I have owned this TV for 3 months and thrown various content at it and gotten results that range from superb to awful. In conclusion, this TV itself is a bit of a snob. If that sounds off-putting, it comes with the territory of learning more about OLED implementation in TVs.
First off with gaming, it handles PC gaming and console gaming like a dream. I have a PS4, Nintendo Switch, my PC and a capture card all hooked up to this TV and every game I've thrown at it has looked phenomenal except the switch games... since the switch doesn't support 4K. It still works and by tweaking the sharpening and setting super resolution on either medium or high and smooth gradation between low and medium, you can get decent picture quality even from the Nintendo switch. Where this game is really amazing is with games that have proper HDR. Ghost of Tsushima on PS4 almost looks like a generational upgrade going from playing it on my "HDR 600" LG monitor. The black levels really are unmatched, you can't get any darker than a pixel being turned off, which creates an amazing contrast. The color level needed a little tweaking for my taste, I find that out of box on most of the presets the color is set to 50, I usually have mine dialed in between 54-60 for a little more pop. Gears 5 on PC also looks fantastic, and playing it at 120fps at 4k with HDR through the campaign was an amazing experience. Resident Evil 2 becomes even more tense (without turning on HDR, the implementation on PC is not great) as you'll go from seeing zombie heads swaying in the distance to not being able to see them at all, like the devs intended from having overblown brightness or gamma. If you've played fps games competitively at a high level before, you may even notice that latency here is actually good and won't get in the way like many TVs do.
Now on to general content of movies and TV shows. This is a mixed bag and there's a reason why I called this TV snobby. It loves proper 4K content and HDR content. It even loves 1080p content to a degree, the upscaling on this TV is really good (I'd suggest you leave it on, doesn't interfere with gaming). I watched all of Queen's Gambit through the built in Netflix app and it was amazing. In my testing, it did not handle the show well when I watched it in browser from my PC... because Netflix sends a more compressed stream to browsers and this results in missing data. With compression comes really bad picture quality in dark scenes, an area OLED is supposed to excel at. You'll notice blotches of black rectangles as there isn't enough data from the compressed stream for the TV to understand the gradient in the black level so it just turns off certain blocks of pixels. This problem is non-existent if you use the built in app, or watch from a Roku or any other external add-on device, browser streaming in general is not great. It's not a fault of the TV per say but something to be aware of if you want to use this as a PC monitor. Last thing to note on this, OLEDs don't handle overly enthusiastic film grain well either. The film grain in Once upon a time in Hollywood is fine, but if you're going to be throwing an actual old western at it... don't.
Lastly, burn in. This is a very misunderstood and nuanced issue with OLED. I've had my TV for 3 months and use it every other day or so for gaming or watching movies 2-3 hours a day, I'm not at risk of burn in because I have varied content, which is what most people will probably do. If you're playing a game, finish, start another game, or watch more than just one news channel, you're going to be fine. If you plan to play NBA or FIFA everyday, all the time, and that's your jam, yeah don't get this. It's gonna burn in from the HUD elements. It won't burn in the first thousand or maybe two thousand hours but after that... yeah it will. If you're going to leave on CNN or whatever your preferred news network is 5 hours a day every, it's gonna burn in that logo of the network, don't get this if you're the type of person to leave on one thing repeatedly everyday. It's fine to watch something with the same logo or HUD element for 5 hours on a day but not consecutively. If you're going to use this as a PC monitor either set your background image to change every few minutes, or just set it to be completely black. Completely black background means most of the screen pixels are turned off, and while you're at it, have your taskbar set to auto-hide so you're not burning in that steam or discord icon to the bottom of the screen. I'll save you the surprise pikachu face two years down the line with that.
This bundle contains 2 items (may ship separately)
(5,624)
- LG OLED TV: Only OLED pixels emit their own light, allowing for perfect black, intense color and stunning picture.
- PIXEL LEVEL DIMMING: Millions of pixels emit their own light. Only OLED can turn pixels off completely and independently. See stunning picture, perfect black, infinite contrast and over a billion rich colors.
- WEBOS AND MAGIC REMOTE: LG's fan-favorite webOS platform makes it surprisingly fast and easy to stream movies and shows with your favorite apps and find new obsessions based on what you like. While our Magic Remote lives up to its name with voice and motion control — just speak or simply point, scroll and click.
- α9 GEN 3 AI PROCESSOR 4K: Everything you see and hear is automatically made better, clearer, smoother, and more dynamic with our a9 Gen 3 AI Processor 4K. You don’t have to do a thing. Our most advanced 4K processor does it for you with AI Picture Pro, AI Sound Pro, AI 4K Upscaling, and the ability to help your TV to evolve over time.
- GAMING: LG OLED TV is built for gaming. AI-powered picture quality transports you to the moment. Gaming features and the latest tech, like NVIDIA G-SYNC and FreeSync, give you an edge with less lag, high refresh rates, and incredibly smooth and responsive gameplay.
- OLED MOTION PRO: our most advanced motion handling for fast movements in sports and action sequences | Native Refresh Rate: 120Hz
- INPUTS & OUTPUTS: HDMI (HDMI 2.1 & HDCP 2.2) x4, USB 2.0 x3, RF Connection Input (Antenna/Cable) x1, AV Input x1 (breakout cable required, not included), Ethernet Input x1, RS-232C Input (Mini Jack) x1, Digital Audio Output (Optical) x1 | Wi-Fi (802.11ac) & Bluetooth 5.0 Enabled
- DIMENSIONS W/O STAND(WxHxD): 42.2" x 24.3" x 1.8" | DIMENSIONS W/ STAND: 42.2" x 25.6" x 9.9" | STAND WIDTH: 33"
- ACCESSORIES INCLUDED Remote : Magic Remote , Remote Control Battery: Yes , Power Cable : Yes , Quick Start Guide: Yes , E-Manual: Yes
(1,009)
- 3.1 Channel 420W – With a dedicated center channel for crystal-clear dialogue, this 3.1 channel sound bar packs a punch, delivering dimensional, virtual surround sound.
- High Resolution Audio (24bit / 96kHz): Sounds closer to the real thing. Higher sampling rates and bit depth provide sound quality that surpasses CDs.
- DTS Virtual: X - Hear every detail. Transform any movie, TV show or playlist into an immersive, multidimensional audio experience..
- Wireless Surround Sound Ready - Wirelessly pair the 2.0ch Rear Speaker Kit expansion to deliver audio from behind for greater depth and immersive surround sound. (Rear Speaker Kit available separately)
- Bluetooth Streaming - Wirelessly stream with Bluetooth 4.2 to provide range and reliability to wirelessly connect your LG sound bar to your tablet, phone or other device.
Similar items that may ship from close to you
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Compare with similar items
This Item  LG OLED48CXPUB Alexa Built-in CX 48" 4K Smart OLED TV (2020) SN6Y 3.1 Channel 420 Watt High Res Audio Sound Bar with DTS Virtual:X, Black |  |  |  | |
| Price | Currently unavailable. | -16% $1,597.99 List: $1,897.99 | -6% $1,477.00 Typical: $1,577.95 | $947.95 |
| Delivery | — | Get it as soon as Thursday, Jan 4 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, Jan 2 | Get it Jan 10 - 12 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||
| Value for money | ||||
| Picture quality | ||||
| Brightness | ||||
| Remote Control | ||||
| For gaming | ||||
| Sold By | — | Amazon.com | Walts TV | Video & Audio Center - Same Day Shipping |
| display type | OLED | OLED | QLED | QLED |
| display size | 48 inches | 55 inches | 65 inches | 65 inches |
| model year | 2020 | 2023 | 2021 | 2021 |
| resolution | 4K | 4K | 4K | 4K |
| operating system | WebOS | Tizen | Tizen | Tizen |
| hardware interface | — | bluetooth, ethernet, hdmi, usb | bluetooth, hdmi, usb | ethernet, bluetooth, hdmi, usb |
Reviews with images
Submit a report
A few common reasons customers report reviews:
- Harassment, profanity
- Spam, advertisement, promotions
- Given in exchange for cash, discounts
When we get your report, we'll check if the review meets our Community guidelines. If it doesn't, we'll remove it.
Sorry, there was an error
Please try again later.Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2021
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2020
I am very much an OLED fan. My tablet has an AMOLED screen and so does my phone. I love the deep, inky, blacks and vibrant, rich color that I only really see on an OLED screen.
I’ve wanted an OLED for years. I actually had the money saved up nearly two years back but my problem was screen size. I simply could not fit a 55” TV in the space I had and that was the smallest OLED available. My previous TV, a Panasonic 46” G-10 filled the space I had. There was no way I could fit anything larger without completely rearranging my living space or (the horror!) ditching my favorite tower speakers and wall mounting some bookshelf speakers above the TV.
I was delighted when I heard that LG was bringing out a 48” variant of its mid-range CX series. It’s widely held that LG OLEDs have pretty much the same picture quality across the model ranges. Some of the upper tier models have wafer thin mountable designs, next gen digital TV tuners (which I’d never use) and some other fancy features but, when it comes to the visuals, they’re all pretty similar.
Unwrapping the TV was a little scary. It’s super thin and looks quite fragile. I would suggest having someone on hand to help with this even with a smaller model such as this one. The screen itself looks like a giant bezel-less android tablet. It has hardly any outer frame which contributed to my being able to fit the 48” into the same space my 46” had occupied. In fact if anything the 48” actually looks smaller and more compact than the TV it replaces even though it has an extra two inches of diagonal size. The screen sits on a base that contains the speaker(s) and has a cable routing channel which I didn’t find a lot of use for. It does stick out about 8 inches behind the TV so that might be a consideration if you are planning to desk mount. There’s also an angled valance which attaches to the front of the lower base leading to a clean, well sculpted presence.
At the time I did the install for this I had also had my Harman Kardon AVR completely serviced so it made sense to do a complete reinstall of all components. I also installed a powered Ethernet hub on my equipment rack at the same time so that I could have a stable wired internet connection to this TV, my Roku box and a floating 14 foot cable allowing us to do Zoom meetings (as we increasingly do) out in the front yard without fear of signal loss due to weak WiFi.
Once hooked up it takes you to its “WebOS” main screen to assist with the TV set-up. The set comes with a dedicated “Smart Remote”. You can point and click around the screen as well as conduct the usual volume up, channel down sort of stuff and navigating input select etc. There’s also direct support buttons for launching Netflix and Amazon Prime apps (and some others I don’t use). In theory it should work great but I have to say I hated it. I have slightly trembly hands and getting the pointer to stick anywhere near the function I wanted to operate was trying to say the least. Also the Smart Remote sends out RF (radio frequency) signals rather than the more traditional IR (infra-red) so I couldn’t even use it to program my master, learning, remote. I don’t like having a ton of remotes around so this was a nuisance.
Fortunately the TV is also equipped with an IR sensor and most of the functions can be accessed using a more traditional LG remote. I bought one, used it to program my master remote and then put it away in the drawer. I think, for the ten bucks or so it would cost, LG could also include a traditional IR remote in the box for those of us that would prefer to go that route. Now my master remote works well with the TV. I do lose some functionality like direct voice control but, to be honest, I simply don’t care as long as I can navigate the menus, turn up the volume etc. I was even able to learn the IR codes to direct launch the aforementioned Netflix and Amazon apps.
The set is connected to a Roku Ultra, my Spectrum cable box and an Oppo BDP-93 BluRay player via a four way HDMI switching box so that only one cable lands at one of the TV’s four HDMI 2.1 capable inputs. Unfortunately the switching box doesn’t support HDCP 2.2 so it won’t pass the 4K HDR signal my Roku is capable of outputting but, since the TV basically has most of the apps I use on the Roku built in, that streamer is kind of redundant now anyway. And the set's built-in apps do display 4K HDR and can look pretty spectacular in the process of doing so. I’m not so familiar with all the latest 4K formats. I was an avid AV fan up to the introduction of BluRay but, to be honest, that format looks so great I wasn’t sure how much better things could get. I was wrong which brings me to,
Picture Quality:
In a word wow! I set the TV up using C-NET’s recommended settings for the CX: Cinema (user) setting, contrast ramped back from 100 to 80 and switching off some of the various enhancement and motion settings. Once I’d done this I watched a couple of BluRays I’m very familiar with. Color was extremely close to the Panasonic (in other words it was right) and the overall picture seemed to have a lot more “pop” probably due to the set’s jet black contrast floor. 4K HDR, tested with Amazon Prime Video’s “The Expanse” space opera was AMAZING! OLED’s don’t go as bright as many LED TVs but that black floor means the brightest areas of a scene can still look searing compared to dark parts of the screen. Well shot starfields are mesmerizing. Could the set benefit from a full professional calibration? Maybe but not by much. This TV is pretty accurate straight out of the box. I’m betting that most people opting for this screen size, including gamers who this TV is heavily marketed toward, probably won’t be dropping several hundred on a full scale pro set-up and they won’t be lacking because of it.
TV Sound:
I actually have a pretty extensive surround-sound system and I really had to use it with my last TV as it sounded pretty terrible on its own. The LG actually sounds quite decent especially on dialog. There’s a reasonable amount of bass and voices are clear and get quite loud on the “Cinema” mode I’m using. There are a few other settings including one which enhances voices. It does work but I thought it sounded scratchy in that mode. I found the set’s sound perfectly acceptable for daytime cable viewing. There’s no need to have my theater sound on and that’s going to save wear and tear on the system, not to mention savings on electricity and a lot more heat belting out into the house.
Verdict:
If you want an OLED TV and don’t have much space, buy one!
Sony’s 48” OLED will be out soon. It may have marginally better picture processing but from where I’m looking, I can’t see room for that much improvement. There’s also a 48” Panasonic (all these TVs use LG’s core panel) that’s supposed to be another level up but it costs considerably more and won’t be on sale in the US so you’ll need to import that TV from Canada when it comes out.
Save yourself the trouble, get one of these.
I’ve wanted an OLED for years. I actually had the money saved up nearly two years back but my problem was screen size. I simply could not fit a 55” TV in the space I had and that was the smallest OLED available. My previous TV, a Panasonic 46” G-10 filled the space I had. There was no way I could fit anything larger without completely rearranging my living space or (the horror!) ditching my favorite tower speakers and wall mounting some bookshelf speakers above the TV.
I was delighted when I heard that LG was bringing out a 48” variant of its mid-range CX series. It’s widely held that LG OLEDs have pretty much the same picture quality across the model ranges. Some of the upper tier models have wafer thin mountable designs, next gen digital TV tuners (which I’d never use) and some other fancy features but, when it comes to the visuals, they’re all pretty similar.
Unwrapping the TV was a little scary. It’s super thin and looks quite fragile. I would suggest having someone on hand to help with this even with a smaller model such as this one. The screen itself looks like a giant bezel-less android tablet. It has hardly any outer frame which contributed to my being able to fit the 48” into the same space my 46” had occupied. In fact if anything the 48” actually looks smaller and more compact than the TV it replaces even though it has an extra two inches of diagonal size. The screen sits on a base that contains the speaker(s) and has a cable routing channel which I didn’t find a lot of use for. It does stick out about 8 inches behind the TV so that might be a consideration if you are planning to desk mount. There’s also an angled valance which attaches to the front of the lower base leading to a clean, well sculpted presence.
At the time I did the install for this I had also had my Harman Kardon AVR completely serviced so it made sense to do a complete reinstall of all components. I also installed a powered Ethernet hub on my equipment rack at the same time so that I could have a stable wired internet connection to this TV, my Roku box and a floating 14 foot cable allowing us to do Zoom meetings (as we increasingly do) out in the front yard without fear of signal loss due to weak WiFi.
Once hooked up it takes you to its “WebOS” main screen to assist with the TV set-up. The set comes with a dedicated “Smart Remote”. You can point and click around the screen as well as conduct the usual volume up, channel down sort of stuff and navigating input select etc. There’s also direct support buttons for launching Netflix and Amazon Prime apps (and some others I don’t use). In theory it should work great but I have to say I hated it. I have slightly trembly hands and getting the pointer to stick anywhere near the function I wanted to operate was trying to say the least. Also the Smart Remote sends out RF (radio frequency) signals rather than the more traditional IR (infra-red) so I couldn’t even use it to program my master, learning, remote. I don’t like having a ton of remotes around so this was a nuisance.
Fortunately the TV is also equipped with an IR sensor and most of the functions can be accessed using a more traditional LG remote. I bought one, used it to program my master remote and then put it away in the drawer. I think, for the ten bucks or so it would cost, LG could also include a traditional IR remote in the box for those of us that would prefer to go that route. Now my master remote works well with the TV. I do lose some functionality like direct voice control but, to be honest, I simply don’t care as long as I can navigate the menus, turn up the volume etc. I was even able to learn the IR codes to direct launch the aforementioned Netflix and Amazon apps.
The set is connected to a Roku Ultra, my Spectrum cable box and an Oppo BDP-93 BluRay player via a four way HDMI switching box so that only one cable lands at one of the TV’s four HDMI 2.1 capable inputs. Unfortunately the switching box doesn’t support HDCP 2.2 so it won’t pass the 4K HDR signal my Roku is capable of outputting but, since the TV basically has most of the apps I use on the Roku built in, that streamer is kind of redundant now anyway. And the set's built-in apps do display 4K HDR and can look pretty spectacular in the process of doing so. I’m not so familiar with all the latest 4K formats. I was an avid AV fan up to the introduction of BluRay but, to be honest, that format looks so great I wasn’t sure how much better things could get. I was wrong which brings me to,
Picture Quality:
In a word wow! I set the TV up using C-NET’s recommended settings for the CX: Cinema (user) setting, contrast ramped back from 100 to 80 and switching off some of the various enhancement and motion settings. Once I’d done this I watched a couple of BluRays I’m very familiar with. Color was extremely close to the Panasonic (in other words it was right) and the overall picture seemed to have a lot more “pop” probably due to the set’s jet black contrast floor. 4K HDR, tested with Amazon Prime Video’s “The Expanse” space opera was AMAZING! OLED’s don’t go as bright as many LED TVs but that black floor means the brightest areas of a scene can still look searing compared to dark parts of the screen. Well shot starfields are mesmerizing. Could the set benefit from a full professional calibration? Maybe but not by much. This TV is pretty accurate straight out of the box. I’m betting that most people opting for this screen size, including gamers who this TV is heavily marketed toward, probably won’t be dropping several hundred on a full scale pro set-up and they won’t be lacking because of it.
TV Sound:
I actually have a pretty extensive surround-sound system and I really had to use it with my last TV as it sounded pretty terrible on its own. The LG actually sounds quite decent especially on dialog. There’s a reasonable amount of bass and voices are clear and get quite loud on the “Cinema” mode I’m using. There are a few other settings including one which enhances voices. It does work but I thought it sounded scratchy in that mode. I found the set’s sound perfectly acceptable for daytime cable viewing. There’s no need to have my theater sound on and that’s going to save wear and tear on the system, not to mention savings on electricity and a lot more heat belting out into the house.
Verdict:
If you want an OLED TV and don’t have much space, buy one!
Sony’s 48” OLED will be out soon. It may have marginally better picture processing but from where I’m looking, I can’t see room for that much improvement. There’s also a 48” Panasonic (all these TVs use LG’s core panel) that’s supposed to be another level up but it costs considerably more and won’t be on sale in the US so you’ll need to import that TV from Canada when it comes out.
Save yourself the trouble, get one of these.
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2021
Top reviews from other countries
Tristan Yoon
The best TV I've ever had in my life
Reviewed in Canada on October 13, 2020