutions, with Ultra-HD Dolby Vision content looking exceptional, but even HD and standard definition content exhibiting impressive fidelity.
To assess picture quality, we started with the highest quality content available: Ultra-HD Dolby Vision content from Netflix. The LG 48CX flawlessly captured the dark and somber setting of season two of Snowpiercer, demonstrating the capabilities of OLED technology in achieving deep, inky blacks. The intricate details of the train’s interior, bathed in dim light, were rendered with accuracy.
Colors were equally impressive, with the TV reproducing subtle daylight hues, skin tones, and the vibrant lights and sounds of the cabaret-like Night Car with stunning accuracy. The LG 48CX’s infinite contrast ratio effectively displayed these elements, delivering a truly captivating experience.
The 48CX replicates the flagship viewing experience of its 55-inch and 65-inch counterparts, delivering exceptional color reproduction, contrast, and black levels.
Even with HDR10 and standard dynamic range Ultra-HD content, the LG 48CX consistently delivered a sharp and detailed image. The smaller screen size accentuated the sharpness, making the image seemingly more refined than on larger TVs. However, peak brightness for HDR content appeared somewhat low, and brightly lit outdoor scenes in shows like The Grand Tour fell short of achieving truly exceptional levels of brightness. While HDR10 content looked good overall, Dolby Vision content was exceptionally well-rendered on the LG 48CX.
Compared to high-quality LED or QLED TVs like the Sony X9000H, the LG 48CX isn’t as searingly bright when showcasing Dolby Vision or HDR10 content. Consequently, a dimly lit or dark room is ideal for optimal viewing. Brightness limitations were also apparent with standard dynamic range content, though they were more pronounced with HDR viewing.
Upscaling on the LG 48CX was impressive. Full-HD content appeared sharp, while 720p and standard definition content exhibited the best possible fidelity given the screen size. The TV effectively mitigated the typical roughness associated with lower-resolution content on Ultra-HD TVs, minimizing artefacts and pixelation. Motion was smooth and natural across resolutions, offering cinematic motion blur or smooth, flowing motion as needed.
The smooth motion was notably beneficial in sitcoms like New Girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine played in full-HD. Cinematic blur was evident in scenes from The Midnight Sky on Netflix and visually stunning shows like Our Planet. Even children’s videos on YouTube appeared clean and pleasant to watch thanks to the more intimate screen size of the LG 48CX.
Audio performance was equally impressive. The LG 48CX can reach relatively high volume levels and maintains clean, clear sound even at moderate to high volumes. With 40W of rated sound output and a 2.2-channel speaker system (20W dedicated to subwoofers), the TV delivered a punchy audio experience. Action scenes benefited from the robust sound, while background scores and speech were rendered clearly. Though the sound could become slightly boomy at times, the aggression in the audio was enjoyable with certain content.
Verdict
The advent of the LG 48CX represents a significant shift in the OLED landscape, offering a flagship viewing experience in a compact size. While 55-inch and larger OLED TVs have become increasingly mainstream and affordable, users seeking the benefits of OLED without sacrificing space had limited options. The LG 48CX addresses this niche, providing a premium OLED viewing experience for smaller spaces.
Its unique size is its greatest asset, followed closely by the remarkable flagship experience it delivers. While the LG 48CX’s price isn’t entirely out of reach for the OLED market, it will likely become more accessible over time, mirroring the price trajectory of its larger sibling, the 55CX.
If you’re looking for a flagship TV in a smaller form factor, the LG 48CX is an exceptional choice. However, if space isn’t a constraint and you’re drawn to a larger screen, the LG 55CX offers comparable performance at roughly the same price, potentially providing better value for your investment.
