This workweek on You ask : What is Moiré effect , and can you do anything about it ? When is it safe to buy an open - box TV ? Are there any curved TVs you may buy ? Can you use the ARC port on a TV to get strait to a non - ARC receiver ? And can you really discover a difference when streaming Dolby Atmos versus Dolby Atmos on disc ?
Raiders of the last eARC
The reply is no . Both gadget on either side of an HDMI cable must support ARC in purchase order to get audio down the grapevine from the TV to the pass catcher . The TV and receiver need to be able to perform a handshake , and the receiver needs to look for an incoming audio signal on sure “ lanes of traffic , ” if you will .
Jon was go for there was a stream twist with a disjoined audio output . Unfortunately , other than some Blu - shaft of light players that have double HDMI output ( but are direful for streaming ) , I ca n’t think of a streaming gadget with a disjoined audio output other than an old Roku box that is now over five year old and dead not a near selection .
So , Jon , as you suspected , campaign an optical cable length from your LG OLED television to the receiver is your wanton and least expensive option .
Is flush-mount the best idea?
Volker Uffelman is distressed about climb on his Modern 77 - column inch LG G4 OLED TV to the wall using the allow no - gap bulwark - mount due to concern about short external respiration . His care is that over the long term , heat could be an issue .
LG is overbold enough not to promote a paries - mount result that would jeopardize the longevity of the OLED television . This is not a cabal slip of planned life - shortening for the tv set . The G4 has a generous amount of inner thermic management . Also , the G4 comes with a five - yr warranty , so LG is pretty convinced in the television receiver ’s length of service .
All Dolby is not alike
Constantinos wonder if there ’s a remainder between the Dolby Digital+ that you get from streaming versus the Dolby True HD sound that you could get from Blu - ray phonograph record and other gamey - close source .
Yes , Constantinos , the lossless Dolby True HD signal sound observably good than the Dolby Digital+ signal that come from stream service . There are other factors at play , but the lossless audio signaling sounds noticeably better to me , and the Atmos experience is superior . That does n’t mean that streaming environs and streaming Atmos is high-risk , but there ’s no interrogation that my 4 K Blu - electron beam platter sound significantly better than the streaming interpretation of the same title .
The Moiré effect in 2024
Michael Orellana has been struggling with Moiré issue for years and is let down to observe out his raw Samsung S89C OLED still produce this effect , albeit probably to a less extent than his anterior TV . He ’s wondering if even new goggle box still do this , what causes it , and if there ’s any fashion to get rid of it .
Before we get into Moiré gist on TVs , here ’s a reminder of what it is . Now , just seat still , the above approach pattern may appear to have movement or convolution , but if we move it around slightly , it is almost sure to cause the mental image appear to have movement or uncanny swirls within it , even though the pattern itself is n’t changing .
In individual , if I held up a Moiré pattern and the range was utter still , and you were perfectly still , you might not see the Moiré event . But as soon as I asterisk moving the image or you go around , you would plausibly see it .
Moiré effect on TVs involves a rule on the television — not necessarily a consecrated Moiré pattern design to trip this kind of effect , but any pattern with crocked , all right lines in very close proximity .
What causes you to see this issue on a TV is a combination of affair . One can be less than absolutely awesome processing on the TV . And I characterize it that way because , frankly , TV processing is hard enough . But these kind of patterns ? They are super hard for a idiot box ’s CPU to handle . Only the very best video recording processors can handle displaying these tight patterns without a noticeable Moiré effect . I will say , though , that TVs with poor processing will cause Moiré effect on images that television receiver with decent processing have no trouble handling . So there are story to this . But the super - fine , tiptop - tight patterns ? Those are hard for even the very best boob tube .
The other part of this equation ( it ’s actually tied to the processing ) is a problem with sharpening an ikon too much , particularly compressed or low - answer mental object . The more a television set tries to make sharpness ( and this is specially dead on target in the absence of pixel information ) , the more probable you are to get Moiré effect .
you’re able to sometimes reduce Moiré effect by reducing the edge setting on your goggle box . Some TVs have sharpness preferences that are set too gamey by default . ( And , honestly , the sharpness setting should have been ditched when we got off from CRT TVs , but that ’s a another matter for another time . )
Anyway , on many tv , you may keep down the sharpness setting , and that will have rule out some Moiré effect . Unfortunately , sometimes TV brands will limit how much influence you could have over the processing that ’s done by the TV . We ’re envision this now with certain Samsung TV example . Turning down the sharpness all the way does n’t have much upshot on the processing that ’s being performed .
So , it ’s possible that even if you rick the acuity on your S89C all the way down , you may still see the Moiré effect . Some of that is that the TV just can’tnotcreate that effect because of the trouble of the pattern . Some of it is that you ca n’t effectively reduce an overly sharpening .
I will say that in all my years of video reviewing , Sony ’s TVs have historically had processing that full handles Moiré impression . But based on some stuff I ’ve already visit this twelvemonth , it ’s potential the LG G4 might in reality be the best at deal Moiré . We will get laid more as I get through the 2024 telly review article .
When to buy open-box products?
Tom Reidy writes : Would you consider grease one’s palms an open - box 85 - column inch QN90C if you could lay aside $ 700 ? A local chain store has an open - loge TV marked down to $ 1,700 , versus the unconstipated damage of $ 2,400 . What risk should I consider before buy this TV ?
I shape in retail for many age and was once a big fan of the open - corner buy . I persuaded my parent get an open - boxwood 36 - in Toshiba CRT TV . And that affair — which was built like a tank — still look good when I aid them get disembarrass of it some 10 year by and by .
Today , I remember certified refurbished good can be a smart buy . The great thing about evidence refurbs is that they often amount with the original warrantee , and they ’ve been exit over by a professional since rolling off the factory rail line . So I think they actually stick out a good probability of being trouble - loose for their expected lifetime .
But today ’s open - box television give me a small pause . Actually , I should clear up that I see a difference between heart-to-heart - box TVs and storey models or demo TVs . “ Open boxwood ” simply means the box has been open . Maybe the TV was used for a short time before a client decide it was n’t for them . perhaps it was n’t used at all because it did n’t fit on the medium stand like they thought it would . Maybe it was used for three week before the person who buy it decide they spent too much . Or maybe they wanted to upgrade .
If the open - box seat model has a story like any of those , and it comes with a warranty , I say get it . Thing is , sometimes you do n’t get to hear about the TV ’s fib . Or , maybe you do n’t get told the true tale . Is it an open - box goggle box because it ’s got an weak dialog box ? Or maybe one or two all in pixels ? Or perhaps it ’s sire some DSE , or“dirty screen consequence . ”
My bigger concern , though , is when demo or storey modeling are used for a period of time , then reboxed by the retailer and sold as open - box instead of story models . I can see retailers doing this because they do n’t want to waste a TV for demo aim . But when the boob tube is on all mean solar day every daylight at absolute maximal cleverness , that does take a price — less so on an LCD - based light-emitting diode television receiver than an organic light-emitting diode , but it still takes a toll .
I hazard it all comes down to how much you trust the retail merchant or the sales rep you ’re work with . Find out what you could about the telly . If you trust what you ’re being recite , and the retailer is uncoerced to back up the sale to make trusted you ’re happy ? Well , first off , get that assurance in writing . But then I say go for it . It can be a great way to save money .
What happened to the curve?
Norbert Dupont writes : “ Are any manufacturers make big curved OLED TV covert ? After experiencing my curved OLED computer monitor , I ’m in love life ! ”
Norbert , I ’m , afraid the response is no . Well , sort of . Curved OLEDs and LED TVswere a matter for a while . But sales of those modeling was moderately abysmal , so they gave up . They really tried to sell them , too , claiming that the right radius on a curved boob tube could help make the far left and right of the projection screen as equidistant to your eyes as the center .
But these TVs did n’t really make good on the promise of “ immersion ” that was sell along with the bend . Most tribe would pose too far by from the screen to get the welfare . I surmise that what you screw about your curved monitor is the wraparound effect . But you get that wraparound effect because you pose close to the screen . Most folks do n’t need to sit that tight to a larger , TV - sized screen .
There are , however , a couple of exceptions that come to mind . There ’s the LG OLED Flex . It ’s a 43 - in OLED video that double as a legit varan , complete with light-emitting diode bias light , s and it can be flat or any act of degrees of arch at the push of a release . I loved that thingfor the time that I had it , and it was tough to send it back . I suppose if you do n’t need a really big TV , the Flex would do just fine for you .
If you need something big , there ’s also theSamsung Odyssey Ark. That ’s not a television receiver , but a 55 - inch monitor lizard with built - in speakers . And a pour pin gets it close to being a television receiver , I suppose .
