(Part 2) Top products from r/OLED

Listen, the Yamaha 3 series is the absolute best value out there! For just $280 on sale, it’s ridiculous how much you get for your money as long as you don’t need more than 5.1! It has a great DAC (same used in the more expensive ones) and sound quality. Really crisp, clear, dynamic sound. Of course they skimp on Atmos/DTS:X but with a 5.1 setup Atmos won’t really make a big difference. Personally I think unless you can hook up 4 speakers to the ceiling you just won’t get a lot out of Atmos. Bouncing off the ceiling isn’t the same as actually being physically above you.

The other difference is the lack of banana plugs for the center and rear speakers although the current 385 now has them for all 5 speakers! So the 3XX is going to get even better from now on. This makes hooking up thicker gauge speaker wire a challenge but not impossible. I had a 367 in the past. Right now I have the RX-V483 paired with matched Polk Signatures. S35 center and S15s for both the front and surrounds. Like the Yamaha amp these are an amazing value. The center especially punches well above it weight.

Sometimes turning off HDMI Control and ARC on the receiver and turning off HDMI-CEC/Simplink on the LG and then turning them back on can fix issues. ARC is very finicky.

For example my 483 auto detected and labeled my Xbox One X and Spectrum DVR yet it didn’t do this for my OG PS4 nor Apple TV 4 (non-4K).

But again, if you can’t get ARC to deliver 5.1 without having to switch back and forth, order a quality Toslink cable like this and give it a shot. It should go from your TV to AV1 on the Yamaha. The sound quality for Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, Vudu and other apps will be nearly identical. I believe Toslink can handle up to 3 Mbit/s. It certainly handles regular full DTS 5.1 which is 1.5 Mbps which is much higher than DD+’s 640 kbps.

I’ve used this one in the past. Gold plated connectors and just top quality overall. Much better than the cheaper cables. Right now just $8:

https://www.amazon.com/d/Fiber-Optic-Cables/KabelDirekt-Optical-Digital-Theater-Playstation/B00DI89VOM

You have 30 days to return it. I would try it out. If ARC stops acting up just send it back. Otherwise optical will always work 100% and this would just be for the internal streaming apps and built-in MKV player (photo & video).

If you haven’t tried yet, the LG players plays nearly everything you throw at it! I have dozens of 15-40 GB HEVC 4K Blu-ray HDR rips and they all playback flawlessly off of a cheap WD Passport 2 TB 5400 rpm drive. Unfortunately UHD rips don’t have Dolby Vision metadata but HDR10 with LG’s excellent dynamic tone mapping is good enough.

If you just want to stream stored videos from the laptop install Serviio free version, add folder holding videos then load the photos/videos app on the TV it will see Serviio and you can play the videos that way.

You have a chromecast which is better suited for streaming videos playing in chrome than streaming the entire desktop which it supports but there is an alternative which is Airparrot, this works very well with Chromecast and treats the TV as a second monitor with better options over chrome.

The TV uses Miracast for screen mirroring which replaced WiDi but should be back compatible with WiDi however to use WiDi you must use the Intel provided software not the Windows OS software for screen sharing, there I cannot help, I'm not familiar with it.

If you want to use the Windows OS settings you will likely need a WiFi adapter that must be Miracast compatible for this to work (any recent USB WiFi should do) if you have an old laptop the internal WiFi may not be up to spec to allow it. The built in screen mirroring app is notoriously finicky as is Windows in this area.

1. Load up the screen share app, check that listen mode is on, (make sure screensaver is not active on TV)
   
2. In windows go to setting->devices
   
3. Select add bluetooth or other device, select wireless display or dock
   
4. If all goes well the TV should appear here, you select it
   
5. Then press Win and P on the keyboard to bring up projection options like mirror, extend etc.
   
   As for the other issues your having it sounds like HDMI-CEC (LG Simplink), turn off simplink on TV and see if that cures the problem though it will disable the remotes ability to control other devices, the Chromecast in particular is notorious for bad behavior over CEC with no settings to control it. You can purchase an adapter like this which will disable CEC pins on a troublesome device so even if CEC is enabled on the TV the device cannot use it.
   
   If using a PC with the TV over HDMI, you must change the input label to PC in the input manager to activate the proper PC desktop display mode, only ever have the desktop in RGB 444 8-bit 60Hz output regardless of resolution 1080p, 2160p (4k) etc. as that is what the interface and TV supports.
   
   Screen bouncing a bit may be a product of screen shift to avoid burn in, OLED's are not suited for long sessions of PC desktop usage, Windows has a very large amount of static screen elements that will cause screen burn in, your best way to mitigate that is to
   
   
6. Use a black background as desktop wallpaper (black in OLED means pixel is turned off).
   
7. Switch the OS to dark mode in setting->personalisation->colors->choose default windows mode = dark
   
8. Set the taskbar to auto hide.
   
9. Use a screensaver like ribbons (type screensaver into settings->search bar)

Honestly. Get a harmony hub anyway. I freaking love my Harmony Ultimate. If you have multiple devices you can use it to switch between all of them with ease. I also have a receiver, so switching manually before was just a hassle... Like 4 different remotes driving me nuts. Now I use one.

Using an app called IFTTT allows you to control Harmony using Google Home or Google Assistant. I use my PixelXL because I'm waiting on the nVidia Spot.

One downside to Harmony is you lose the "magic mouse" or whatever LG calls the pointer. I am not using LG's remote at all. It's not too bad because all I need to use the TV's interface for is switching Picture Mode to Game for certain games.

I say, "Okay Google, turn on the XBox." which I typed myself, so you can make it whatever... and my TV turns on, the receiver switches to the right input as does the TV. The TV turns on. And I'm good to go. You can also type out a response that Google says. When I do it my response is, "Okay... I prefer the PC, but hey... nobody is perfect."

With punctuation, Google Assistant delivers it with the right amount of sass. It's great!

There's a setting somewhere in the network menu you can flip off that gives dramatically better wifi performance. I forgot what it's called and I'm not with my TV at the moment, but it's some toggle for something that you'd look at and say "sure I'll leave that on" even though it seems useless, because it looks harmless. Flip that one off.

But the smarter thing to do is buy a wifi repeater and hardwire the TV, plus anything else you have in the vicinity. Mine hardwires my tv, receiver, and PS4, and also increases the signal strength of the wifi for all nearby units, so it's really worth it. This is the one I use.

I own the disk. Probably the best way. Removed all my destiny burn in after 48 hours straight. Unstuck a pixel on a monitor.

Things a godsend.

You could surely download it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0045ASBLG/ref=tmm_mfc_title_sr?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr=

I got this for my 65" C8 & also my 55" Sony. Works great for both, easy to install and seems pretty sturdy. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VMJEK2C/

Install something like this https://www.amazon.com/Legrand-Wiremold-Wall-Management-PowerConnect/dp/B006K3CM4S/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?keywords=in+wall+cable+management+kit&qid=1573651157&sprefix=in+wall+&sr=8-7 .. I've put that in a few places and it's pretty straight forward and includes everything you need except a drill.

You should use "High Speed" HDMI cables wherever possible, to get support for HDR and Dolby Vision. The cables don't have to be expensive though. Amazon has them at $9 for a pack of two.

So, as luck would have it, I have a Logitech Soundblaster X G5 hanging around.

https://us.creative.com/p/sound-blaster/sound-blasterx-g5

If I :

1. Hooked Soundblaster into a USB power outlet
   
2. Connected Soundblaster to my TV's optical out
   
3. Connected speakers to 3.5mm headphone jack of Soundblaster
   
   Would that work? Also is this the right cable to do that?
   
   https://www.amazon.com/KabelDirekt-TOSLINK-Optical-Digital-Audio/dp/B00GZQWLF0/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=line+optical+out&qid=1570698966&sr=8-2

https://www.amazon.com/BlueRigger-Rugged-High-Speed-Cable/dp/B003XM1WE0/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&ref_=oh_aui_i_sh_in_o0_img

Ive got a few of those, looks like 2.0b. Is that ok?

My B7A came with the 3.5mm to RCA dongle. You could pick up a cheap wii to hdmi adapter from amazon which would result in much better picture quality than the composite connection:
https://www.amazon.com/Wii-HDMI-Adapter-Nintendo-Mayflash/dp/B005QB868Q

would something like this work ?

https://www.amazon.ca/Green-Works-Glass-Surface-Cleaner/dp/B00A69SS3Q/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1538856562&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=glass+cleaner&psc=1

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https://www.amazon.ca/Windex-Original-Glass-Window-Cleaner/dp/B001ATDY8U/ref=sr_1_4?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1538856562&sr=1-4&keywords=glass+cleaner

For those who are handy and with products like these, it could be simple and without an electrician:

https://www.amazon.com/PowerBridge-Recessed-Management-PowerConnect-Wall-Mounted/dp/B00GWGZKF6

https://www.amazon.com/Datacomm-50-3323-WH-KIT-Panel-Organizer-Solution/dp/B001PB7UVA/ref=pd_day0_hl_23_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B001PB7UVA&pd_rd_r=042b86e4-f3e2-11e8-acef-0dacba850be4&pd_rd_w=8CeM6&pd_rd_wg=6inpi&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=ad07871c-e646-4161-82c7-5ed0d4c85b07&pf_rd_r=4G8V7RY52GNZJ6D0JTMB&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=4G8V7RY52GNZJ6D0JTMB

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https://www.amazon.com/Aleratec-Swivel-2-Tier-Entertainment-Center/dp/B00TKXPYPY/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1536868808&sr=8-5&keywords=tv+riser+stand&dpID=31jM9jogltL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Maybe something like this ^^^ would give you around 5'" of clearance

Suggest you get a good Ethernet cable to hook up to TV. And some of the following...

For hooking up external hard drives to TV:
UGREEN Micro USB 3.0 Cable USB 3.0 Type A Male to Micro B Cord for Samsung Galaxy S5, Note 3, Camera, Hard Drive and More 1.5ft Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P0C4M3Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_XmB0BbWDV1P80

For sound bar/home theater receiver:
Cable Matters Gold Plated Toslink Digital Optical Audio Cable with Metal Connectors and Braided Jacket 10 Feet https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0099UWHH6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_xoB0BbRBVJDTY

For HDMI cables:
Monoprice 115429 Certified Premium High Speed HDMI Cable, 4K @ 60Hz, HDR, 18Gbps, 28AWG, YUV 4:4:4, 10ft, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GCGKK82/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_4nB0BbPYT4BVJ

https://www.amazon.com/PowerBear-HDMI-Cable-Feet-High-Strength/dp/B07B8WJ3K9/ref=mp_s_a_1_12?keywords=15ft+hdmi+cable&qid=1556782172&s=gateway&sr=8-12
Or
https://www.amazon.com/Mediabridge-Cable-Supports-Speed-Hand-Tested/dp/B001A5PDKQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?keywords=15ft+hdmi+cable+2.0b&qid=1556782313&s=gateway&sr=8-7

Any cable that is 18gbps will be fine.

I wonder if it's worth mentioning that I am using an HDMI 2.1 cable from the TV to the AVR. The cables from the PC to TV and XBOX to AVR were simple HDMI 2.0 High Speed cables.

That could be another factor.

Maybe the first shop just said that because 300x200 isn't a very standard format.

I had a 200x200 mount before and I purchased this to convert it to 300x200:
Amazon Germany Link

Here's the one I got for a 65" C8 with a center speaker underneath:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IUUN6L2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It has a chart which has measurements for approximate space under the TV, but those measurements are based on a mounting located at the center of the TV.
The LG's are mounted towards the lower section, so the true space will be a few inches extra.
For reference, my 65" TV has about 12.5" of space underneath, so your setup shouldn't have an issue.
The only issue would be that the center stand may require you to put the center speaker slightly off center in order to plug in cables.
Edit: Pic for reference
https://i.imgur.com/P0l11rM.jpg