LG C2 vs C1 (OLED83C2PUA vs OLED83C1PUA; OLED77C2PUA vs OLED77C1PUB; OLED65C2PUA vs OLED65C1PUB; OLED55C2PUA vs OLED55C1PUB; OLED48C2PUA vs OLED48C1PUB)

The LG C2 vs C1 differences are mainly due to OLED panel improvements resulting in the LG C2 being able to get up to 20% brighter than C1 on full-field white, although this only applies to the C2 models in the 55-inch class and above as the two smaller models lack the Brightness Booster technology. Another significant upgrade on the LG C2 vs C1 is in terms of processing which allows the LG C2 to perform more complex Dynamic Tone Mapping, for example.

LG C2 vs C1 (photos: lg.com)

	LG C2	LG C1
Model Year	2022	2021
Size class	42"; 48"; 55"; 65"; 77"; 83"	48"; 55"; 65"; 77"; 83"
	The LG C2 has one additional size variant (the 42-inch class) in comparison to the C1 whose smallest model is the 48-inch class.
Resolution	4K (3840x2160)
Display Type	OLED
	Both the LG C2 and C1 use self-emissive displays, meaning they don't have a backlight.
Panel Type / Features	next-gen Evo (OLED.EX)	prev-gen (WBC or WBE)
	While keeping the same 4-subpixel WRGB structure (i.e. White, Red, Green, and Blue), the EVO panel substitutes hydrogen for deuterium compounds in order to improve the efficiency and stability of the organic light emitting diodes. Not all LG C2 models have higher brightness as a result of the EVO panels, though. The same applies to any LG C1 models with WBE-type of panels.
	Brightness Booster*	No
	*Only in the 55-inch class and above; the 42-inch and 48-inch class C2 models lack the Brightness Booster technology, meaning the benefits from the newer panel technology are mostly limited to consuming approximately 10% less energy while maintaining the same brightness as the LG C1 (the 48-inch C2 model has an annual power consumption of 149kWh vs 167kWh on the 48-inch C1 model based on 5 hours daily usage). The higher pixel density of the two smaller C2 models prevents them from having a wider pixel aperture unlike the larger C2 models (in the 55-inch class and above) which utilize the Brightness Booster technology. The wider pixel aperture is made possible mainly by reducing the number of hardware components used for detecting voltage irregularities in individuals pixels, and using an algorithm for predicting the pixel wear instead. The lack of a heatsink, however, limits the brightness increase up to 20% (on full-field white) on the C2 models (in the 55-inch class and above) in comparison to their counterparts from the C1 series.
Viewing Angle	Wide Viewing Angle
	Despite having a different generation OLED panels, both the LG C2 and C1 are able to deliver wide viewing angles, without any degradation of the image quality when viewed off-axis.
Dimming	Pixel level Dimming
	Each pixel on the LG C2 and C1 can be turned off and on independently from the others, which is how OLED TVs are able to achieve perfect black level. Furthermore, the pixel-level control rules out any possibility of image artifacts such as blooming or halos around bright objects.
HDR	HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision
	Even though the LG C2 and C1 support the same HDR formats, there is a difference when it comes to their ability to generate dynamic metadata.
	Dynamic Tone Mapping Pro	Dynamic Tone Mapping
	The Dynamic Tone Mapping is used for generating metadata on a frame-by-frame basis by analyzing the video signal when watching HDR content that only has static metadata (which remains the same for the entire content duration) such as HDR10 format. The Dynamic Tone Mapping Pro on the LG C2 is able to analyze the signal in 5000 blocks of each frame (instead of treating the frame as a single block) resulting in better tone-mapping of highlights, and reducing the chance of shadows and mid-tones being compressed unnecessarily. It should be said, though, that Dynamic Tone Mapping is not applicable to Dolby Vision content since this format has its own dynamic metadata.
Color	Billion Rich Colors, 100% Color Fidelity; Wide Color Gamut
	The LG C2 and C1 utilize 10-bit panels, hence the billion rich colors. The 100% Color Fidelity refers to a test conducted by Intertek that has found the Delta-E values to be less than 2 (meaning very little perceptual color difference, making the colors visually-indistinguishable from perfect) for each of 125 color patches across the entire color volume. The 100% Color Fidelity doesn't guarantee, however, that the colors will be completely accurate out-of-the-box but rather that the OLED panels on the C2 and C1 can be calibrated to reach that level of fidelity. The Wide Color Gamut means that the C2 and C1 are able to fully cover the DCI-P3 color gamut used in HDR content, at least at some luminance levels because there is a difference in the color volume of the C2 vs C1.
	100% Color Volume	Not certified
	The LG C2 has been certified by Intertek for being able to express 100% of the DCI-P3 spectrum across a 3D color space covering the TV's full luminance range. This is made possible mainly by the EVO panel which provides a clear separation of the red and green spectral regions by fine-tuning the wavelengths of the emitted light. The higher peak brightness on the C2 also plays a role in its ability to reach 100% Color Volume. Conversely, the lower brightness prevents the LG C1 from reaching 100% DCI-P3 coverage at higher luminance levels.
Processor	α9 Gen 5	α9 Gen 4
	Thanks to advancements in deep learning capabilities, the Alpha 9 Gen 5 processor is able to further refine the AI Upscaling that the Alpha 9 Gen 4 processor on the C1 can also perform. The result of the upscaling still depends on the quality of the source content, though. The Alpha 9 Gen 5 processor has the ability to separate foreground from background elements, and enhance them accordingly so that they're more distinct from one another, thus making the image appear more three-dimensional. The AI Sound Pro feature has also been upgraded on the LG C2 vs C1.
Virtual Surround	7.1.2-ch (up-mixed)	5.1.2-ch (up-mixed)
	Even though the LG C2 has the processing capability to up-mix sound up to 7.1.2-ch, it should be said that there is no difference in terms of the built-in speakers on the LG C2 vs C1, so the more enhanced virtual surround doesn't provide any significant benefits.
Audio	2.2-ch; 40 Watts*
	Except for the 42-inch C2 model which has 2.0-channel speakers and 20 Watts of audio power output. The remaining C2 and C1 models have 2.2-channel speakers (10 Watts per channel plus 20 Watts subwoofer, or a total of 40 Watts of sound power output).
Speaker Direction	Down-firing (48" & 83": front-firing with stand)	Down-firing (front-firing with stand)
	Even though the speakers on all TVs from the two series are down-firing, it should be said that the C1 range, as well as the 48-inch and 83-inch C2 models have a table top-stand that has been designed to redirect sound towards the front of the TV, meaning the above-mentioned models have a slight advantage in terms of sound clarity (provided they are not wall-mounted).
Cloud Gaming	Google STADIA*; NVIDIA GEFORCE NOW*
	*The LG C1 requires a firmware update before you can use these cloud gaming platforms while the LG C2 supports them out-of-the-box. You'll also need to download the respective app from the LG Content Store.
Input Lag	~10ms (@60Hz); ~6ms (@120Hz)
	The LG C2 and C1 have identical input lag, as well as pixel response time (of approximately 1 ms).
VRR	HDMI forum VRR; AMD FreeSync Premium; G-SYNC Compatible
	The LG C2 and C1 support all types of Variable Refresh Rate technologies for tear-free gaming, including being certified by NVIDIA as G-SYNC Compatible (provided you use RTX 20, RTX30 or GTX 16 series of graphics card).
Game Optimizer	5 Game Genres; Dark Room Mode	4 Game Genres
	In addition to the Standard, FPS, RPG, and RTS genres that can be found on the LG C1's Game Optimizer menu, there is an option for Sports on the LG C2, meaning that the TV can be automatically optimized for that type of games as well. The Dark Room mode provides you with two levels that you can choose from so that the screen brightness is reduced when the ambient light is low.
Smart TV	webOS 22	webOS 6.0
	The webOS 22 supports multiple user profiles that can easily be switched in order for every user to have personalized content recommendations based on their viewing habits, as well as create shortcuts to their favourite streaming services. The webOS 22's Room to Room Share feature will allow you (after a future firmware update) to mirror content from one TV to another via Wi-Fi but it's limited to content from set-top boxes and terrestrial broadcasts only.
Stand	narrow, central-mounted, swivel (55"; 65"; 77")	wide, central-mounted, sound-redirecting
	The new swivel table-top stand is only used by three of the C2 models whereas the 48" and 83" size variants have the same sound-redirecting stand as the LG C1 line-up. The Swivel stand is considerably narrower than the sound-redirecting stand. The 42-inch C2 model has a completely different stand consisting of two separate feet, unlike the rest of the TVs which have centrally mounted stand, albeit of varying width.
Pricing & Availability	LG C2	LG C1
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