Dimming problems on Sony and LG OLEDs

srinivas1015

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So I want to buy and OLED but the dimming problems associated with them is scaring me.

The Sony seems to have severe dimming with static imagery:


That is scary as games with HUDs would be unplayable. I've heard there's a recent firmware update that somewhat fixed it, but some say it's still present. This has more or less scared me off of the A8f. It's sad as that's my favorite TV on the market right now, and I love the Acoustic Surface.
I'm hoping to get an A1E with old pre-DolbyVision firmware and never ever update it. This would mean all the goodness of the Sony but with none of the problems. I'll have to look for old stock though so that it doesn't come pre-loaded with new firmware.

The A1E should cost lower than the A8f, right?


I had thought about getting the LG C8 but that seems to have a luminance fluctuation issue since firmware 03.00.63. This seems worse than the issue on the Sony as there is some lag before the dimming/brightening kicks in:



Sony suffers from ASBL while the LG has laggy ABL. I'm at a crossroads and can't decide which one would be a safer bet. Can some owners weigh in? How's are your sets performing with Dolby Vision and HDR gaming?
 
No dimming perceptible with AF8 with recent firmware. (I do not play games).
Reviewers tend to blow up the problems out of proportion. FYI.
Sony is aware of this issue, they will probably resolve it in next firmware update. I read somewhere this ABL problem does not apply in movie mode.


Sony doesn’t seem to have any issues with watching movies. It has ABL but it’s really not obtrusive or noticeable. But the ASBL seems to be way too aggressive. Any sort of content with even a little bit of static elements like HUDs in games seem to trigger it. It dims so bad that it’s like the backlight is almost off.

It’s not just reviewers though, many users seem to be complaining about it. Check out ‘Sony dimming issue’ on YouTube. That God Of War video makes it really apparent.

Meanwhile, LG seems to be having laggy ABL, where the luminance fluctuations aren’t in sync with the cuts in a movie.
 
Sony doesn’t seem to have any issues with watching movies. It has ABL but it’s really not obtrusive or noticeable. But the ASBL seems to be way too aggressive. Any sort of content with even a little bit of static elements like HUDs in games seem to trigger it. It dims so bad that it’s like the backlight is almost off.

It’s not just reviewers though, many users seem to be complaining about it. Check out ‘Sony dimming issue’ on YouTube. That God Of War video makes it really apparent.

Meanwhile, LG seems to be having laggy ABL, where the luminance fluctuations aren’t in sync with the cuts in a movie.


In games, things are easily reproducible since you have the control to recreate the intended scene while movies are kind of not in your control.
I can see pretty bad issue in the video, But could be one off case, not sure.
But if it prevails for majority of scenes, there would be no takers from the gaming community at all.

I can confirm I haven't encountered any such issues playing videos from 1080p, 4k and HDR at all.
Could be a bad set for gamers.
 
So I want to buy and OLED but the dimming problems associated with them is scaring me.

The Sony seems to have severe dimming with static imagery:


That is scary as games with HUDs would be unplayable. I've heard there's a recent firmware update that somewhat fixed it, but some say it's still present. This has more or less scared me off of the A8f. It's sad as that's my favorite TV on the market right now, and I love the Acoustic Surface.
I'm hoping to get an A1E with old pre-DolbyVision firmware and never ever update it. This would mean all the goodness of the Sony but with none of the problems. I'll have to look for old stock though so that it doesn't come pre-loaded with new firmware.

The A1E should cost lower than the A8f, right?


I had thought about getting the LG C8 but that seems to have a luminance fluctuation issue since firmware 03.00.63. This seems worse than the issue on the Sony as there is some lag before the dimming/brightening kicks in:



Sony suffers from ASBL while the LG has laggy ABL. I'm at a crossroads and can't decide which one would be a safer bet. Can some owners weigh in? How's are your sets performing with Dolby Vision and HDR gaming?
You will face another problem with thse TVs, burn in. My cousin's TV burnt in in just 6 months
 
Sony doesn’t seem to have any issues with watching movies. It has ABL but it’s really not obtrusive or noticeable. But the ASBL seems to be way too aggressive. Any sort of content with even a little bit of static elements like HUDs in games seem to trigger it. It dims so bad that it’s like the backlight is almost off.

It’s not just reviewers though, many users seem to be complaining about it. Check out ‘Sony dimming issue’ on YouTube. That God Of War video makes it really apparent.

Meanwhile, LG seems to be having laggy ABL, where the luminance fluctuations aren’t in sync with the cuts in a movie.
I play regularly pubg from xbox one x to lg b7. If there is any lag, which would affect the gaming experience I would have already moved to my Dell monitor with less than t ms delay. Its within the 'forgiveable' or 'playable' or 'does not matter' lag for me. I really don't know why the reviewers are over stressing things which may not matter much . Rtings guy has something really against lg
He does all this bullshit burn in test which isn't even a real world scenario only to blow it up. I doubt they are paid by Samsung.


Also most ppl who scream about oled burn in never bought owned one to see if they would also use a tv like a computer monitor. For me the closest scenario in real life to induce burn in would be playing games with hud. Despite my 1-2 hour almost everyday gaming, my tv was always used for watching series and movies every day for another hour. After 4 months still no sign on white screen. The burn in issue must be also random like OLED backlight bleeding, clouding. Nobody ever blew that up, but oled burn in for them is a thing.
 
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