LG C4 OLED Calibration Settings

We used the following calibration settings to review the 65-inch LG C4 OLED (OLED65C4PUA), but they're also valid for the 55-inch model (OLED55C4PUA), 77-inch model (OLED77C4PUA), and 83-inch model (OLED83C4PUA). The 42-inch and 48-inch sizes don't have LG's Brightness Booster technology, so they don't get as bright as the bigger models do, but most settings should be the same. These settings apply to most types of content, except for gaming or use as a PC monitor, which requires a few additional changes, listed below.

These settings are meant to provide a starting point; they're not meant to be copied 1:1. They provide the most accurate image in a moderately lit room, but you should adjust them to match your preferences and viewing conditions.

For SDR content, a few different preset picture modes are available. The 'Expert (Dark Space, night)' Picture Mode delivers the most accurate image out of the box and allows for the most customization, which we used for our calibration. FILMMAKER MODE mode is a great alternative if you're a movie fan and want an accurate image. It automatically disables most of the TV's processing but also locks you out of most settings, so we don't use it for our calibration. You can also enable FILMMAKER MODE Auto Start from the Advanced Settings menu if you want the TV to automatically switch to the most accurate movie settings when it detects you're watching a movie.

From the Advanced Settings menu in the Brightness section, the OLED Pixel Brightness setting adjusts the TV's luminosity. You should adjust this to your viewing environment and personal preferences. Changing this setting has no impact on the overall picture quality. From this menu, we set Adjust Contrast to '85,' left the Black Level at '50,' and set Peak Brightness to 'High.' A Gamma (Adjust Brightness) setting of 2.2 is closest to the 2.2 gamma we target for a moderately lit room. We also left Auto Dynamic Contrast disabled and the Video Range set to 'Auto.'

From the Color menu, we left the Color Depth set to '50' and Tint set to '0,' as these settings are already the closest ones to the SDR calibration targets. We also left the Color Gamut set to 'Auto Detect,' but if you prefer saturated colors, setting it to 'Native' will adjust SDR content to match the HDR color gamut of the display. From the White Balance menu, we chose the 'Warm 50' Color Temperature. If you prefer a warmer or colder image, you should adjust this setting to your liking.

Finally, from the Clarity menu, we set Adjust Sharpness to '0.' However, we set Adjust Sharpness to '16' for our upscaling test. For most of our testing, we also kept the Super Resolution, Noise Reduction, MPEG Noise Reduction, and Smooth Gradation settings disabled. Still, you should adjust these depending on the content you're watching and your preferences. These settings can help improve the appearance of low-quality content, like DVDs.

HDR is automatically enabled for native apps. Once you start playing HDR content, some settings change automatically, including OLED Pixel Brightness. We left all settings in HDR to their defaults in the 'Cinema (User Settings)' HDR Select Mode.

For HDR to work from external devices, the HDMI Deep Color option usually has to be set to '4k' from the HDMI Settings menu for your input. Although rare, older devices may have compatibility issues with this setting. If your DVD player or older console isn't working properly, try setting this to 'Off' instead.

If HDR is too dim, enable Auto Dynamic Contrast or Dynamic Tone Mapping. These settings can help produce a brighter image but are also highly dependent on the content.

The following are the old results of calibrating the white balance of our unit to 6500K in HDR using the 2 point method. We don't publish the values we used for our new 20 point calibration.

They are provided for reference and shouldn't be copied as the calibration values vary per individual unit, even for the same model and size as the TV we reviewed, due to manufacturing tolerances. If you want to try them, you'll need to enter all values shown, as all of them are active at the same time. If you have worse picture quality, simply reset them to the default values.

The LG C4 supports Dolby Vision from native apps and external devices. As with normal HDR content, some settings change automatically when you start playing Dolby Vision content. The new 'Filmmaker Mode’ delivers the most accurate image out of the box and doesn’t require any changes. If you want a brighter image or need more customization options, try out the ‘Cinema Home’ Picture Mode.

Although we disable most motion-enhancing functions for most of our tests, you should adjust them to whatever looks best. Some settings may need to be adjusted depending on the specific content you're watching or because of your personal preferences.

Although we usually leave these settings disabled during testing, you should adjust these settings to your liking, as different people prefer different levels of motion interpolation. If you want to enable motion interpolation, set TruMotion to 'User Selection' and adjust the De-Judder and De-Judder sliders to your personal preferences. You might have to try different content to find a setting that works best for you; higher settings on the sliders can introduce more artifacts in busier scenes. The 'Cinematic Movement' preset is a good option to reduce stutter without adding a lot of motion interpolation to the image.

The OLED Motion setting enables the TV's black frame insertion (BFI) feature. Unlike the 2021 models, there's no 'High' or 'Low' setting. Enabling this feature introduces 60Hz flicker with all content. With this enabled, there's always judder when watching 24p content.

The LG C4 can remove judder from all sources, but you have to enable the Real Cinema setting. Note that with OLED Motion enabled, there will always be 24p judder, even with Real Cinema enabled.

Very few changes are required for a great gaming experience from the base SDR and HDR settings. When you enable Game Optimizer from the 'General' settings tab, the LG C4 OLED automatically enables all game-related settings and switches to the 'Game Optimizer' Picture Mode for low latency when it's connected to a supported source, like a PS5 or Xbox Series X. For 4k @ 120Hz gaming or gaming in HDR, you need to enable HDMI Deep Color for the full HDMI 2.1 bandwidth. If Instant Game Response is enabled, the TV should do this automatically.

You can also enable VRR support from the Game Optimizer menu. For G-SYNC and HDMI Forum VRR sources, you simply need to enable VRR, and for FreeSync, you need to enable AMD FreeSync Premium. There's also a Prevent Input Delay setting to get even lower input lag. Setting it to 'Boost' reduces the input lag by 2–3 ms with no noticeable change in picture quality or processing.

For an optimal PC gaming experience and proper chroma 4:4:4 support, the LG C4 offers two options. You can set the input icon to 'PC' for the HDMI port you're using from the 'Home Dashboard' menu, or you can enable the 4:4:4 Pass Through option, which you can find under 'HDMI Settings' in the External Devices menu. Both options are identical regarding the resulting image quality or input lag. Depending on the format you're sending, setting HDMI Deep Color to '4k' might also be necessary. 

The LG C4 supports both ARC and eARC, allowing it to pass high-quality audio from a connected source through to a connected soundbar or home theater receiver. To use it, you must set the HDMI Input Format to 'Bitstream,' Digital Sound Output to 'Auto,' and enable eARC Support if your device supports it. To send the audio to your speaker system, you must set Use Wired Speaker to either 'Optical Out Device' or 'HDMI(ARC) Device,' depending on your connection method.

We didn't run the AI Acoustic Tuning wizard from the AI Service menu for our sound testing. It's part of the TV's room correction feature, which adapts the TV's sound equalization to suit your room. Depending on your room, you may have better sound quality with this enabled.

We disabled AI Sound Pro for our testing. We also disabled AI Brightness Settings, which adjusts the TV's brightness to your room's lighting using a built-in light sensor, as we don't want the brightness to change with different content.

One of the first things we did was disable all the power-saving and automatic image modes, as we didn't want the TV to adjust the image during testing. For the C4, we disabled the Energy Saving and AI Service settings, and we also disabled Motion Eye Care in the Picture menu. You should adjust these settings to your preference.

The LG C4 has a few accessibility features. It supports automatic closed captioning, high contrast mode, and even grayscale mode, just to name a few. There's also an option to disable the picture entirely, leaving the audio, which is great if you want to listen to music and don't need the screen on.

Although we don't expect this to be an issue for most people, burn-in is possible. You should be aware of a few options to ensure you get the most out of your new TV.

The Pixel Cleaning menu allows you to run a complete pixel refresh cycle, which takes about an hour. You can set it to run a short pixel refresh automatically after every four hours of cumulative usage once the TV is turned off or run it manually if you prefer.

As the name describes, the Screen Move setting moves the entire image a few pixels to one side and gradually shifts it in a different direction over time. This helps reduce burn-in effects from very small elements, like fine lines in a game HUD. We recommend leaving this enabled, as the screen shift is not very noticeable unless you're using the TV as a PC monitor.

Adjust Logo Brightness automatically dims the area around a logo when it detects one on the screen. This can cause problems with some games if the TV detects a UI element as a logo and dims it, so we recommend setting it to 'Low.'