deciding between nvidia shield tv or xbox one s for 4k streaming .... which one to go for ?

Do not like the TV built in apps because they lag and can be finicky.

I thought Amazon's Open Box policy included a return if necessary? I did not see any blotchiness on our 9600 (until it died). I don't recall if you just got this, but there are new 9600s at other places I think still out there that are new. Those bands don't seem right, but perhaps someone else has a better comment. I know the 3rd party company will work with u if you wanted to transfer the warranty you got with them.

Don't know what you paid for the set, but I think there are other providers that might have UB models. I think B&H in NYC had some in stock, and they are first class..

I am going with the xbox one s. It has a 4k blu ray disk player too. No competition there to me. However it does not have direct bitstream so if you have the latest in surround sound you might not like that you can't get atmos or dtsx.

Yeah. I just got it a few weeks ago. They will take a return, but will not provide an exchange, which is what I would want. I used a 20% off coupon that they were running for Amazon Warehouse deals, so I got a pretty good deal on it. At this point, I am just going to keep it and deal with/try to get used to the minor issues I may be having. If anything major goes wrong, hopefully LG's third party warranty service is reliable.

decided on same. preordered.

Figured it out. The Amazon app DOES do Ultra HD (and supports HDR as well) but you have to scroll down 20 rows on the main page to find the "TV in ULTRA HD" or "Movies in ULTRA HD" sections. How dumb. Looks as if each individual title is a separate entry in their system if it's Ultra HD (4K). dumb dumb dumb.

I thought about this also. The only problem I have is that my receiver doesn't support 4K. I need two hdmi out ports. One to the TV and one to the receiver for HD audio. If the Xbox One S had two hdmi out ports, it would be a no brainer.

TV has ARC HDMI. Plug hdmi 2 from tv into ARC port in your receiver and plug hdmi from xbox into any other hdmi on tv. Everything should work ie apps on tv and sound from xbox all should route through receiver. Make sure hdmi cec is on all devices.

I use arc for the streaming stuff on the TV and get DD Plus audio.
I don't think ARC supports Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio.
If I am going to watch a 4K Bluray, I want the HD audio as well.

I actually plan on use the optical out from xbox to my receiver. Which will only be dolby digital but if you use hdmi you can use the uncompressed option which supposedly just has your xbox doing the decoding as apposed to your receiver. I never thought it sounded bad. I have actually played around extensively with that type of stuff and it is barely a difference to my ears.

Correct, I believe Arc does not support Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD. I'm the same as well, got to have that HD audio.


Yes but you hear a difference between DD and HD audio right?

Anyone know if this set will display 50hz material? The Philips UHD player will play 50hz blu ray discs but output them natively, that is, without converting to 60hz. Anyone here play a 50hz blu ray (NOT converted to 60hz) or watch over the air TV somewhere in Europe?

I am almost positive the EG9600 does have the hardware to do both but want to make sure. It's the difference between me getting the Samsung UHD player (verified to play 50hz blu rays, probably by converting 50hz to 60hz) or the Philips UHD player (which will output 50hz blu rays @ 50hz). That's why I want to make sure the EFG9600 will do 50hz as well.

Hold the phone, if you just bought it, it has a warranty. That is crazy. Did you call your dealer??

Frankly not that much. To me it seems like the rears aren't as punchy (only have a 5.1) but the detail still seems to be there.

I got it from Amazon Warehouse deals, so it is not considered a new purchase. The Warehouse deals warranty is 30 days, but they will only provide a refund and not an exchange. I used a 20% off coupon that they were running for Warehouse deals that is no longer valid, and there are no more of the TVs listed under Warehouse deals, so I would be unable to replicate the same deal again if I were to return for a refund.

I checked on the warranty status with LG, and was told that the warranty had expired on it just last week. I was told that if I needed service they could still help me, but that I would need to provide a receipt so that they could verify that it was not an open box purchase.

I ended up just calling and purchasing an extended warranty through their 3rd party warranty service as they told me that Warehouse deals were eligble, so if anything goes wrong I should be covered.

then go ahead and make a claim and get it fixed!

The issue I was having previously with the vertical line on the screen somehow resolved on it's own. May have been image retention? The only issue I have right now is the vertical banding and vignetting that are apparent when running those vignetting tests. From what I've read this is actually pretty common, although vastly improved with the UB models. Correct me if I am wrong on that.

I haven't really noticed these issues too much during normal viewing, so I'm hesitant to file a claim just yet. I posted the photos of my vignetting test on the previous page. Do you think those are bad enough to warrant a claim? I was searching through a few of these huge threads on here trying to compare my tests to some others, and my tests actually didn't seem too bad compared to others I have seen.

If you do not see it during normal use and normal content, then forget about it and enjoy your score in peace knowing you have extended warranty for any future issues.

To me there's a big difference, everything sounds richer and crystal clear powerful.

All LG 2015 oleds will show this vertical banding on slides so don't worry, it can also be seen sometimes in normal viewing but its normal for the 2015 OLEDS, the 2016 ones are better but not perfect. The blotches and noise are also worse on the 2015 oleds, even some blurays will show this, there are some lousy blurays out there. The 2016 models has dithering and this makes the noise and blotches less noticeable.

Yeah I guess everyone is different I think I really have to listen to tell any difference rather than casually watch.

Have you done any atmos or dtsx ? I think that does make a difference it is so surrounding sound so to speak but I will never really use it because I can't really place the ceiling speakers anywhere without it looking like crap. I did temporarily to test it out. I liked it but still didn't think it was worth it. Thought about getting the up direction speakers but I don't have alot of faith they will produce the true effect.

KTM,

Guess I come from a different school of thought. There is a big difference between the UA and UB models and it doesn't have to do only with the fact that you can't get connected HDR, only streaming.. Because our 9600 died after 5 months, LG (after trying to fix it) replace it with a C6.. Ours just was that broken, but in that process I saw the mods just between parts for the UB.. I had a December 2015 build and yet there were additional improvements in shielding, in cabling, a power supply revision, etc.. all in the few short months between December and when they stopped the 9600 line.

I know you scored a great deal on the one you have, but to me, if I had any thoughts something was wrong I'd want to know. As for what you're seeing, the "vignetting" on the sides is not uncommon and will likely fade with hours of use.. I don't know what your window of return is with Amazon but if nothing else, maybe get a tech out there to look at it to make sure banding isn't going to be issue 6 months from now... The 3rd party company is good.. I've spoken with them, but I'd still want my set to be good off the get go.. especially knowing that there were a lot of additional improvements on top of that UA model. Just sayin'... and again, that's just me.. At this kind of money, none of us should have to settle...

Thanks for the input guys. JayS99, I think what I will do, is keep an eye out over the next few weeks and see if I really notice any banding and/or vignetting during normal content viewing. If it is really bothersome to me, then I will probably give the warranty company a call. Has anyone gone through LG's third party warranty service before? I'm sure any tech they send out would be well aware of these issues with these sets already, no?

Not sure if it's source related, but I have noticed blocky shadows in some content. Here is one instance that is particularly bad: "NASA’s 4K View of April 17 Solar Flare" YT video starting at around 1:03:
Attached a couple of photos. Would anyone mind testing this out on their set to see if they experience the same issue in this video?

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I also purchased a new eg9600 from amazon for a very good price. I did the gray scale test right away since I knew about the vignetting/banding issues before the purchase. I was wondering if this is bad Vignetting/banding for the eg9600? Or is this what most people have?

The first photo is the eg9600 at 2%. The second photo is the ec9300 at 2%. The first photo of the eg9600 is fairly brighter than the second photo of the ec9300. I believe because the first photo is brighter, the dark edges look more prominent.

However, both of my photos do appear brighter than other vignetting/banding photos I seen on avsforum. I am not sure what type of camera others used. I used a sony nex-5 mirrorless camera so the low light photography might be better, resulting in brighter photos. (The first day I tested the vignetting/banding it was worse (as seen in photo 3) and I can see it in certain movie scenes with grey background. But when I took this photo, it looked better and I no longer see it in movie scenes. A few posts up, user Jays99 said that the vignetting may go away with use. I guess that is what happened)

Is this bad enough vignetting/banding that I should ask for an exchange? My eg9600 also turns out to be a UA panel, so there is also a chance that the replacement unit will be a UB with hdmi 2.0a and better vignetting/banding.

But I believe most new eg9600 at amazon are UA based on what I read online. I don’t really want to trouble amazon with sending a replacement unit and end up with another UA…

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I believe it is a bad idea to return my new eg9600 and buy a ef9500 with minor scratches on the body (not screen), no warranty, and cost $260 more. (30 days return for problems but no exchanges. So if there are any problems and I return the tv, I lose the discount I will buy it for. And in regards to the warranty, I can get LG extended warranty from LG based on what other users said they did on this thread).

As a consolation, I do see HDR enhancements, but the tv’s image is already so good without HDR, the HDR enhancement doesn’t really make the image that noticeably better. (Others that spend more time with HDR, do you feel like HDR makes the image noticeably better?)

eg9600’s blows me away but it is hard to except that there is a UB version that has HDMI 2.0a but luck of the draw I ended up with UA version with HDMI 2.0 that can’t process 4k bluray HDR or one day 4k HDR gaming. UA can stream HDR, but that is still compressed video without ATMOS/DTS:X for my atmos ready surround system. I plan to use this tv for years. But no HDMI 2.0a does make this tv not future ready & have a dated feel. That is why the idea of returning a new eg9600 for a used openbox ef9500 is in my head. Just want to hear from a fellow videophile that it not worth it/it is a bad idea with too many risks so I can clear this notion from my head and just be happy that I finally got a 4k oled at a great price albeit the hdmi 2.0a shortcoming.

1. You got a good deal so only you can decide if increasing your cost is worth it to you. That being said, either the UB version or the EF will allow you to hook up not only a UHD player but also cable/satellite boxes that will allow 4K and/or 4K HDR material. To me, that's kind of a big deal because the set would be much more "future proof".

2. To me, HDR is da bomb. It means more to me than the 4K. If you have Amazon prime or Netflix, go watch some HDR material. If you want to see a wide color gamut watch "Van Gogh" on Amazon prime. I was going to wait to buy a UHD player until the holidays but because the HDR content I have seen is so superior to virtually everything else I have ever seen, I purchased one yesterday. To me, HDR takes everything to another level.

When I first was going to purchase either the EF or EG, I went with the EG simply because it was cheaper. I got 65EG new, in the box, for $2700 total and got lucky with a UB unit. At the time, a UA or UB didn't mean much to me. However, hooking up a cable/satellite box is huge and should be mainstream available in the next couple of years (They are available now from Directv and I think, maybe, Dishnet). At this point I, personally, would not accept a UA unit because I want as much HDR material as I can find.

I think the choices you have are to keep the set and update to a newer set sooner than you would like or bite the bullet and send this one back. You can get the 65EG9600 for $2,800 or the 65EF9500 for $2,900 most of the time, new, with full warranty. You could wait a while and these 2015 set prices should drop again as the 2016's drop but I doubt you'll ever get one of these for much less than $2,500 unless you happen to catch a final "get it otta here" sale. Of course, then there's the "open box" or "used" route you took.

In the end, it'a all about how much hassle you are willing to accept as well as how much money you want to invest. If you're happy with the set as is then it's tough to justify a move.

So, if yours is new (not Open Box), you can call LG and ask for a service call about the banding. The side "vignetting" does fade with use.. We had ours for 5 months and was barely even noticeable at that point. The banding on yours doesn't look right though. Again, if you're within the warranty I'd get LG VIP support on the line. There are very few (if any) new 9600s still floating around. In our case (Best Buy purchase) LG did a replacement with a C6 (2016 model) as I've mentioned, but ours would not power on no matter what part they swapped in or out. They are still making panel "part" replacements though.. The 9600 panel they shipped to us and tried had a lot more shielding, some differences on wiring and the power supplies had gone through a revision.

Thanks for the input guys. Can't the eg9600 play 4k from 4k cablebox through hdmi 2.0? It just won't have the ability to play 4k HDR because it doesn't have a hdmi 2.0a?

I wrote a lot so I forgot to mention the following. I ordered a "openbox pristine" 55eg9600 for $1392 (price includes tax. And i live in tristate area so can't avoid tax at most places) from amazon warehouse deal when they had the 20% promo discount. Amazon messed up on the delivery of my tv and the tv ended up back to amazon. Because it was their mistake, they were very nice and said that they would send me a new 55eg9600 as a replacement. I also ordered a 55EF9500 at amazon warehouse deal for $1,695.97 condition: "very good. Small scratches on front of item (less than 1/4" x 1/4"). Small scratches on top or sides of the item (less than 1/4" x 1/4"). Small scratches on back of item (less than 1/2" x 1/2")." Usually if there are scratches on the screen, it will be mentioned in the description and will be rated as acceptable instead of very good. So I believe the unit does not have scratches on the screen. I can live with minor scratches on body.

But I set the tv to not deliver until mid august (I can move up delivery date). Since the 55EF9500 can be cancelled before it ships, the 55EF9500 was a backup just in case I was going to have any problems with my openbox 55eg9600. However, because amazon said they will send me a new unit, I couldn't resist accepting a new unit (lower risk compared to openbox and I thought I will have higher chance of getting a UB unit). And I leaned towards eg9600 because it was better condition and it's a $674 saving with credit card cashback vs msrp. But now I am not sure whether I should return if that vignetting/banding is considered bad + it is not UB and go with option (a) a replacement 55eg9600 or (b) the openbox 55EF9500.

I am currently a student and I am saving up for an engagement ring that I will buy soon. But I couldn't resist the price on the oled. I can afford the ef9500 price difference but in my current situation, the cheaper the better. However, at the same time it makes sense to spend more for a futureready tv. Just not sure whether I should pay $304 (not $260 i wrote earlier) for HDR capability but openbox with scratches (And there is a big risk. If the ef9500 is defective, I am not sure if I can return it since each amazon warehouse tv is a unique item. I don't think amazon will replace it with a used unit that cost more in pristine condition). I don't really think I will see this price again for 2015 model (most sold out or not sold near me) or will have to wait a long time for 2016 model to drop to this price so hard to give up on this chance.

I attached too many photos in earlier post that might be confusing. Below, I attached the most recent photo of my eg9600 gray scale 2% vignetting/banding test photo. just want to confirm one more time that it is not good? too dark on the sides and too bright in the middle than typical (but like others said, it might go away with use). Now I am more concerned with the banding. @JayS99 , the banding doesn't look right? what makes you say so? I do see a vertical line that is more prominent than others and it originally had a lot of other lines around it (can be seen in photo 3 of earlier post). But those lines mysteriously went away...(i thought banding won't go away...) Was your banding about the same when you asked LG for a replacement (and lg acknowledged the banding was band for your set when they tested it?).

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