OLED monitor experiences (non-LG-brand)

[RJARRRPCGP]

I got my first OLED, the Alienware AW3423DWF.

How are OLED monitors holding up for people?

 

[Dr. Dro]

I got my first OLED, the Alienware AW3423DWF.

How are OLED monitors holding up for people?

Nice. The AW3423DW(F) is the "original" QD-OLED, it's quite well regarded to be a great and reliable monitor. How are you enjoying it so far? I don't think I can go back after experiencing a high-end OLED myself.

Haven't heard of any cases of burn-in from friends who bought the G-Sync Ultimate DW way back when it came out (and much earlier than the FreeSync DWF appeared), and they use the monitor just like any other for a lot of hours daily - I think you'll be safe, too. Enjoy!

 

[Zach_01]

Got the AW3423DW (nonF) almost a year now. Between the pixel refresh, panel refresh function(s) and 8 pixel over provisioning that has on all sides for display shifting, it’s doing pretty well. Not notice anything.
And has already few thousands of operating hours.

I’ve set an all black screen saver with a clock bouncing around to know if it’s on or off that kicks in in 2 min and display off in 30min. Also using dark themes on everything I can.

I keep brightness at 30% on all times and I’m changing only contrast from 50 to 70% depending what I do. Room it’s not very bright on purpose and this settings is more than enough for me.
I’m using also the HDR1000 function.

 

[las]

I tried a few. Looks great but text clarity is a minor problem (outside of gaming) which looks to be fixed on new gen. Or vastly improved.

I tend to favor QD-OLED over WOLED tho. Colors of QD-OLED looks unreal at times. Lifelike for me. WOLED is more dull but still good. I hope LG can and will improve color volume over the next years. Brightness alone won't save them, because the white subpixel is doing the brightness and it drowns the RGB subpixels when it shines too bright.

 

[Dr. Dro]

I tried a few. Looks great but text clarity is a minor problem (outside of gaming) which looks to be fixed on new gen. Or vastly improved.

I tend to favor QD-OLED over WOLED tho. Colors of QD-OLED looks unreal at times. Lifelike for me. WOLED is more dull but still good. I hope LG can and will improve color volume over the next years. Brightness alone won't save them, because the white subpixel is doing the brightness and it drowns the RGB subpixels when it shines too bright.

No complaints about color volume and accuracy on the G3. Amazing panel.

 

[Halo3Addict]

I nearly pulled the trigger this past holiday, but so many OLEDs only come with a matte finish! I think glossy is the way to go.

I've been using an LG for my tv/movie experiences the last 3 years and love it.

 

[RJARRRPCGP]

Nice. The AW3423DW(F) is the "original" QD-OLED, it's quite well regarded to be a great and reliable monitor. How are you enjoying it so far? I don't think I can go back after experiencing a high-end OLED myself.

Haven't heard of any cases of burn-in from friends who bought the G-Sync Ultimate DW way back when it came out (and much earlier than the FreeSync DWF appeared), and they use the monitor just like any other for a lot of hours daily - I think you'll be safe, too. Enjoy!

Sadly, people over at one of the sub-Reddits, are crapping on the AW3423DWF!

 

[Dr. Dro]

Sadly, people over at one of the sub-Reddits, are crapping on the AW3423DWF!

I don't see why? It's a fine monitor. Sure it's not worth the money if the G-Sync Ultimate version is within a few bucks of it, but otherwise I don't see what's bad about it

 

[oxrufiioxo]

I have the Samsung G8 oled, my use has been limited due to life but after seeing on Rtings that QD OLED is way more prone to burn in than WOLED I purchased a secondary monitor figured why risk it at all when I both have the space and $$$.

The G2 color compared to my QDOLED is good enough as well @Dr. Dro and the G3 is even better so no surprise you are happy with it. I Actually prefer how blue looks on a Woled but both Red/Green look a bit better on QDOLED.

 

[las]

No complaints about color volume and accuracy on the G3. Amazing panel.

G3 is great however when you have seen QD-OLED, you will notice that colors are lacking on WOLED. The white subpixel shines too bright in comparison to the RGB subpixels. This was also a problem on G2 and mentioned in the reviews for both.

This is where QD-OLED has a big advantage. No white subpixel.

Big difference between raw brightness (nits) and general RGB brightness on OLED.
QD-OLED shines much brighter in the RGB subpixels, this is why color volume and general image quality is better. Colors are pretty much lifelike where LG WOLED is more dimmed down.

WOLED biggest issue right now:

1. White subpixel drowns RGB subpixels and dimming the colors. Brightness is fine and even great (on G2 and G3, not A, B and C series, which are lacking), however most brightness is done by the white subpixel.
2. RGB subpixels has like 1/3 of the brightness QD-OLED has.
3. MLA/META did not really improve color volume much and LG seems to have maxed out WOLED tech or close. They have oppotunity for EVEN MORE white brightness going forward but diminishing returns is the problem. More white light, less actual colors.

It dont matter much if LG can hit 3000-4000 nits if white subpixel does most of it and RGB subpixels still stay at a few hundred nits.

I went from 3x LG OLED TVs (C7 -> C9 -> G1) to Sony QD-OLED (A95L) and the colors are what amazed me the most. I still use G1 in the bedroom and still like LG. However I sincerely hope that LG can improve color volume and RGB subpixel brightness on WOLED going forward, or they will have to cut prices. Slamming even more brightness thru the white subpixel is not the answer and will just drown out colors further.

Both LG and Samsung claims 3000 nits peak now.

 

[RJARRRPCGP]

The G2 color compared to my QDOLED is good enough as well @Dr. Dro and the G3 is even better so no surprise you are happy with it. I Actually prefer how blue looks on a Woled but both Red/Green look a bit better on QDOLED.

The red and green thing, reminds me of my IPS-LCD Samsung Odyssey G40B, where the greens and reds really stand out. Of course, on LED-backlit-LCD, the blues can be atrocious, especially if violet-tinged.
IIRC, there's too much red on that IPS monitor and urgently needed to be calibrated with my X-Rite i1Display Studio!

With my QD-OLED, everything looks good! Any calibration with my X-Rite i1Display Studio, doesn't look so urgent, in comparison.

 

[Dr. Dro]

G3 is great however when you have seen QD-OLED, you will notice that colors are lacking on WOLED. The white subpixel shines too bright in comparison to the RGB subpixels. This was also a problem on G2 and mentioned in the reviews for both.

This is where QD-OLED has a big advantage. No white subpixel.

Big difference between raw brightness (nits) and general RGB brightness on OLED.
QD-OLED shines much brighter in the RGB subpixels, this is why color volume and general image quality is better. Colors are pretty much lifelike where LG WOLED is more dimmed down.

WOLED biggest issue right now:

1. White subpixel drowns RGB subpixels and dimming the colors. Brightness is fine and even great (on G2 and G3, not A, B and C series, which are lacking), however most brightness is done by the white subpixel.
2. RGB subpixels has like 1/3 of the brightness QD-OLED has.
3. MLA/META did not really improve color volume much and LG seems to have maxed out WOLED tech or close. They have oppotunity for EVEN MORE white brightness going forward but diminishing returns is the problem. More white light, less actual colors.

It dont matter much if LG can hit 3000-4000 nits if white subpixel does most of it and RGB subpixels still stay at a few hundred nits.

I went from 3x LG OLED TVs (C7 -> C9 -> G1) to Sony QD-OLED (A95L) and the colors are what amazed me the most. I still use G1 in the bedroom and still like LG. However I sincerely hope that LG can improve color volume and RGB subpixel brightness on WOLED going forward, or they will have to cut prices. Slamming even more brightness thru the white subpixel is not the answer and will just drown out colors further.

Both LG and Samsung claims 3000 nits peak now.

Sony has left the TV market in my country so they are no longer available, sadly. It's between Samsung's S95C and the G3, I got the G3 for a very nice price (still expensive as all hell but let's say $1580 USD with a full year to pay it off for a 55 G3 is not exactly a bad deal), I really can't say I have any issues with the colors, it's not poppy, and it's not dull, the panel is capable of reproducing even very dark scenes such as caves and night-time in video games, it's really made me happy so far.

I've plans to keep this one for at least 5 years, if not a little longer. Ideally until 2030 G series? Hopefully by then I will be gainfully employed and you better believe I'd blow on a Z series OLED if I had the cash on hand

 

[oxrufiioxo]

Sony has left the TV market in my country so they are no longer available, sadly. It's between Samsung's S95C and the G3, I got the G3 for a very nice price (still expensive as all hell but let's say $1580 USD with a full year to pay it off for a 55 G3 is not exactly a bad deal), I really can't say I have any issues with the colors, it's not poppy, and it's not dull, the panel is capable of reproducing even very dark scenes such as caves and night-time in video games, it's really made me happy so far.

I've plans to keep this one for at least 5 years, if not a little longer. Ideally until 2030 G series? Hopefully by then I will be gainfully employed and you better believe I'd blow on a Z series OLED if I had the cash on hand

I didn't care for the s95B no matter how much I messed with settings everything was oversaturated it also didn't fair very well in a bright room blacks didn't look right. Maybe the S95c fixes all that. Swapped it for my g2 which was 500 usd more expensive and much more happy with it.

Both the s95c and g3 got massively jacked up in price though so even if they are a bit better not sure they are worth it.

Oddly my Samsung G8 which uses a similar panel isn't over saturated as much as the S95B was maybe they tune the monitors differently I would have returned it as well otherwise.

 

[RJARRRPCGP]

At least WOLED isn't criminal like RGBW LCDs are!

 

[oxrufiioxo]

At least WOLED isn't criminal like RGBW LCDs are!

The only reason I didn't buy the alienware is becuase I wanted a remote to change settings.... Still kinda wish I went with the C3 though 4k > 1440p UW.

My desire to test out stuff I haven't used before won out this round.

 

[las]

Sony has left the TV market in my country so they are no longer available, sadly. It's between Samsung's S95C and the G3, I got the G3 for a very nice price (still expensive as all hell but let's say $1580 USD with a full year to pay it off for a 55 G3 is not exactly a bad deal), I really can't say I have any issues with the colors, it's not poppy, and it's not dull, the panel is capable of reproducing even very dark scenes such as caves and night-time in video games, it's really made me happy so far.

I've plans to keep this one for at least 5 years, if not a little longer. Ideally until 2030 G series? Hopefully by then I will be gainfully employed and you better believe I'd blow on a Z series OLED if I had the cash on hand

You probably can, G series is a great lineup of TVs. I have a G1 in the bedroom as we speak. Still very good.

LG should improve C series tho, it's closer to mid-end than high-end at this point. Barely hitting 700-800 nits. Still a fine mid-end OLED TV but I cringe when some reviews call them high-end TVs because they are not. Any high-end OLED TV should be able to hit 1000 nits in the 10% window at this point.

 

[Dr. Dro]

You probably can, G series is a great lineup of TVs. I have a G1 in the bedroom as we speak. Still very good.

LG should improve C series tho, it's closer to mid-end than high-end at this point. Barely hitting 700-800 nits. Still a fine mid-end OLED TV but I cringe when some reviews call them high-end TVs because they are not. Any high-end OLED TV should be able to hit 1000 nits in the 10% window at this point.

That's the opposite direction that LG is taking i'm afraid. The 2024 series actually increased segmentation between the C and G series and somewhat reduced segmentation between the B and C series.

C3 and G3 share the same α9 Gen 6 SoC, with the primary difference between them being the build quality, panel grade and the MLA that the C3 lacks, but for this year, B4 gets full bandwidth on all HDMI ports, C4 gets 144 Hz panel but no other improvements (it retains α9 SoC, Gen 7 bringing only 144 Hz input processing, and that's it), and G4 exclusively gets MLA and the new α11 SoC, so... yeah. Not the brightest move, but I guess LG wants to tilt people towards the more expensive G series because they've probably realized they're selling 100 C-series for every G-series unit sold, if not more...

 

[las]

That's the opposite direction that LG is taking i'm afraid. The 2024 series actually increased segmentation between the C and G series and somewhat reduced segmentation between the B and C series.

C3 and G3 share the same α9 Gen 6 SoC, with the primary difference between them being the build quality, panel grade and the MLA that the C3 lacks, but for this year, B4 gets full bandwidth on all HDMI ports, C4 gets 144 Hz panel but no other improvements (it retains α9 SoC, Gen 7 bringing only 144 Hz input processing, and that's it), and G4 exclusively gets MLA and the new α11 SoC, so... yeah. Not the brightest move, but I guess LG wants to tilt people towards the more expensive G series because they've probably realized they're selling 100 C-series for every G-series unit sold, if not more...

It is just a strange thing to do because G series is made for wallmounting and don't even come with a stand, where C series has a stand but sucks for wallmounting due to huge tech box. They should make C series closer to G series than B series IMO. C series have not been considered high-end since C9 in 2019, which I had. Good TV.

Also, LG should improve their remote big time, thats my biggest gripe about all the LG TVs I have had. Feels way too cheap and ugly looking.

High end LG OLED TVs should come with a NICE LOOKING REMOTE, pref. Aluminium.

Nothing worse than paying many thousand dollars for a TV and then control it with a 1 dollar plastic stick. Feels so wrong.

 

[Dr. Dro]

It is just a strange thing to do because G series is made for wallmounting and don't even come with a stand, where C series has a stand but sucks for wallmounting due to huge tech box. They should make C series closer to G series than B series IMO. C series have not been considered high-end since C9 in 2019, which I had. Good TV.

Also, LG should improve their remote big time, thats my biggest gripe about all the LG TVs I have had. Feels way too cheap and ugly looking.

High end LG OLED TVs should come with a NICE LOOKING REMOTE, pref. Aluminium.

Nothing worse than paying many thousand dollars for a TV and then control it with a 1 dollar plastic stick. Feels so wrong.

I agree with you. Honestly the "wall mounting" thing is a load of hooey, they just don't send you the stand as a way to increase their margins. The remote that my G3 came with is the same old magic remote with voice recognition, nothing fancy, again, I believe LG does this to increase their margins anywhere they can...

 

[las]

I agree with you. Honestly the "wall mounting" thing is a load of hooey, they just don't send you the stand as a way to increase their margins. The remote that my G3 came with is the same old magic remote with voice recognition, nothing fancy, again, I believe LG does this to increase their margins anywhere they can...

Yeah but G3 is still a great TV for sure, no TV is actually perfect and probably never will be

 

[INSTG8R]

Nice. The AW3423DW(F) is the "original" QD-OLED, it's quite well regarded to be a great and reliable monitor. How are you enjoying it so far? I don't think I can go back after experiencing a high-end OLED myself.

Haven't heard of any cases of burn-in from friends who bought the G-Sync Ultimate DW way back when it came out (and much earlier than the FreeSync DWF appeared), and they use the monitor just like any other for a lot of hours daily - I think you'll be safe, too. Enjoy!

Indeed I’ve put over 3000 hours on my DW and not a single issue I expect I’m get close to 4500. The next panel refresh is probably coming soon(every 1500 hours)
I mean as long as you don’t skip the Pixel Refresh (annoying as it is every 4hrs) you should have zero issues and a gorg picture. Heck I just ru mine on the Standard setting and just turn the black equalizer up and thats it. HDR 400 on all the time, again zero issue it actually looks worse off(see it when changing drivers) I’d actually have mess with settings with it off. Also I run at 144hz vs 175 for true 10bit colour. i don’t need the extra Hz

 

[Zach_01]

Indeed I’ve put over 3000 hours on my DW and not a single issue I expect I’m get close to 4500. The next panel refresh is probably coming soon(every 1500 hours)
I mean as long as you don’t skip the Pixel Refresh (annoying as it is every 4hrs) you should have zero issues and a gorg picture. Heck I just ru mine on the Standard setting and just turn the black equalizer up and thats it. HDR 400 on all the time, again zero issue it actually looks worse off(see it when changing drivers) I’d actually have mess with settings with it off. Also I run at 144hz vs 175 for true 10bit colour. i don’t need the extra Hz

Already did the 3rd panel refresh (monitor runs many hours per day on avg)
I do the pixel refresh, some times at 4hrs other at 6 or even 8. I too run it at 144 for 10bit and also works great with VRR enabled from adrenaline.