LG UR781 vs Blaupunkt UGC5500S

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 similar to levels typical for SDR, causing HDR effects to be insufficiently pronounced, and the image may appear 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 manage better with a wide colour gamut. In practice, this can make the image less vibrant and dynamic, and HDR effects will not be as spectacular as one might expect. Additionally, UR781 LG has some issues with accurately reproducing colours in HDR mode, resulting in content that may look less vivid.

Here, too, we will not mince words – if you are looking for a television strictly for cinematic experiences in HDR, you have come to the wrong place. The Blaupunkt UGC5500S is unfortunately not a machine designed for such challenges. This is primarily due to its very low brightness, which we measured during our tests. A result of around 250 nits on film scenes speaks for itself. It is simply too little to even talk about any real HDR effect. Quite frankly, everything displayed here in this format can be confidently regarded as a somewhat “enhanced” SDR mode. We expected this, as virtually every device in this price range falters in this area, but we feel obliged to warn you about it. Manufacturers love to boast about HDR compatibility with stickers on their boxes, but in reality, this format simply does not exist here – it lacks the “fuel” of brightness.

The situation is particularly difficult for Blaupunkt, as we are dealing with a panel that has a very basic coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette, reaching only about 80%. You will not find any advanced coatings to extend these capabilities (such as quantum dots), which means that scenes that should ideally burst with richly saturated colours appear simply under-saturated on this screen. Therefore, we have a specific piece of advice for you: do not force the HDR mode on this model. If you have the option in the streaming app settings – simply turn it off. By sticking to the classic SDR mode, you can be sure that the television will not attempt to “enhance” something that it cannot handle hardware-wise.

The colour reproduction in LG UR781 in Filmmaker Mode, which although is the best mode available from the factory settings, is not without its flaws. Firstly, the issue is white balance, where the graph shows dips in blue colour levels. This phenomenon results in a shift of hues towards yellow tones, causing the image to appear warmer than it should. Such deviation means that the colours on the screen are not naturally reproduced, which can be particularly noticeable in scenes with a white or neutral background. This can be confirmed by the Test Color Checker, which showed that some colours "shift" into other shades, meaning that the LG UR781 television does not display colours in accordance with reality. This distortion can affect the visual experience, making movie scenes seem less realistic, and details might be displayed in inappropriate colours, negatively impacting the overall image quality.

In terms of contrast, the analysis of the gamma graph revealed drops to a level of 2.0, whereas the optimal value should be 2.4. This means that the television may display darker parts of the image brighter in certain scenes, which reduces their depth and dynamics. Additionally, on the EOTF curve, which is responsible for brightness reproduction, an unnatural spike was observed at the beginning. This phenomenon can result in excessive brightness boost in the brightest parts of the image, leading to loss of detail in very bright scenes.

We also took a close look at how Blaupunkt handles colours in movie mode, and here the matter is, in short, twofold. Once again, we need to clearly separate what we see in standard SDR format from what happens when HDR is turned on, as these are two entirely different worlds. Let’s start with the better side of the coin. If you plan to watch classic television, YouTube, or older films on this television, you can count on really reasonably well-tuned colours. In our test unit, the white balance in movie mode performed exceptionally well, which honestly surprised us. Of course, to avoid being overly optimistic, we did notice some shortcomings. Looking at the gamma charts, we observed that the processor struggles with appropriately dimming the image in its brightest areas. Additionally, there is quite a strong, at times excessively aggressive red saturation, which resulted in visible errors in reproducing certain shades. Nevertheless, in general terms, the image in SDR is simply solid and can be watched without a grimace on one’s face. Unfortunately, the charm disappears the moment we again enter the HDR world. Here, Blaupunkt behaves as if we suddenly switched it to shop mode, and in its worst version. The excess blue in the white balance is so significant that it is almost blinding, ruining any realism of the scene. Moreover, the television interprets brightness very loosely, which, when analysing the EOTF curve, clearly showed that for most of the time, the colours appear simply washed out and lacking in depth. This is, by the way, perfectly visible through the colour errors that become evident in this mode. Once again, we are left with the same conclusion: Blaupunkt in SDR mode looks significantly better and more natural than in HDR, which feels forced and lacking appropriate refinement.

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

However, the situation is worse for HDR content. The LG UR781 television does not support a wide colour gamut, which limits the depth and richness of colours that HDR can offer. The EOTF curve deviates from the ideal, resulting in excessive highlighting of details in the bright parts of the image. Unfortunately, this 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 the quality of HDR images, causing dynamic range effects to be not fully realised, and colours to appear washed out.

Despite some shortcomings in HDR mode, the television has improved significantly after calibration, especially in SDR content. The improvement in white balance and gamma has greatly enhanced image quality, providing a more natural and cohesive colour representation. Compared to its state before calibration, the difference is clear, and the LG UR781 television now offers better performance in everyday use, particularly in the standard dynamic range.

It may sound like a joke – pulling out professional measuring equipment for a television costing around a thousand złotys / 250 dollars, but we wouldn’t be ourselves if we didn’t check it out. The question is: does such cheap equipment give us any room for manoeuvre when it comes to calibration? To your surprise, the answer is: yes, and very much so. In the Blaupunkt UGC5500S menu, we found surprisingly many options that allowed us to really work on the picture. These are not just empty sliders; they are specific tools that we could utilise using our measuring sensors and software. In SDR mode, the effects were visible to the naked eye. We successfully eliminated the problem we mentioned earlier – that excessive, almost artificial red saturation. We also fixed the issue of improper dimming in the brightest parts of the image. After calibration, the standard format image became significantly more balanced and simply correct. When it came to HDR, the situation was again more complicated. While we managed to 'tame' that aggressive blue tint in the white balance, it was clear that we were fighting somewhat in vain. Even after adjusting the settings, the television still tried to interfere with the image in its own way, as if the electronics knew better than us how the scene should look. Additionally, there is a hardware barrier that no slider can overcome – colours in HDR still remain under-saturated. This is simply due to the quality of the panel itself; it physically cannot produce the most vibrant colours. To sum up this topic: if any of you ask whether it is possible to calibrate a television for a 'thousand', we answer with full conviction: it is possible.

Now let’s address the function of smoothing tonal transitions and its impact on overall image quality. As illustrated in the photo on the left, this function performs exceptionally mediocrely; we selected the "low" level, which does not improve quality but also does not blur the film grain. There is the option to increase the power of this function, which would soften the gradation; however, one must reckon with the fact that the image will be too softened in some scenes.

On the other hand, regarding image scaling, the television does not perform exceptionally, which can be particularly noticeable with lower resolution content. The LG UR781 television applies a slight, artificial sharpness boost, which makes the image appear sharper, but this primarily results from the overlay of artificial contours. For some users, this can be an advantage, as they prefer more vivid, accentuated details. However, this is a subjective matter—such an effect may not appeal to everyone, especially if they desire a more natural look to the image.

If you expect the processor in this model to magically "fix" the poor-quality signal from cable TV or old films from YouTube, we must disappoint you. The capabilities of this television end at absolutely basic upscaling, which is simply stretching the image to a higher resolution. It does this adequately in that the image is not blurry, but there's no mention of any intelligent sharpening or adding details here. Worse still, Blaupunkt is completely devoid of any features for reducing unwanted tonal transitions. If the material being watched has what is known as banding (that is, ugly "steps" instead of a smooth transition of colours, e.g., in the sky), this television will display it in all its glory. Additionally, the television has a tendency to slightly crop the edges of the image. Instead of displaying 100% of what the source sends, Blaupunkt slightly enlarges the frame, causing us to lose details at the very edges of the screen. In summary: in the category of digital "enhancing" of images, Blaupunkt simply performs poorly. We receive a raw, unprocessed signal, with all its flaws.

The LG UR781 television offers quite decent smoothness for films, thanks to the "True Motion" option, which allows users to adjust the level of motion smoothing on a scale from 0 to 10. The user can choose whether they want to preserve a more traditional, cinematic effect with subtle judder (lower settings) or prefer a smoother, theatrical image that, although slightly deviating from the cinematic standard, may appeal to many.

In dynamic sports content and games, the LG UR781 television performs worse. The television has a 60Hz panel, which limits its interpolation capabilities to these values; therefore, it can improve fluidity in films but cannot reduce motion blur. Additionally, the lack of support for 120 Hz and BFI (Black Frame Insertion) technology means that quick movements of objects become blurred, and the response time of the panel is too long, negatively affecting clarity in fast scenes. As a result, the television may not meet the expectations of gamers and sports fans who are looking for a smooth, clear image without motion blur.

When it comes to motion fluidity, Blaupunkt has nothing to defend itself with. A 60 Hz panel at this price is standard, so none of us were expecting an impeccably sharp image in fast action scenes or during a match. However, the biggest drawback of this model is that you won't find any digital motion smoothers in the menu. The manufacturer has not given us any room for manoeuvre – nothing can be smoothed out or adjusted to our personal preferences. The image is always "raw," and we receive it exactly as the source transmits it. For fans of cinematic "jumping" of the image, this might be good, but the rest of us simply have to get used to the lack of any motion enhancement.

While gaming on the console, the television LG UR781 offers several important features that can affect the gaming experience, but it also has some limitations. A positive aspect is the presence of ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), which automatically optimises picture settings by switching the television LG UR781 into low latency mode, which is beneficial for gamers. The television also supports proper implementation of HGiG, meaning HDR games look as intended by the developers.

Unfortunately, it lacks support for Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), which may result in poorer fluidity of gameplay, particularly in more dynamic games. It also does not support Dolby Vision mode for games, which limits the HDR picture quality in games using this format. The television has a panel with a frequency of 60hz, which means it does not support higher frequencies at other resolutions, such as 1080p@120Hz, 1440p@120Hz, or 4K@120Hz, which is a significant drawback for gamers expecting smoother gameplay at higher resolutions. It also lacks support for G-Sync technology, which limits image synchronisation in games.

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

When it comes to gaming on the Blaupunkt, we weren't expecting miracles, and indeed – the list of features is not very long. However, there are two interesting points worth mentioning, as they might be significant for some of you at this price. The first plus is that the TV quickly detects the connected console. Thanks to the ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) feature, the device knows when you start gaming and automatically switches to low-latency mode. This is convenient because you don't have to fiddle with settings each time to prevent input lag from ruining the fun. The second point is a genuine surprise that caught us off guard. Although it has a 60 Hz panel, the Blaupunkt can display images at 120 Hz at Full HD resolution. Sure, you lose the details of 4K, but for those playing more dynamic, online shooters where smoothness is more important than resolution, this is a really nice and unexpected addition in such an inexpensive device. Besides these two points, you won't find anything more here. There are no advanced smoothness enhancement systems for gamers or extensive gaming menu bars. This is a simple screen for occasional gaming.