Question OLED TV as a monitor?

[MtSeldon]

I was looking for a new monitor.
Dell 32" IPS 4k monitor was my first choice but then LG C2 42" OLED TV was mentioned.

Price seems ok for a 42" OLED but there are other technical issues. Burn-in is the first issue of course. While I'm going to use it for some gaming and movie watching, a considerable amount of time it will be used in Word, Excel, VS Code.
Another problem is the RGB placement. Subpixels have the RGBW orientation. Some reviewers say text rendering is a bit of a problem, but I don't know how big the problem is or does it get better with some tweaking in Windows Settings.

Another alternative is on the way. But there is no info about the subpixel orientation.
Philips 42M2N8900 from the Evnia 8000 series is unveiled with a 42" 4K OLED display and a 138Hz refresh rate (displayspecifications.com)

So, any advice or experience about these?

 

[zinfamous]

Out of curiosity, do you folks that use an OLED TV as a monitor enable HDR for normal Windows use? I've usually taken the approach of reducing factors that could lead to damage to the screen (e.g., hide taskbar, no icons, black background, etc.), but it seems like avoiding high brightness is also a good idea. I've usually left HDR turned off, but I recently turned it back on. In the end, all I get are really bright white backgrounds, and it doesn't really seem worth it.

Even weak HRD looks terrible outside of games/movies, so I'd say it's not worth leaving on out of principle.

I don't have an OLED right now, but this was also a cardinal rule back in the plasma days. Tune down the brightness to preserve life/reduce IR and Burn In, but it also just improved the IQ to retreat far away from torch mode.

 

[zinfamous]

*whistling*
View attachment 71921

David meet Golath... or Bertha... or whatever name denotes overkill in size....

my alienware 38 looks small in size....

The top monitor is a 32 4k inch... the bottom one is my alienware 38, and meet the one to rule them all... LG 48GQ900-B OLED

Im having some issues with contrast, but im still working things out....
Its i think almost too much monitor.... i'll reply back if i need to get a neck adjustment from my chiro after a few weeks.
But let the burn in testing begin... although i decided to use it in that position, and on a screen which has very little static images.... so lets see.

Any bets if i will use my 4 yr best buys geek replacement warrenty?

It's never been more obvious how dreadful the current Youtube home page is. Just look at that bouillabaisse of complete trash.

 

[aigomorla]

Even weak HRD looks terrible outside of games/movies, so I'd say it's not worth leaving on out of principle.

I don't have an OLED right now, but this was also a cardinal rule back in the plasma days. Tune down the brightness to preserve life/reduce IR and Burn In, but it also just improved the IQ to retreat far away from torch mode.

This LG monitor has a lot of burnin protections the TV did not have.
It has a more aggressive autodim which is a bummer, but it also has something called a screen shift.
The longer the static content, the screen tends to shift to a different possition a little so its like how the old days the monitor would not allign.
You can turn it off, but it saves the pixels from displaying the same color by shifting it ever so.
Also it has a more aggressive screen cleaning protocol, where it cleans each time the monitor goes to sleep.
Its annoying in that one fact, it tends to disconect my monitor, so my PC has to pick up the display each time it wakes up, and whatever webpage i had on it, moves to my main monitor.

But overall the colors are fantastic, blacks and deep, and it generates 0 light bleed which is a hugh plus being a monitor that big.

It's never been more obvious how dreadful the current Youtube home page is. Just look at that bouillabaisse of complete trash.

yup, and you can see how fruity the colors look on a OLED at the same time.. lol.

 

[CP5670]

The screen shift feature is on the TVs too, but it only applies to fixed screen elements like TV broadcaster logos. It may work on UI and HUD elements in games too, I have never really noticed it.

 

[aigomorla]

Found another benifit of using the LG monitor over the C2.
I get a OSD program that works when PC is connected to the monitor via USB.
And it looks like this.

 

[zinfamous]

This LG monitor has a lot of burnin protections the TV did not have.
It has a more aggressive autodim which is a bummer, but it also has something called a screen shift.
The longer the static content, the screen tends to shift to a different possition a little so its like how the old days the monitor would not allign.
You can turn it off, but it saves the pixels from displaying the same color by shifting it ever so.
Also it has a more aggressive screen cleaning protocol, where it cleans each time the monitor goes to sleep.
Its annoying in that one fact, it tends to disconect my monitor, so my PC has to pick up the display each time it wakes up, and whatever webpage i had on it, moves to my main monitor.

But overall the colors are fantastic, blacks and deep, and it generates 0 light bleed which is a hugh plus being a monitor that big.



yup, and you can see how fruity the colors look on a OLED at the same time.. lol.

My ~2005 Samsung Plasma had the pixel shift feature. I think it worked by just moving the pixels one or two over every couple of minutes. I left this on permanently from opening, did all the anti-Burn-in, extend life treatments. 20ish hours, I think, from the beginning of super dim, SD, zoomed-in content (to eliminate any possible bars or framing from SD content and chirons, etc). Barely played games on it during that time.

I never really had issues over ~10 years with that display. It remains my favorite display to this day even though it was only 720p and had a weird Samsung "blue cloud" of pixels that would occasionally migrate across the top corner on hot days and especially with blue content (a sky image, for example).

2008 Olympics....I did end up with that gosh-darned NBC peacock practically burned into the bottom right for...I dunno, 3+ months? I blame Michael Phelps. ^&%$ that Olympics--we just couldn't turn it off! All the wipes I did, it never seemed to go away...but it eventually did. I thought it would become Burn-in but it didn't. Still, it took several months and it did go away...so it wasn't Burn-In!

I wonder how real Burn-in actually is when you consider that few people are as patient and tolerant of misery as I am?

 

[Aikouka]

I've been using the 42" C1 for the past few days, and overall, it has been pretty good. Probably the most awkward part was when it felt really clunky at first, but I realized that the resolution was set to 4K30. I'm pretty used to seeing 4K60 as a default, which doesn't feel choppy, but 30Hz? That's a new one for me. Anyway, I think the biggest problem that I see so far is that due to it being a TV, the stand makes it sit a bit too low to the desk. If I decide to go with this, I think it'll likely want to put it on a monitor arm. (That's probably also why the ASUS PG42UQ has what appears to be a taller stand.)

I haven't gotten around to doing any PC-oriented setup with it yet though. I'm looking into the programs like LGTV Companion and ColorControl. My current idea is to use a crossover cable between the PC and the TV (with static IPs) to see if that lets me handle all the control. While a little awkward of a setup, I like that it allows me to avoid needing extra hardware. I haven't really noticed any issues with ABL, and includes having swapped between windows with very different backgrounds (white->black, black->white, etc.). I do still think I'd like another monitor, but I'm not sure what wouldn't end up looking awkward!

 

[igor_kavinski]

The HDR option showed up in Windows 10 display settings when I upgraded to Geforce 3090. I turned it on and the screen isn't that bright anymore. However, I've noticed very bright highlights in some SDR content on my LG C8 which means the image is getting a mild HDR treatment using Microsoft's algorithm. Can't say I dislike it. In some cases, the results can be pretty stunning (particularly Negative Spirit in Doom Patrol, that electrical light being that flies around).

 

[aigomorla]

The HDR option showed up in Windows 10 display settings when I upgraded to Geforce 3090

What gpu were you running before?
The HDR notification always turns on when my monitor goes awake, on both 3070ti and 3090.

The monitor goes to sleep a bit too quickly tho unless there is a change in the static picture.
For example if i am reading a very very long series of post, and the screen stays static i will get the warning that monitor will goto sleep soon.

Doesn't happen if i am watching a movie or if i am typing.
But i can see if being sort of annoying if i had all OLED's on a multi screen setup, and i was focusing on one window and the other, because as the monitor goes to sleep all the windows will shift to the active monitors, and i need to move the windows over again, unless i wake it up, which then the windows goes back.

 

[igor_kavinski]

What gpu were you running before?

Geforce GTX Titan X

 

[MtSeldon]

Mini-LED TV's maybe other contenters.
While he did not review the desktop usage thoughly JayzTwoCents seems to content with it as monitor.

 

[aigomorla]

QNED85 has an amazing 2500 dimming zones, which is more then double of what typical MiniLED monitors have from Samsung and ASUS.

But again the only issue id still have with TV is the lack of sleep and other functions typically seen on a monitor.

 

[MtSeldon]

He hasn't reviewed the text rendering either, which is the most important problem with TV's.

Sleep feature is troublesome but can be overcome with third party apps. Also, it must not be a hard feature to implement if there is enough demand .

 

[CP5670]

This year's LG TVs look like a significant step up:

No word on 120hz BFI though. They should bring that back, it would go great with the increased brightness. Only the 2020 and 2021 models support it.

 

[stuff_me_good]

So I jumped the gun and bought LG C2 48" oled for PC monitor and boy this is awesome.

How the calibration should go as there are so many options in the menu? Black level etc? I'm bit lost.

 

[igor_kavinski]

I'm bit lost.

Not anymore!

LG C2 OLED Calibration Settings

We used the following calibration settings to review the LG 65-inch C2 (OLED65C2), and we expect them to be valid for the 42-inch (OLED42C2), 48-inch (OLED48C2), 55-inch (OLED55C2), 77-inch (OLED77C2), and the 83-inch models (OLED83C2).

www.rtings.com

 

[WhiteNoise]

QNED85 has an amazing 2500 dimming zones, which is more then double of what typical MiniLED monitors have from Samsung and ASUS.

But again the only issue id still have with TV is the lack of sleep and other functions typically seen on a monitor.

If I were going to buy a new TV to replace my current 55" QLED Sammy, (used as a monitor) it would be the QNED. OLED is simply beautiful and QNED just looks fantastic!

You have brought up a complaint about using a TV several times now, having a lack of sleep, etc. I personally don't think this is an issue at all. My Samsung shuts down on its own when not receiving a signal, and though it does not wake up like a monitor, one press of a button handles that easily enough.

I've thought about OLED for gaming, even though my current display has an excellent PQ, the only thing I feel like I'm missing are those blacks that OLED provides. QNED seems to solve that though. That's very appealing to me. OLED does look so nice though. I'd also love a matte screen as my QLED is super glossy and even though I'm in a light-controlled room, everything reflects on it. The RGB lights from my case and keyboard as well. Super annoying. Vibrant looking but annoying. I should add that the reflections only happen when the screen is black. Reflections aren't noticeable when gaming usually.

 

[WhiteNoise]

Well, picked up an LG G2 55" earlier today. I went to my local shop to buy a QNED and fell in love with the G2. My current QLED is being handed off to my living room and the G2 is now mounted nicely over my desk.

I don't know what to say as my Sammy QLED was simply fantastic but this G2 is leaps better. The 120Hz refresh is something else, compared to the 60Hz I've been dealing with for a number of years. This alone was worth the upgrade.

Anyway, carry on.

 

[aigomorla]

The G series has a built in heatsink which is supposed to allow it to glow brighter and give you less chance of burn in.
If i was gonna get a TV id grab a G in a heart beat, unless i needed something small like a 42inch which then your limited to the C2.

But i believe the G does not come with a stand its a wall mount, or you need to buy the stand separately.

 

[igor_kavinski]

The G series has a built in heatsink which is supposed to allow it to glow brighter and give you less chance of burn in.

OK, that makes sense since I've noticed the back of my OLED getting pretty hot BUT it means the G series is gonna be a bit thick and much heavier than previous LG OLEDs.

 

[aigomorla]

OK, that makes sense since I've noticed the back of my OLED getting pretty hot BUT it means the G series is gonna be a bit thick and much heavier than previous LG OLEDs.

Shrug...

I think they got away with a lot of the thickness because of the heatsink.

LG C2 OLED vs LG G2 OLED Side-by-Side TV Comparison

The LG G2 OLED and the LG C2 OLED offer nearly identical performance, but some important design differences exist. The G2 is a bit brighter overall, especially when displaying small, bright areas in HDR, but the difference is minor. On the other hand, unlike the G2, which is designed to be...

www.rtings.com

shows its actually thinner then a C

 

[jarablue]

I bought the LG C2 48in and set it up according to this video here...The Settings You NEED to Change for Your LG C2 OLED for PC! - YouTube

I won't go back to anything smaller. This tv is unreal awesome. Gaming on it after calibration is tits.

 

[aigomorla]

I am replacing my OLED with a QLED / VA monitor, since i hear rumors being the Neo G7 43inch will be about 1700 dollars when it comes out.

Instead i am just about to pull the tigger on the Gigabyte FV43U.

I am about at my end of tolerance in how OLED's work with auto dimming. Its really annoying when your enjoying something, and then the monitor DIM's and kills all the colors and vibrance out of the image.
I think if i didn't have a nice IPS right next to it, i probably wouldn't mind much, but when the OLED dim's the IPS really makes things noticeable about how horrible auto dimming is.

I am going to go with the gigabyte as it has a HDR1000 and a DCI-P3 of 93%, and probably will connect a shield pro on my OLED, and use it as a shield TV.

 

[aigomorla]

So updates:
I got my Gigabyte FV43U.
It is am amazing monitor.
No dimming worries, no burn in, and blacks are black.
The monitor is very bright, but its not vibrant like OLED.
But Overall i am liking it more as a productivity monitor then the OLED.
The OLED i had now has a shield pro attached to it, and its wall mounted.

I wish i got the G2 tho, but its a lesson learned.
But to those wondering, if your gonna use multi monitors, OLED's BLOW, unless all your screens are OLED's because when that OLED dim's it will kill any advantage the OLED has over IPS / VA / QLED.

And for those of you wondering, i dont think i notice much of a difference between this FV43U and my cousins Neo G9 when it comes to web pages / Youtube / Adobe PDF.

But i do notice differences when it comes to HDR movie.
But its very slight, to the point where i do not think its worth 2x the price tag.
So if you want a good content monitor, i think a excellent VA / QLED monitor is probably golden.
If you want a great gaming HDR / Movie monitor, Mini-LED if you have multi monitors, or OLED if your going solo monitor.

 

[PlanetJosh]

Been using the LG C2 42" for a few months and the IQ is wonderful for pc games and video/movie streaming. I'm letting the auto dim ride so I'm not going to disable ASBL with a service remote or the method without the service remote posted earlier in the thread.

Yeah the auto dimming disrupts the immersion in a game. But at least you can reverse it for each time it happens by hitting a certain key or maybe moving the mouse and the brightness and clarity returns. I'm keeping auto dimming enabled because it may help guard against image retention or burn in which is something I can't prove but at least it makes me feel better by leaving it on thinking it helps.