Finally someone like me who plays in the dark! I’ve been reading and watching reviews about this monitor for the past day and the anti-glare costing alongside the brightness seem to be the biggest “issues”. Everyone I see is reviewing this with huge, bright studio lights and I’m wondering, so people actually play like this? When I play games or watch movies, it’s black out in my bedroom so this monitor would be good for me I think. I currently have a 1440p144hz IPS panel and I absolutely hate the IPS glow, it ruins dark scenes in games so I’ve been playing on my Sony TV instead while playing competitive games on my monitor. This seem like the perfect solution for me since I’ll be able to play both story games with controller and competitive games with KBM on the same display.
I have the 45" version. In my small room, during the daytime with 2 cooler & brighter than average lights - 3500K, 1100 lumens (75w equivalent) instead of the average 2700K-3000, 800 lumens (60w equivalent) - and I still only use the monitor between 0 and 30 % brightness. At night, almost fully dark room, it's almost exclusively set to 0 to 10% brightness. The only time I blast it to 100% brightness are the times when I want to get into full-on gaming/movie immersion mode. During those times, it's extremely bright especially when you get the right settings like a) increase contrast to 70-72 % B) using the much superior Gamer 2 mode for HDR content, or Gamer 1 (bright), Gamer 2 (brighter), or Vivid (brightest) for SDR content, and C) using the 3 extra brightness settings in the service menu (just need a $7 service remote) called "CPC enable" (disable it), "LEA refresh enable" (disable it), and, for SDR content also the "HDR Mode" setting (enable it). The screen makes me squint, at times, it can get so bright.
@@Spinelli__Where do you get this remote from? I'm looking to buy this monitor right now. And is it possible that forcing extra brightness with a service remote would make the screen burn in faster?
Got mine a couple days ago for $599, I play a lot of FPS and story driven games I was also gonna use it for school so hopefully the drawbacks for productivity aren’t too bad
After a lot of mixed reviews and videos online, I finally went and ordered mine today. I can't wait and feel reassured by you saying its perfect for fps and story driven games which is perfect for me. Really amazing and helpful video
Great review, I play on PS5 only, and I'm in need of an upgrade from my BenQ. I decided to go with this monitor as it also has hdmi 2.1 which many other 1440p monitors do not. Need it for VRR on PS5.
@@ff_droid two different beast the M9 is a 4k uhd, this is a OLED 1440p. One will give better brights, the other better darks. For a ps5 they will both give you the max 120hz
If you do hardware calibration with with a colorimeter & LG's Calibratiin studio. This will give you more brightness in SRGB content than the monitors own SRGB mode, about 200-225 nits compared to about 150 - 160 in the monitors own SRGB mode. This quite a substantial increase in brightness. Full white screen display is still cut down a little in brightness, though that can be a rare occurrence if you don't use full screen apps that have an all white background. More & more apps on pc are defaulting to dark mode & many web pages nowadays have dark backgrounds, so it should not really be much of an issue.
Get a generic brand LG service remote for like 7 dollars and you get 3 options in the secret menu which all increase brightness further. Disable the following settings: CPC enable, LEA refresh. Both will increase overall brightness. Both can be disabled simultaneously. Both work for, both, HDR and SDR mode. Then, for SDR mode, you also have a 3rd setting which noticeably increases brightness, the setting is "HDR mode". Enable that and you get big jump in brightness. Use all 3 settings simultaneously for amazing brightness. On top of those 3 settings. You should increase contrast to 70-75. Higher than 75 can kill very, very light / white details which you may not even notice or care about depending on your game and preference. 72% is about perfect from my tests. 70%, maybe, showed the slightest tiny extra details compared to 72% but you have to switch back and forth with a very specific monitor calibration picture to tell the difference, even then, it's so subtle that I sometimes think it's just in my head. Don't go less than 70% though, as you won't gain any detail. Black level should be set to 60%. 50% seems to "artificially" try and make too many parts of the picture too black, which creates black crush so it doesn't seem like 50% is the true "neutral" or "native" point. The correct setting seems to be 60%. 60% gets rid of the unnatural, "forcing areas to be too dark" look while still allowing the darkest parts of the image to display full black (OLED pixels shut off). Over 60% though, and I believe you won't get the full blackness of the OLED pixels. So, basically, after 60%, you've gotten into the "black booster" mode. 60% seems like the "proper" setting - not boosting blacks, not blackening blacks, just proper "native" mode or whatever. For SDR, if Gamer 1 and Gamer 2 mode, with the 3 secret menu brightness tricks above, and with the contrast set to 72-75% is STILL not bright enough for you, then try vivid mode as it'll be brighter still, specially with the 3 secret menu settings. Even though DAS is not on with Vivid mode, it's input lag is still not, or barely, humanly perceptible. I can't notice the difference at all while playing Battlefield 1, Cyberpunk 2077, Metro 2033, and Forza Horizon. For HDR, Vivid is a no go - at least in a couple games I tried. It seems to be completely messed in terms of HDR and HDR calibration. Also, Gamer 2 is sometimes a go and sometimes not. Gamer 2 unfortunately has boosted black levels so it can have that greyish look. It depends on the game if it's noticeable or not and how picky you are. It's ridiculous that LG currently locks all settings (besides brightness) during HDR. Gamer 2 would be great - less warm, slightly brighter than Gamer 1 - if LG could just allow us to adjust it's black level to the proper level (the equivalent of 60% in SDR mode). Vivid would be good too if it's HDR calibration wasn't all wacked. The above is from my experience with the LG 45" OLED 240 Hz version on the latest firmware (late March 2023). I believe it should all also apply to the 27" version - at least the service menu adjustments should. I'm not sure if they all still apply to the other re-branded versions (eg. Asus, Corsair, Acer).
@@EngageMk8 I never noticed CPC enable & LEA refresh auto-disable after 4 hours but maybe they do. I don't know how to keep the settings permanently. No big deal for me, personally, as it takes like 10 seconds to set them.
@@Spinelli__ ehh, I must say turning these options off 2+ times a day becomes quite the annoyance that I don’t even bother anymore. I hope someone figured out how to save service menu settings on these LG OLED monitors.
@@JustPats Wrong. I have over 1200 hours on my panel use it 8+hours a day (I use it for work and gaming), never hide the taskbar and there is zero burn-in. Even if there was burn-in I'm covered under warranty :) I've got nothing to worry about. I also turn these options off multiple times. Still no burn in.
Great review. Got this monitor for 2 days. gaming is awesome, but desktop usage is really dark even with 100% brightness. and with burn-in in your mind, its not worth for desktop / productivity use imho
Was torn between this monitor and the new alienware 27 360hz 1440p oled. After watching your review ill be picking up this monitor today! Especially because best buy is having a sale on it now. $750 and new open box which they have 2 are under 650!!! As somone who 90% plays in the dark and coming from an alienware 1080p 240hz i think this will be a much needed upgrade for me!
So happy it is getting easier to get this OLED monitor now. Will make the upgrade next year when more 1440p options show, we just have this and ASUS for now. And nice content my guy
I returned mine, the LG 27 OLED it isn't 100% flicker free it makes me sick and eyes hurt, can't run it in 1080p over 60hz, too bright at 0% in dark room. 27 is too big for competitive gaming which is why all pros use 24 inch 1080p. The stand doesn't adjust all the way down in bottom out position, at 1000 dollars and 27 inch it doesn't have speakers built in and it has very little opinions in the menu for such a high dollar monitor. I am 10x more happy with my $150 100% flicker free 165hz Asus Tuf gaming 23.8” 1080p monitor ips monitor with built in speakers, the VA version is good too.
did you make sure to install the firmware updates? firmware updates is a MUST as it fixes overshoot, low brightness problems (they increased it in a firmware update), and flickering
Hey man, I’ve just discovered your channel and it’s great! A couple of days ago I also purchased the LG 27GR95QE but I didn’t realise it doesn’t have built in speakers. Do you use headphones all the time for sound, even if you are playing a single player game? Or do you have a speaker set up to use for some games? Thanks!
Use headphones. For when you don't want to use headphones and rather prefer loud "big" volume, buy some decent monitor/PC speakers. The built-in speakers in monitors are like glorified cellphone speakers. They're horrendous and only good compared to having no speaker at all.
Hi just an amazing review.. as you know the new asus 4k oled will be out early next year with the new 500 series gpu from nvidia.. My question is do i just buy this now or wait until the hardware comes out. Thank you for your support and time
You should try out the Asus OLED if you can as that seems to be the best overall choice between the big 3 OLED 1440p 27 inch panels (LG, Asus, and Corsair)
The asus is better with the brightness but i would not recommend getting it due to the fact that it has so many problems including dead pixels after just a few days of use read about it online too from other people regarding this issue.
been watching you for a while, just bougth this screen today, its gonna arive at monday, everything looks like its made for me, but im kinda scared about brightness cuz i love bright screens, we will see.
@@Bo0mShakkaLakka having it for 3 weeks already. For me OLED on 27 inch is not as stunning as on big screen tv which i have too. I like it, didnt send it back but i wouldnt buy it again. Still its one of the best monitors when it comes to gaming. If u play competetive games and storyline i would go for this, if only story games i would go for oled but ultrawide.
The white top (55" x 23") is from IKEA (Comes in different sizes). The Electric Base is from MotionGrey :) Standing Desk Frame - bit.ly/3F9pQtQ Desktop - www.ikea.com/ca/en/p/lagkapten-tabletop-white-40460815/
i love this monitor but the only thing i dont like is the harsh ABL (auto-brightness leveling). Do you have this problem with yours as well or is it just me?
What’s that exact monitor arm? I’ve been looking for one that clamps over to the side of my desk like this one cuz it’s the only one that’ll work on my desk
The coating is horrendous. Was going to buy this but it's so bad it's like having a dirty screen that has ips glow if there's even a single dimm light in the room.
Great review Midas! Im still waiting for my dream monitor: a 32 inch 4k 240hz oled panel! I use the C2 42 right now, but its still just a bit too large for my liking.
Hey was thibking about getting a monitor like this but i also heard about some newer oleds coming out this month with glossy panels. My question for you is, does matte seem to ruin the image quality in any way?
@midasgamespace not surprised, ive only ever had matte finishing and never knew if it was a huge difference. Think I'll wait for the new ones coming out at CES. Thanks for the perspective!
@@midasgamespace hey man do you think this monitor looks too small on your xl secret labs desk? Those curved monitors are nice and all but seem overkill for the series x performance output
My roomate tried the lg 27 inch oled after a firmware update you can no longer turn off the power saving garbage that interferes with brightness and colors. He returned it the next day as the firmware cannot be downgraded. I would have returned it too.
@@HeyNavi Yeah I figured that out after the fact but still did not like the anti-glare coating and ended up going back the alienware qd-oled. I did the same thing after trying the corsair xeneon flex.
@@SgtSlapmaster But even with that it looks way better than any shitty matte IPS, VA or TN. Seriously. And in a dark room or in a room with indirect lighting it looks pure black.
@@AdiiS Yes, OLED is indisputably the king of picture quality for TVs and monitors. It’s just good to keep in mind the trade-offs as for PC/bright room use OLED can have drawbacks. I look forward to those issues being resolved.
![LG 27" Ultragear OLED Gaming Monitor After One Month! [PC + PS5]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
