LG B8/C8 OLED Picture Settings – RTINGS.com - YouTube

Hi, I’m Daniel from RTINGS.com.

In this video we’ll go over how-to setup and calibrate the 2018 LG C8 OLED.

Note that these recommendations also apply for other 2018 LG OLED TVs, as they share

the same panel.

The B8 has a different processor which is a bit slower and doesn’t handle gradients

quite as well, but otherwise these recommendations should also be valid.

We’ll start by showing you which devices to connect to which port, and then go through

the menus of the TV to show you what each setting does and how you should set it depending

on your source.

The LG OLEDs each have four HDMI ports.

The second port which is directed out the side has the ARC label.

This should be connected to a receiver with audio return channel capabilities to direct

sound from the TVs apps or other devices through your external sound system.

Other than this the four inputs have the same functionality, so connect your devices to

any of them.

After connecting and turning on your device you may be asked if you want to activate ‘HDMI

Ultra HD Deep Color’.

If so, click ‘Yes’ to adjust the HDMI port of the TV to allow it to use maximum

bandwidth.

If this doesn’t appear then it is fine, most devices don’t require full bandwidth.

If you’re using the TV as a PC monitor then you should set the TV to PC mode for the clearest

text.

To do so, press the ‘Inputs’ button on the remote and choose the ‘PC’ icon for

chroma 4:4:4 support.

Other devices can be set to any other icon as the rest of them are all just cosmetic

labels.

We will now go over each of the TVs settings to show you what they do.

First we’ll disable the ‘Energy Saving’ feature.

This adjust the brightness of the screen depending on the room lighting which can be distracting,

but may be useful for those who watch TV as the room brightness changes throughout the

day.

We'll now go into the picture settings menu to the 'OLED Panel Settings' option.

These settings are all related to reducing OLED panel burn-in and uniformity issues.

You can learn more about our investigation into OLED Burn In from our investigation,

which is linked below.

The 'Pixel Refresher' option generates a look-up table which helps to drive different areas

of the screen and counteract uniformity issues.

You should run this pixel refresher whenever you see uniformity issues, but for most people

it won't be more than once every few months.

Running it more frequently doesn't cause any issues.

A smaller pixel refresh runs automatically when the TV is turned off after being in use

for four hours which helps to keep the uniformity in check.

The 'Screen Shift' option orbits the screen by a few pixels to prevent areas from remaining

static.

This isn't very noticeable so you should leave it enabled.

The LG C8 detects static logos such as from network TV and reduces their brightness.

This should also help to counteract burn-in, and isn’t very noticeable so can be set

to 'High'.

If you're distracted by logos on the screen changing brightness then you can set it to

'Low' or disable it.

Now we'll go back to the 'Picture Setting' menu and adjust the picture mode.

We'll be using measurements taken from our C8 to show how the picture quality is affected

in ways cameras can't capture.

Both of the 'ISF Expert' picture modes allow the most settings adjustment.

With the same picture settings, they perform the same, but include different default values.

You can use them to create two setting profiles which you can easily switch between.

The 'Game' picture mode has the lowest input lag which makes it the best choice for responsiveness

when gaming.

It does disable other processing settings, but these usually aren't settings you want

enabled when gaming anyway.

For gamers, choose this picture mode and then follow the rest of this guide, ignoring options

which aren't available.

When HDR content is detected, the TV automatically changes to a selection of HDR picture modes.

For HDR10 movies, the 'Cinema' picture mode is recommended as it provides most control

over the settings.

For games, use the 'Game' picture mode for lowest input lag.

The OLED Light automatically adjusts to maximum, which is best for HDR10.

If you're watching Dolby Vision HDR content then the 'Cinema Home' option is best.

The recommended OLED Light setting is the default of 50 as this is how it is intended

to be displayed on OLED TVs.

For this SDR calibration we will be using the 'Expert (Dark Room)' picture mode.

The 'OLED Light' adjusts the overall luminance of the display.

You should adjust this to suit your room.

For a bright room set it to maximum, and for most average lit rooms a value of about 50

is good.

For our completely dark room calibration we will set it to 18.

The 'Contrast' option affects the brightness range of the display.

Low values result in a dim or washed out image.

It should be set as high as possible without clipping highlights.

We've found that 85 is a safe value.

The 'Brightness' option affects the black level.

The default value of 50 is almost always the best value.

Lowering this results in crushed details in dark scenes.

Raising it up past 50 results in blacks that appear gray due to a raised black level.

Adding 'Sharpness' will result in ringing around edges, but does help to increase the

sharpness of low quality content.

If you're watching high quality content then you should set it to 0 for the most accurate

image.

The 'Color' option affects the saturation of colors.

In this diagram the squares are the target points which is what an accurate display should

achieve.

The circles are the measured points from our C8.

Decreasing the color results in undersaturated colors and a dull image.

Increasing it results in oversaturated images with very vivid colors.

You can adjust it slightly, but for accurate colors the default value of 50 is best.

The 'Tint' option rotates the color palette.

For the most accurate colors, leave it to 0.

Now, in the 'Expert Controls' menu is an option for 'Dynamic Contrast'.

We can measure the gamma curve to see the effect of this.

These results show the relationship between dark and bright areas in a scene.

A lower gamma value results in a brighter image and a higher value results in a deeper

or darker image.

The 'Dynamic Contrast' option tends to lower the gamma curve bringing out extra details.

This does result in a brighter image but it is less accurate and if you do want a brighter

image then it is better to adjust the 'OLED Light' and 'Gamma' setting.

The 'Super Resolution' option can also be used to try to bring out more detail in low

quality content.

It can be useful for low quality DVDs or cable TV, but for high quality content should be

left disabled.

The 'Color Gamut' option affects the target colors of the display.

'Extended' increases the saturation of intermediate colors and 'Wide' increases the target color

space.

Either of these options can be used if you like vivid colors, but for the best accuracy

in all content you should leave them to 'Auto'.

The 'Color Filter' setting can be used for calibration by eye.

The 'Gamma' setting adjusts the gamma directly which affects the relationship between dark

and bright areas.

Most content is mastered to a value of 2.2 so this is the most accurate, but if you're

in a bright room you can set the gamma to 1.9 to bring out dark scene details.

In the 'White Balance' menu is the 'Color Temperature' option.

You should adjust this as you prefer.

Cooler values result in a blueish image while warmer values result in a red or yellowish

image.

The color temperature which most content is mastered at is 6500K which corresponds to

a value of 'Warm2'.

The remainder of the 'White Balance' settings are for calibration with advanced equipment.

The same applies for the 'Color Management System' which requires a colorimeter to measure

and set accurately.

Now we'll go up and to the 'Picture Options' menu.

We disable 'Noise Reduction' and 'MPEG Noise Reduction' for the most accurate image with

high quality content, but if you watch cable or other low quality content then you should

enable these settings to reduce artifacts.

Enabling 'MPEG Noise Reduction' activates a gradient smoothing feature.

Here we're sending an 8 bit signal to the TV, so you can see how this smooths out the

8 bit banding.

If you notice gradations then you should enable this.

The 'Black Level' option should be set to correspond to the black level of your input

device.

For most video devices including consoles 'Low' is the best value, but for PC use 'High'

is usually correct.

A mismatch here will result in a raised black level or significant clipping of details.

The 'Real Cinema' option is used to correctly display the cadence of 24p movies.

You can leave this on to reduce judder and it won't cause any negative effects.

We leave 'Motion Eye Care' disabled as we don't want the brightness of the image to

change depending on the content.

The 'TruMotion' option contains settings for motion interpolation which is also known as

the soap opera effect.

You can learn more about this in our motion series which is linked below.

While this does introduce artifacts, some people do prefer this especially on OLED TVs

as it reduces stutter on low frame rate content.

For the most customization set it to 'User' and adjust the sliders manually.

If you want to increase the frame rate of movies without too much soap opera effect

then set the 'De-Judder' slider to 2 and leave 'De-blur' on 0.

Unlike last year's B7 and C7, OLEDs this year have a 'Motion Pro' option.

This enables a black frame insertion feature which helps to clear up persistence blur when

gaming.

It is useful for the clearest motion in fast paced games, but does introduce noticeable

flicker so many people dislike it.

If you don't like this flicker then just leave it disabled.

So, in conclusion for PC use set the input icon to PC.

Gamers should use the 'Game' picture mode for lowest input lag.

For an accurate image when watching movies or TV shows, pick the 'Expert Dark Room' picture

mode and disable the processing settings.

For each of these uses adjust 'OLED Light' to suit your room and the 'Color Temperature'

to suit your preference.

When watching HDR content the TV automatically goes to a number of different HDR picture

modes.

For HDR10, use the 'Cinema' picture mode with the default 'OLED Light' value of 100.

For Dolby Vision, use the 'Cinema Home' picture mode with the default 'OLED Light' setting

of 50.

Let us know how you find these settings by leaving a comment down below.

If you like this video, then subscribe or become a contributor.

Thank you for watching, and see you next time.