The best TV for gaming is also the only 48-inch OLED TV on the market, LG's OLED48CX. Frustratingly, it costs more than LG's 55-inch model in the same gaming-oriented CX series lineup, but probably not for long.
According to a Google-translated article in the Chosun Ilbo (via TechRadar), LG is planning a massive production increase of 48-inch OLED TVs next month, leaving the Paju plant to print only glass sheets that can be processed into 48-inch panels.
As a result, production is expected to jump to 1 million units this year, a nearly five-fold increase from the 220,000 units produced solely at the Chinese plant last year.
LG dominates the 48-inch OLED TV market, probably because TV makers believe that consumers will pay a premium for a larger LCD model over a smaller OLED screen. 48-inch OLED 48CX can be placed on a moderately sized desk, and the 48-inch OLED 48CX can be placed on the top of a desk, happy life as a PC gaming monitor.
In addition to opening up a life, the OLED48CX can also serve as a 4K gaming monitor. In fact, LG had gaming in mind when it introduced the new 48-inch model in the CX family. Like the rest of the lineup, it uses HDMI 2.1 connectivity and supports variable refresh rates and automatic low-latency modes. It is also a FreeSync display and is G-Sync compatible certified.
The caveat is always the price: even the current sale price of $1,450 at Best Buy is higher than the sale-priced $1,350 55-inch model. Similarly, Vizio's 55-inch OLED TV, also with HDMI 2.1 connectivity, is available for $1,200 (but without G-Sync support certification).
Certainly, the 48-inch form factor is much more suitable for desktop placement than a 55-inch TV, but even if it were more suitable, there is a mental hurdle in being asked to pay more for less area and the same features.
Still, the OLED48CX is proving to be a surprisingly popular choice. So much so that its price may even be below the 55-inch model. And if I wanted to, I would ask other TV manufacturers (especially Vizio) to make competing models and lower their prices.
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