LG OLED83C3PUA 83 Inch Smart TV

This is my first OLED TV and all I can say is WOW! If you’ve only had LCD TVs in the past, the OLED difference is very noticeable with the infinite contrast and 3D look that it gives to the image. My biggest concern with this TV was that it wouldn’t be bright enough but even during the day with 3 windows shining light into the room I’ve found it’s plenty bright enough, and a lot brighter than the budget LCD TV I had before (Vizio M658-G1). LG supports everything you could want in terms of gaming with 4 HDMI 2.1 ports for 4k/120Hz Dolby Vision gaming, VRR, ALLM, etc. I play Xbox Series X on it and it looks amazing! I also play Nintendo Switch and with a few tweaks like upping sharpness to 15 and turning Super Resolution to high it looks almost 4k! Everything I’ve watched on it looks better than ever before and I can’t say enough good things about it. After considering all my options I decided on this TV over the other options:
– Compared to the LG G3: A lot cheaper but with the same processor for equal upscaling and clarity. The G3 is noticeably brighter but, like I said, I haven’t felt like the C3 wasn’t bright enough and it was brighter than I expected
– Compared to the Samsung S95C: Again, much cheaper and the processor is better than that on the S95C so lower quality content will look cleaner, especially lower bitrate like YouTube TV. The S95C is much brighter and more colorful but Samsung has quality control issues, poor firmware updates, and no Dolby Vision HDR support
– Compared to LG C2: The C3 is very similar to the C2 and it’s hard to justify the price increase of the C3. It was worth it to me since I got a good deal and only paid a few hundred dollars more. The C3 has an improved processor with improved dynamic tone mapping with 20,000 zones instead of 5,000 and is a little bit brighter. It also supports DTS passthrough and QMS unlike the C2. A common complaint about LG OLEDs is their aggressive dimming during prolonged high APL scenes. That issue was fixed on the 2023 models. Lastly, the C3 has a new customizable quick access menu that’s nice for changing settings in a snap
– Compared to Samsung S90C: This is the C3’s biggest competition this year because they are close in price. The S90C has the better QD-OLED panel and is brighter and more colorful. I went with the C3 because of the Samsung issues I mentioned above with the S95C. I just trust LG more than Samsung as a company to support their products for years to come. Also, QD-OLED appears to have more risk of burn-in and I like to keep my TVs for a long time
– Compared to Samsung S95B (2022 model): I wanted a 77” TV and the S95B only comes in 55” and 65”. Also, Samsung issues I mentioned before

Conclusion: The C3 is probably the best all around OLED TV for most people. Everything I’ve watched on this looks incredible and LG is a brand you can trust when it comes to OLED. They’ve been making them longer than anyone else and they’ve figured out how to prevent burn-in for the vast majority of users. If all you do is watch news or sports channels all day long then OLED probably isn’t for you but if you watch a variety of content from movies, TV shows, gaming, etc then I think this might be the best TV you can buy. Unless you can afford the LG G3, of course

I was ecstatic to be blown away but I was massively disappointed. I had some really bad burn in looking issues like another reviewer mentioned. The pixel cleaner helps though. The image quality is subpar. Not what I expected at all.

I bought this when my 55″ LG OLED C2 gave up the ghost after only 2.5yrs. That’s why I ALWAYS buy my major appliances at COSTCO! I recieved a FULL REFUND for that TV. So I bought this upgraded version that comes with a FIVE YEAR warranty by costco.com.

OK, on to my review of the new TV. The design is amazing, and looks like something out of a Sci fi movie. It’s no more than 1/4 inch thick at the top. The included stand is perfectly balanced and smart looking to boot. The setup was moderately easy but HOLY CRAP, the PRIVACY PERMISSIONS seem to give the corporate world the right to do everything but watch me in the bathroom. Really excessive and intrusive! Are all new TVS like this? I thought I was supposed to be watching TV, not the other way around.

As I said, the picture quality is amazing. I thought my first OLED TV was amazing, but this one is an order of magnitude better. Oh, and the sound quality is like some kind of freaking MAGIC!!! I had started to try to convince the wife we should buy a sound-bar. Then I turned on this TV and said “well, we won’t need that!” How this thin little thing can create a room full of amazing sound is…..well…..freaking magic. I’m a bit hard of hearing and I was actually able to turn off the closed captions.

So to summarize, it has been a great couple of days. I confess, the short life of the prior LG Oled TV did make me hesitant. Especially when I look at my twenty year old Panasonic plasma TV that still looks as good as the day I bought it in spite of VERY hard use. However, the five year warranty from COSTCO which refunded me the full purchase price for the failed TV and is now TWO YEARS LONGER at five years gives me some assurance. I’m going on 65 years old, and no one is offering ME a five year warranty. “You pays your money, and you takes your chances.”

LG is usually very reliable and I normally love their OLED TVs. However, this one is DOA and simply flickers the display before turning back off repeatedly. Yep, going back asap.

Aaanndd… the replacement TV is fantastic. The OLED display is superb in clarity, contrast, and brilliance. One of the best things of this TV is the faster processor. It’s fast enough to rival most streaming boxes for responsiveness and content. I have to say that was a surprise as I’ve always really like the Shield boxes. But frankly I don’t think I’ll need one for this TV. Setup was very easy.

Oh, and the AI sound is excellent. I was shocked to find so much breadth in the sound from just the two speakers, but their sound processing is great. There is really no need for a sound bar, except for perhaps the sub-woofer, which it supports anyway.

So, great product, but the DOA unit made me question it. I hope that is not a common experience.