LG OLED G4 vs LG UR781

The LG G4 excels in delivering an incredibly vivid HDR experience, positioning it as one of the best models in its class. Equipped with second-generation Micro Lens Array (MLA) technology, it achieves a remarkable peak brightness of 1474 nits in real-world scenes. While it may not match Mini LED-backlit LCD TVs in full-screen white scenes, the overall performance is outstanding. The fine details in HDR content shine brightly, a distinct advantage of OLED technology over non-OLED displays. With this impressive brightness and wide DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage, HDR content is brought to life with unmatched engagement and immersion.

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.

Before calibration, the "Filmmaker" mode on the TV had a noticeable red and green colour dominance, resulting in a warm-yellow hue across both SDR and HDR content. This warm tone, typical of modes like "Cinema" and "Filmmaker," led to a yellowish cast that was evident when switching from the "Standard" mode.

Looking at the brightness characteristics, the Gamma chart showed decent performance for mid-tones and bright whites, but it struggled with the darkest details, which tended to merge into a black blob. HDR content, as represented by the EOTF curve chart, displayed a drop in contrast due to excessive brightness, which overshadowed fine details and negatively affected the overall image quality. Additionally, the "ColourChecker" chart revealed that colours were under-saturated, contributing to a less accurate and vibrant visual experience.

This provided a good foundation to build on, but calibration was needed to bring out the full potential of the "Filmmaker" mode and address these issues.

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.

The manufacturer has been offering extensive support for the calibration process in its LG televisions for many years. Therefore, we used 2- and 20-point grayscale adjustments along with an advanced CMS (Colour Management System) to optimise the display. As shown, the calibration procedure greatly improved each parameter. The results included studio-quality colour reproduction, enhanced detail in dark areas, corrected brightness characteristics, and accurate colour saturation. This led to a near-perfect match with the reference image—the one the film director saw on the preview monitor. It’s also worth mentioning that LG G4 televisions are unique in offering even deeper image adjustments through 3D LUT matrices, a feature primarily suited for post-production or graphics studios.

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.

The LG G4 does not perform well with materials rich in tonal transitions, leading to a pronounced posterization effect. However, the manufacturer has included a smoothing system called "Gentle Gradation," with three levels: Low, Medium, and High. These settings are effective at smoothing bright colours, though less so for darker tones. It is recommended to use the Low setting, as the higher levels can distort the director's intentions by removing film grain.

When it comes to upscaling lower-quality material, the television's performance is quite good, delivering a sharp and clear image. However, attention should be paid to the jagged edges of fine details and the occasional halo effect around figures. This occurs due to the sharpening imposed by the LG G4, even when the lowest setting is selected (0). This is a noticeable change from the LG G3, which did not apply such strong sharpening, even at setting 0.

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 LG G4 offers a maximum refresh rate of 144 Hz, achievable when connected to a powerful PC. For most users, however, the TV operates at a maximum of 120 Hz, ideal for watching sports or other content with fast motion. To improve image fluidity, the television includes the "TrueMotion" motion smoothing system, which features two separate sliders: De-Blur (for the sharpness of moving images) and De-Judder (for judder reduction). These sliders allow users to adjust the level of smoothing between 0 and 10, ensuring everyone can find the ideal setting.

With a response time of 0.78 ms, the LG G4 delivers exceptionally clear images, outperforming LCD televisions, which can have much slower response times. This results in no trailing blur behind moving objects, as shown in the "UFO Test." The TV also provides precise control over motion smoothing, which is especially beneficial during fast-paced video game sequences. Thanks to OLED technology, the G4 eliminates ghosting, ensuring a crisp and clear image even during the most dynamic sports or action scenes.

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 LG G4 TV supports all the features encompassed by the HDMI 2.1 standard, making it a gaming powerhouse. During testing, every feature activated seamlessly, ensuring a smooth experience for both console gamers and PC users. Notably, the HGIG mode (HDR Gaming Interest Group) is implemented correctly, allowing games mastered to brightness levels higher than the TV’s maximum luminance to map tones accurately, preserving the game’s original visual integrity.

A notable highlight is the dedicated GameBar, which can be accessed at any time to quickly check or adjust game settings. More importantly, enabling VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) does not compromise contrast—a common issue in TVs with local dimming or Mini LED backlighting. This is thanks to the OLED panel’s self-emissive pixels, which maintain consistent contrast. However, a slight grey flicker may appear when VRR is enabled, though this is standard across OLEDs.

In summary, the LG G4, like most OLED TVs, is ideal for gaming and online competitions. Its HDMI 2.1 ports offer a full 48 Gbps bandwidth, supporting features such as VRR, ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), G-Sync, FreeSync, and HDR Dolby Vision gameplay, ensuring an exceptional gaming experience.

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.