LG 55EA980W Owners Thread

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ellisdj

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It does look dazzlingly bright from those pictures - high contrast against good black levels will give a very zingy picture - which is great providing its accurate and doesnt give you eye strain.

Colours are looking very strong on my screen / overdone - calibration sort all that out as you know
 

strapped for cash

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From AVF (posting a link is triggering the spam filter):

Makes Images deviate from accepted Industry Standards

Can make pictures look over-processed and unnatural

Expensive for a one trick pony

Colour space issues with some kit

It can introduce chroma upsampling errors

Darbee processing alters contrast and brightness locally rather than globally, though Darbee claims this doesn't influence colour reproduction.

However, as evidenced by the final point on AVF's "con" list (chroma upsampling errors), the Darblet alters colour reproduction, or more specifically introduces errors that are absent when the Darblet is turned off. (This is different from the colour "boosting" I mentioned above -- it's a while since I looked into how Darbee processing works.)

So, while the Darblet tries to compensate for colour sampling errors resulting from the technology's image "enhancements," it doesn't do so entirely succesfully, whatever Darbee's marketing says.

In short, Darbee processing alters colour reproduction, which is certainly undesirable if your TV has been professionally calibrated.

Further, a television's gamma curve dictates each pixel's luminance. Darbee processing alters this luminance through local contrast and brightness adjustments that supposedly "improve" detail. In other words, Darbee processing alters the image in ways that upset the advantages of a "kinkless" (calibrated) gamma curve.

Pro-calibration also sets contrast and brightness as closely as possible to the industry standard. Again, I can't understand why anyone would want to mess with this at a local level. Contrast and brightness adjustments to darker image areas may "enhance" shadow detail, but such adjustments also rob the picture of the balance calibration affords.

None of the above is advantageous if your TV is professionally calibrated, especially with HD content displayed at native resolution.
 

strapped for cash

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gel said:
I would say it would be best to demo to see what you think. Both are great TVs. I would say it goes darker and it's LED bright. It really is bright and dark. I think it's a good upgrade, but sometimes the picture is very similar and others not. It has more detail, the detail is excellent.

Cheers mate.

I've had a glance in-store a few times, but this can only tell you so much.

As I say, I'm not in the market right now anyway, though I'd like to see OLED establish itself as a TV technology.

Glad you're enjoying it!
 
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strapped for cash said:
gel said:
I would say it would be best to demo to see what you think. Both are great TVs. I would say it goes darker and it's LED bright. It really is bright and dark. I think it's a good upgrade, but sometimes the picture is very similar and others not. It has more detail, the detail is excellent.

Cheers mate.

I've had a glance in-store a few times, but this can only tell you so much.

As I say, I'm not in the market right now anyway, though I'd like to see OLED establish itself as a TV technology.

Glad you're enjoying it!

Cheers!
 
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15436074586_a874b83d6f_z.jpg
 
strapped for cash said:
From AVF (posting a link is triggering the spam filter):

?

Makes Images deviate from accepted Industry Standards

Can make pictures look over-processed and unnatural

Expensive for a one trick pony

Colour space issues with some kit

It can introduce chroma upsampling errors

?

Darbee processing alters contrast and brightness locally rather than globally, though Darbee claims this doesn't influence colour reproduction.

However, as evidenced by the final point on AVF's "con" list (chroma upsampling errors), the Darblet alters colour reproduction, or more specifically introduces errors that are absent when the Darblet is turned off. (This is different from the colour "boosting" I mentioned above -- it's a while since I looked into how Darbee processing works.)

So, while the Darblet tries to compensate for colour sampling errors resulting from the technology's image "enhancements," it doesn't do so entirely succesfully, whatever Darbee's marketing says.

In short, Darbee processing alters colour reproduction, which is certainly undesirable if your TV has been professionally calibrated.

Further, a television's gamma curve dictates each pixel's luminance. Darbee processing alters this luminance through local contrast and brightness adjustments that supposedly "improve" detail. In other words, Darbee processing alters the image in ways that upset the advantages of a "kinkless" (calibrated) gamma curve.

Pro-calibration also sets contrast and brightness as closely as possible to the industry standard. Again, I can't understand why anyone would want to mess with this at a local level. Contrast and brightness adjustments to darker image areas may "enhance" shadow detail, but such adjustments also rob the picture of the balance calibration affords.

None of the above is advantageous if your TV is professionally calibrated, especially with HD content displayed at native resolution.

So, if you switch Darbee off, would the TV calibration settings still be permanently altered?
 

Series1boy

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bigboss said:
strapped for cash said:
bigboss said:
Not according to Darbee. Clicky.

Should I have my equipment calibrated before or after I install the Darblet?

Calibrate and then add the Darblet. The Darblet will not affect your color, brightness, contrast, or gamma settings for the calibration.

I think this is deceptive phrasing/marketing.

Certainly Darbee processing can't alter a television's settings. Once placed in the video chain, however, Darbee processing alters the above picture parameters.

To my knowledge, Darbee processing "augments" images by boosting contrast, brightness, gamma, colour and sharpness.

As a result, every aspect of pro-calibration is skewed. While the television's settings are unchanged, the picture the television produces deviates from optimal.

Any linked to support that or is it just a suspicion? I understand it alters sharpness.

if you ask any calibrator, they advise to switch all processing off on the BD, reciever and let the calibrated tv do the work. This was the case with mark hodgkinson and Vincent teoh whom both calibrated my VT :)
 

strapped for cash

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bigboss said:
So, if you switch Darbee off, would the TV calibration settings still be permanently altered?

Your TV's setting will remain constant.

The problems occur externally of the TV but are carried through the video chain when the Darblet processes source material.

Turning Darbee off solves these problems, though it's wise to avoid Darbee processing altogether, especially as you'd be paying extra for something that messes up your calibrated image.

Hope that makes sense (I'm questioning the clarity of my explanation rather than your ability to interpret the above).
 
The things is, if you look at various reviews online, the reactions are quite mixed. Some loved it and some didn't. It's like marmite. So I don't believe in slating it off without checking it with my own eyes.

Check what the users are saying in this thread. One thing it definitely does is sharpens the picture a bit, which is a plus for projector users.

No other blu ray player manufacturer knows the videophile more than Oppo; and if Oppo decides to include the Darbee option in its players, there must be some substance to it. Oppo isn't known for unnecessary marketing hypes historically. It has achieved cult status by word of mouth (or fingers) alone.

The interesting bit is that Darbee can be turned off if not desirable. I'll post my findings with Darbee on & off when I get the Oppo 103D in December.
 
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simonlewis said:
Gel if your tv is a keeper are you going to wall mount it ? -it looks very nice btw.
Cheers mate. I don't think you can wall mount it? I like it on my stand though.
 

strapped for cash

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bigboss said:
The things is, if you look at various reviews online, the reactions are quite mixed. Some loved it and some didn't. It's like marmite. So I don't believe in slating it off without checking it with my own eyes.

Check what the users are saying in this thread. One thing it definitely does is sharpens the picture a bit, which is a plus for projector users.

True, though I'm not sure how many users championing the Darbee have had their television or projector professionally calibrated.

As several contributors to that thread state, Darbee processing throws a calibration off, which is a minus for videophile purists. Some owners may prefer the image with Darbee processing engaged, but it'll still be a less accurate image if they've paid for a pro-cal.

bigboss said:
No other blu ray player manufacturer knows the videophile more than Oppo; and if Oppo decides to include the Darbee option in its players, there must be some substance to it. Oppo isn't known for unnecessary marketing hypes historically. It has achieved cult status by word of mouth (or fingers) alone.

Again, I wouldn't argue with your summary, though I wonder if Oppo had run out of ways to add perceived value to its BDPs, which were the reference (WHF reviews exempted) and couldn't be improved upon beyond expanding smart platforms and offering even faster loading times.

bigboss said:
The interesting bit is that Darbee can be turned off if not desirable. I'll post my findings with Darbee on & off when I get the Oppo 103D in December.

I'll be interested to read what you think, especially comparing the 103D's performance hooked up to your plasma and projector.

It sounds like I'm slating your purchase, which isn't my intention (I didn't know you'd bought a 103D until I read your post). I'm also not writing Darbee processing off under certain circumstances. It may give your PJ images a real kick and vibrancy, and this may add value beyond what you feel a pro-cal brings to the party.
 
I've not bought my system yet. Will order it next month to be delivered by mid December for the new house.

There are some users on AVS forum who have had their TVs / projectors professionally calibrated and are liking Darbee. I'll take it as a £100 experiment. :)
 
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Are you going to buy some 3D HDMI cables then, and is so which ones? Cheers.
 

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