I’ve replaced my 48 inch CX with the new LG C2 42 inch OLED TV and I think it’s going to
be the better size for most people using it as a computer monitor. Compared to the 48 inch,
it will fit better on most desks being about 14cm thinner and 8cm shorter, which is noticeable
smaller in person. The higher density 105 pixels per inch is close to a 27 inch 1440p display,
which means it can sit on shorter depth desks closer to your face without impacting quality,
and with its lighter construction it’s almost half the weight of that older 48 inch,
which is a huge convenience improvement when just moving it around.
But if you already have one of these older 48 inch TVs, I don’t think it was worth the price
to upgrade. Using a deeper desk to keep the screen an extra 10cm away makes it practically have the
same Field of View, the OLED panel looks just a great as it did before but it also still has
the not so great subpixel layout that can cause color fringing and affect text clarity. It still
has the very annoying aggressive ABSL causing constant brightness dimming during idle tasks
that I couldn’t stand and ended up disabling in service mode. And it still acts and operates
like a smart TV, if you like that or not. Hi I’m David and while I think this LG C2 42
is the best so far in terms of size to use as a Computer Monitor;
feature wise it hasn’t really improved much from the 2 year old CX.
With the 42 inch version they’ve swapped to these plastic legs that are a little better for
computer use. With a smaller gap in the back so you can keep it closer to the back edge,
and the space under tv perfectly fits low profile peripherals for storage. But there’s no tilt or
height adjustment which makes it sit too low and flat to my face for my comfort.
You can wedge something under the legs to lean it back a bit, which helps, but I’m not 100%
confident with how stable this is, so I’d still suggest just getting a monitor arm for better
ergonomics. The lighter weight means you could probably get away with a cheaper arm solution
but I’m continuing to use my Ergotron HX with the VIVO adapter. With some added washers to space the
adapter since the back of the tv isn’t completely flat. And I pushed the arm back slightly to give
me some extra distance from the screen since I’m back to using a shorter 65cm depth desk.
This generation of LG C2s also brought ultrawide mode, which I was initially excited for,
since I do prefer to play in a smaller ultrawide mode while PC gaming this close to the TV. And
the ability to move the window position to the top or in my preference to the bottom
is a nice improvement. But unfortunately, the supported resolutions are limited to 3840x1080
which is way too short or 2560x1080 which scales the entire width of the display and thus too
pixelated. It does also add 3840x1600 but it can’t be moved to the top or bottom at this resolution.
So, I don’t see myself ever using this feature due to these limitations.
Whereas I’d rather just stick to adding custom resolutions such as 3440x1440,
which unfortunately will be stuck in the middle. Or my default solution to just play ultrawide in
windowed mode so I can move it to where I want and also multitask. Also, if PC gaming is your primary
use case, it might be worth considering to go with the new Alienware QD OLEDs ultrawides instead.
There are two/three areas where I feel the C2 has downgraded from its predecessors.
The first being the elimination of 120Hz support for BFI or Black Frame Insertion, which I honestly
never used so it’s not a big deal to me, but I know others will be disappointed with its removal.
The other is the darker brightness while using the Game Mode picture profile. I find I need
to set the OLED brightness higher at 60 in Game Mode, versus 45 in Expert Dark mode to have an
equivalent brightness level. Whereas on my old C10, 45 brightness was the same on both modes.
Rtings review of the C2 42 inch measures a similar result. And I assume LGs reasoning
is to minimize the ABL or burn in. But regardless this lower brightness hasn’t been an issue for me
since 60 OLED brightness in Game Mode is fine for my typical use, but was just something I noticed.
I also noticed that menus and settings tend to be slower on the C2 where it will hang on
the spinning circle a little more. Again not a big deal but noticeable from my responsive CX.
Other than that, there isn’t much else for me to say about using this LG C2 42 OLED TV as a
computer monitor that I haven’t already said in my previous videos with the LG CX 48 inch.
The smaller 42 inch size is a nicer but isn’t a huge change coming from my older 48
inch display other than allowing me to use this shorter desk and being easier to move around.
But none the less, to me it continues to look like one of the best singles
display solutions for productivity and entertainment. At least for now.
But hope you guys enjoyed this one. You know what to do. And I’ll see you in the next video.