IFFALCON U85X vs LG OLED G6 (G64LW, G66LS)

iFFALCON U85 handles HDR in a rather dual manner – on one hand, it can surprise with a solid peak brightness of around 650 nits, which places it well above average in this price segment. This is particularly evident in full-screen, bright scenes. Examples from movies like Life of Pi or the final test sequences from The Meg prove that the TV can maintain the strength and essence of the HDR effect when the entire panel has to "light up," delivering truly satisfying experiences. However, problems begin in high-contrast scenes, where smaller, bright details appear on the screen; the dimming algorithms prioritize deep blacks to such an extent that they can suppress the brightness of small highlights to just 100 nits, drastically reducing the dynamism of the image and depriving us of the true "punch" we expect from HDR standards. However, the question of colors remains a sweetener; thanks to the use of the PFS phosphor filter (marketed as QLED by the manufacturer), they look very good, achieving nearly 94% coverage of the DCI-P3 color palette, allowing for a rich and vibrant image in most content.

The LG G6 is currently one of the brightest OLEDs on the market. Its peak brightness reaches nearly 2500 nits, and best of all – this has a direct impact on real film scenes. The television flawlessly pulls out details in the bright parts of the image. And this is regardless of whether we are talking about very small points like stars in the sky or slightly larger elements on the screen. Naturally, with full-screen, uniformly white scenes, the brightness of the G6 decreases due to the panel's protection system (ABL). However, in real, varied film shots, this value still hovers around 2000 nits, which can be considered an outstanding result. The coverage of the color palette also deserves praise. The new 2nd generation Tandem OLED panel brought only a cosmetic change, but still an improvement. The DCI-P3 color gamut coverage reaches nearly 99.5%, while the ultra-wide BT.2020 is around 84%. These are very good results, although one must remember one thing: at extremely high brightness levels, the volume of colors will be lower than in QD-OLED panels from Samsung Display due to the use of a white sub-pixel (WOLED). However, in everyday content and most films, detecting this difference will be very difficult.

We tested the factory colors in the iFFALCON U85X model in “Film” mode, which is definitely the most reliable among all available settings, although it is still far from perfect. The main problem that stands out in both SDR and HDR content is improper white balance - an excess of blue and red components gives the image a slight purple tint, which undermines the naturalness of film scenes. However, an even greater challenge is the way the television manages its brightness. Analyzing the gamma curve for the SDR signal, we noticed significant instability: instead of sticking to the reference value of 2.4, the device oscillates around 2.2, only to suddenly experience an unnatural jump to around 3.0. In practice, this leads to confusing effects - large bright areas on the screen appear too dark, while smaller elements are unnecessarily brightened. A similar feature can be found in the EOTF curve, which makes the image unpredictable and loses its cinematic authenticity.

We tested the LG G6 in the best factory mode for color fidelity, which is FILMMAKER MODE. For our test unit, this mode was fairly well-tuned right out of the box. In SDR content, the only thing we could nitpick was the white balance, which leaned towards warmer tones. As a result, the image could sometimes appear slightly yellowed; however, overall, it wasn't a bothersome issue. The G6 performed a bit worse with HDR content. There, we noticed too much blue component in the white balance. This caused the image to take on cooler shades, resulting in quite noticeable errors. As can be seen in our ColorChecker chart, colors were indeed shifting towards these cooler registers. Nevertheless, for factory settings, the television displayed a completely decent level. However, we know that OLED screens – especially those from LG – respond wonderfully to professional calibration, which is why we immediately proceeded with it.

After professional calibration of the movie mode, we must admit that the effect is more than satisfactory – the iFFALCON U85X undergoes a true transformation. Color errors in SDR content dropped to a level below 2, making them practically imperceptible to the human eye. We managed to set the white balance almost perfectly, and brightness management (gamma) became nearly exemplary. As a result, with standard quality materials, the television looks simply perfect, and it's hard to find any faults with it.

In the case of HDR signal, the situation has also improved significantly, although here the nature of the device is a bit more pronounced. Color errors have been reduced to around 3, which is an outstanding result in this price range. However, it is worth taking a look at the EOTF chart (available on the right side of the screen in the filters: 4K HDR, gamma / EOTF) to see what is not immediately visible regarding brightness management by the U85. Although the reference line looks decent, in actual film scenes, the television still interprets the signal "in its own way" due to very aggressive local dimming algorithms. Does this disqualify this model for watching HDR content? Absolutely not. It's simply a typical ailment of almost every Mini-LED that has to reconcile high brightness with an attempt to maintain deep black. One just has to be aware of these technical limitations, which are unavoidable in this segment.

After conducting a professional calibration, we gained complete control over the panel, and we were able to adjust all parameters to nearly zero. We managed to perfectly tune the white balance, which made the factory-cool and warm tints disappear from the screen. The effects are clearly evident in the ColorChecker test – the average color reproduction errors dropped below the critical value of 1-2. And what does that mean? PERFECT colors, with no distortion whatsoever! However, from a reviewer's obligation, we must comment on how the LG G6 autonomously manipulates brightness, for which the EOTF curve is responsible. When we look at the standard synthetic graph, it may seem that the line is quite straight. The situation changes, however, when we turn on the measurement filter, which shows how the television interprets brightness in real, moving film scenes (EOTF in MOVIES). At that point, it becomes clear that some of the smallest fragments on the screen are slightly over-brightened by the algorithm. Of course, for the average viewer, such a deviation will be practically unnoticeable, but in the test of such an expensive screen, it is worth noting – especially since we are talking about a model that has huge aspirations to be the best television of the year.

When it comes to scaling the image to 4K resolution, the iFFALCON U85X performs solidly. The device efficiently enhances low-quality signals, making even older materials look clean and clear on the 4K matrix. At extremely low resolutions, such as 480p, you can notice slightly jagged edges (especially on thin lines), but let's face it – this is a scenario you'll only encounter when watching very old footage, so it's not a real issue in everyday use.

However, the digital processing aimed at smoothing tonal transitions is significantly worse. Although the menu features a function called “Gradual Smoothing”, its effectiveness is at least debatable. In practice, it does not effectively reduce banding (color stepping), and worse, it can cause more harm than good. This filter can be too aggressive where it shouldn't be, artificially smoothing out details that should not be touched, such as the natural texture of the face or fine details of the skin's texture. Instead of improving quality, this feature can give the image an unnatural, “plastic” look, so it's best to use it with great caution or, better yet: leave it turned off.

No matter what one may say about the G6's problems with near-black signal, it must be fairly acknowledged that it handles highly compressed material and lower resolution content brilliantly. All unwanted, ugly tonal transitions are effectively reduced here by the “Smooth Gradation” feature. On the “Low” setting, the algorithm operates flawlessly – effectively masking the artifacts resulting from strong compression, without destroying the sharpness and details in the frame. Higher levels of this feature indeed smooth the image even more, but they start to blur the real texture elements of objects, which is why we recommend keeping this slider at a low level. As for the upscaling to 4K, the processor does an excellent job – edge sharpness and detail reconstruction are at the highest level, and in this respect, the G6 does not lag behind the world's best.

In contrast to budget constructions, which in dynamic sports scenes may resemble a slideshow, the iFFALCON U85X is a heavyweight contender equipped with a panel featuring a native refresh rate of 144Hz. However, it is worth remembering that in the world of movies, series, or sports, we will mostly operate at 120Hz due to the specifics of image enhancement systems. Such a fast panel is excellent news for gamers and sports fans, as it opens the door to advanced motion settings that simply don't exist in cheaper 60-Hz models.

We manage everything from the "Motion Clarity" menu, where instead of using pre-set, often too aggressive modes, we definitely recommend a custom configuration based on two sliders. The most important of them, reduction of flicker, is responsible for smoothness in films – here, it's best to aim for a value around 4, which will maintain a natural, cinematic character of motion without falling into the artificial "soap opera effect." On the other hand, the first slider, reduction of blur, is the key to success in sports broadcasts. In this case, it's worth going all out and setting it to maximum, ensuring that the image during fast actions on the field remains sharp, and annoying trailing is eliminated.

The LG G6 is an OLED television, so in the category of motion fluidity, it traditionally deserves the highest ratings. The television supports a very high refresh rate of up to 165 Hz in 4K resolution, but most importantly – you will not see any signs of blurring on the screen. The response time of the panel is incredibly fast, ensuring that dynamic images remain perfectly sharp.

iFFALCON U85X is an exceptional device for gamers that has virtually everything you can expect from a modern screen for consoles or PCs. Here we find two fully-fledged HDMI 2.1 ports with full bandwidth of 48 Gbps, which opens the door to key technologies such as VRR and ALLM, ensuring smooth gameplay without tearing and with minimal latency. The TV handles high refresh rates at various resolutions without any problem, and a real curiosity is the mode that allows for up to 240Hz when dropping to Full HD quality. The entire system is managed by the Game Bar (a faithful copy from TCL), which allows for instant switching of picture modes, customization of the interface appearance, or even adding a virtual crosshair in the middle of the screen.

LG G6 is a true monster for gamers and one of the best-equipped TVs in this regard on the market. The manufacturer did not seek compromises and equipped this model with as many as four full HDMI 2.1 ports with a maximum bandwidth of 48 Gbps. This means that no matter which port you plug your PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, or powerful PC into, you will extract the absolute maximum from them.

The TV supports a full suite of gaming technologies: from VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), through AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, to Nvidia G-Sync Compatible. Let's add to this the remarkably low, almost imperceptible input lag and a brilliantly functioning gamer panel (Game Optimizer), which allows you to continuously monitor the signal parameters. Gaming on this screen, with the perfect black of OLED and powerful refresh rates, is pure pleasure.