I watch exactly one football game every year, the Super Bowl, because, if I’m being honest, everyone else in the US does, too. In fact, I watch very little sports on my TVs, and until Sunday night, I didn’t know what I was missing.
I don’t mean the game. It was a bit of a snoozefest with the Seattle Seahawks basically steamrolling the seemingly inexperienced New England Patriots and their, at least for this game, struggling quarterback. I’m talking about my TV, the spectacular 65-inch LG 65-inch C5 OLED TV.
It’s funny, I had a 65-inch TV in that spot before the LG C5, but it was an aging, LCD TCL. Yes, it was 4K, but it had wide bezels around the image, was thick and heavy, and there was significant backlight bleedthrough. The difference between it and my new LG is beyond stark.
NBC was broadcasting the Super Bowl in 4k and it felt like every pixel showed up.
As I watched the teams line up at the 50-yard line, I noticed the bright white New England uniforms and the deep blue Seahawks outfits. Every player was sharply rendered, and as the backfield went in motion and the quarterback stepped back into position, I noticed the total lack of streaking or smearing, likely thanks to the 144 Hz refresh rate.
While I watched the game unfold and fought the urge to stand up and try to touch the green turf, my wife wandered into the room. She had no plan to watch the game, but even she noticed the difference, “Wow, this is a TV for football,” she said, and then sat down on the couch (a spot she maintained for the next hour). She reminded me that not only did the game look amazing on this set, but so did the latest season of Bridgerton on Netflix. Having sat through a couple of episodes, I did not disagree.
If it weren’t for the high-quality of the LG C5, I wonder if I would have stuck with the yawnfest of a game, but then came the half-time show with Bad Bunny. What a feast for the eyes. The fields of corn looked like they were planted on my wall. Every dancer was clearly rendered with not a gyration missed.
A set built for the big game
Later, when the confetti sprayed into the air and the Seahawks celebrated their win, the scene remarkably did not dissolve into a muddy mess, overwhelmed, as some screens are by too much information. I’ll credit the TV’s Alpha a9 Gen 8 AI processor with that throughput.
I’m not saying the TV is perfect. I wish it had better sound (though Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga did sound pretty, pretty good), WebOS is a bit overwrought, and the remote is meh, at best. Still, you buy a set like this for the imagery, and it is top-notch.
The 65-inch LG C5 might be the first UHD good enough to convince me to start watching the NFL all season long. Or maybe I’ll just watch the rest of Bridgerton. Either way, I suggest you check out this Best Buy Deal, it’s worth every penny, and it might not be this cheap again (and least not in time for the start of the next season).
More of today’s best Presidents’ Day sales
- Amazon: 45% off TVs, AirPods, air fryers & vacuums
- Apple: iPads, AirPods & MacBooks from $99
- Best Buy: $1,000 off TVs, laptops & headphones
- Dell: laptop deals from $249.99
- Home Depot: 40% off appliances, furniture, grills & tools
- Lenovo: 45% off laptops & tablets
- Lowe’s: up to 40% off appliances, furniture & tools
- Samsung: up to $2,000 off appliances, TVs & phones
- Target: 40% off clothing, tech & furniture
- Walmart: furniture, cheap TVs & vacs from $69
- Wayfair: 54% off furniture, rugs & decor
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lance.ulanoff@futurenet.com (Lance Ulanoff)




