You Asked: The Moire impact strikes, open-box TV smarts, and the place’d the curves go?
This week on You Asked: What is Moiré impact, and might you do something about it? When is it secure to purchase an open-box TV? Are there any curved TVs you should buy? Can you employ the ARC port on a TV to get sound to a non-ARC receiver? And can you actually hear a distinction when streaming Dolby Atmos versus Dolby Atmos on disc?
Raiders of the final eARC
Jon Larson upgraded his TV to a 77-inch LG C3 OLED, which has an ARC/eARC port. But his Denon receiver is sufficiently old that it doesn’t assist ARC. Can Jon nonetheless ship audio from his TV to his receiver by way of HDMI for the reason that Denon doesn’t assist Audio Return Channel, or ARC?
The reply isn’t any. Both gadgets on both facet of an HDMI cable should assist ARC with the intention to get audio down the pipeline from the TV to the receiver. The TV and receiver want to have the ability to carry out a handshake, and the receiver must search for an incoming audio sign on sure “lanes of traffic,” if you’ll.
Jon hoped there was a streaming system with a separate audio output. Unfortunately, apart from some Blu-ray gamers which have twin HDMI outputs (however are horrible for streaming), I can’t consider a streaming system with a separate audio output apart from an outdated Roku field that’s now over 5 years outdated and completely not a very good choice.
So, Jon, as you suspected, operating an optical cable out of your LG OLED TV to the receiver is your best and least costly choice.
Is flush-mount the most effective thought?
Volker Uffelman is nervous about mounting his new 77-inch LG G4 OLED TV to the wall utilizing the offered no-gap wall-mount attributable to issues about insufficient air flow. His concern is that over the long run, warmth could possibly be a difficulty.
LG is wise sufficient to not promote a wall-mount answer that may jeopardize the longevity of the OLED TV. This will not be a conspiracy case of deliberate life-shortening for the TV. The G4 has a beneficiant quantity of inside thermal administration. Also, the G4 comes with a five-year guarantee, so LG is fairly assured within the TV’s longevity.
All Dolby will not be alike
Constantinos wonders if there’s a distinction between the Dolby Digital+ that you just get from streaming versus the Dolby True HD audio that you may get from Blu-ray discs and different high-end sources.
Yes, Constantinos, the lossless Dolby True HD sign sounds noticeably higher than the Dolby Digital+ sign that comes from streaming companies. There are different elements at play, however the lossless audio sign sounds noticeably higher to me, and the Atmos expertise is superior. That doesn’t imply that streaming encompass and streaming Atmos is dangerous, however there’s no query that my 4K Blu-ray discs sound considerably higher than the streaming model of the identical title.
The Moiré impact in 2024
Michael Orellana has been combating Moiré impact for years and is disenchanted to seek out out his new Samsung S89C OLED nonetheless produces this impact, albeit most likely to a lesser extent than his prior TV. He’s questioning if even newer TVs nonetheless do that, what causes it, and if there’s any approach to do away with it.
Before we get into Moiré impact on TVs, right here’s a reminder of what it’s. Now, simply sitting nonetheless, the above sample could seem to have motion or swirls, but when we transfer it round barely, it’s virtually sure to trigger the picture seem to have motion or bizarre swirls inside it, although the sample itself isn’t altering.
In particular person, if I held up a Moiré sample and the picture was excellent nonetheless, and also you have been completely nonetheless, you won’t see the Moiré impact. But as quickly as I stared transferring the picture otherwise you moved round, you’ll most likely see it.
Moiré impact on TVs entails a sample on the tv — not essentially a devoted Moiré sample designed to set off this sort of impact, however any sample with tight, nice traces in very shut proximity.
What causes you to see this impact on a TV is a mixture of issues. One might be lower than completely superior processing on the TV. And I characterize it that method as a result of, frankly, TV processing is difficult sufficient. But these sorts of patterns? They are tremendous arduous for a TV’s processor to deal with. Only the perfect video processors can deal with displaying these tight patterns with no noticeable Moiré impact. I’ll say, although, that TVs with poor processing will trigger Moiré impact on photographs that TVs with first rate processing haven’t any downside dealing with. So there are ranges to this. But the super-fine, super-tight patterns? Those are arduous for even the perfect TVs.
The different a part of this equation (it’s really tied to the processing) is an issue with sharpening a picture an excessive amount of, particularly compressed or low-resolution content material. The extra a TV tries to create sharpness (and that is very true within the absence of pixel data), the extra doubtless you might be to get Moiré impact.
You can typically scale back Moiré impact by decreasing the sharpness setting in your TV. Some TVs have sharpness settings which are set too excessive by default. (And, frankly, the sharpness setting ought to have been ditched after we acquired away from CRT TVs, however that’s a one other factor for one more time.)
Anyway, on many TVs, you may scale back the sharpness setting, and that can have remove some Moiré impact. Unfortunately, typically TV manufacturers will restrict how a lot affect you may have over the processing that’s carried out by the TV. We’re seeing this now with sure Samsung TV fashions. Turning down the sharpness all the way in which doesn’t have a lot impact on the processing that’s being carried out.
So, it’s doable that even if you happen to flip the sharpness in your S89C all the way in which down, you should still see the Moiré impact. Some of that’s that the TV simply can’t not create that impact due to the problem of the sample. Some of it’s that you may’t successfully scale back a very sharpening.
I’ll say that in all my years of TV reviewing, Sony’s TVs have traditionally had processing that greatest handles Moiré impact. But primarily based on some stuff I’ve already seen this 12 months, it’s doable the LG G4 may really be the most effective at dealing with Moiré. We will know extra as I get by way of the 2024 TV opinions.
When to purchase open-box merchandise?
Tom Reidy writes: Would you think about shopping for an open-box 85-inch QN90C if you happen to might save $700? An area chain retailer has an open-box TV marked right down to $1,700, versus the common value of $2,400. What threat ought to I think about earlier than shopping for this TV?
I labored in retail for a few years and was as soon as an enormous fan of the open-box purchase. I persuaded my mother and father get an open-box 36-inch Toshiba CRT TV. And that factor — which was constructed like a tank — nonetheless regarded good once I helped them do away with it some 10 years later.
Today, I believe licensed refurbished items generally is a sensible purchase. The beauty of licensed refurbs is that they usually include the unique guarantee, and so they’ve been gone over by an expert since rolling off the manufacturing unit line. So I believe they really stand a greater likelihood of being problem-free for his or her anticipated lifetime.
But at present’s open-box TVs give me just a little pause. Actually, I ought to make clear that I see a distinction between open-box TVs and flooring fashions or demo TVs. “Open box” merely means the field has been opened. Maybe the TV was used for a short while earlier than a buyer determined it wasn’t for them. Maybe it wasn’t used in any respect as a result of it didn’t match on the media stand like they thought it could. Maybe it was used for 3 weeks earlier than the one who purchased it determined they spent an excessive amount of. Or perhaps they wished to improve.
If the open-box mannequin has a narrative like every of these, and it comes with a guaranty, I say get it. Thing is, typically you don’t get to listen to in regards to the TV’s story. Or, perhaps you don’t get instructed the true story. Is it an open-box TV as a result of it’s acquired an imperfect panel? Or perhaps one or two useless pixels? Or maybe it’s acquired some DSE, or “dirty screen effect.”
My greater concern, although, is when demo or flooring fashions are used for a time period, then reboxed by the retailer and offered as open-box as an alternative of flooring fashions. I can see retailers doing this as a result of they don’t wish to waste a TV for demo functions. But when the TV is on all day daily at absolute most brightness, that does take a toll — much less so on an LCD-based LED TV than an OLED, nevertheless it nonetheless takes a toll.
I assume all of it comes right down to how a lot you belief the retailer or the salesperson you’re working with. Find out what you may in regards to the TV. If you belief what you’re being instructed, and the retailer is prepared to again up the sale to be sure to’re pleased? Well, first off, get that assurance in writing. But then I say go for it. It might be a good way to economize.
What occurred to the curve?
Norbert Dupont writes: “Are any manufacturers making large curved OLED TV screens? After experiencing my curved OLED computer monitor, I’m in love!”
Norbert, I’m, afraid the reply isn’t any. Well, kind of. Curved OLEDs and LED TVs were a thing for a while. But gross sales of these fashions was fairly abysmal, so that they gave up. They actually tried to promote them, too, claiming that the fitting radius on a curved TV might assist make the far left and proper of the display as equidistant to your eyes as the middle.
But these TVs didn’t actually make good on the promise of “immersion” that was offered together with the curve. Most of us would sit too distant from the display to get the profit. I think that what you’re keen on about your curved monitor is the wraparound impact. But you get that wraparound impact since you sit near the display. Most of us don’t wish to sit that near a bigger, TV-sized display.
There are, nonetheless, a few exceptions that come to thoughts. There’s the LG OLED Flex. It’s a 43-inch OLED TV that doubles as a legit monitor, full with LED bias mild,s and it may be flat or any variety of levels of curved on the push of a button. I loved that thing for the time that I had it, and it was powerful to ship it again. I suppose if you happen to don’t want a very huge TV, the Flex would just do nice for you.
If you want one thing greater, there’s additionally the Samsung Odyssey Ark. That’s not a TV, however a 55-inch monitor with built-in audio system. And a streaming stick will get it near being a TV, I suppose.
