I just don't get it

Associate
Joined
29 Jan 2023
Posts
121
Location
Canada
I've touched on this before, but I'm annoyed because I've wasted so much time on this crap.

So I have the aw qd-oled right beside the 27 inch 280 hz IPS oled

Running the same HDR video side-by-side, I cannot tell the difference. I just can't. No matter how many settings I **** around with. I just don't get it. I swear, the IPS can look nicer cause I can juice the brightness.

I don't have glasses, I see fine as far as I know. For the life of me, I don't understand it at all.
 
Using the hdr calibration app for Windows 11 makes a difference. Not available for Windows 10 last time I checked.

No idea if you are or not but duplicating the screen with a non hdr screen will probably disable hdr.
 
Last edited:
which Alienware OLED have you got? and which is the comparison IPS model?

Which HDR mode are you running the OLED in? Does it def report that it’s operating in HDR mode properly for this comparison via the OSD menu?

You should at the very least see much better black depth and contrast on the OLED?

edit: also what are you using for the source video?
 
Last edited:
I've touched on this before, but I'm annoyed because I've wasted so much time on this crap.

So I have the aw qd-oled right beside the 27 inch 280 hz IPS oled

Running the same HDR video side-by-side, I cannot tell the difference. I just can't. No matter how many settings I **** around with. I just don't get it. I swear, the IPS can look nicer cause I can juice the brightness.

I don't have glasses, I see fine as far as I know. For the life of me, I don't understand it at all.
Is that in a dark room? If not, run side by side at night with the lights off and see if you can tell the difference. Make sure the hdr video has black parts in it, maybe a night time scene.
 
How exactly are you connected to each display? (HDMI, display port? What cables used?)
Have you reset both displays to their default settings? (Set to their HDR setting, True Black 400 or HDR1000 for the DWF, HDR600 for the other display)
Have you removed and defaulted all settings on Windows? (Brightness, Contrast, Colour changes all reset to defaults in case something is impacting both displays)
Are you using a known HDR browser such as edge? (Firefox doesn't playback HDR from youtube for example. Have two instances one for each display if you can, rather than one cloned to both screens)
Are you viewing known HDR content that allows you to easily differentiate material? (Try looking for the LG 2020 OLED Demo and the HDR 1000 nits test)
How bright is the room you are in? (White painted walls are the worst and can reflect a lot of light onto the display causing raised blacks, etc; location and positioning of lighting away from the display is essential, otherwise light polution will cause any display to need to be a lot brighter to be more easily visible. Lots of RGB is bad.)
 
which Alienware OLED have you got? and which is the comparison IPS model?

Which HDR mode are you running the OLED in? Does it def report that it’s operating in HDR mode properly for this comparison via the OSD menu?

You should at the very least see much better black depth and contrast on the OLED?

edit: also what are you using for the source video?
black base. Usually hdr1000 or whatever though I've ran them all. It's true that I can make things out in some dark movie scenes backgrounds that I don't think I can on the IPS, and black forums are a mess with HDR enabled on the IPS... but for this I chose(imho) inferior resolution and have to worry about burn-in? It's my fault for not really thinking things through, and I got a great price on it(900 cdn - was going to buy a c2 or) but the fact that like, MSI and I think Samsung are selling this screen for 2 grand really bugs me, like this is not a 2000 dollar experience. Monitors in general seem to be a bit of a scam, should have bought a big ass TV, I can't really see the difference from 120 to 280 hz either. Or with g-sync on or not. It doesn't help that right after I bought these monitors I fell for simracing and do 98% of my gayming on a quest 2/3 now. It also doesn't help that I broke my foot at work on thursday and have 2 months off and can't even race because I can't use my braking foot and I'm not gonna **** up my lap times using one foot. Which is why I'm again paying attention to my annoyance with this monitor.

I think I'd much prefer the new 4k one. At least the 4k justifies a premium price.
 
This sounds very much like you’ve not set it up correctly

Can you answer the many questions we’ve all posted and maybe we can help identify the issue?
 
Definitely something wrong if you can't tell the difference. Although not exactly the same screen when using my 32" version it blows my LG C2 away in terms of colour accuracy alone. Everything looks better to my eyes, even the Mrs said that's a better picture.
 
id suspect if you are using windows cloned display to test side by side it will have disabled the hrd on both screens to fit lowest comon standard
can you see the oled kicking into hrd ?
but even so id expect the oled to be much better then the ips, it certainly is for me on the 32"
 
This sounds very much like you’ve not set it up correctly

Can you answer the many questions we’ve all posted and maybe we can help identify the issue?
I've probably spent 30 hours trouble shooting this stuff. I'm not computer illiterate. Answering question about what cables (tried them all, spent like 140 bucks on cables wondering if alienware's were defective) I'm using is just not doing it for me.

I really think you guys upgrade from like, really old screens or maybe even 1080p 60 hz screens, or placebo is as strong as the psychologists say it is.

Yes, the IPS has trouble with the black-white contrast on forums. No, I don't browse any black-white forums. Ironically I discovered this issue while trying to figure this all out.

I'm bored at home with a broken foot and have spent days now on this. As far as I can tell, the only difference between these screens is some blooming on black forums, and the matte finish on the IPS.

It's all nonsense. They got my money with it, so fairplay. Even when I think I've found an advantage on the oled, I can erase it by playing with gamma and contrast and ****.

Look how many "experts" gave diablo 4 9/10 and 10/10. That is a 2/10 game. And people argued on its behalf for the first month of the games release so hard, they sincerely thought it was the best game in the world. I could tell within first glance at everything in the game that it was useless, but these people were so insistent that it was the best... right until they realized there was nothing of merit. IDK. Tbh, I miss my old 4k/60hz 300 dollar 55 inch TV. I've spent so much money because I took people at their word that all this **** mattered. Now I'm left with these small dim screens I have to baby or they'll fall over and die.

I should have known when I saw stuff like "color accuracy", like what the ****. What does that even mean. Why would that even matter. When you're looking at the rocket launcher in doom: eternal, does the exact shade of the metal really matter? Does it need to match exactly your IRL rocket launcher? Or if the cement is a shade darker in forza than you suspect the cement actually is in the bahamas? If you're an entomologist and you need it to be 100% accurate for your field work, then I mean, absolutely.

I keep forgetting that the average GPU out there is a gtx 1060. People are poor. They don't have money for this ****. Of course they are going to desperately justify their decision. Nobody can be honest with themselves. So you have a bunch of people who convince themselves their 1500.00 oled was justified and that diablo 4 really is as good as the reviewers say. Well, they can walk away from a 70 dollar game purchase once they finally come to terms with the fact it isn't what they hoped it was. But a 1500 dollar purchase, they are going to be full cope on that. Like, hang onto the brilliance of their decision making for dear life.
 
You sound angry and unwilling to take on board advice. You sound like you have made your mind up already. Suppose it is a setup issue... Would it not be worth working with people on here to try to rectify it? The effort you put in to the above rants could have been used to answer some of the valid questions asked to help.
You've not even put what monitor models in the op so I don't know what ones you are even talking about.
 
Last edited:
I've probably spent 30 hours trouble shooting this stuff. I'm not computer illiterate. Answering question about what cables (tried them all, spent like 140 bucks on cables wondering if alienware's were defective) I'm using is just not doing it for me.

I really think you guys upgrade from like, really old screens or maybe even 1080p 60 hz screens, or placebo is as strong as the psychologists say it is.

Yes, the IPS has trouble with the black-white contrast on forums. No, I don't browse any black-white forums. Ironically I discovered this issue while trying to figure this all out.

I'm bored at home with a broken foot and have spent days now on this. As far as I can tell, the only difference between these screens is some blooming on black forums, and the matte finish on the IPS.

It's all nonsense. They got my money with it, so fairplay. Even when I think I've found an advantage on the oled, I can erase it by playing with gamma and contrast and ****.

Look how many "experts" gave diablo 4 9/10 and 10/10. That is a 2/10 game. And people argued on its behalf for the first month of the games release so hard, they sincerely thought it was the best game in the world. I could tell within first glance at everything in the game that it was useless, but these people were so insistent that it was the best... right until they realized there was nothing of merit. IDK. Tbh, I miss my old 4k/60hz 300 dollar 55 inch TV. I've spent so much money because I took people at their word that all this **** mattered. Now I'm left with these small dim screens I have to baby or they'll fall over and die.

I should have known when I saw stuff like "color accuracy", like what the ****. What does that even mean. Why would that even matter. When you're looking at the rocket launcher in doom: eternal, does the exact shade of the metal really matter? Does it need to match exactly your IRL rocket launcher? Or if the cement is a shade darker in forza than you suspect the cement actually is in the bahamas? If you're an entomologist and you need it to be 100% accurate for your field work, then I mean, absolutely.

I keep forgetting that the average GPU out there is a gtx 1060. People are poor. They don't have money for this ****. Of course they are going to desperately justify their decision. Nobody can be honest with themselves. So you have a bunch of people who convince themselves their 1500.00 oled was justified and that diablo 4 really is as good as the reviewers say. Well, they can walk away from a 70 dollar game purchase once they finally come to terms with the fact it isn't what they hoped it was. But a 1500 dollar purchase, they are going to be full cope on that. Like, hang onto the brilliance of their decision making for dear life.

To be honest I kind of agree.

When I went TV shopping a year and a bit ago, it was between a Sony 75" x90j LCD and an LG C1 65" OLED. To my eyes the LCD looked superior due to the brighter colours and that is what I ended up buying and haven't regretted it once.

I have an OLED Pixel 3 phone and my wife had an LCD Xiaomi phone. I wouldn't say my phone looked better. She just upgraded to an OLED phone last week and the biggest noticeable upgrade in regards to the screen on it is the ability to run 120hz mode. The colours don't look much different to her old LCD.

I have an Alienware 240hz 27" IPS LCD as my main monitor and I picked up an OLED Steamdeck at Xmas. The only noticeable difference between the two screens in regard to image quality is the inky blacks. The LCD has a bit of IPS glow in dark scenes. The colours are very similar on both screens.

OLED is completely overhyped. If you play dark games in a dark room then yes it is better. But anyone who buys an OLED thinking it is going to blow their socks off with how much better it is going to look is going to be disappointed.

I am glad OLED is so overhyped because it will allow me to pick up a reasonably priced LCD based monitor in the future because it is seen as the inferior technology. I think it a high refresh rate LCD monitor is ideal for my usage.
 
Last edited:
You sound angry and unwilling to take on board advice. You sound like you have made your mind up already. Suppose it is a setup issue... Would it not be worth working with people on here to try to rectify it? The effort you put in to the above rants could have been used to answer some of the valid questions asked to help.
You've not even put what monitor models in the op so I don't know what ones you are even talking about.
Exactly. Ranting about all these random issues when people were trying to help troubleshoot the problem and ask sensible questions.
 
OLED is completely overhyped. If you play dark games in a dark room then yes it is better. But anyone who buys an OLED thinking it is going to blow their socks off with how much better it is going to look is going to be disappointed.

I am glad OLED is so overhyped because it will allow me to pick up a reasonably priced LCD based monitor in the future because it is seen as the inferior technology. I think it a high refresh rate LCD monitor is ideal for my usage.
The thing is, you’re basing this on two performance areas which OLED actually isn’t hyped for. No one said OLED would have better colours or a brighter image. That’s not the technologies strength at all and I don’t believe I’ve ever seen it marketed in that way. Anyone who does buy an OLED based on those assumptions will be disappointed. (I’m talking monitors here. TVs continue to improve in these areas more and more)

But where it is far better than LCDs is in pixel response times, motion clarity, gaming performance at different refresh rates, black depth, contrast ratio (which is what produces a “high dynamic range”), avoidance of blooming/halos, panel size and form factor, viewing angles, avoidance of problems like IPS glow and backlight bleed….

That may or may not be relevant for your uses of course. I can imagine on a phone they’re of less importance anyway. But on a gaming monitor? That’s where this tech excels. It’s not for everyone though, absolutely not, but it’s hyped as it’s a new and interesting tech
 
I've considered OLED (mostly TVs to use as s monitor) for ages but never did anything about it.

Partially because of the burn-in and partially the price.

However, what I have noticed is that for example Samsung and their M phones with the AMOLED screens and 6Ah batteries never do that well in battery tests. That professional reviews of OLED laptops never get great battery life. And that whenever I go into a certain retail park box shifter and during my browse look at the OLED TVs, that they given out a lot of heat.

Of course, if I ever went OLED I would probably run it like my monitors at 30% brightness or so which should help with power consumption and burn-in. But then I have next to zero interest in HDR and even less in watching some movie or game where everything is dark and suddenly some explosions comes in at 1,200 NITS and causes me temporary blindness - no matter how realistic that might be.

So, I'll probably live with IPS glow for a few years more!
 
But where it is far better than LCDs is in pixel response times, motion clarity, gaming performance at different refresh rates, black depth, contrast ratio (which is what produces a “high dynamic range”), avoidance of blooming/halos, panel size and form factor, viewing angles, avoidance of problems like IPS glow and backlight bleed….

Motion clarity of OLED isn't that much better than high refresh rate LCD's. With Nvidia's Gsync Pulsar coming out soon that advantage will be nullified. Mini LED gets close to the black levels of OLED. LCD monitors and TV's have pretty good form factors. Not many people wishing their screens were even thinner. LCD comes in any panel size you like really. For most people viewing angles are a non issue when it comes to gaming monitors as most people sit right in front of them. HDR on PC right now is a huge mess so anyone buying a monitor to experience it is likely in for a disappointment.

OLED is a bit better than high end LCD in some regards and a bit worse in others.

OLED hype is definitely overblown. It is the law of diminishing returns and people should temper their expectations on the improvement OLED offers.
 
Of course, if I ever went OLED I would probably run it like my monitors at 30% brightness or so which should help with power consumption and burn-in. But then I have next to zero interest in HDR and even less in watching some movie or game where everything is dark and suddenly some explosions comes in at 1,200 NITS and causes me temporary blindness - no matter how realistic that might be.
That's not at all what HDR is about and isn't how they work either
 
Motion clarity of OLED isn't that much better than high refresh rate LCD's. With Nvidia's Gsync Pulsar coming out soon that advantage will be nullified. Mini LED gets close to the black levels of OLED. LCD monitors and TV's have pretty good form factors. Not many people wishing their screens were even thinner. LCD comes in any panel size you like really. For most people viewing angles are a non issue when it comes to gaming monitors as most people sit right in front of them. HDR on PC right now is a huge mess so anyone buying a monitor to experience it is likely in for a disappointment.

OLED is a bit better than high end LCD in some regards and a bit worse in others.

OLED hype is definitely overblown. It is the law of diminishing returns and people should temper their expectations on the improvement OLED offers.
To be fair, most things suffer from the law of diminishing returns. Especially high-end computer stuff.
Okay, a 4090 vs just about everything else actually... not that bad value for high-end. But clocked to max 13900KS with the absolutely best RAM and motherboards? A few % faster when the CPU matters (for gaming - productive use a Threadripper, EPYC, or Xeon is likely to be far better at the cost of some single-threaded turbo clocks)?

And in those situations (but maybe not OLED vs LCD), the few % gain for 30% or more costs, are usually negated by the next cycle of products in a few months. Even with too much money, future-proof is rarely a thing for more than a few months.
 
Back
Top Bottom