LG UR781 vs TCL P755

In HDR mode, the LG UR781 falls short of the brightness expected for high-quality HDR experiences. Tests across multiple panels revealed a brightness of around 200 nits, which aligns more closely with SDR standards. As a result, HDR effects lack the desired impact, with bright and dynamic scenes appearing less striking than they should.

The television also exhibits limitations in colour reproduction under HDR settings. The colours may not appear as intense or rich as those on models that handle wide colour gamuts more effectively, leading to a less vibrant and dynamic image overall. Additionally, the LG UR781 struggles with accurate colour representation in HDR mode, which can result in muted content, particularly during daylight viewing when the image can lose its intensity.

Although the dynamic tone mapping feature helps optimise the image, it does not overcome these shortcomings. For users seeking a truly immersive HDR experience with vivid colours and bright highlights, the LG UR781 may not meet expectations.

The TCL P755 delivers an average HDR experience, with a maximum brightness of just under 300 nits. This limitation affects the intensity of bright areas in HDR content, reducing the contrast impact, as bright elements may appear less pronounced. However, the TV compensates with an impressive 93% coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut, which brings vibrant, saturated colours that enhance the quality of HDR content. Despite the brightness cap, the extensive colour range enriches hues, providing a more lifelike and visually engaging viewing experience.

In Filmmaker Mode, the LG UR781 demonstrates the best factory-calibrated performance but exhibits notable flaws. The primary issue lies in white balance, where the graph indicates a drop in blue levels, resulting in a warmer image with a shift towards yellow tones. This deviation impacts the naturalness of colour reproduction, particularly in scenes with white or neutral backgrounds. The Test Colour Checker confirms that some colours deviate into incorrect shades, leading to a lack of true-to-life representation. This can diminish the realism of film scenes, with certain details appearing in inaccurate colours.

In terms of contrast, the gamma graph reveals a drop to a level of 2.0, below the optimal value of 2.4. This results in darker parts of the image appearing brighter than they should, reducing depth and dynamic range. Additionally, the EOTF curve shows an unnatural spike at the beginning, leading to over-brightness in the brightest areas of the image. This can cause a loss of detail in high-luminance scenes, further impacting the overall image quality.

In Cinema mode, the colour reproduction on the TCL P755, while set to the best factory configuration, falls short of ideal accuracy. The primary issue is the white balance, where the red component is notably elevated and the green is reduced. This imbalance shifts colours towards red, making them appear unnatural, particularly in scenes featuring white or neutral tones. This issue is highlighted in the Colour Checker test, which shows a discernible red bias affecting the realism of the image and diminishing the perception of colour depth.

Examining contrast performance, the gamma graph analysis reveals notable inconsistencies, especially in darker areas, where values dip below the target level of 2.4. Consequently, shadows and darker sections are displayed brighter than intended, impacting overall contrast. Furthermore, the EOTF (Electro-Optical Transfer Function) curve, essential for accurate brightness representation, veers slightly above the reference curve. The data shows a boost in brightness up to around 50% before a gradual levelling off. This creates excessive mid-tone brightness, which can lead to loss of detail and some distortion in brighter scenes, ultimately affecting the clarity and immersion of the viewing experience.

After calibration, the LG UR781 demonstrates commendable colour reproduction for SDR content. The calibration effectively improves white balance, yielding natural and balanced tones across various scenes. Gamma adjustments contribute to precise detail representation in shadows and highlights, enhancing overall image clarity. This results in a well-rounded performance for everyday use, with solid colour accuracy and well-balanced imagery in SDR mode.

HDR content, however, reveals the TV's limitations. The lack of support for a wide colour gamut restricts the depth and vibrancy that HDR is capable of. The EOTF curve deviates from the ideal, overemphasising details in bright areas, which introduces inaccuracies in colour representation. Tests using the Colour Checker confirm significant errors in colour reproduction. Additionally, the panel's relatively low brightness exacerbates these issues, diminishing the impact of dynamic range effects and causing colours to appear washed out.

While HDR mode highlights the TV's shortcomings, the improvements after calibration, particularly in SDR performance, are significant. Enhanced white balance and gamma adjustments greatly improve the viewing experience, providing more natural and consistent colour reproduction. Compared to its pre-calibration state, the LG UR781 now offers a much better performance for everyday use, especially in standard dynamic range scenarios.

Post-calibration, the TCL P755 delivers a markedly improved colour performance for SDR content. The colour curves now align closely with ideal values, with a more consistent gamma stability across the range. While a slight drop at the beginning of the gamma curve persists, the accuracy in colour reproduction is significantly enhanced. The Colour Checker test reveals most colour samples are now under an error threshold of 2, showcasing much-improved colour fidelity with only minimal deviations, resulting in colours that feel notably more authentic to life.

HDR content benefits from these calibration adjustments as well. White balance corrections lend a more natural tone, with colours appearing more balanced overall. The EOTF curve, while nearer to the ideal reference line, still features a mild brightness elevation at the start, which can cause minor distortions in exceptionally bright scenes. However, overall tonal quality and detail resolution have both improved. Tone mapping also performs more effectively, enhancing detail in bright regions while maintaining better image accuracy.

In summary, while calibration does not bring flawless performance, it makes a substantial difference in the P755’s visual quality. Following these adjustments, the television provides a more accurate, realistic viewing experience in both SDR and HDR content, smoothing out many of the previous colour inconsistencies for a more visually engaging result.

The tonality smoothing function on the LG UR781 yields mixed results. At the "low" level, it neither enhances image quality nor effectively diminishes film grain, making its impact relatively negligible. Increasing the strength of this function can soften gradations and reduce visible banding, but it risks over-softening the image in certain scenes, which may compromise the overall sharpness and detail.

As for image scaling, the LG UR781 struggles to deliver exceptional performance, particularly with lower-resolution content. The TV employs an artificial sharpness enhancement technique that introduces defined contours to create the illusion of sharper images. While this may appeal to users who prefer pronounced, vivid details, others seeking a more natural and authentic look may find this effect distracting or unrealistic. Ultimately, the perception of these enhancements will depend on personal preferences, with some users valuing the added sharpness and others prioritising natural image quality.

The "Gradual Smoothing" function on the TCL P755 performs effectively, reducing visible boundaries between shades of the same colour and creating smoother tonal transitions. Unfortunately, this feature is unavailable in HDR mode, which can impact the quality of tonal gradations in high dynamic range content.

In terms of image scaling, the television shows some limitations. There are visible edge cut-offs, especially noticeable around figures and tree branches, which result in some detail blurring and a reduction in overall image sharpness. This is particularly noticeable when viewing lower-resolution content. Additionally, SD-quality images display a slight crop at the top and bottom, which may further impact viewing for standard-definition content.

The LG UR781 television provides decent motion fluidity for movies, primarily due to its "True Motion" feature. This option lets users fine-tune motion smoothing on a scale from 0 to 10, catering to different viewing preferences. Lower settings preserve a traditional cinematic effect with some judder, while higher settings create a smoother, more theatrical image. Although the latter deviates from the cinematic standard, it may appeal to viewers who prioritise seamless visuals.

However, performance declines when handling dynamic sports content and fast-paced games. Its 60Hz panel limits interpolation capabilities, meaning motion smoothness in movies can be improved, but motion blur cannot be effectively reduced. The absence of support for 120Hz and BFI (Black Frame Insertion) technology exacerbates this, causing fast-moving objects to blur. Moreover, the panel's slower response time further reduces sharpness in rapid scenes, which can be a drawback for gamers and sports enthusiasts seeking clear, fluid visuals in high-speed scenarios.

The TCL P755 delivers satisfactory, though not flawless, motion smoothness. It includes a "Flicker Reduction" feature for films, allowing users to fine-tune motion smoothness on a scale from 1 to 10. This setting offers flexibility in tailoring the image to cinematic or more theatrical preferences, adjusting for a slower or faster appearance according to personal viewing taste.

The LG UR781 provides several features designed to enhance console gaming experiences but comes with notable limitations. On the positive side, it includes the ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) feature, which automatically switches the TV to a low-latency mode, optimising response times for gaming and benefiting fast-paced titles. The television also supports HGiG, ensuring HDR games are displayed enhancing the overall gaming experience. Additionally, the Game Bar feature allows gamers to quickly access and adjust settings during gameplay, offering added convenience. However, there are significant drawbacks. The TV lacks VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), which may result in screen tearing or stuttering, particularly during dynamic scenes. It also does not support Dolby Vision for gaming, limiting HDR picture quality in titles that use this format. The 60Hz panel restricts gameplay to 60Hz, excluding smoother experiences available at higher refresh rates like 1080p@120Hz, 1440p@120Hz, or 4K@120Hz. The absence of G-Sync or FreeSync technology reduces compatibility with systems designed to synchronise the frame rate between the console and TV, potentially affecting gameplay fluidity. The LG UR781 is a functional choice for casual gamers who value affordability and features like ALLM and HGiG. However, it falls short for those seeking advanced gaming features such as high refresh rates, VRR, or Dolby Vision gaming.

The TCL P755 comes equipped with gamer-oriented features like ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), Dolby Vision for gaming, and a Game Bar. ALLM automatically activates low latency mode to enhance response times and reduce input lag, while VRR syncs the screen refresh rate with the console's frame output, minimising screen tearing for a smoother gaming experience. Dolby Vision for gamers brings improved colour and contrast for compatible games, and the Game Bar allows easy access to essential settings like response time.

However, the 60 Hz panel limits the display to this refresh rate across resolutions, which may impact the fluidity in high-motion games. The absence of G-Sync also affects PC gamers, as gameplay on computers lacks this technology's extra smoothing. Notably, HGiG mode, meant to optimise HDR game visuals, is not fully functional on this model, which slightly detracts from the HDR gaming experience.