When OLED TVs debuted in 2013, the only disappointment was that they weren’t available in smaller screen sizes. After years of waiting, the time has finally come. Is a small OLED TV worth it? We test the 42-inch LG OLED42C24LA.
LG OLED42C24LA
Price: € 1,599
What: Ultra HD OLED TV
Screen size: 42 inches (106 cm)
Connections: 4x HDMI (4x v2.1 (48 Gbps), ARC/eARC, ALLM, VRR, 4K120), 3x USB, 1x optical digital out, 1x headphone out, 2x antenna, 1x IR blaster, Bluetooth 5.0
Extras:HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision IQ, Dolby Atmos, WiFi (802.11ac) built-in, WebOS 22, AirPlay 2, USB/DLNA media player, DVB-T2/C/S2, CI+ slot, Alpha 9 Gen 5 processor
Dimensions: 932 x 577 x 170 mm (incl. foot)
Weight: 9.3 kg (incl. feet)
Consumption (average): SDR 52 Watt / HDR 94 Watt
9 Score 90 
- Pros
- Alpha9 Gen5 processor with excellent image processing
- Almost reference image quality straight out of the box
- Fantastic HDR images in HDR10 and Dolby Vision
- WebOS 22 offers many features and works smoothly
- Very good gamer support
- Can also be used as a monitor
- Negatives
- Pretty high price
- Few adjustments possible on Home screen
- No HDR10+ support
Buy the LG OLED42C24LA at Bol.com
At just nine kilograms, the 42-inch C2 is lighter than many 32-inch monitors. Admittedly, the two slim feet under the TV cannot be compared with the often adjustable, and therefore substantially heavier stand of a monitor. But those feet, we have to admit, really don’t give him a luxurious accent, quite the contrary. The OLED screen is still very slim, but because the housing at the back almost covers the entire back, it is not really noticeable.
There is barely a five millimeter black border around the screen, and only a fine dark metal line of the frame. There is little to say about the further design, the TV is well finished but is not really an eye-catcher.
A full complement of connections
We can reassure anyone who fears that LG has saved some money on the connections for this smaller model. The 42 inch C2 has the same connections as the larger versions and the G2. That means four HDMI ports, all of which also provide 48 Gbps bandwidth, the maximum for HDMI 2.1. They support ARC/eARC, ALLM, VRR (AMD Freesync and NVIDIA Gsync) and 4K120. For gamers, we also mention that you can combine 4K120 and Dolby Vision. The input lag of 10.8 ms (in 4K60) and 5.7 ms (in 2K120) is also excellent.
We also find three USB connections, an optical digital audio output, and a headphone output. You will only find the latter on the 42 and 48-inch models, not on the larger versions. Finally, there is ethernet, wifi and bluetooth (for the remote and wireless headphones), an IR output and the supplied IR blaster. The connections are all on the side of the screen.
The TV has a single DVB-T2/C/S2 tuner and a CI Plus slot (which can be found on the top of the housing). You can record and pause live TV if you connect a USB hard drive.
Smart image processing
We’re not going to waste too many words on this TV’s excellent image processing. The C2 is equipped with the Gen5 Alpha9 processor, exactly the same processor that you will find in the G2. So feel free to read our LG G2 review. For those who want a short version. The C2 has excellent results for upscaling and noise reduction, and it does a good job of smoothing out tricky color streaks. Motion sharpness is excellent, and LG’s motion interpolation delivers good results.
The processor’s most notable improvement is in how it handles HDR10 images. They now receive a very extensive and fine-grained analysis and an optimized tone mapping that can differ within the same image. With this, the processor brings out a lot of light and shadow detail.
Is he really less bright?
Ok, so it’s good in terms of image processing, but what about raw performance? The small C2 got one of the new OLED EX panels, but you won’t find the mention “Brightness Booster” in the specifications. This is due to the smaller screen size, and therefore higher pixel density. This ensures that the screen heats up faster and more, and those are things that should be avoided to prevent burn-in and image retention. If we measure out the TV, we find 715 nits peak brightness on the 10% window.
That is actually still very good, and certainly in line with the current generation of OLEDs. On the completely white screen, the meter does not go past 117 nits. That in turn is relatively low, and indicates that the Average Brightness Limiter intervenes relatively hard. For those who have the 55-inch version in mind, you can expect a peak brightness that is somewhere between this result and that of the G2. Still, you can really expect beautiful images from this C2, both in SDR and HDR.
The SDR Filmmaker Mode is calibrated almost perfectly. For HDR, the OLED screen delivers 95% P3 color gamut and together with good calibration of the HDR Filmmaker Mode and the excellent tone mapping of the Alpha9 processor makes HDR images a real pleasure to the eye. LG brings out a lot of color, even in very bright tones.
Quite some audio from a small profile
Of course you won’t get a huge amount of speakers hidden in that small chassis. The 42 inch C2 therefore has to do with 2x 10 Watt, while the 55 inch versions and larger still use a 40 Watt configuration. Nevertheless, we were pleasantly surprised by the result. The C2 delivers a beautiful, full sound, although really deep bass is missing.
Apparently the processor does not have to intervene too heavily, and distortion remains minimal. A small soundbar is always an option, but keep in mind that the screen is only four centimeters above the furniture.
A Rich WebOS 22
The same remote control, the same smart TV platform, the same extra features as the larger models. You are not sacrificing anything in this area. WebOS 22 provides a lot of apps, and works smoothly. The fact that some space is wasted on the Home screen remains a drawback, but with the improvements of this year, the use has already improved considerably.
Everyone can get their own recommendations and focus on their own apps via various user profiles. Always Ready gives the TV a function when it is off, with MultiView you combine two sources on the screen. There is support for Google Cast and Airplay 2.
And as a computer monitor?
The temptation was too great, we also briefly used the C2 as a computer monitor. The following things stood out. The screen is large, and allows optimal use of the 4K resolution. You really do have tons of screen space and superb image quality. The audio is better than most computer monitors. And OLED delivers a fantastic gaming experience.
Not only the input lag is low, but also the pixel response time is so low that you have really sharp images. And yes, you game in 120 Hz, with AMD Freesync or NVIDIA Gsync.
Yet you notice that this is not a real monitor. The screen is of course not adjustable, although you can solve that with the vesa mount and a monitor arm. The screen does not automatically go into sleep mode, you have to turn it off yourself with the remote control. Additional connectivity such as DisplayPort, an upstream USB port or KVM switch is missing. And the WOLED sub-pixel structure can cause some slight blur, especially with text. You can solve that by playing around with the scaling.
What bothered the most was that the screen dims with static content, as is of course the intention to prevent burn-in. But where this happens relatively invisibly when watching TV, it is much faster and more clearly visible when using computer, where static content occurs much more regularly.
Conclusion
So much attraction in a small size! Are you looking for a TV for your desk, bedroom, kitchen or just don’t want a huge model in the living room? Then this LG OLED42C24LA is really a must-have. All the image quality of OLED, a state-of-the-art image processor, all the ease of use of WebOS 22, great audio and a lot of potential for gamers. That seems like a complete package.
This C2 can also serve as a monitor for your PC, although you will notice in some things that it is not intended for that. That price alone hurts the eyes. A good promotion can probably make up for a lot in that respect. But it is really recommended.
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