LG B5 OLED TV Review: Best OLED TV Value?

Tom's Guide

Thinking about upgrading to an OLED TV? Welcome to Kate’s LG B5 OLED TV review with the pros and cons of the most affordable OLED in LG’s lineup. In this Buy or Skip, Kate compares the LG B5 vs LG C5 vs LG G5, breaks down the brightness differences, gaming performance, input lag, color quality, webOS experience, and whether the B5 is worth the money or if you should spend more on the C5.   This video covers how the B5 performs in real-world viewing, whether the lower brightness is a dealbreaker, and how it handles reflections in bright rooms. You’ll also get a closer look at the LG Magic Remote and Game Optimizer.

Transcript

00:00Hey guys, welcome back to Buy or Skip. Today we're looking at pretty much the most budget-friendly

00:05mainstream OLED TV. So welcome to my LG B5 review. If you've been eyeing the C5 that I've already

00:12reviewed here on the channel, but maybe it's a little out of budget, the B5 is meant to be the

00:18approachable alternative. But does it hold up where it counts? Let's break it down. Now don't

00:25get me wrong, this is not a cheap TV, but it actually is affordable relative to OLED standards.

00:31I've got the 65-inch size here. It's $2,000 at full MSRP, but it's pretty much permanently discounted.

00:38You could find it as low as $1,000, like literally half off. So I'll put a link to the best LG B5

00:44OLED deal in the description. The B5 is going to undercut the C5 by a couple hundred bucks,

00:49depending on the size, but the G5 is in a completely different price bracket. Honestly,

00:55not comparable. And you're also giving up some things by spending less. You don't get the brighter

01:00MLA panel you'd find on the C5 and G5, and you're capped at 120Hz instead of 144Hz. But the picture

01:07quality is still OLED level, and if you're stepping up from an older LED or a mid-range TV, the B5 is

01:13going to look like a massive upgrade that hopefully shouldn't hurt your wallet too much.

01:20Now let's talk software, what it's like to actually start using and watching content on this TV.

01:26LG's proprietary WebOS is generally lean, fast, and easy to navigate. You've got all the major apps,

01:32you've got personalized content rows, plus very solid support for airplay and casting. It's still a

01:38little ad heavy on the home screen, but what smart TV isn't these days, am I right? If at a glance

01:44this doesn't seem like your thing, you've got so many options. You've got Roku, Apple TV 4K, Google TV

01:50Streamer. In fact, let me know if you'd want to see a video just about all of the different plug-in

01:56streaming devices that are out there these days. Okay, let's get into performance. The short version,

02:02the B5 doesn't disappoint. Colors are rich, accurate, and genuinely cinematic right out of the box.

02:08Skin tones look natural, neons pop, and animated content looks incredible. And our benchmarks back

02:15that all up. I'll drop a link below that has all of the numbers charted out if you're interested in

02:20taking a closer look. Speaking of taking a closer look, these perfect blacks and infinite contrast,

02:26that's just part of the OLED package. But even compared to the C5, the B5 holds its own. You do

02:33definitely lose some brightness, which I'll talk about in just a sec, but color quality, top tier.

02:38So now it's time for the reality check. This is the B series OLED, and the B could stand for

02:46brightness compromise. This set is noticeably dimmer than the C5. It's about 650 nits HDR brightness in

02:53a 10% window on the B5 versus almost 1,200 nits on the C5. If your living room gets flooded with

02:59sunlight, you will see a ton of reflections making the picture look flat. That's the trade-off here.

03:06Those great OLED black levels, but not enough punch to fight bright environments.

03:11Evening viewing? Perfect. Midday with big windows? Not so perfect. So you're going to be limited

03:16depending on where you plan to put this thing. If it is a brighter environment and you do not have

03:22a premium OLED budget, you're going to be better off with more of a mid-range mini-LED TV.

03:27This would be a great TV for a gaming cave though. Seriously, gamers, the B5 is absolutely playable.

03:34You get 120Hz, VRR, ALLM, and the big one, super low input lag. The default input lag measured at 13

03:42milliseconds, but with the boosted lag with the TV's game optimizer mode activated, it clocked in at 9

03:49milliseconds, which is one of the lowest we've seen on any TV we've ever tested. Speaking of which,

03:54LG has one of the best game optimizer dashboards around. And when you consider the B5 is available

03:59in a 48-inch size, you could build a pretty sweet setup around this thing as your gaming monitor. Just

04:06saying. A small thing, but I do have to call it out. LG's Magic Remote is still one of my all-time

04:13favorites. You've got the scroll wheel, the pointer controls, and actual short buttons that aren't placed

04:18in awkward spots. If you're coming from a bare-bones remote, you will appreciate this immediately.

04:23Anytime I use a Samsung remote or a Roku remote, I'm always happy to come, you know,

04:29back to a remote that actually has buttons that take me where I want to go.

04:34So buy or skip the LG B5 OLED. If you want OLED picture quality, accurate colors, smooth gaming

04:41performance, and an actually nice smart TV interface at a great price, I think you'll be happy with the

04:48B5. But if your room is bright, or you want the very best HDR performance LG offers, or you're picky

04:55about having all the nits on there with you, you should stretch for the C5 or maybe skip LG OLED

05:01altogether. But last I saw, the C5 is really just a couple of hundred dollars more, so I'll link it for

05:07you to compare. Let me know which TV you want me to check out next, and subscribe to the channel so I

05:12can see you in the next episode of Buy or Skip. Thanks for watching guys, I will catch you next time.

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