What player to pair with LG G3 OLED?

[Fanous]

Absolute noob here. Be patient, please. 

 

I've got my eyes set on a new TV, from LG, model C1 OLED. I know we can stream plenty of content, but we like to do movie nights. Watching DVDs. Currently, we use Xbox 360 (yes the old console with kinect) to play DVDs. Moving to 4K, I assume that's not gonna cut it anymore. 

 

So the question is simple, what else to buy next to the TV to make the most of it? 

 

I suspect a soundbar, and a 4k dvd player. I'd appreciate your wisdom recommending me specific models, and why those are the good choice, please. 

 

Your help is appreciated... 

Cheers 

[Colty]

This might be a longer post, but....

I own an LG CX, the previous generation to the C1. I've had it since March or April.

4k (UHD) blu-rays are definitely a thing. However, the discs are pretty expensive, I have a few, but it was clearance items, black Friday deals, or "must-have" items. For example, Donnie Darko on UHD, it was a must have for me since it's one of my favorites and it was a limited run. Spider-Man Homecoming was like $5 for the UHD during black Friday, ect. 

On that note, an Xbox Series/PS5/Xbox One X all have UHD Blu-Ray support (though I've heard at least the Xbox One's audio chip isn't up to snuff). I'm not sure how they all compare as media boxes, and while I love that my PS5 has the support for UHD discs, I still use my ChromeCast and Plex for everything else. 

A Google ChromeCast with Google TV (long name, yes) is a great 4k HDR streaming box. It has more options and customization than the built in LG apps. I use it for Plex, YouTube, Disney+, Netflix, ect. It has everything since it's basically a ChromeCast and Android box in one.

A lot of people like the Nvidia Shield for 4k streaming. I don't have one, but it's definitely something I've thought about any time the ChromeCast has an issue. So far though, an update or adjusting a setting has resolved all of my issues. They are more expensive, but it's something I wish I had looked into more before pulling the trigger on the ChromeCast. 

Personally, I don't like soundbars. I grew up with hi-fi sound equipment so I'm used to things sounding over the top good. Regardless, an AVR and a good set of used speakers will be better if you have the space for them. And even if space constrained, I would even suspect a subwoofer, center, and two bookshelf speakers (3.1 setup) would be far better than a soundbar for the price. 

The other thing to make the most of the experience is using the right settings. LG's default settings are horrible. It uses "vivid" mode out of the box. It has frame interpolation cranked, colors are way overdone, ect.

"Film-Maker Bright Room" mode is excellent for me. It feels very true to the artistic vision and doesn't have any BS looking colors/motion smoothing. 

[GuiltySpark_]

I think what you're looking for if you're still trying to play a collection of DVD's is a modern Blu-ray player that supports DVD upscaling, and does it well. Now, which models are good and which are bad.. I have no idea. Haven't bought or used optical media of any kind in over a decade. 

[GuiltySpark_]

It seems like Panasonic, LG and Sony (is Oppo still in the game?) are the only names in town still really putting out new devices. 

 

Probably shouldn't be too hard to put together a list of the highest end models from those three brands.. how many could they still make? 

 

LOL, $99 to $999. 

 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/shop/dvd-upscaling-players

[BuzzingBee]

For audio I also would say I don't recommend soundbars unless you have specific reasons. I can understand its slim design would have better appeal, but at best you would simply improving TV's sound quality. It's better to go for AV receiver with discrete speakers. 

 

If budget is a problem then you'll just need 5.1 AV receiver. 5.1 is generally all you need for surround experience; anything further like 7.1 or height speakers are just cherry on top. You don't need to get all 5 speakers and subwoofer right away, go for quality over quantity and get a high quality stereo speaker first, then slowly add more speakers as you have more money available. I strongly suggest you get LCR speakers the same brand and model as it would have consistent tonality and that LCR have the most audio content, while it's not too important for surround speakers.

 

For 4K Blu Ray player with all HDR support including Dolby Vision then I recommend either LG UBK90 or Panasonic UB820. 

 

It depends if you're planning to use player regularly and collecting 4K discs. If not so often and prefer to stream more then get the LG player as it's more budget oriented and will simply do its job. Otherwise get the Panasonic player. It's more expensive sure but it has better advantages. The predominant feature is HDR optimiser which handles tones better than the TV and can limit max brightness to prevent from oversaturating.

 

Finally congrats on your new TV, you will definitely enjoy it.

Edited November 2, 2021 by BuzzingBee
Grammar error

[Home Theater Dummy]

Pretty  much everyone in the Home theater world that I follow recommends Panasonic UB8820 (UB9000 if using a projector) Sub $500 which is what I have

Great 4k UHD player. can tone map HDR10 content to your specific screen.  Auto recognizes Dolby Vision and HDR10+ content.

In my opinion pretty darn customize able and user friendly. I don't know that I'll ever upgrade

[GuiltySpark_]

Just now, GillyBond said:

Pretty  much everyone in the Home theater world that I follow recommends Panasonic UB8820 (UB9000 if using a projector) Sub $500 which is what I have

Great 4k UHD player. can tone map HDR10 content to your specific screen.  Auto recognizes Dolby Vision and HDR10+ content.

In my opinion pretty darn customize able and user friendly. I don't know that I'll ever upgrade

How is the SD DVD upscaling? That is the OP's main request.

[Home Theater Dummy]

I haven't found a lot of specifically reviewed content talking about SD DVD upscaling but forum discussions seem positive. 1080p BD upscaling is also very good.

If you'd rather be closer to the $250 range the Sony X800M2 is very compelling. Its a little less "Set it and forget it" than the Panasonic UB820 and it doesn't support HDR10+ or tone mapping. But it makes having a dedicated UHD player seem much more acheiveable. (or even the Sony X700, less features, but still does the job)

Although since what reviewers seem to brag about when it comes to the Panasonic UB820 is the processor. Its probably going to do better than the Sony UHD players anyways.

[Home Theater Dummy]

As far as equipment for sound, that really depends on what your looking for. 
There are compelling soundbars out there. I like the Nakamichi Shockwafe Ultra 9.2 (LMG if you're listening please review this)

But If you think you will EVER want to upgrade I can't recommend a decent 7 or 9 channel receiver enough.
Even if you only start with a couple of bookshelf speakers.
Then add a center channel and/or subwoofer.
Then side surrounds (now you have 5.1)
Then I recommend a 2nd subwoofer. (usually in an opposing /area of your room) but not necessary
Then if you have decent space behind your seating area you can add back surrounds. (7.1)
OR
Start adding height channels for Dolby Atmos & DTS:X (Netflix has a decent selection of Atmos content, and most UHD discs in my experience also do)
If you have a 7 channel receiver. you can do a 5.1.2 
OR 
If you have a 9 channel receiver you can do 5.1.4 (kind of the sweet spot)
Most 9 channel receivers have "pre-outs" which will let you connect them to an external amp. if you need more power. and some 9 channel receiver can actually "process" 11 channels even if they only power 9. so connect a stereo amp, and then you have 7.1.4, or 5.1.6

[Home Theater Dummy]

also most 7 but especially 9 channel receivers have a 2nd SUB out.

[Fanous]

Thank you all for your input so far. 

 

I've considered using xbox x or ps5 as a player, but we don't really game on consoles, so it would be a waste. Kinda funny that the C1 is game oriented. It just seems all around good choice even without the plans to game on it. Or am I missing a chance for better tv? I'm pretty much an LG fan, and I will go with them. So if you thinkof better option from LG, please share. 

 

DVD upscale is a good point, a must have I'd say. Im looking at the LG UBK90, seems simple, cheap and it will do the job? I don't fancy spending time in the menu, tweaking bits and bobs, I'd like plug and play solution. Is there goint to be LG to LG synergy benefit? 

 

As for sound, I'm sure 5.1 or similar will be superior in many ways. But we had that, and rarely used it due to concerns of being too loud for neighbours taste, especially the subwoofer was a bit much. I also don't like the hustle of wiring everywhere, hiding it and all that. So for me, single source seemed ideal. Overall goal is to have simple solution, without clutter, and not use the TV speakers. I recall Linus reviewing smart soundbars with room scanning and producing 3D sound. Can't recall what it was, and how pricey... 

[Home Theater Dummy]

3 minutes ago, Fanous said:

Thank you all for your input so far. 

 

I've considered using xbox x or ps5 as a player, but we don't really game on consoles, so it would be a waste. Kinda funny that the C1 is game oriented. It just seems all around good choice even without the plans to game on it. Or am I missing a chance for better tv? I'm pretty much an LG fan, and I will go with them. So if you thinkof better option from LG, please share. 

 

DVD upscale is a good point, a must have I'd say. Im looking at the LG UBK90, seems simple, cheap and it will do the job? I don't fancy spending time in the menu, tweaking bits and bobs, I'd like plug and play solution. Is there goint to be LG to LG synergy benefit? 

 

As for sound, I'm sure 5.1 or similar will be superior in many ways. But we had that, and rarely used it due to concerns of being too loud for neighbours taste, especially the subwoofer was a bit much. I also don't like the hustle of wiring everywhere, hiding it and all that. So for me, single source seemed ideal. Overall goal is to have simple solution, without clutter, and not use the TV speakers. I recall Linus reviewing smart soundbars with room scanning and producing 3D sound. Can't recall what it was, and how pricey... 

A good surround system will let you tune the settings of your sub so at the right volumes it doesn't bother your neighbors. A good soundbar can be quite loud as well.

If you don't want sattelite speakers for side or back surrounds there are some surprisingly decent soundbars that do some ok virtualization.

like the ONN 5.1.2 soundbar, you can find at walmart. Distortion is obvious at low volumes, but even when I demo'd it inside the store I still heard the overhead and surround effects pretty clearly. and that's not even representative of a normal environment, so I imagine it would sound better in a home $300

[Home Theater Dummy]

As far as a TV honestly the C1 is pretty good. but I only recommend OLEDs for very dark rooms. I think HDR really shines with a Bright TV. maybe go for a QLED or mini or micro led backlit screen. (could save your money or get a bigger TV if you go that route.

[BuzzingBee]

There's probably no benefits with pairing same brand nowadays as everything could be linked with HDMI CEC and LG's magic remote. I don't use CEC as I don't always want "everything turned on". As for remote it can automatically link and control Blu Ray players no matter the brand. 

 

Nethertheless LG UBK90 is still decent player provided you want Dolby Vision support, I have one myself for living room and it does the job well. If you play files through USB slot then that's one feature LG has better advantage over Panasonic UB820. LG can support lossless audio while Panny is limited to Dolby and DTS 5.1 (however there's a flaw in LG player that wouldn't play TrueHD on mkv file, solution is to convert mkv to m2ts). 

 

An alternative to C1 is Sony A90J. From what I read, if you're only using it for watching and absolutely zero gaming then A90J has better motion handling and peak brightness. However I don't know if it make much of a difference as both panels are OLED, maybe look for other people's response in motion comparison. You'll be happy regardless but the deciding factor is their price and your gaming plans.

 

And as for the sound, there was a good chance certain bass frequency was peaking and therefore upsetting your neighbours. If you're willing to give AV receiver another go then I recommend Denon/Marantz as their recent Auto EQ software can flatten your subwoofer response and potentially fixing your neighbours issue. It may be a similar problem if you're going for soundbar with subwoofer aswell, but because I never used soundbar before I couldn't help further on audio, especially whether soundbar has like equalisation feature (I wish). 

[Home Theater Dummy]

^In that respect The Sony X800M2 I recommended is about $50 more than the LG player, but it does support some wider formats like SACD and DVD-Audio. Although based on OP's postings I doubt they are taking advantage of that feature set.

I still personally recommend The Panasonic UB820 (black friday sale maybe) as its one of the only 4K UHD players to support all HDR formats.

The LG does support XVID, WMV, and others, but I feel that those use cases are relatively niche and might be better handled by a laptop with supported formats or even a basic HTPC

 

[Fanous]

On 11/4/2021 at 9:25 PM, GillyBond said:

^In that respect The Sony X800M2 I recommended is about $50 more than the LG player, but it does support some wider formats like SACD and DVD-Audio. Although based on OP's postings I doubt they are taking advantage of that feature set.

I still personally recommend The Panasonic UB820 (black friday sale maybe) as its one of the only 4K UHD players to support all HDR formats.

The LG does support XVID, WMV, and others, but I feel that those use cases are relatively niche and might be better handled by a laptop with supported formats or even a basic HTPC

 

We are no strangers in hooking up the laptop to TV, in fact, if it cannot be streamed, and it's not on disc, we usually go for a laptop. 

[Stagea]

On 11/2/2021 at 12:13 AM, Fanous said:

Absolute noob here. Be patient, please. 

 

I've got my eyes set on a new TV, from LG, model C1 OLED. I know we can stream plenty of content, but we like to do movie nights. Watching DVDs. Currently, we use Xbox 360 (yes the old console with kinect) to play DVDs. Moving to 4K, I assume that's not gonna cut it anymore. 

 

So the question is simple, what else to buy next to the TV to make the most of it? 

 

I suspect a soundbar, and a 4k dvd player. I'd appreciate your wisdom recommending me specific models, and why those are the good choice, please. 

 

Your help is appreciated... 

Cheers 

The LG C1 has decent decoding support for standard formats. AV1 streaming is a good bonus, as this seems to be the preferred format of Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, etc.

 

Re: Soundbars - There are good surround soundbars like the Polk ManiFi Max SR that run wireless surrounds, in case you prefer a svelte profile. They work much better than those that bounce the sound around.

 

Re: LG UBK90 - It's a good BluRay player. If you don't plan to lean on physical media too much, there are great renewed deals in Amazon (the LG UBKM9 is currently going for $95 - just return it if you get a dud).

 

[IPD]

My $.02

 

-5.1 surround sound.  Until you are an audiophile enough to need higher end--this will suit the bill for most things

 

-HDMI 2.0/.1 capable dedicated PC for streaming

[Commodus]

I won't add to the player recommendations since I'm not an expert (I stream everything, and my disc player is a PS5).

 

However, I'll say this: temper your expectations for your DVD collection. A good 4K set like the C1 will ruin you for anything less than 1080p, even with good upscaling! I get annoyed when I watch a 720p YouTube video (those still exist), let alone a 480p DVD. I suspect you've anticipated this, but you may find yourself repurchasing movies or hunting down streaming versions just so that they look better.

[Home Theater Dummy]

10 hours ago, Commodus said:

I won't add to the player recommendations since I'm not an expert (I stream everything, and my disc player is a PS5).

 

However, I'll say this: temper your expectations for your DVD collection. A good 4K set like the C1 will ruin you for anything less than 1080p, even with good upscaling! I get annoyed when I watch a 720p YouTube video (those still exist), let alone a 480p DVD. I suspect you've anticipated this, but you may find yourself repurchasing movies or hunting down streaming versions just so that they look better.

The LG C1 actually has pretty decent upscaling for even 480 content.

 

Ranking an average of 8.0 on RTINGS.com

 

 

[Commodus]

11 hours ago, GillyBond said:

The LG C1 actually has pretty decent upscaling for even 480 content.

 

Ranking an average of 8.0 on RTINGS.com

 

 

Oh, I'm sure, but there's only so much you can do with limited source material. It's a bit like the difference between JPEG and RAW with cameras; no amount of software trickery can bring back some of the data lost in the 'worse' format.

[Fanous]

I'm sure the image will not be as pristine as a 4K source, but would it be that bad that I couldn't watch it? Or is it just simply worse but doable. I'd compare it to a vinyl record music, it's got cracks and imperfections, but it never bothered me... 

[Commodus]

6 hours ago, Fanous said:

I'm sure the image will not be as pristine as a 4K source, but would it be that bad that I couldn't watch it? Or is it just simply worse but doable. I'd compare it to a vinyl record music, it's got cracks and imperfections, but it never bothered me... 

It's doable, but you'll definitely notice the difference versus 1080p or 4K even with good upscaling. The DVDs may be a fine "for now" solution until you can either stream higher-res versions or snag Blu-ray editions.

 

What size is your outgoing TV, by the way?

[Home Theater Dummy]

On 11/10/2021 at 11:33 PM, Fanous said:

I'm sure the image will not be as pristine as a 4K source, but would it be that bad that I couldn't watch it? Or is it just simply worse but doable. I'd compare it to a vinyl record music, it's got cracks and imperfections, but it never bothered me... 

You are going to be fine. But once you start getting True blurays or 4k discs you'll probably feel like you never want to go back to dvd's

[Fanous]

On 11/11/2021 at 1:45 PM, Commodus said:

It's doable, but you'll definitely notice the difference versus 1080p or 4K even with good upscaling. The DVDs may be a fine "for now" solution until you can either stream higher-res versions or snag Blu-ray editions.

 

What size is your outgoing TV, by the way?

I'm after the 65"