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LG 55EF9500 and 65EF9500 OLED Owners Thread

3M views 25K replies 1K participants last post by  zdriver300 
#1 · (Edited)
New stuff 5-28-2016

More excellent HDR information. The second video tells the story of why we see somewhat muddy blacks.

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/139-display-calibration/1967026-hdr-how-calibrate-3.html#post44349681




New stuff 5-27-2016

Great info on HDR and the present day displays' capabilities in a 3 part interview with Steve Shaw, author of LightSpace software:

http://www.cinetechgeek.com/2016/05/26/nab16-lightspaces-steve-shaw-p1-on-the-history-of-lightspace/

http://www.cinetechgeek.com/2016/05...e-shaw-p2-on-hdr-2084-hlg-does-it-make-sense/

http://www.cinetechgeek.com/2016/05...-steve-shaw-p3-on-p3-rec2020-and-calibration/





New stuff 5-20-2016

What happens when Wide Color Gamut is selected and HDR signals are sent to the EF?

I selected the DCI-P3 triangle as reference. WCG is on and I ran both HDR Off and On. Although the measured points are definitely different, the tracking is pure Rec.709.



Here's the HDR off/on comparison but this time using the Rec.709 triangle for reference.





Save yourself 13,000+ posts worth of reading except for 2 and 3 below. Visit satboy's summary of issues as of 1Nov2015 - here



BB 9/13/15 65" = $6,999.98 55" = $4,999.98


For now, from the LG site

LG 55EF9500 Specs

ULTRA HD (3840x2160)
Tru-4K Upscaler
Tru-Color Generator
Anti-Reflective Coating
Just Scan (1:1 Pixel Matching)
Real Cinema 24p
4K UHD File Playback (HEVC, VP9)

SMART TV
webOS webOS 2.0
Processor Quad Core
Magic Remote 2015 (Included)
Natural Voice Recognition
Universal Control Capability
LG Content Store (App Store)
Web Browser
SMART SHARE
Screen Share
Content Share

3D
FPR (Passive)
Dual Play
3D Glasses 2 Glasses Included

AUDIO
Speaker System 2 Channel
Output Power 20W
Sound System ULTRA Surround
Mono/Stereo/Dual (MTS/SAP)
Dolby® Digital Decoder
DTS Decoder
Sound Designed by harman/kardon®
Clear Voice II
Wireless Sound Sync

CONNECTIVITY
Wi-Fi® Direct
Wi-Fi® Built-In
SIMPLINK™ (HDMI™ CEC)
USB
Video DivX HD
Photo JPEG, JPS, MPO
Audio AC3(Dolby Digital), EAC3, HE-AAC, AAC, MP2, MP3, PC M, DTS, RA, WMA

INPUTS
RF in (Antenna/Cable) 1 (Rear)
Component Video In 1 (Rear)
Composite In (AV) 1 (Rear)
Optical 1 (Rear)
HDMI® 3 (Side)
USB 3.0/2.0 1 / 2 (Side)
LAN 1 (Rear)
RS232 1 (Rear, Phone Jack)

POWER
Power Supply (Voltage, Hz) 100V ~ 240V, 50/60 Hz
Standby Mode 0.3W

WALL MOUNT
VESA Easy Slim (OTW150)

DIMENSIONS / WEIGHT
TV without Stand (WxHxD) 48.3” x 28.3” x 2”
TV with Stand (WxHxD) 48.3” x 29.9” x 8.4”
TV Shipping Dimensions (WxHxD) 56.5” x 32” x 8.9”
TV without Stand weight 30 lbs
TV with Stand weight 37.9 lbs
Shipping Weight 51.1 lbs

WARRANTY / UPC
Limited Warranty 1 Year Parts & Labor


LG 65EF9500 specs

TV without Stand (WxHxD) 57.1” x 33.1” x 2”
TV with Stand (WxHxD) 57” x 34.8” x 9.3”
TV Shipping Dimensions (WxHxD) 66.1” x 36.8” x 10”
TV without Stand weight 46.7 lbs
TV with Stand weight 56.9 lbs
Shipping Weight 74.3 lbs
 
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#2 · (Edited)
The following information has need acquired using an LG 55EF9500 OLED that I personally own.


Two edge issues:
1) Vignetting at low luminance along the L & R edges of the screen. It is visible as more black than the rest of the screen. Moving off axis does not present any change. Vignetting is evident up through about 15% luminance.
2) At 20% luminance, black vignetting is replaced with the color blue but it is due to off center viewing angle. The easiest way to see this is to display a 100% full screen white pattern. The farther away the screen is viewed, the more narrow the bluish edges appear. As you move forward towards the screen the blue area becomes wider and wider. Stand any distance from the screen, move off angle far enough, and the entire screen becomes blue.

I thought (2) was due to pixel structure and that may be the case. However, viewing at various angles with a magnifier reveals nothing unusual.

25Oct 2015 - More on off axis Blue - Moving off axis reveals an all white screen changing to what is perceived as Blue. The meter reveals that the main change is a reduction in Red luminance, The following two graphs compare on axis to 45 degrees off axis.





********************************************************************************************************

1. Display lag measured with a Leo Bodnar tester. Getting this out of the way. I'm not a gamer......

HDMI1 - All modes 50ms

HDMI3
ISF Mode - 120ms
Game Mode - 64ms
Rename input from HDMI3 to PC - 50ms



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2. When my 55" arrives I'll be making a comprehensive evaluation in the "out of the box" state.

Picture quality as delivered is very good, better than any new display I've seen so far. Professional calibration will make the picture a little better but not much.

Grayscale




Color




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3. Calibration results as can be obtained with popular setup discs.

There are several free and commercial discs readily available for basic display set up. Examples include Ted's Disc, Disney WOW, Spears & Munsil, and AVSHD. They are useful for setting black level (Brightness), White level (Contrast), Sharpness, Color, and Tint.

The AVSHD disc contains the 1% - 4% patterns used in checking for vignetting and the 100% pattern for discoloration.

Before making adjustments with the above listed controls, use the following settings:

Picture - Expert1
OLED Light - Night 25, Day moderate lighting 42, Bright sun lit room 47
Aspect Ratio - Just Scan
Ultra Deep Color (2015 Blu-Ray and TV) - Off

Expert Control
Dynamic Contrast - Off
Super Resolution - Off
Color Gamut - Standard
Edge Enhancer - Off
Color Filter - Off
Gamma 2.4

Picture Options
Noise Reduction - Off
MPEG Noise Reduction - Off
Black Level - Low
TruMotion - User (De-Judder 2, De-Blur 10)

Note: Noise Reduction and MPEG Noise Reduction - if the quality of the incoming signal is sub standard, adding noise reduction may help the picture. Experiment.

Using the disc - in this case, the AVS Forum available AVSHD disc. If you use this one, be sure and down load the accompanying Patterns Manual from which the following instruction is excerpted:

Black-Level – Most often this control will be called brightness, and
you can use chapters 1 and 2 for adjustment. On the first pattern set
black-level to the lowest setting where the bars numbered 17-25 flash.
For the second pattern it may be more difficult to see 17 flash, and we
suggest setting black-level no lower than where you can see 19-28
flash with typical viewing conditions. Some circumstances give the
same black-level setting for chapters 1 and 2, and in other situations
using the setting from chapter 2 serves as an acceptable compromise.
White-Level – Manufacturers may call this control contrast or
picture, and chapters 2 and 3 allow for adjustments. Start by setting
white-level very low so you can easily see the bars flash. Ideally you
would want to see all the numbered bars 223-253 flash on these two
patterns at a low setting, but in some situations the bars numbered
235-253 may never flash. Begin turning up white-level and watch to
see if any bars stop flashing as you increase white-level. Generally we
suggest using the highest setting available before 244 or lower
disappear, but at minimum the 223-234 bars should always flash. On
some displays the bars may not disappear even using the highest
setting. The White Clipping description goes into further detail, and it
includes other items related to white-level, such as color shift.
Color – Look at chapter 4 through a blue filter, or if available use a
blue mode on the TV. Adjust the color control to find a setting where
the flashing boxes labeled color most closely match the bar.
Tint – Some manufacturers may label this control hue instead of tint.
Look at chapter 4 through a blue filter, or if the TV offers a blue mode
that can also be used. Adjust the tint control so the flashing boxes
marked tint most closely match the bar.
Sharpness – Go to chapter 5, and set sharpness low enough for no
light edges to form on the black objects. On some TVs you will need to
avoid setting sharpness too low and causing the black objects to blur
into the gray. If the black objects never lose definition or blur into the
gray, then you may set sharpness to minimum.

My notes:

Brightness (black level) - set according to the black pluge pattern where 17 flashes and 16 does not. Do this first, in the middle, and at the end of your set up. I cannot over emphasize this. Be sure and check it as the last step you do before viewing your personal reference content. If Brightness is set too low you will lose detail in the darker content. If it is set too high you will lose the reason you bought an OLED for in the first place.


Contrast (white level) - I use 80 but it appears that anything in the 75-80 range will work fine. Put up a Gray Step or Ramp pattern and see if there is a color change as you adjust Contrast.


Sharpness - The EF adds much less extra material than most other displays. If you set Sharpness to maximum you'll certainly see the the whiteish increase along the black lines on a Sharpness pattern. Reducing the control to around 20 or 30 effectively eliminates the extra material. Reducing to 0 does not show any sort of "softening" effect. The correct setting is most likely 0 but setting to 20 will not change the picture as viewed by the human eye.


Color & Tint - Unlike LCD and Plasma panels, there is not a clearly defined "perfect" setting while viewing the flashing color pattern through a blue filter so I set Color and Tint to where it looked closest to being accurate. In the two charts below, pay attention to the Delta E numbers, the lower the better. It is clear that changing Color and Tint on the LG EF is detrimental to a good picture. Therefore, leave these controls alone.

Color with no C & T adjustment:



Color after C & T adjustment:



EDIT to this last part - I used a filter provided with the Spears & Munsil disc and it was inaccurate. When using the 55EF9500 Blue Only Mode - Picture Mode Settings > Expert Control > Color Filter > Blue - The correct Color & Tint settings prove to be the factory settings, 50 & 0


********************************************************************************************************


4. Information for calibrators:

Calibration using all available Grayscale and Color Management System controls. In this section I've been gathering information from knowledgeable calibrators and from my personal experience.

ASBL and how to get around it:
With a given pattern size and initial luminance, the EF will maintain that luminance for approximately 1 minute 15 seconds and then begin a slow, steady reduction in luminance until a bottom is reached after which it will maintain at that level. Whether calibrating Grayscale and Gamma with the 2 and 20 point Grayscale controls or calibrating Color with the Color Management System, keep an eye on the luminance while taking continuous readings. Once luminance starts to drop, select another percentage pattern in the GS or a different color in the CMS for a few seconds. Switch back to the % or color you had been working on and notice that the luminance level has returned to the starting point. This gives you another minute or so to continue making adjustments.

EF Evaluation and calibration tips from Chad B HERE

I now have the factory service manual and have a service remote control on order. I believe there is a way to turn off ASBL which would be helpful while calibrating.

to be continued


******************************************************************************************************

5. 3D LUT calibration.

The first 3D LUT report from a display profile with Argyll software by sillysally - HERE The results are outstanding.

One more sillysally 3D LUT. This time using a relatively small profile with the new Anisometric patch sequence available in LIghtSpace software. Despite the small profile (2744 reads), the resulting LUT is excellent.

30Oct update: 3D LUTs and Color tracking: The 55EF9500 is the best consumer TV available today due to it's contrast and believable flesh tones (pure luck). Despite this, the wonky CMS controls and poor color tracking produce inaccurate colors throughout the Rec.709 gamut and can only be corrected with 3D LUTs. Comparison of before and after applying a LUT:




**********************************************************************************************************

Bonus - I'm not a fan of posting pictures because of the many variables among monitor setup/calibration, BUT - I'll place the calibrated 9500 along side my Panasonic 65VT60 with high contrast pictures in a totally dark room to show off OLED capability.
 
#3 · (Edited)
On the subject of HDR luminance output:

HDR is very different to running a normal display at high Nits levels.
The EOTF means the bulk of the image is at ‘normal’ 0-100 Nits levels, with just spectral highlight detail over that.





Panasonic 65VT60 plasma along side the LG 55EF9500. In the room, black level on the LG was definitely better than the VT60, and shadow detail was slightly better on the VT60. I'll be looking into that.



I've been spending a lot of time futzing with the lower luminance end of the Grayscale using patterns available on the AVSHD disc and my DVDO professional pattern generator. Then, while checking content, I "think" I'm observing black crush (objects that should be seen are dissolved into black). Am I?

Get the Disney WOW: World of Wonder Blu-Ray disc. You can get it at BestBuy for $17.99 + tax or have in your mailbox in two days for $17.29 with Amazon Prime.

For those of you who already have this disc, I'm referring to the black level test pattern - the one with the flashing stars. Once you've seen it you'll never forget. Among other attributes, there is a series of small boxes running horizontally across the center of the pattern. The boxes run blacks from -4% to +8% in 1% increments.

On my 55EF9500 I can see detail down to and including a tiny bit in the 0% box itself. The LG is doing exactly what it is supposed to be doing. The detail is not crushed at all. It's there and it's irrefutable.

So what's going on?
1. I'm not an ocular specialist. Perhaps some of you are and can provide information or theories.
2. Prior to OLED we've never seen black as true 0% black on a non CRT television set. We aren't used to it. Is this something we must train ourselves for? Are some people unaffected such as is the case with motion - soap opera effect?
3. If we increase the Brightness control 2 or 3 clicks above optimal thus increasing the MLL (minimum light level) up to Plasma or (shrug) LCD levels will this make us happy even though we are destroying Contrast which is the number one factor of picture quality?

4.????? You fill in the blanks.....
 
#6 ·
Mine should be here in about a week. Ah.. new place to hang out vs the "waiting for this TV thread" :)

i didn't expect the 65" model to hit $5k right out of the door. i haven't told the wife yet tho... Maybe she won't notice it (in our small nyc apt...)

I'm upgrading from the Panasonic 65" VT60 which is really enjoy. I can't play to play some games on it (even though i expect the lag to be higher)
 
#8 ·
Received mine today! So far looks great! Negligible vignetting! :) Already full version update of firmware.
Congrats!

Give us a picture of that 5% and 10% screen (ideally snapped in a dark room with a long exposure time and steady camera ;)).

Also, is the surface of your screen dimpled/dented at all or is it a mirror-like flat surface? (Are their any distortions in the reflections at all, or is it the same reflection you would get off of a flat mirror?)
 
#10 ·
Congrats!

Give us a picture of that 5% and 10% screen (ideally snapped in a dark room with a long exposure time and steady camera ;)).

Also, is the surface of your screen dimpled/dented at all or is it a mirror-like flat surface? (Are their any distortions in the reflections at all, or is it the same reflection you would get off of a flat mirror?)
No dimpling whatsoever. I had a LG EC9300 1080p OLED and couldn't live with the pixel grid as it was so obvious to me and I was very hypersensitive to it. On top of that it was dimpled terribly which I noticed right away out of the box. The very next day the price dropped on the 9600 by $1,000 so I exchanged the EC9300 for the 4k EG9600. Compared to the EC9300 I was very pleased that the EG was a uniform non-dimpled screen and being 4k the pixel grid sensitivity was moot. However... 3 weeks later, I exchanged for the EF. Why? The vignetting was horrible on the EG, and I was preferring a flat panel all along and HDR HDMI 2.0a. Thankfully as a Best Buy Elite member, I have a 45 day return policy and that flexibility that affords me...

So I woke up and said, Im going to look at the EF at BB and talk to the Sales Rep about a possible exchange for the EF. He tells me he has one in the back that just came in and I took a gamble, brought the EG back and was hoping the EF would have better lighting edge uniformity and indeed it does. Not perfect but much better to be a non factor. I watched a variety of media tonight and didn't notice any vignetting on the source material. The set is hours old... and it will get better as these tend to do. Back to the vignetting, its slightly there when I go into settings/white balance and display the low gray (outer?) screen and the edge lighting uniformity is much improved compared to my EG. On my EG9600, it felt at times I had curtains on the side of the set or was watching thought a periscope- thats how "intolerable" it was for me. And that was an August build. The EF is an August build as well; perhaps the curved screen exacerbates the vignetting. All in all I am quite pleased with the EF and will enjoy this set. Right out of the box the colors were more accurate and natural to me and doesn't skew to a greenish cast that the other 2 previous sets exhibited.
 
#11 ·
No dimpling whatsoever. I had a LG EC9300 1080p OLED and couldn't live with the pixel grid as it was so obvious to me and I was very hypersensitive to it. On top of that it was dimpled terribly which I noticed right away out of the box. The very next day the price dropped on the 9600 by $1,000 so I exchanged the EC9300 for the 4k EG9600. Compared to the EC9300 I was very pleased that the EG was a uniform non-dimpled screen and being 4k the pixel grid sensitivity was moot. However... 3 weeks later, I exchanged for the EF. Why? The vignetting was horrible on the EG, and I was preferring a flat panel all along and HDR HDMI 2.0a. Thankfully as a Best Buy Elite member, I have a 45 day return policy and that flexibility that affords me...

So I woke up and said, Im going to look at the EF at BB and talk to the Sales Rep about a possible exchange for the EF. He tells me he has one in the back that just came in and I took a gamble, brought the EG back and was hoping the EF would have better lighting edge uniformity and indeed it does. Not perfect but much better to be a non factor. I watched a variety of media tonight and didn't notice any vignetting on the source material. The set is hours old... and it will get better as these tend to do. Back to the vignetting, its slightly there when I go into settings/white balance and display the low gray (outer?) screen and the edge lighting uniformity is much improved compared to my EG. On my EG9600, it felt at times I had curtains on the side of the set or was watching thought a periscope- thats how "intolerable" it was for me. And that was an August build. The EF is an August build as well; perhaps the curved screen exacerbates the vignetting. All in all I am quite pleased with the EF and will enjoy this set. Right out of the box the colors were more accurate and natural to me and doesn't skew to a greenish cast that the other 2 previous sets exhibited.
This is all very encouraging. Hopefully we get another owner or two that can confirm both the resolution of Vignetting as well as the 'perfectly' flat screen, which will signal the all-clear;)

What about the near-black uniformity? If you display a 5% grey screen, is it uniform or is there streaks like the 55EC9300?

If you don't have test patterns, you can download them here on the forum (GCD or AVSHD patterns...).
 
#13 ·
Looks like I will be a member of this club soon. My Sony 940C stopped working today, day 42 in my 45 day BB return policy. Went to BB, looking to exchange, and oddly enough there was an LG salesperson there. Overheard me asking for an exchange, and told me 9 65EF9500's were available in Minneapolis BB warehouse, and he could put me first on the list. Won't be officially listed on BB web site until the 15th. Set me up for delivery on the 23rd. Same price as the 9600, and includes the 5 year warranty I purchased for $200. BB told me if I don't like it, they will give me a new 940C. Nothing to lose on my end!
 
#14 ·
A couple of weeks ago I told Chris at Cleveland Plasma to put me on the 55EF9500 waiting list but I would be waiting until the price inevitably drops to the $3500 level. That level has already been broken and my order has been placed.

Once it arrives I'll be going through the steps as outlined in post number 2. It'll be something like I did here and here except more organized.
 
#15 ·
I'm anticipating delivery of my 65" set in a few weeks...back in late August, Robert at Value Electronics made me a deal I could not refuse. It just requires a little more patience on my part. :)

No matter where you purchased your set from, congratulations....and let's hope the influx of reports continues to be positive!
 
#16 ·
This is all very encouraging. Hopefully we get another owner or two that can confirm both the resolution of Vignetting as well as the 'perfectly' flat screen, which will signal the all-clear;)

What about the near-black uniformity? If you display a 5% grey screen, is it uniform or is there streaks like the 55EC9300?

If you don't have test patterns, you can download them here on the forum (GCD or AVSHD patterns...).
This is 5% grey screen from a new German 55EF9500 owner. Still some very slight banding and darkening of the edges, but looks much improved. For the right price, I could easily overlook that little darkening. More troublesome is a slight uptick in older OLED models starting to have problems. Noticed 3 or 4 new ones in the last few weeks.

 
#19 ·
Hoping i Get my 55" next week aswell never exspected the 9500/950 to be perfect but this is great news that they managed to improve on the 9600/960 dark edges.
 
#20 ·
That is the same Vignetting, just the grey is lighter and it looks not at all to be 5%.


I have lowered the brightness of this picture and this is the outcome:


The light differences are just much more visible in dark areas. The original picture is light grey.
 

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