Have you eliminated or reduced ghosting in gaming mode?
PDF Version of the slides available for download below:OK, first of all, HUGE thanks to 4kfanatic for taking the time to do this! While I am no "amateur" when it comes to home theater, video, etc., (and even though PC Magazine mentioned my website back in 2004 which specialized in how to tweak PC games to work on widescreen displays), I'm still a total noob when it comes down to actually CALIBRATING TVs. So I appreciate the time 4kfanatic spent in doing all this.
Anyway, two weeks ago, I replaced my 55" TCL 55S405 with a Hisense U8G (65") from Best Buy. Until recently, I had never heard of Hisense and so it was a hard pass for quite some time. But after doing some deeper research (e.g. Rtings.com and others), I decided to pull the trigger. Plus, it was (and still is) on-sale for a great price!
The TCL was my first foray into 4K TVs and was in myman cave"game room" strictly for PC and PlayStation gaming. Sure, it worked fine, but I wanted to upgrade to a bigger, brighter model, and one that supported 120Hz and VRR since my gaming laptop has NVidia G-Sync. My "main home theater" TV is a 65" 2019 LG C9 OLED located in the family room. Amazing viewing angle and black levels for sure! We also have various Samsung and Vizios throughout the house.
I only have a 30-day return window, so I really needed to dig in and get to know the U8G to make sure that it meets my needs. Since I had yesterday off, I spent over 8 hours messing around with it! During that time, I discovered many interesting "quirks and features" which I will go into detail below. So buckle-up, this is going to be a long post.
I started off using 4kfanatic's picture settings as a baseline and then went from there.
I only have 3 devices connected: a PS3, a PS5, and a Lenovo Legion 5 Pro gaming laptop (with nvidia RTX3070). The PS3 (1080p) and the PS5 (4K @ 60Hz) have been working fine, so nothing to report there. The gaming laptop on the other hand has been a challenge to say the least. For audio, I toggle between bluetooth headphones or I use the TV's headphone jack connected to two 1000-watt QSC loudspeakers (because I also have a Pioneer DDJ-1000 & Rekordbox -- it's a "DJ thing"). Oh, I also happen to own a Spyder 5 Pro which I've used once to calibrate my main PC monitor for photo editing purposes -- I've never used it on a TV before. Until now...
My first hurdle during the first 2 weeks of ownership: I could not get "4K" (3840x2160) working at all on the laptop and the U8G. Every time I selected that resolution, the picture was scrambled. Some quick research told me that the 15-foot "high-speed" HDMI cable (from Monoprice) was the culprit. I quickly replaced it with a Certified "Ultra High Speed" cable (also Monoprice). Now I can do 4K @ 60Hz. But 120Hz? Not so much. More on that below. (Also note, I have Windows 10 set to "Second screen only" on the laptop, so only the U8G is displaying video from the laptop's HDMI output.)
Following 4kfanatic's instructions, I downloaded Displaycal and installed it. I ran into a few snags that I want to share:
1. Before connecting a Spyder colorimeter for the first time, install the Spyder software first. Doing so will install the necessary drivers. (I then ran the Spyder calibration just to confirm that the device was working.) By the way, after running it, I got gamut results of 100% of sRGB, 87% of NTSC, and 89% of AdobeRGB. I guess that's good? The picture looked noticeably warmer when using the new profile. I quickly disabled it so I was back to "stock" and could proceed with calibration.
2. After installing Displaycal, you need to enable the "instruments". Click Tools > Install ArgyllCMS instrument drivers. Then click Download and install. Once I did that, I finally saw "Spyder5" in the Instrument drop-down menu and the Calibrate and profile button was no longer grayed out. (Took me over an hour to figure this out. YMMV.) Also, make the room as dark as possible. Do this at night if you can't close any doors or window coverings.
3. 4kfanatic says to select from the Correction drop-down menu "Spectral: LCD Quantum Dot LED (Samsung QLED Q9)". When you do this, the Mode drop-down will keep reverting to "Refresh (generic)". This is normal. I kept getting a "refresh" error during calibration unless I selected the Mode "LCD (generic)". But doing that changes the Correction back to "(None)".
View attachment 3219131
4. After clicking the Calibrate & profile button, I kept getting the error "dispread: Warning - Spyder: measuring refresh rate failed" over and over. Just wait it out. It will pass on its own and continue. Patience is key.
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5. Click Calibrate & Profile. A Measurement Area window will appear. Place the Spyder in the center of the TV within the measurement area and flat up against the screen. I also had to put my laptop right next to the TV because the Spyder's USB cable is kinda short and the TV is quite tall.
6. On the TV, make sure that your White Balance (2-point) is set to all zeros as shown below before you begin.Now click Start Measurement. The Spyder will start taking inital readings. Again, ignore any "dispread" errors you may see.
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7. Once initialzation is done, the Start Measurement button won't be grayed-out. Click on it.
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8. Displaycal will beep and take a new reading every few seconds. Here's what mine looked like before making any adjustments to the TV:
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9. Using your TV remote, adjust the Offset and Gain sliders until the red, green, and blue bars line up under the arrows. This will take some trial and error. Once they are properly calibrated, it will look something like this. Pay special attention to the delta (triangle). Get as close to "0.0" as possible. As you can see in my example below, I got down to "0.2".
View attachment 3219135
10. Once you are satisfied, click Stop measurement.
11. Select another Picture Mode on your TV, then repeat the process starting at step #5 above. Write down your Calibration Settings for safe-keeping in case you have to reset something.
I posted my Calibration Settings here, but again, every screen is different, so don't use mine to adjust yours.
Now, here are some interesting U8G "quirks and features" I discovered during my testing:
1. Both the Instant Game Response and FreeSync options are actually tied to the HDMI input and not the Picture Source. For example, you can have both HDMI 3 and HDMI 4 inputs set to the "Standard" picture source, but with FreeSync enabled on HDMI 3 and then disabled on HDMI 4. Also, enabling/disabling Instant Game Response appears to visually make it brigher/dimmer to my eyes for some reason.
2. Apparently Picture Modes don't "stick" to whatever content you are watching. I am trying to set mine up like this:
- Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Plex, etc. = Standard picture mode
- PC/Laptop (HDMI4) = Game picture mode
- PS5 (HDMI3) = HDR Vivid picture mode
However, when I switch from PC/Laptop (HDMI4) to, say, Netflix, it's still in Game mode. If I then manually select Standard mode for Netflix and then go back to PC/Laptop (HDMI4), it's still in Standard mode. In other words, how can I get the modes to "stick" to their corresponding sources? Dunno.
3. I find it strange in using the NVIDIA Control Panel > Display > Change Resolution, that "4k x 2k, 3840 x 2160 (native)" is capped at just 60 Hz. There is no 120Hz option. Why? Sure I can select 3840x2160 under the PC section and then there is a 120Hz option, but still...
4. THE BIG ISSUE: I cannot get 4K @ 120Hz working on ANY game. The picture is always "scrambled". I've posted my current test results in the same spreadsheet posted above (just click the Game Behavior tab located at the bottom of the spreadsheet). Any input on this matter is appreciated! That said, the RTX3070 GPU on my Legion 5 Pro laptop pegs around 70FPS at 4K, so it's not like it can do 120FPS anyway, but with VRR I'd still like to set the TV to 4K @ 120Hz. I am well aware of the on-going issue/post/complaints that the U8G does not really do "4K @ 120Hz", but instead, the vertical resolution is cut in half. Now I'm wondering if I should return this and wait. On the other hand, I play the majority of my PC games with the TV set to 1080p @ 120Hz because FPS is more important to me than razor-sharp resolution. This way my laptop's GPU will hover around 50-85% and not redlining at 100% all the time. /rant
Congrats on making it all the way to the end!
UPDATE 1/5/22: Regarding #4 above, it turns out that it's a limitation of my Lenovo laptop. Thanks to Reddit u/Large___Marge for pointing that out. Once I reduced the Output Color Depth to "8bpc", Output Color Format to "YCbCr420", and Output Dynamic Range to "Limited" in the NVIDIA Control Panel, I can now select "3840x2160" in my PC games. Although it does come with some side effects: sometimes I see a thin green or yellow vertical bar about 1/4" wide on the far left of the screen. Looks like I'm sticking with either 1080p @ 120Hz (most games) or 4K @ 60Hz (some games) from here on out...
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Other notes and observations I forgot to put in my original post:
- While the picture can get insanely bright, the black levels on the U8G are what's blowing me away. They are so close to what I see on my LG OLED!
- Of course the Hisense does not have wide viewing angles because it's a VA panel, but I only use it for gaming and I sit smack dab in the middle with my eyeballs exactly 8 feet away. 65" is perfect for that distance. I was originally shopping around for a 75-86" TV, but at 8 feet away, motion sickness can kick in during gaming because it's filling in so much of one's peripheral vision. Plus the corners of the panel will look washed out due to the viewing angles in relation to the viewer.
- Is it me or does HDR + Windows 10 suck? Every time I enable HDR in Windows 10, my games that support it (e.g. Doom Eternal) look really crappy and washed-out. So I never use HDR. Thoughts?
- After I calibrated my TV, I watched the following YouTube videos with the TV in the Standard picture mode and was just blown away at the picture quality. I highly recommend viewing these stunning clips! I could not stop staring. Pure eye candy:
- 8K VIDEO ULTRAHD 120FPS SLOWMOTION | BREATHTAKING BIRDS SLOWMOTION WITH RELAXATION SOUNDS 4320P
- 12k HDR Best of 2021 Dolby Vision
- Aquarium 4K VIDEO (ULTRA HD) Sea Animals With Relaxing Music- Last night I downloaded Dirt5 on my PS5, and for the first time, I was able to test and see 4K @120Hz on it. Of course, once again, the picture looked grainy due to the resolution halving and the framerate was crappy, so I reverted back to 4K @ 60Hz.
no settings can fix this only Hisense can fix thisHave you eliminated or reduced ghosting in gaming mode?
i play with pc, ps4 and ps3 in sdr and hdr and in gaming mode there is 0 ghosting on my set. 0. none at all. by the way main post is updated all new settings as of 6/26/2021Have you eliminated or reduced ghosting in gaming mode?
i havent tried 4k hdr blueray yet but if it used dolby vision just use my setting or otherwise use hdr vivid. And yes always switch picture settings to match source because it can vary wildly. What looks good on gaming looks horrible on movies what looks good on movies looks bad on pc input etc. so need to always change the settings. I will update settings as I try new sources. Thanks!Thanks for continuing to update these settings. Do you have any settings for 4k Ultra HDR blu-ray content?
Also forgive my noobness, but if you are using an application like YouTube for example which has SDR content and 4k content, do you just switch your picture settings constantly to match the source material?
Thanks man.
Yes you can do these all by memorizing the recommended picture settings or writing them down but thankfully Hisense offered a much better and easier way by activating the picture adjustments by the TV itself (it requires consistent internet connection and activating the corresponding feature on the setting menu). When you do this, you get the picture adjustments automatically based on the type of contents you watch. I have personally never seen anything better than what the TV itself suggests, Hands down!!Update: All settings updated as of 6/26/2021
I have the u8g and the picture quality is amazing!
About Ghosting: I know about ghosting and all the problems supposedly with it. I can confirm, with pc, ps3 and ps4 in sdr and hdr in gaming mode - THERE IS NO GHOSTING! Even in the hdmi 2.1 ports, great news! However - all sources need different modes this is why I made this guide!
With all modes please add the Rtings (White Balance Only) settings found here: Hisense U8G Calibration Settings
I then tweak each picture setting to color balance from there with a Color meter to get it accurate for my set, and hopefully it works for you! If not buy a color meter and tweak the last bit yourself hook up a laptop or pc and use displaycal.
use hdmi enhanced input for all hdmi sources, unless specified not to (only for tv input i had to switch to standard)
Here are my preferred settings try it and see if it looks good to you, and tweak from there:
For sdr content (youtube app, newer sdr videos):
profile: standard leave all settings default
Set local dimming to high
backlight to 100 (or your preference, i like bright)
set color to mid low,
noise reduction (both) to medium
active contrast to none.
And turn off any motion enhancements.
Filmmaker mode off
color space on native.
use rtings white balance calibration
then for my set (checked with color meter) change
Red gain -2
Green gain -8
For SDR TV Input (Like Xfinity Cable, Direct tv etc):
Use same settings as above (just dont change anything that isn't on the changes i listed)
except change motion setting to "clear"
Active contrast on high, (but any of the active contrast settings try them some may look better to you, can also try "off")
Also can try setting color to "low" if you dont like mid low (i don't like low)
just change green gain to -9
keep all other settings same as rtings calibration (don't do red -2 put it on -1, thats just if u use "low" color setting instead of mid low)
(alternatively can try theater night with Tv input, and use motion setting "clear)
notes on tv: my audio sync was off with my xfinity cable box (the new ones) so i had to go into my xfinity settings and change audio output to “stereo” instead of dolby sound. Then i had to change the hdmi input mode on the tv to “standard” instead of enhanced, or it would lose sync over time. If you have issues with audio sync from tv input try this.
(Also applicable to sports mode from tv input, settings right under this)
For SDR TV Sports Input (Like Sports content from Xfinity Cable, Direct tv etc):
Set it to "sports" mode keep everything default
Local Dimming medium
Color Tempurare to Medium
motion setting to "clear"
Both noise reductions to medium
Active contrast to medium
use rtings white balance calibration
then for my set (checked with color meter) just change
Green gain -5
if this setting is too dim (i think its fine) you can try active contrast high / local dimming high but i think for this specific mode it looks better on medium. Alternatively you can just use the SDR standard tv settings above this, i think that looks good with sports too, in some cases better.
Also for SDR content (old school animated games like snes, may work for cartoons too) use:
same settings as "sdr content (youtube app, newer sdr videos)" (just dont change anything that isn't on the changes i listed)
change color to low
Instant game response On
use rtings white balance calibration
then for my set (checked with color meter) change
Green Gain -9
For sdr gaming (ps3, ps4, or pc sdr 3d games) (mimics vivid mode, very saturated, but with no input lag!):
Set it to game mode leave all settings default
Backlight 100
local dimming high
Contrast 100
Brightness 30-32 (whichever looks better to you)
Color 60
Color Temp - mid low
Active contrast - off
use rtings white balance calibration
then for my set (checked with color meter) change
Red gain -2
Green gain -8
For sdr older movies like scarface, and for accurate PC input in sdr:
Set it to theater night leave all settings default
use rtings white balance calibration
then for my set (checked with color meter) change
Red gain to -2
Green gain -10
in 2 point white balance
to use this setting with pc input turn instant game response "on" for low input lag
Notes on PC Input: This is mainly for windows 10 and up users, but any version of windows would work - I would only reccommend using pc under normal use in theater night mode. In windows, right click on the desktop and go into "display settings" and toggle off "use hdr" on the HISENSE input, then u can set the tv to theater night and it wont be hdr. Imo any other setting will make the colors off when browsing web or watching youtube, using the computer normally etc. This setting looks proper and matches my color calibrated monitors.
Then when you enter a game, you can just change the sdr picture setting on your tv to game mode, or the standard mode i listed for animated games, If you plan on hdr gaming imo best way to use tv, just right click on the desktop and toggle on "use hdr" in the display settings. Then change it to my hdr gaming setting. Then run your game. When your done with the game then set it back to sdr theater night for all other use (need to toggle off "use hdr" in display settings).
This also applies if you watch HDR 10 content on youtube using your pc, just toggle "use HDR" for that then use "HDR Vivid" setting i provided then when your done go back to sdr / theater night setting. You can use computer normally with the hdr settings but it makes web browsing look weird. Even with HDR Theater. You can set HDR theater with same settings as sdr theater night, but it won't look as good as theater night in sdr. Thats why i always reccomend that setting until you need to to change it for specific content, like gaming or hdr movies / youtube.
(It just hit me sometimes the picture may switch to hdr automatically with certain content on pc, even youtube if its full screen. In that case dont touch the pc settings just make sure you have the right sertting on the tv)
For hdr content (normal tv watching like youtube hdr 10):
use hdr vivid
Then just use the same exact settings as "sdr content (youtube app, newer sdr videos)" (just dont change anything that isn't on the changes i listed)
Except put active contrast on high.
For hdr gaming (gaming in hdr 10, not dolby vision):
Set To HDR Game leave everything default
Backlight 100
Contrast 60-65
Brightness 50
Color 60-65 (i prefer both color / contrast at 65)
Color Temp Mid Low
Active Contrast High
use rtings white balance calibration
then for my set (checked with color meter) change
Red gain -2
Green gain -8
For dolby vision (movies only, havent used gaming yet in this setting):
Picture mode dolby custom all settings default
Local dimming high
backlight 100
Set color to mid-low
Set active contrast to high
noise reduction off
Digital noise reduction off
Motion settings off
Filmmaker mode off
use rtings white balance calibration
then for my set (checked with color meter) change
Red gain -2
Green gain -8
Notes on Dolby vision: You would think to keep local dimming on high in all scenarios,but sometimes it overbrightens darker scenes like rtings says (rarely). In that case you might want to go with active contrast medium / local dimming medium, or active contrast low / local dimming low. But 99 percent of the time i just keep them both set to high. Rtings settings for dolby vision, imo are horrible! Dolby IQ Sucks so bad because it embeds a soap opera effect that isn't removable, and dolby dark is just too dark and unsaturated.
+++++
With all these settings the picture looks amazing.. I bought this over an oled because i wanted higher brighness and no worries about burn in. The great thing is, this tv looks like an oled now. It's amazing. The settings really bring it out and make me very happy! Accuracy on my color correction is insane I got delta E score to 0.0 on some modes! No ghosting in gaming, low input lag! Definitely lived up to the marketing hype they had around it. But need to tweak the settings thats why I posted this!
Anyone want to add in please reply thanks.
The U9D problem is not just on the size of the screen but the MSRP. This TV is aimed to complete at luxury super expensive category. The predicted price is even higher than similar Sony and Samsung TV models of this price range. But for the setting on U8G, I just simply recommend you to leave it for TV to choose the best settings by going to the main menu setting of the TV and activate the picture enhancement option (you need to have internet access 24/7 for your TV) and then you just need to start watching and watching. The more films you watch, the more intelligent your TV will determine the best picture settings by itself. Go for low quality SD contents all the way to Dolby Vision and HDR10+ and give it a little bit time. In my case it only took a day and then I couldn't even guess this is my TV that I used to watch. Keep in mind that you can always overnight your TV's decision by changing the screen settings manually but I don't see it you ever want to do that again. Give it a try and see the results by yourself. Good luck.Thanks for posting this. The U8G is on my short list to upgrade from my 11 year old Mitsubishi DLP. Do you find the settings you give here help overcome some reviews' notes of stuttering in low frame rate sources? I watch a lot of classic movies...
The upcoming U9DG has some impressive specs, but seems it will only be available in 75 inches, whereas I need to limit to 65.
I am assuming that you twick the picture settings manually by yourself. So if that's is right, try using the smart enhancement feature from the TV itself to setup the best picture settings based on what you watch. In order to do so, you should activate it from the TV setting menu or if you did activated it already, you should choose the auto option on the list of available picture settings. Watch the difference and see if the issue got resolved (it should be).Hey quick question about your settings. We don’t have cable and have YouTube tv and some of the stuff I watch on it with the U8G is extremely pixelated, I know it isn’t the set because I watched 4K movies last night and was blown away with the picture quality. Are there any settings that I can use to limit the pixelated picture while watching YouTube tv or is that just how YouTube tv works?
Thanks for the info - I assume you mean enhanced mode under HDMI settings?I am assuming that you twick the picture settings manually by yourself. So if that's is right, try using the smart enhancement feature from the TV itself to setup the best picture settings based on what you watch. In order to do so, you should activate it from the TV setting menu or if you did activated it already, you should choose the auto option on the list of available picture settings. Watch the difference and see if the issue got resolved (it should be).
Keep that in mind, since it's an A.I. setting, your TV tries to compare and check everything based on what's been saved on the server databank and what other users have been made with this model TV, so be a little bit patient. Sometimes it might take a few hours for the TV to accurately find the best profile settings for your use case.
Good luck
No that's not what I was talking about but that's the features you should activate as well. What I was talking about is on Advance setting and it's called "Enhance Viewing".Thanks for the info - I assume you mean enhanced mode under HDMI settings?
Sounds interesting i will try it out and report back results soonYes you can do these all by memorizing the recommended picture settings or writing them down but thankfully Hisense offered a much better and easier way by activating the picture adjustments by the TV itself (it requires consistent internet connection and activating the corresponding feature on the setting menu). When you do this, you get the picture adjustments automatically based on the type of contents you watch. I have personally never seen anything better than what the TV itself suggests, Hands down!!
Yes it does. In fact, this TV is popular for it's PC capabilities over top brands in the market. On this model, you should choose the Game setting and then choose all other optional and extra sub settings related to it. Just keep that in mind, since this TV is fully capable to be a gaming monitor, you might find lots of features to adjust but my personal experience is, almost everything works fine without any need to twick sub menus.Does this TV have a PC mode. I know on my current Sony 900e there is a "graphics" setting where it dims the screen so I can comfortably use it as a PC monitor.
Thank you. I was aware of the gaming features as I was also looking to upgrade my Sony 900e for my PS5! This is great news. Thank you very much.Yes it does. In fact, this TV is popular for it's PC capabilities over top brands in the market. On this model, you should choose the Game setting and then choose all other optional and extra sub settings related to it. Just keep that in mind, since this TV is fully capable to be a gaming monitor, you might find lots of features to adjust but my personal experience is, almost everything works fine without any need to twick sub menus.
is that the setting that puts theshow type notification randomly in the upper right hand corner of the tv? If so I turned it off because it would randomly pop up in the middle of watching tv, show, or movieI am assuming that you twick the picture settings manually by yourself. So if that's is right, try using the smart enhancement feature from the TV itself to setup the best picture settings based on what you watch. In order to do so, you should activate it from the TV setting menu or if you did activated it already, you should choose the auto option on the list of available picture settings. Watch the difference and see if the issue got resolved (it should be).
Keep that in mind, since it's an A.I. setting, your TV tries to compare and check everything based on what's been saved on the server databank and what other users have been made with this model TV, so be a little bit patient. Sometimes it might take a few hours for the TV to accurately find the best profile settings for your use case.
Good luck
Yes it is. It only appears for a few seconds on the screen and it gradually learns what you watch on your TV. So, the more you have this option active on your TV set, the more accurate it can pickup what you are watching. What I learned from this and all other possible adjustments on this TV model, was the automatic picture (and even sound if you have a proper soundbar) adjustments always opt out the best accurate settings you could ever apply on your screen. Your millage could be different through.is that the setting that puts theshow type notification randomly in the upper right hand corner of the tv? If so I turned it off because it would randomly pop up in the middle of watching tv, show, or movie