Low Light Display Issues

[S1gnifer]

I just picked up the LG V30 today, upgrading from an LG V20.

A couple of days ago I read the following post from TrueBlueKew concerning OLED quality issues with a link to an article from a reviewer calling out this issue.

https://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?t=835245

After initial set up, and playing around, I decided to take a look and see if I could replicate this issue. To my chagrin, I was able to. Below are some photos I took of the phone at different different brightness percentages in low light.

At 0% Brightness: https://i.imgur.com/1GSaFBP.jpg

At 15% Brightness: https://i.imgur.com/V49Ec5f.jpg

At 30% Brightness: https://i.imgur.com/r0sfP7l.jpg

Besides this issue, I'm really enjoying the phone. However, as a lover of dark themes, this has me concerned...

 

[MA2GA28]

The first and second look especially bad. Obviously the POLED screens are no where near the AMOLED quality, and that's very disappointing.

 

[jdfry15]

Maybe try and exchange it. I have tried to replicate this and I am unable to. My screen looks very consistent at low level in dark rooms with black and gray.

 

[Zod1010]

So while I appreciate that this is less than ideal, it also feels like a complete non-issue for me. I rarely adjust my brightness.

 

[middbrew]

Maybe try and exchange it. I have tried to replicate this and I am unable to. My screen looks very consistent at low level in dark rooms with black and gray.

I agree, try and exchange it. I'm not seeing this with the two devices I've tested.

 

[S1gnifer]

Maybe try and exchange it. I have tried to replicate this and I am unable to. My screen looks very consistent at low level in dark rooms with black and gray.

I think I'm going to go ahead and do that this morning with the carrier. I got it through Verizon online, so I get a free exchange. Might as well use it. I'll report back in with the quality of the second unit.

 

[NationalTrust]

I agree, try and exchange it. I'm not seeing this with the two devices I've tested.

What was your testing method?

 

[middbrew]

Just picked up the V30 this morning. Neither mine nor my wifes had any uneven color, weird horizontal banding, or uneven light levels (with hot spots) when the screen is set on low brightness in a dark room. I tried it with several different backgrounds including all black, all white, all red, all blue, and one with multiple colors.

This was my initial test. Just trying different colors in very low to an almost completely dark room.

I then downloaded the Display Tester app recommended by maxburn. Here are the results from that. This was in an almost completely dark room with the brightness setting on 1%.

 

[SchinkenSpicker]

That's a screenshot, isn't it? You need to take a photo of the screen.

 

[middbrew]

That's a screenshot, isn't it? You need to take a photo of the screen.

Yes, that's screenshot. That is what I see. I'm not sure what taking a photo of the devices screen will accomplish. You would be subjected to the quality of the camera that is taking the picture as well as what kind of light will reflect off of the V30's screen and not what is actually seen on the screen of the V30. That's my take anyway, I could be totally wrong.

 

[bhatech]

Personally having used all the flagship phones, this screen is nice but definitely not the highest quality given the price $800. I do see banding issues in low light on white background. Reminds me of oled screens few years back. I'm on T-Mobile jump so I'm fine with this and I'll jump to something else early next year.
Screen is nice in most situations, but definitely shows up quality issues if you look for and especially in dark light with certain backgrounds like white and gray.

 

[SchinkenSpicker]

Yes, that's screenshot. That is what I see. I'm not sure what taking a photo of the devices screen will accomplish. You would be subjected to the quality of the camera that is taking the picture as well as what kind of light will reflect off of the V30's screen and not what is actually seen on the screen of the V30. That's my take anyway, I could be totally wrong.

You can't make screen issues visible with a screenshot.

 

[middbrew]

You can't make screen issues visible with a screenshot.

Gotcha. I'm not sure how you can get a very good picture to simulate what's on the screen when taking a picture with another device in such low light. To make the picture even remotely visible you would need to add some light, defeating the whole purpose of the picture in the first place.

 

[MA2GA28]

Picked up the V30 today. I checked on the gray screen, and while not completely uniform, I don't have any really bad hot spots. So that is good.

The bad is that I have a vertical banding issue that crops up especially on white backgrounds. It's basically a streak just right of center that is brighter than the rest of the screen.

Now, I have to decide if I can libe with it.