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HDTVTest - LG CX FW 03.21.09 Improves DV but Darkens HDR Game Mode - Fix Coming!

JeloSWE

Member
"We analysed the latest firmware update of 03.21.09 on the LG CX OLED TV, and found improvements in Dolby Vision picture quality (less posterisation and no more raised blacks).

However, peak brightness in [HDR Game Mode] has dropped by around 100 nits after applying the firmware upgrade. We have reached out to LG, and the company has promised a fix in a future firmware update:

"LG has been made aware that its latest firmware release impacted the maximum brightness in gaming mode on some 2020 TV models.

A new firmware will be released in the upcoming weeks to correct the brightness level, while maintaining the improvements in handling HDR and colour banding addressed by the current firmware."

 

Rippa

Member
I don’t use game mode anyway as it always looked dim and washed out

but then input lag!

I guess it’s not that crazy different. I wouldn’t know. But playing COD multiplayer with more input lag would suck for me.

overall good news.
 

JeloSWE

Member
Another comparison, top one has the new firmware and it's visibly dimmer in game mode by a bit.

 

Venuspower

Member
Is this true? Lowest possible? Whats the point of Game Mode then?
Yea. I'm also pretty sure Vincent Teoh brought this up a few times in the past aswell.
I did some semi-professional input lag testing with my C9 a few weeks ago to verify this.
My Laptop screen has the same input lag my TV has (in game mode). Which made reading the numbers a bit easier (~13 ms for 1080p@60). Unfortunately I was limited to 1080p@60 in my test because that is the maximum my laptop display supports. But there is no reason why it should be different in other resolutions or with other frame rates.



This picture was taken with ISF Expert Dark Room without PC Label being selected:

isfexpertconsolelabelkikm0.jpg

By looking at the millisconds you can see that on my TV there is a smaller number than on my laptop (833 vs 932).
Which means that my TV has a higher lag. Which is totally what we expect without Game mode and PC Label.
The number itself does not mean anything, because it is just a clock I am using. The only thing that matters is the difference.

Now take a look at this picture that was taken without PC Label, but with Game picture profile being selected:
gameprofileconsolelab5rkhw.jpg

Now there is no lag between those two displays (763 vs. 763). Again not surprising - this is what we are expecting by selecting the game picture profile.

Here comes the interesting part:
isfexpertdarkroompclahsjdx.jpg

For this picture I selected ISF Expert Dark Room + PC Label on my C9. As you can see there is still no difference when looking at the millisecond (898 vs 898). Which confirms that PC Label also switches the TV into a "low input lag mode".

Why should you continue using Game Mode? Well... there a a few reasons for that:
- In HDR only the Game picture profile gives you the option to select HGiG. Which is recommended to use
if the game allows you to set stuff like peak brightness.
- With HDMI 2.0b devices you will also get tons of banding in HDR mode while PC Label is selected (this is an old LG problem). HDMI 2.1/FRL fixes this issue. So with PS5 or NVIDIAs new GPU series you won't have this issue.

yeah but hasn’t there been reports of banding using PC label on consoles?
Yes, but only with old HDMI 2.0b devices. With HDMI 2.1 LG TVs are using a different pipeline that does
not introduce additional banding.
 
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Rippa

Member
Yea. I'm also pretty sure Vincent Teoh brought this up a few times in the past aswell.
I did some semi-professional input lag testing with my C9 a few weeks ago to verify this.
My Laptop screen has the same input lag my TV has (in game mode). Which made reading the numbers a bit easier (~13 ms for 1080p@60). Unfortunately I was limited to 1080p@60 in my test because that is the maximum my laptop display supports. But there is no reason why it should be different in other resolutions or with other frame rates.



This picture was taken with ISF Expert Dark Room without PC Label being selected:

isfexpertconsolelabelkikm0.jpg

By looking at the millisconds you can see that on my TV there is a smaller number than on my laptop (833 vs 932).
Which means that my TV has a higher lag. Which is totally what we expect without Game mode and PC Label.
The number itself does not mean anything, because it is just a clock I am using. The only thing that matters is the difference.

Now take a look at this picture that was taken without PC Label, but with Game picture profile being selected:
gameprofileconsolelab5rkhw.jpg

Now there is no lag between those two displays (763 vs. 763). Again not surprising - this is what we are expecting by selecting the game picture profile.

Here comes the interesting part:
isfexpertdarkroompclahsjdx.jpg

For this picture I selected ISF Expert Dark Room + PC Label on my C9. As you can see there is still no difference when looking at the millisecond (898 vs 898). Which confirms that PC Label also switches the TV into a "low input lag mode".

Why should you continue using Game Mode? Well... there a a few reasons for that:
- In HDR only the Game picture profile gives you the option to select HGiG. Which is recommended to use
if the game allows you to set stuff like peak brightness.
- With HDMI 2.0b devices you will also get tons of banding in HDR mode while PC Label is selected (this is an old LG problem). HDMI 2.1/FRL fixes this issue. So with PS5 or NVIDIAs new GPU series you won't have this issue.


Yes, but only with old HDMI 2.0b devices. With HDMI 2.1 LG TVs are using a different pipeline that does
not introduce additional banding.
Fantastic! Thanks for this! I will be switching to PC label on my PS5 which is connected to my C9.

I have a C7 and a C9. Am I correct to assume that the C7 is susceptible to banding under PC label?
 

Gusy

Member
Yea. I'm also pretty sure Vincent Teoh brought this up a few times in the past aswell.
I did some semi-professional input lag testing with my C9 a few weeks ago to verify this.
My Laptop screen has the same input lag my TV has (in game mode). Which made reading the numbers a bit easier (~13 ms for 1080p@60). Unfortunately I was limited to 1080p@60 in my test because that is the maximum my laptop display supports. But there is no reason why it should be different in other resolutions or with other frame rates.



This picture was taken with ISF Expert Dark Room without PC Label being selected:

isfexpertconsolelabelkikm0.jpg

By looking at the millisconds you can see that on my TV there is a smaller number than on my laptop (833 vs 932).
Which means that my TV has a higher lag. Which is totally what we expect without Game mode and PC Label.
The number itself does not mean anything, because it is just a clock I am using. The only thing that matters is the difference.

Now take a look at this picture that was taken without PC Label, but with Game picture profile being selected:
gameprofileconsolelab5rkhw.jpg

Now there is no lag between those two displays (763 vs. 763). Again not surprising - this is what we are expecting by selecting the game picture profile.

Here comes the interesting part:
isfexpertdarkroompclahsjdx.jpg

For this picture I selected ISF Expert Dark Room + PC Label on my C9. As you can see there is still no difference when looking at the millisecond (898 vs 898). Which confirms that PC Label also switches the TV into a "low input lag mode".

Why should you continue using Game Mode? Well... there a a few reasons for that:
- In HDR only the Game picture profile gives you the option to select HGiG. Which is recommended to use
if the game allows you to set stuff like peak brightness.
- With HDMI 2.0b devices you will also get tons of banding in HDR mode while PC Label is selected (this is an old LG problem). HDMI 2.1/FRL fixes this issue. So with PS5 or NVIDIAs new GPU series you won't have this issue.


Yes, but only with old HDMI 2.0b devices. With HDMI 2.1 LG TVs are using a different pipeline that does
not introduce additional banding.

Holy shit.. did not expect such an informed and detailed answer. That’s super interesting info that I didn’t know. Much appreciated.
 

Gusy

Member
I have an issue with the CX that got me pretty nervous. Sometimes after the tv has been off for a while and I turn it on, a faint white line pans vertically from top to bottom of the panel before the screen actually turns on. When this happens, the image comes up weird with horizontal banding (Checkerboard style stripes that go across the panel horizontally). If I turn off the TV and then back on.. it turns on normally and the picture looks perfect.

I posted this video on youtube showing the issue:



Anyone has seen something similar? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

happy 2021 everyone
 

Ryu Kaiba

Member
yeah but hasn’t there been reports of banding using PC label on consoles?
I've seen some banding on my CX in PC mode but it was only on one particular instance, don't remember where exactly It might have been on one of the startup screens in Ori and the blind forest but it's not been a problem.
 

MadPanda

Banned
I don’t use game mode anyway as it always looked dim and washed out


On LG CX tvs that's not the case. It looks as good as in other mods.
I've heard that on Samsung tvs game mode looks dimmed and washed out. I didn't have a Samsung TV so I don't know, but on LG oleds that's definitely not the case.

With PC Label selected or Instant Game response started you can use other picture presets while still getting the lowest input lag possible.

What do you mean by other picture presets? You can choose filmmaker mode, or cinema mode for example, but you WILL get higher input lag. Only game mod gives you the lowest input lag possible. Instant game response automatically switches to it and that's the purpose of it. Tested it myself. Playing forza horizon 4 in filmmaker or cinema gives me horrendous lag and I consider it unplayable.

Besides, there's no point in choosing other modes as it gives you no benefit while introducing higher
input lag.
 
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Venuspower

Member
What do you mean by other picture presets? You can choose filmmaker mode, or cinema mode for example, but you WILL get higher input lag.
I can not confirm this. You might want to check out my earlier post (however, I did my test with PC Label selected):
 

MadPanda

Banned
I can not confirm this. You might want to check out my earlier post (however, I did my test with PC Label selected):

You have tests on rtings.com for modes other than game mode and its much higher. In the end, you don't need any tests as input lag is noticeable just by playing a game.
 

Venuspower

Member
You have tests on rtings.com for modes other than game mode and its much higher.
Rtings does not test those picture profiles with PC Label selected/IGR.
I have not tested IGR myself, because I have no compatible source. But others are reporting
the same effect as PC Label.

But with PC Label the picture profile does not matter. Inputlag is always on the same level
as with Game Mode (without PC Label selected). By taking a look into each picture profile
with PC Label being selected you can also see that PC Label will even remove pretty much every "picture enhancment" feature from the settings.

Feel free to try PC label on your own. You won't notice a difference with ISF Expert Dark Room + PC Label between
to Game + Console Label. Without PC Label ISF Expert Dark Room has of course a high input lag.

Edit: I did some more digging. Rtings actually tested PC Label + Other picture presets in the past for some TVs.
For example with the C7:

Update 04/24/2017: Turning on PC mode on any of the picture modes will result in input lag of about 21ms. 1080p outside game mode has been corrected after being re-tested.

For comparision: Input lag with Game Profile on the C7:
1080p @ 60Hz: 21.3 ms
4k @ 60Hz: 21.4 ms

Which further proofs that the PC label will lower the input lag in every picture preset to the same level the Game profile does.
 
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Panajev2001a

GAF's Pleasant Genius
I don’t use game mode anyway as it always looked dim and washed out
Between rtings recommended settings and HDTVTest best XSX/PS5 settings (and their multiple tips on the console game HDR calibration tool) I think it makes Game Mode worth it... especially as it unlocks HGIG dynamic tone mapping that allow the console to control tone mapping.
 

kraspkibble

Permabanned.
just updated. i can wait for them to fix game mode. dolby visions is more important to me. will be watching some netflix later to see the improvement.
I have an issue with the CX that got me pretty nervous. Sometimes after the tv has been off for a while and I turn it on, a faint white line pans vertically from top to bottom of the panel before the screen actually turns on. When this happens, the image comes up weird with horizontal banding (Checkerboard style stripes that go across the panel horizontally). If I turn off the TV and then back on.. it turns on normally and the picture looks perfect.

I posted this video on youtube showing the issue:



Anyone has seen something similar? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

happy 2021 everyone

the first thing i thought of was pixel refresher. it says that you might see a white line on the screen but it's normal. pixel refresher only runs after every 4 hours or 2000 hours of consecutive screen on time.

if it's happening more often than 4 hours i'd contact LG.
 
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Venuspower

Member
How do I actually change the label? I can't find that setting at all (LG CX).
Open "Home Dashboard".
Select edit and change the Label to PC.

But keep in mind that you do not want to use the PC Label on LG TVs unless your source is sending an FRL signal.
Otherwise you will get color banding in HDR mode.
 

M1chl

Currently Gif and Meme Champion
Got to say that I am frustrated, when I take the TV out of the box it worked normally and everything was great. I took time to get accustomed to OLED style image, which is more agressive to me, than what I have before with QLED, but after some time, I do not wanted anything else. But subsequent FW updates made it worse, like this dimming is super noticable. Hopefully it would be quick fix but I would be glad to go back with FW...
 

MadPanda

Banned
Rtings does not test those picture profiles with PC Label selected/IGR.
I have not tested IGR myself, because I have no compatible source. But others are reporting
the same effect as PC Label.

But with PC Label the picture profile does not matter. Inputlag is always on the same level
as with Game Mode (without PC Label selected). By taking a look into each picture profile
with PC Label being selected you can also see that PC Label will even remove pretty much every "picture enhancment" feature from the settings.

Feel free to try PC label on your own. You won't notice a difference with ISF Expert Dark Room + PC Label between
to Game + Console Label. Without PC Label ISF Expert Dark Room has of course a high input lag.

Edit: I did some more digging. Rtings actually tested PC Label + Other picture presets in the past for some TVs.
For example with the C7:



For comparision: Input lag with Game Profile on the C7:
1080p @ 60Hz: 21.3 ms
4k @ 60Hz: 21.4 ms

Which further proofs that the PC label will lower the input lag in every picture preset to the same level the Game profile does.


I was talking g about game mod vs other modes. I haven't used pc mode nor do I intend to.

I don't see a need to use other picture presets VS game mode, as you get no benefits. I've tried them just for fun and really see no reason why people would want anything other than game mode when they're playing games.
 

TonyK

Member
After making some tests, I don't see any image improvement between standard mode, with HDMI set to PC, and game mode.
 

Venuspower

Member
I was talking g about game mod vs other modes. I haven't used pc mode nor do I intend to.
Yea. But I was not and you quoted me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I don't see a need to use other picture presets VS game mode, as you get no benefits. I've tried them just for fun and really see no reason why people would want anything other than game mode when they're playing games.
Of course you have benefits. In terms of ISF Expert Dark Room this means: A more accurate picture.
For HDR you could say the same. But with HDR you will lose HGiG if you are not using the Game profile.

After making some tests, I don't see any image improvement between standard mode, with HDMI set to PC, and game mode.
Try ISF Expert Dark Room or Bright Room.
Standard picture mode is not really good.
 
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