LG UR781 vs LG UA75006LA (VA)

In HDR mode, LG UR781 unfortunately does not impress with its brightness. In tests on five screens, the television achieved only around 200 nits, which is quite a low value for HDR standards. This brightness is comparable to levels typical for SDR, which means that HDR effects are not sufficiently vivid, and the picture may look less impressive, especially in dynamic, bright scenes. In HDR mode, it has certain limitations in colour reproduction. This means that colours may not be as intense and rich as in televisions that handle a wider colour gamut better. In practice, this can make the image less vibrant and dynamic, and HDR effects may not be as spectacular as one might expect. Additionally, UR781 LG has some issues with accurate colour representation in HDR mode, which makes content look less lively.

LG UA7500 with a VA panel has brightness peaking around 350 nits, which, by today's standards, isn't very impressive. It's hard to talk about a true HDR experience here – most content looks more like classic SDR with a slight attempt to boost highlights. One advantage is that regardless of the test content, the effect remained relatively stable. However, we noticed that in very extreme scenes with a lot of fine details, the television can slightly dim the image in order to achieve better blacks, but this comes at the expense of the visibility of bright effects. On the downside, it should be noted that the UA7500 is not equipped with any additional technologies to expand the colours. It's neither a QLED panel nor PFS LED, which means the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut is just 80%, making many HDR films look flat and failing to capture the full diversity of colours.

Colour reproduction in LG UR781 in Filmmaker Mode, which although it is the best mode available from factory settings, is not without its flaws. First and foremost, the issue is with white balance, where the graph shows dips in the blue colour level. This phenomenon results in a shift towards yellow hues, making the image warmer than it should be. Such deviation means that the colours on the screen are not reproduced naturally, which may be particularly noticeable in scenes with white or neutral backgrounds. This can be confirmed by the Color Checker Test, which showed that some colours "escape" into other shades, indicating that the LG UR781 TV does not display colours accurately. This distortion can affect visual experiences, making film scenes seem less realistic and details may be displayed in incorrect colours, negatively impacting overall picture quality.

In terms of contrast, analysis of the gamma graph revealed drops to a level of 2.0, while the optimal value should be 2.4. This means that the TV may display darker parts of the image brighter in some scenes, reducing their depth and dynamism. Additionally, on the EOTF curve, which is responsible for brightness reproduction, an unnatural spike was noticed at the beginning. This phenomenon may result in excessive brightness boosting in the brightest parts of the image, leading to a loss of details in very bright scenes.

The Filmmaker Mode on the LG UA7500 performs better than one might expect from such a budget TV, but let's not get carried away with the praise. The image is reasonably well put together and at first glance doesn't irritate, however, its weaknesses quickly start to emerge. This is most apparent in scenes with bright points – lamps in the background or reflections of light on the skin are clearly exaggerated. Faces of characters often look unnatural, as if they have been "burned out." Additionally, the default gamma setting brightens the smallest details and causes the image to lose subtlety in the darker areas. That said, for its price range, the UA7500 in factory mode offers a pretty decent starting point. However, it is clear that without additional adjustments, these issues cannot be avoided, which is why – similar to other TVs – we decided to check what could be achieved after calibration.

After calibration, colour reproduction in SDR content is quite good. The white balance has been effectively improved, resulting in natural, balanced hues across different scenes. The gamma has also been adjusted, providing a more precise representation of details in the shadows and bright areas of the image. As a result, the LG UR781 TV performs well in everyday use, offering solid colour quality and clear, well-balanced images in SDR mode.

However, the situation is less favourable for HDR content. The LG UR781 TV does not support a wide colour gamut, which limits the depth and richness of colours that HDR can provide. The EOTF curve deviates from the ideal, leading to excessive highlighting of details in the bright areas of the image. Unfortunately, this approach results in significant colour reproduction errors, as confirmed by tests on the Colour Checker. Additionally, the low brightness level of the panel further negatively impacts HDR image quality, causing the effects of dynamic range to not be fully realised and colours to appear washed out.

Despite some shortcomings in HDR mode, the TV has significantly improved after calibration, especially in SDR content. The enhancement of white balance and gamma has notably increased image quality, providing a more natural and cohesive colour reproduction. Compared to its pre-calibration state, the difference is clear, and the LG UR781 TV now offers better performance in everyday use, particularly in standard dynamic range.

The biggest improvement we noticed was while calibrating the mode designed for daily SDR content. We managed to smooth out the white balance in an acceptable manner and tackle the issue of excessive brightening of small elements due to the gamma characteristic. As a result, the image gained the consistency and naturalness that was lacking in the factory settings. After such correction, we can confidently state that for everyday TV content, programs, or materials from YouTube, the LG UA7500 performs really well – especially after professional calibration. The situation looks a bit different for HDR content. Here, calibration helped to tame the white balance and slightly improved brightness management, but the limitations of the design are immediately apparent. The lack of additional filters to expand the colour palette means that the most vivid colors appear flat, and the image lacks the intensity we would expect from good HDR. So, in SDR, the UA7500 performs quite well, but in HDR – despite corrections – it remains far behind, and this is a characteristic that one must accept when choosing this television.

Let's now address the function of smoothing tonal transitions and its impact on overall picture quality. As illustrated by the photo on the left, this function performs exceptionally mediocre; we chose the "low" level, which does not enhance quality but also does not blur the film grain. There is a possibility to increase the strength of this function, which could soften this gradation, but one must consider that the image will be too softened in certain scenes.

On the other hand, regarding image scaling, the television does not perform outstandingly, which may be particularly noticeable with lower resolution content. The LG UR781 television applies a slight, artificial sharpening boost, making the image appear sharper; however, this mainly results from the application of artificial contours. For some users, this may be an advantage, as they prefer more vivid, pronounced details. However, this is a subjective matter—such an effect may not appeal to everyone, especially if they desire a more natural appearance of the image.

LG UA7500 with a VA panel has shown itself in this category in a really good light. Image scaling from Full HD or even SD materials was surprisingly smooth. The picture looked smooth, edges were not overly jagged, and the television maintained a good amount of detail, ensuring that even older films did not lose their character. It particularly excelled with faces – there were no artificial contours or "mask" effects, which often occur in cheaper models. The way the television handled tonal transitions in lower quality materials is also noteworthy. Thanks to digital processing, colours did not bleed into one another, and gradients looked natural and smooth. There was no question of intrusive smoothing of the image or loss of cinematic grain. This makes the UA7500 great for everyday content – from free-to-air television, to sports matches, all the way to YouTube, where we often watch materials in various resolutions.

The LG UR781 TV offers quite decent smoothness for movies, thanks to the "True Motion" option, which allows users to adjust the motion smoothing level on a scale from 0 to 10. Users can choose whether they want to maintain a more traditional, cinematic effect with a slight stutter (lower settings) or prefer a smoother image with a theatrical quality, which, although slightly deviating from the cinematic standard, may appeal to many.

In dynamic sports content and gaming, the LG UR781 TV performs worse. The TV has a 60Hz panel, which limits its interpolation capabilities to these values; therefore, smoothness can be improved in films, but motion blur cannot be reduced. Additionally, the lack of support for 120 Hz and BFI (Black Frame Insertion) technology means that fast-moving objects become blurred, and the panel's response time is too slow, negatively affecting clarity in fast scenes. As a result, the TV may not meet the expectations of gamers and sports fans who are counting on a smooth, clear image without motion blur.

LG UA7500 is a TV with a 60 Hz panel, so it’s hard to expect any raving reviews in this category. It’s more of a screen meant for everyday content or an evening movie session rather than for following dynamic sporting events or playing action games. It's evident that the manufacturer targeted this model precisely at this group of consumers – and in that regard, it performs adequately. We get the TruMotion function, which is a motion smoother. It’s simple, has only one slider, but it can make a noticeable difference. In the lower range, the image looks more raw and cinematic, while at higher values, the motion becomes smoother and more pleasant to the eye.

When playing on a console, the LG UR781 TV offers several significant features that can affect the gaming experience, but it also has some limitations. On the plus side, it includes ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), which automatically optimises the picture settings by switching the LG UR781 TV to low latency mode, which is beneficial for gamers. The TV also supports correct implementation of HGiG, meaning HDR games look as intended by the creators.

Unfortunately, it lacks support for Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), which can result in worse gameplay smoothness, especially in more dynamic games. It also does not support Dolby Vision mode for gaming, which limits HDR picture quality in games using this format. The TV has a 60Hz panel, so it does not support higher frequencies at other resolutions, such as 1080p@120Hz, 1440p@120Hz, or 4K@120Hz, which is a significant downside for gamers expecting smoother gameplay at higher resolutions. There is also no support for G-Sync technology, which limits image synchronisation in games.

On the positive side, the presence of a Game Bar feature allows for quick access to settings for gamers and makes it easier to adjust picture parameters during gameplay.

LG UA7500 is a TV that can be comfortably recommended to "Sunday" gamers. While it doesn't feature a 120 Hz panel or HDMI 2.1 ports, meaning it can't fully utilise the potential of modern consoles, the manufacturer has included a few extras that can enhance the gaming experience. The Game Bar deserves a special mention – a very nicely designed panel where you can quickly view and change the most important settings. From this interface, we have access to features like ALLM (Automatic Low Latency Mode) and frame synchronization, also known as VRR. The range of VRR is limited – working from 48 to 60 Hz – but the mere presence of this feature in such an affordable TV is impressive.

Additionally, it supports HGiG, which is a mode for HDR calibration for gaming. It sounds good, but from our testing experience, we know that for the UA7500, this option isn't very practical. The TV doesn't handle HDR very well, so ironically, we achieved better results with this mode turned off. This is another indication that the UA7500 is more of a screen for casual gamers who value simplicity and convenience, rather than for those seeking a full experience with the latest consoles.