New to OLED any tips?

[danilojonic]

We just upgraded our workhorse high-end Panasonic Viera 42in from late 2000s to an LG G4 65in which is an OLED. The Panasonic is still working which is amazing for an almost 20 year old TV.

 

My question is what can I do to extend the life and improve the picture quality of this new LG G4 OLED TV? We use our TV for 2-5 hours daily mostly for movies and gaming so burn-in shouldn't be an issue (maybe podcasts come the closest to static news content).

 

This thing is so big and sharp that now even the film grain is noticed quite a bit, how can I reduce this? Should I use the in-built AI features like denoise, motion improvement etc. or should I leave these off?

 

 

[circeseye]

41 minutes ago, danilojonic said:

We just upgraded our workhorse high-end Panasonic Viera 42in from late 2000s to an LG G4 65in which is an OLED. The Panasonic is still working which is amazing for an almost 20 year old TV.

 

My question is what can I do to extend the life and improve the picture quality of this new LG G4 OLED TV? We use our TV for 2-5 hours daily mostly for movies and gaming so burn-in shouldn't be an issue (maybe podcasts come the closest to static news content).

 

This thing is so big and sharp that now even the film grain is noticed quite a bit, how can I reduce this? Should I use the in-built AI features like denoise, motion improvement etc. or should I leave these off?

 

 

check out what they have done
https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/lg/g4-oled/settings

 

they are really good for explanations and things to do

[podkall]

My tip? Enjoy.

 

Make sure the content on the screen is not static to avoid burn-in, though burn-in is something that develops over years, and has been mitigated by technology more and more with newer monitor/TV models, the longevity increases and burn-in chance and probability decreases.

 

1 hour ago, danilojonic said:

My question is what can I do to extend the life and improve the picture quality of this new LG G4 OLED TV? We use our TV for 2-5 hours daily mostly for movies and gaming so burn-in shouldn't be an issue (maybe podcasts come the closest to static news content).

You could realistically turn off the TV, or switch to fluid content after podcast is finished.

 

1 hour ago, danilojonic said:

This thing is so big and sharp that now even the film grain is noticed quite a bit, how can I reduce this? Should I use the in-built AI features like denoise, motion improvement etc. or should I leave these off?

That's up to you, some film grain is intentional for movie aesthetic/realism perhaps, but if it's too strong effect you could give some display enhancement features a try.

[Chree]

Just turn it off when you're done using it.  enjoy.

[QuantumRand]

On 3/26/2025 at 12:51 PM, danilojonic said:

We just upgraded our workhorse high-end Panasonic Viera 42in from late 2000s to an LG G4 65in which is an OLED. The Panasonic is still working which is amazing for an almost 20 year old TV.

 

I upgraded last year from a ~15 year old Vizio. I'm curious if you noticed a massive brightness difference like I did when you go back to your Panasonic. For me, the upgrade to the new TV (I got a C3) wasn't a striking brightness change until I went back to my old Vizio briefly to take some photos for Craigslist. I hadn't realized just how dim that TV was until that moment, lol.

 

On 3/26/2025 at 12:51 PM, danilojonic said:

This thing is so big and sharp that now even the film grain is noticed quite a bit, how can I reduce this? Should I use the in-built AI features like denoise, motion improvement etc. or should I leave these off?

Film grain is usually intentional when its in UHD content. If you find it distracting, you could try some of the denoising filters, under "Settings" > "Picture" > "Advanced Settings" > "Clarity" and then select "Noise Reduction" (I think). But I don't think they were intended for film grain noise, more like signal/compression noise.

 

My suggestion would be to try getting used to the film grain first.

[sm1th5]

If you hate film grain. Avoid the movie 300. It's among the most grain I have ever seen in my life.

[Omon_Ra]

On 3/27/2025 at 9:29 PM, QuantumRand said:

I upgraded last year from a ~15 year old Vizio. I'm curious if you noticed a massive brightness difference like I did when you go back to your Panasonic. For me, the upgrade to the new TV (I got a C3) wasn't a striking brightness change until I went back to my old Vizio briefly to take some photos for Craigslist. I hadn't realized just how dim that TV was until that moment, lol.

OLED's do struggle with matching brightness of LCD/LED, however I think most OLED's do not ship with their max brightness. You can check the settings to see if you can bump that up. This is mostly to help with longevity/reduce burn. Running an OLED at max brightness and lots of static content will accelerate/increase the odds of burn it. The brightness thing is one caveat I tell people when deciding on a new display. If someone is putting a new TV in a very bright living/great room and mostly watches content during the day, I generally recommend a standard LED TV. But in a dedicated media room, game room, or other room with more easily controlled lighting and mostly nighttime viewing, the pure blacks more than make up for the slightly diminished overall panel brightness (and increase in perceived contrast ratio).

[danilojonic]

On 3/27/2025 at 2:51 PM, Chree said:

Just turn it off when you're done using it.  enjoy.

Actually I found out that, upon turning it off with a remote to standby mode, I should wait a bit before unplugging it because it does something with the panel and the pixels, not exactly sure what. The reason why I unplug it in the first place is because it's connected to a power extension cord so not only does the TV have to stay in standby but also the PC, stereo speakers and the sound booster/amplifier box.

[danilojonic]

On 3/28/2025 at 2:29 AM, QuantumRand said:

I upgraded last year from a ~15 year old Vizio. I'm curious if you noticed a massive brightness difference like I did when you go back to your Panasonic. For me, the upgrade to the new TV (I got a C3) wasn't a striking brightness change until I went back to my old Vizio briefly to take some photos for Craigslist. I hadn't realized just how dim that TV was until that moment, lol.

Brother it's a motherfucking flashbang now. I watch movies at night with very little light from the side so when the movie goes from dark to bright scene it gets so bright I can't even look at it for a brief second until my eyes get used to it. My brightness is set to 50 so it's not even close to maximum brightness.

I gotta admit that the color science really improved with the new panels. Even the old movies look amazing!

[podkall]

5 hours ago, danilojonic said:

Actually I found out that, upon turning it off with a remote to standby mode, I should wait a bit before unplugging it because it does something with the panel and the pixels, not exactly sure what.

prolly cools them down or something very similar to this concept

 

5 hours ago, danilojonic said:

Brother it's a motherfucking flashbang now. I watch movies at night with very little light from the side so when the movie goes from dark to bright scene it gets so bright I can't even look at it for a brief second until my eyes get used to it. My brightness is set to 50 so it's not even close to maximum brightness.

If you have 0 ambient lights I'm not surprised

[QuantumRand]

22 hours ago, podkall said:

prolly cools them down or something very similar to this concept

I believe it's actually doing a "Pixel Refresher" cycle. It'll measure the voltage properties of each pixel as well as compare the lifetime current workload between each pixel so that it can adjust them accordingly. It does this to alleviate burn-in, balance brightness/color, and extend pixel lifespan.

[danilojonic]

On 4/18/2025 at 12:36 AM, QuantumRand said:

I believe it's actually doing a "Pixel Refresher" cycle. It'll measure the voltage properties of each pixel as well as compare the lifetime current workload between each pixel so that it can adjust them accordingly. It does this to alleviate burn-in, balance brightness/color, and extend pixel lifespan.

Isn't pixel refreshing done manually? Manufacturers also suggest that being done once/twice per year.

*Edit: Found out it's recommended to be done every 2000hrs or so. Having in mind I never use TV for more than 2-4hrs per day, that's a pretty long time if you ask me.

[QuantumRand]

On 4/25/2025 at 12:25 PM, danilojonic said:

Isn't pixel refreshing done manually? Manufacturers also suggest that being done once/twice per year.

*Edit: Found out it's recommended to be done every 2000hrs or so. Having in mind I never use TV for more than 2-4hrs per day, that's a pretty long time if you ask me.

"Pixel Refreshing" or "Pixel Cleaning" might not be the exact right term for what it's doing. Technically, it's doing a lot of different things, but one of the main things it's doing during the automatic process balancing the output of the pixels in a way that optimizes for both lifespan and visual quality.

 

One way modern OLEDs extend the lifespan of the display is by modulating the output/brightness of neighboring pixels. A lot of times this is done per row or column, but I'm sure more advanced panels could be doing it on a per-pixel basis. For simplicity sake, I'll describe how it would be done with rows. Basically, during normal operation, the OLED will be driving odd numbered rows a little brighter and the even number rows a little darker. During this "Pixel Refresher" cycle, it checks the metadata it saves for the pixels/rows over its lifetime and then swaps the bright vs darker rows, calculating just how much brighter/darker they should be.

 

Because the pixels are so close to each other, at normal viewing distances, the overall brightness of the row/region of the display is unchanged, but the workload of the individual pixels can be more distributed between them over the lifespan of the display.

 

There are also other types of "Pixel Refreshing"/"Pixel Cleaning" that actually shorten the lifespan of the panel. Unlike the proactive method mentioned above, these are more intended to try to alleviate burn in issues that are already present. Again, there are various ways this is accomplished, sometimes by pushing neighboring pixels harder to overcome the shortcomings of the bad pixel. Other time it lowers the overall output of the display to adjust to the level of the poorer performing regions. During the automated process, the panel probably isn't doing these types of pixel balancing, except for perhaps in extreme cases or over long intervals.

 

As you found, it's only recommended to run this type of "Pixel Cleaning" every 2000hrs or if there is noticeable burn-in. Definitely avoid running any pixel-refresh/cleaning cycles manually unless you're certain of what it's doing and/or you have an actual issue with the display that it would address.