I tested the LG C6 OLED for a week, and its color accuracy and contrast levels left me in awe

pros and cons

Pros

• Excellent color
• Great sound
• Perfect for streaming and gaming

Cons

• Expensive
• AI integration
• Could be brighter

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If you think OLED technology has hit a plateau in terms of picture quality and color accuracy, the LG C6 might change your mind. The updated OLED panel delivers a brighter picture than its predecessor, along with a few menu tweaks to help you get the most out of your new TV.

Also: LG C6 vs. LG C5: Which flagship OLED should you buy?

I spent the past week putting the TV through its paces, including a suite of color, contrast, and brightness tests, and the performance was mostly impressive. Mostly. Let me break down why.

Sleek design, rich sound

The slick, streamlined design hides a lot of cutting-edge tech that LG managed to cram into the main housing behind the incredibly slim ¼-inch-thick screen. The redesigned processor utilizes machine learning algorithms for automatic picture and sound processing tailored to your space, as well as manual fine-tuning for cine- and audiophiles who prefer to have total control over how their TV looks and sounds.

Also: LG G6 vs. Samsung S95H

With seven preset picture modes to choose from, you can quickly change settings to suit your favorite media. Or if you prefer manual picture calibration, the advanced settings let you adjust everything from contrast ratios and white balance to RGB fine-tuning and gamma levels. 

And don't worry if you mess up: you can reset the screen to factory presets with the click of a button and start over. There are only about half as many sound mode choices, though, with the C6 offering AI, standard, and voice clarity options. However, you can tweak your sound a bit further by going into the menu and selecting whether your TV is on a stand or wall-mounted, as well as which kind of speaker you're using: Bluetooth, LG home theater, or TV speakers. 

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While it doesn't offer nearly as much control over sound quality as I'd like right out of the box, it does help get you started if you don't want to invest in a pricey home theater system to go with your very expensive new OLED TV.

Streaming and gaming performance

Unsurprisingly, the picture quality is top-notch with the LG C6, offering some of the boldest and brightest colors I've seen in an OLED at the lab. The refreshed panel provides better contrast by controlling color bleed and backlight blooming, reducing the risk of a halo effect around objects set against a dark background. 

The Cinema Home and Filmmaker picture modes add a warm wash to the picture to create the illusion of richer color saturation and recapture some of the retro charm that gets lost in older media when it's upscaled to 4K resolution. The Standard, Vivid, and Game Optimizer modes utilize the LG C6's native color spectrum for a more balanced picture, which is most apparent in black-and-white media. 

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I popped in Dr. Strangelove and was pleasantly surprised to see a more neutral tone that worked very nicely with Kubrik's heavy use of shadow. The cooler tones also helped highlight some of the finer details that tend to get lost in the yellow tint.

From our tests, the LG C6 also handles console gaming with ease, offering a dedicated Game Optimizer picture mode that automatically lowers input latency and uses Nvidia G-Sync VRR for buttery-smooth motion across genres. Based on our tracker, input latency is virtually nonexistent, with near-perfect audio and video syncing that was most noticeable while I was playing Persona 5 Dancing in Starlight. 

Usually, I have to spend a few minutes adjusting in-game lag to play with any accuracy. But with the LG C6, I didn't have to touch any of the recalibration menu options, getting the best in-game timing right out of the box. If you are experiencing sync issues that don't stem from your game, the C6 has menu options to adjust speaker lag to better match your visuals.

It's not picture perfect

My biggest complaint about the LG C6 is its asking price. The 65-inch we tested starts at $2,700, and while you can often find LG TVs on sale year-round, discounts still don't make it any easier on your wallet. 

Another small issue I have is that the OLED screen, while brighter than previous C Series OLED TVs I've seen, still isn't as bright as I'd like. And not just because I had it set up next to the incredibly bright Hisense U8 and TCL QM8L. 

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With the refreshed OLED panel, LG delivers a picture that's much more consistently visible in various lighting conditions and across different media. But movies and shows with a lot of nighttime or dimly lit scenes can still be frustrating to watch, as the heavy contrast can obscure details. 

ZDNET's buying advice

The LG C6 OLED is a refreshed and souped-up version of the brand's flagship TV, with bright, bold colors, crisp details, and clean contrast. The redesigned OLED panel has improved bloom and bleed control, reducing "halo" effects that can make videos and photos look fuzzy or muddy. 

With seven pictures and four sound modes, you can mix and match to suit your space and personal preferences. Or you can let the AI modes automatically calibrate images and sounds to give you the best viewing experience for your space. And if you prefer total control, you can fine-tune everything from RGB saturation to white balance. 

The LG C6 is available in screen sizes from 42 to 83 inches, with the 65-inch version we tested starting at $2,699 - a pretty penny, but well worth the high quality if you're looking for an OLED TV to keep your home theater or gaming space on the cutting edge of entertainment for the next few years.