LG OLED G4 vs SHARP JP7765E

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.

So how does the brightness of the Sharp JP7 perform in the most demanding titles? Honestly: at first, we were quite surprised. The television is capable of achieving over 1000 nits of brightness, which is an outstanding and rarely seen result for a device costing just under 2000 zł (for 55 inches). Watching bright, full-screen scenes, one can get the impression that we are dealing with truly good equipment. However, unfortunately, we must return to the problem we mentioned earlier regarding local dimming management. When small, bright elements appear on a dark background on the screen (like in the test scenes from Life of Pi or Sicario 2), it is noticeable how poorly the JP7 handles the zones. The television dims them almost to the maximum, stifling the whole HDR effect, which at such moments resembles a flat SDR image (less than 200 nits). This instability makes the image on the JP7 unfortunately lose its appeal in demanding, contrast-heavy films.

As a consolation, it is worth noting that the panel has the potential for good color display. A PFS (phosphor) filter has been implemented here, allowing the coverage of the DCI-P3 palette to reach a solid 94%. The manufacturer calls its product a “QLED,” even though it is mainly based technologically on the aforementioned PFS filter. Considering the recent market battles among manufacturers about what can and cannot be called QLED, we leave the issue of the correctness of this naming to your judgment. However, it remains a fact that the potential for reproducing saturated colors in this panel is simply good.

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.

When it comes to out-of-the-box colors, the Sharp JP7 was tested in Film mode, which traditionally offers the most consistent image compared to the yellowed “Eco” mode or the glaring blue of the “Dynamic” mode. Although this is the best choice among the available settings, the results are still far from ideal. The white balance clearly lacked red and blue components, causing many scenes to take on an unnatural, greenish tint. Another issue was the gamma – during fullscreen scenes, the television provides too much brightness, completely stripping away its cinematic character. All of this translated into color reproduction errors, particularly with shades of gray, which exceeded Delta E 10. Just to remind: errors above 2-3 are already noticeable to the human eye, so here we are dealing with a significant distortion of reality.

In HDR mode, the situation is reversed but not any better. Here, the blue color dominates the white balance, giving the image an unnatural, almost “store-like” sharpness reminiscent of aggressive demo modes. Furthermore, the measurements of the EOTF curve emphasize the store-like nature of the image. The graph clearly shows that the television generates an image significantly brighter than the standards predict, resulting in an artificially boosted and unrealistic final effect. The Sharp JP7 is evidently trying to appear stronger than it actually is, but it does so at the expense of fidelity to the content.

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.

We subjected the JP7 to our standard calibration procedure and truly... the television gained a new life thanks to it, especially in SDR content (YouTube, classic television, series, or older movies). Because we managed to accurately set the white balance and stabilize the gamma, color errors dropped to a value of below 3. This is a level at which the human eye has trouble detecting discrepancies. In this scenario, the Sharp JP7 delivers an image with really great color accuracy, which is a significant advantage in this price range. However, the content in HDR turned out to be much more problematic. Here, despite our efforts and adjustments to the settings, the television simply did not want to cooperate. In the JP7 menu, we cannot find any option that would allow for real control over brightness management (EOTF). Although a significant portion of color errors was reduced, the image still remained unnaturally oversaturated. It's a pity because the potential of the mini-LED backlit panel is large, but the software presents a clear barrier.

The conclusion is simple: when watching less demanding content (SDR) on the JP7, you can expect an image that is more than satisfactory, but in HDR, you have to come to terms with a certain degree of "artificiality" that cannot be overcome even with professional equipment.

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.

When it comes to lower quality materials and how the Sharp JP7 handles them, the situation is ambiguous. Let's start with the upscaling – here we have no major objections. The process of scaling the image to a higher resolution is correct; the image remains readable and clear, without the overscan effect or cropped edges. Of course, this is not at the level of top models and at times one can notice slight jaggedness on the contours, but in this price range, the effect is fully acceptable.

However, the digital image processing itself is significantly worse, as aside from the scaling, it virtually does not exist. In the JP7 menu, we won't find any option that would effectively smooth out unwanted tonal transitions or reduce noise in the image. As a result, the signal reaches the matrix in a very raw form, which, with heavily compressed materials (e.g., from YouTube), leads to visible posterization. Either this is a flaw in the software or a very strange design decision, as in earlier Sharp models, this feature was available and, more importantly, worked with noticeable effect. Here we are left at the mercy of what the source provides, without any digital support from the image processor.

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 motion fluidity on the Sharp JP7 is very mediocre, and the reason is simple: the television uses a 60Hz panel. This immediately makes it difficult to recommend for watching sports or serious gaming, where higher refresh rates are already the standard. The only real plus is the presence of a motion smoother, which we can control in movies using a slider called De-judder. Lower settings produce a more raw, "cinematic" (frame-based) image, while higher settings add artificial fluidity. We suggest setting it somewhere in the middle of the scale, that is, in the 3-5 range – this is the best compromise to avoid the soap opera effect while getting rid of the tiring image stutter. Interestingly, in the menu, we also find a slider for "motion blur reduction," which usually suggests the presence of a 120Hz panel. However, in the case of the JP7, it does not contribute anything to the image and serves more as a placeholder – it is meant to look good in the settings, but technically it should not function on this panel.

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.

As we mentioned earlier, the 60Hz panel is not a feature that will attract gamers to the Sharp JP7. Perhaps for the casual gamer, whose console generates most titles at 60 frames per second, there might be something interesting? When it comes to specific additions, we find:

• ALLM Mode: Automatically switches the TV to low latency game mode (input lag).

• Game Menu: Which is hard to call a full-fledged “Game Bar,” as its functionality is minimal. Besides enabling ALLM, there is only a smoothness enhancer dedicated to games, which we recommend against because it introduces very noticeable artifacts and spoils the responsiveness.

• Dolby Vision Gaming: For Microsoft's consoles.

Unfortunately, the list of shortcomings is much longer and more painful than the positives. The biggest disappointment is the lack of support for 120Hz, even when lowering the resolution to Full HD. The presence of 120Hz would allow for performance modes to be activated in many games on PS5 or Xbox Series X. Another absence is VRR, which means that during frame drops, we are susceptible to image tearing. The lack of proper implementation of the HGiG standard is also very problematic. This results in the fact that during HDR calibration in the console menu, it is very easy to “overshoot” the brightness settings. As a result, instead of clear details in highlights, we end up with an unnaturally over-brightened image with cut-off details. The Sharp JP7 is a proposal only for very casual gamers.