The LG C1 is one of the hottest TVs around at the moment, and for good reason – we gave it five stars in our full LG C1 review based on the image quality and future-proofed features, and we noted that the Black Friday deals available on it right now are "unmissable".
But if you're thinking of buying today from an online retailer, and especially if you want to pair one with a PS5 or Xbox Series X, there's something you should be aware of with both the LG C1 and LG G1 TVs: newer models (manufactured in September or October 2021) currently have an issue where can't accept 4K HDR inputs from external devices.
That will majorly affect the new games consoles as well as the previous generation, but also obviously other devices such as set-top boxes or the best 4K Blu-ray players.
This information comes via Vincent Teoh on the HDTVtest YouTube channel (opens in new tab), whose video goes fully into the issue, and includes a statement from LG explaining that the issue should be fixed via a software update before the end of November.
This problem is with HDCP, which is the copyright-protection technology built into HDMI. The newer C1 and G1 TVs only seem to be working with HDCP version 1.4, but in order to support 4K HDR video, they need to work with HDCP version 2.2. Mercifully, this is something that can be fixed with a software update.
Because this is a problem when connecting over HDMI, it shouldn't affect the 4K HDR playback from built-in apps, so even if you pick up an LG C1 or G1 today, you could still watch Netflix, Disney+ and the rest in full quality – it's just that anything external you plug in won't be able to play with HDR.
As I mentioned, this only affects models manufactured in the last couple of months, so if you buy today, your unit might not actually be affected anyway, since it may have been produced before that. In that case, it's good stuff all the way.
In his video, Teoh talks about LG's track record of releasing key updates in good time, and gives his tips on how you can buy a unit that doesn't have the problem in the first place.
In my opinion, this isn't a situation that should put you off buying the LG C1 (or G1) overall, because the quality of the TV is so high for the price, and I suspect that LG's fix will arrive quickly. However, that's just my opinion, and there's no question that if you're hoping to buy a TV to play your PS5 or Xbox Series X on immediately at the best possible quality, you could find yourself frustrated for a few weeks – you might consider waiting or looking at other options in that case.
It's also worth noting that LG's other OLED TVs don't seem to be affected, so the cheaper LG B1 (which supports next-gen HDMI 2.1 gaming features, just like the C1) and even cheaper LG A1 (which doesn't have HDMI 2.1) can be bought safely, as far as we know.
