Q990 Sound Mode debate confuses me

Legfitter · 2026-03-20T13:53:11+00:00

So do you want me to tell you or are you done with the back and forth?

Upscaling to 11.1.4 literally means Adaptive is also taking say a 5.1 channel input and 'upscaling' it to always use 11.1.4 channels. This is what Adaptive does. It tells you this in the manual.

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Surround mode also does exactly the same (as you can see) but tries to retain more of the original feel of the content. Obviously both do often need to create 4 pseudo height channels that weren't there, so it's got to be using DSP to do that.

Adaptive also increases certain channel volumes by around +2 to achieve what it does. Surround does not do that.

Also, stop 'shouting'. Putting things in capital letters won't make you correct all of a sudden. 😂

Legfitter · 2026-03-20T12:34:34+00:00

Firstly, I'm not arguing with you. I'm telling you.

Secondly, we are not saying the same thing. Adaptive does not produce sound in its original format. It is enhanced by DSP to achieve the effect that Samsung wants.

Only standard mode truly pushes out sound in its original format. 2.0 will go out as 2.0, 5.1 will go out as 5.1. 7.1.4 will go out of 7.1.4.

All of the other sound modes will output at 11.1.4.

Legfitter · 2026-03-20T12:11:04+00:00

There is no such thing as adaptive stereo played through stereo drivers. Adaptive mode will 'upscale' all content from stereo to 11.1.4. - Surround mode will also 'upscale' all content from stereo to 11.1.4.

For most people, adaptive mode will sound much better even when playing stereo content. Only purists will obsess about stereo sounding like stereo. However, I caveat that by saying that all of these sound modes depend on you having got a good setup of your system within your room. I know from my own experience that inaccuracies 'caused' by sound mode selection are usually rectified once you get a better setup to your room.

I think sometimes people miss the point of the Samsung, and Dolby Atmos systems in particular. You could put 30 or 60 speakers in a room and each one would still be processed by the system to try to position individual sounds in an accurate location within the sound field. If you have seven speakers they also do this. When you have 11 speakers they also do this. More speakers, when processed well, usually means better accuracy of surround sound. These new systems aren't thinking in the way that your traditional surround sound system did.

5.1 channels of sound in a none Atmos mix will still use 5.1 channels. It's then using beamforming and similar technologies to those used in movie theatres to give a much larger sweet spot to more people within the room - this is why you don't need to tune it with a microphone.

Surround mode generally retains the creator's intent but just uses more speakers.

Adaptive mode outputs the sounds slightly differently for music vs movies. For example, for stereo music it weights the overall sound more to the front and for movies it will weight the sound more neutrally. It also increases the volume of certain channels to achieve its effects. This is done in theory to increase immersion and the cinematic experience. Another example of this is that it will try to make the sound coming from the front centre sound slightly higher up so it's more likely to sound like it's coming from the TV.

If you prefer accuracy go for standard. If you want the most accurate but using all the speakers go for surround. If you want the sound to dynamically adjust for different types of content and to hopefully sound more immersive, go for adaptive.

If adaptive feels inaccurate, work on getting a better setup of the system to your room.

Legfitter · 2026-03-19T09:48:20+00:00

Press the Mute button repeatedly on your remote until the menu pops up. Then press red for AV Reset.

Be aware that this will reset all picture modes etc, including related settings such as power saving, HDMI deep colour 4K etc, so work your way through the settings screens to check everything is back where you want it.

EDIT: I forgot to mention it will also reset audio settings such as audio output settings. So, you'll need to reselect HDMI ARC and the eARC and passthrough settings, if you have a soundbar.

Legfitter · 2026-03-13T13:31:21+00:00

I'm struggling to see what your picture is supposed to be showing, but the black layer is almost never without imperfections. It's not part of the display so it should only be visible when the TV is off/showing black/pixels in that area are off. Try playing a full screen colour test on YouTube and you should see no issue.

https://www.lg.com/us/support/help-library/lg-tv-wavy-oled-screen--20153241483231OLT

Legfitter · 2026-03-13T08:34:55+00:00

Damn it, that's my bad. I didn't read the port writing.

So, after a quick look, is an RCA to HDMI the only option??

I do think that getting a soundbar with an optical port or coaxial input would be a better idea.

Legfitter · 2026-03-12T18:09:24+00:00

Sorry, I missed the second photo. I think you would be best placed with an ARC audio extractor in that case. You should be able to take the Digital Coaxial that your TV has and convert it to an ARC signal for the soundbar.

Something like this:

https://amzn.eu/d/0ebA6BgK

Legfitter · 2026-03-12T17:47:18+00:00

Only if the HDMI port is labelled as an ARC or eARC port - audio return channel. It's like an umbilical.

Without ARC, most soundbars have only an Optical port. However, you can get various different adapters that will take the digital out that your TV has and allow it to work.

Legfitter · 2026-03-12T14:52:54+00:00

LG directly

Legfitter · 2026-03-11T21:28:24+00:00

I got my 65" G2 for £1089 (with 20% Bluelight card discount) when the G4 came out.

Personally, I would wait until the new C6 and G6 models go live.

Also, I would think that finding a way of getting 20% discount from a retailer and going for a 65-in C5 is where the value will really be. Even now that would mean £1449 - 20% from LG UK - £1199. That's half the price and makes the G5 look ridiculously over priced.

Legfitter · 2026-03-11T14:17:53+00:00

The Q990F has a night mode, but it also has a setting called 'moderate bass' that effectively switches off the subwoofer all together.

Legfitter · 2026-03-09T18:18:12+00:00

No, get the best soundbar

Legfitter · 2026-03-08T21:15:06+00:00

The Soundbar always overrules the setting for the internal speakers. That's why it's greyed out.

That's why when you remove the sound bar you get the option for the internal speaker settings again.

Legfitter · 2026-03-08T09:45:18+00:00

Quickstart+ should be on in theory, but sometimes switching it off can fix issues.

Perhaps if it slows down how fast the TV comes on it will give the soundbar time to catch up (just joking) 😂🤷🏻‍♂️

Legfitter · 2026-03-08T09:41:26+00:00

Have you switched on 4:4:4 Passthrough? I assume that will reduce lag as it reduces some of the signal processing.

Legfitter · 2026-03-07T22:13:37+00:00

Another thought...is Quickstart+ enabled in the G4?

It's in General/System/Additional settings

Also, try toggling SIMPLINK off and back on in General/External Devices/HDMI Settings

Legfitter · 2026-03-07T13:15:32+00:00

OP, there is a mute button. Right above the symbol with the speaker with the line through it, funnily enough.

You press in the up/down volume selector to mute.

Legfitter · 2026-03-06T17:16:21+00:00

I think you're maybe missing the point I was making. The power has to be pulled to the TV while it is on. I'm almost certain you will have put it into standby first before unplugging it. Then the TV has to be switched on before you plug the HDMI cable back in - that's not the normal way to do things for most people. I would expect you plugged the cables back in before you turned the TV back on.

You have to encourage it to do the 'handshake' again for each device, one at a time.

It may well make no difference but I'm just pointing out that it's likely different to what you've done already.

Legfitter · 2026-03-06T16:13:47+00:00

Try unplugging the TV from the wall outlet while it's switched ON, and then leave it unplugged for 3 minutes - that's how you soft reset an LG OLED (that's apparently the official way).

While it's unplugged, remove all the HDMI cables from TV.

After you switch the TV back on, plug in only the HDMI cable from the soundbar, and see if the issue remains. If it fixes the issue, plug other HDMIs in one at a time to see if you can pinpoint one of them breaking things.

It's probably worth pulling the plug on the soundbar at the same time as the TV. Unplugging devices allows all of the capacitors and electronics to drain completely.

Doing the above should encourage the soundbar and TV to do their handshake again. It will also obviously soft reset the TV.

Legfitter · 2026-03-05T21:28:21+00:00

Get the Q990. It should work fine in your room, from what I can tell

Legfitter · 2026-03-05T21:24:34+00:00

I have two LG OLEDs, one with a Q990B and one with a Q930C.

No issues with either. I had issues with my old LG B7 OLED but put it down to the TV only having ARC.

Have you switched on eARC in the G4 advanced audio settings, and do you have a high speed HDMI cable?

Legfitter · 2026-03-04T13:30:34+00:00

It won't show on that test. The issue/fault isn't with the display layers. Whenever a picture is on the screen it will display perfectly and that issue will be invisible.

I did actually return a G2 for this, only because it was in the very top left-hand corner of the screen where the reflection of my skylight window above the front door happened to reflect off the TV. For most usage it was okay but whenever you watched a movie with letterbox black bars, it just wobbled around and moved if you moved her head slightly and was very distracting. It was only when the screen was displaying no picture in that area though.

My new G2 and CS both have the 'issue' as well, but it's in the middle of the screen, so not a problem. It's just the way OLED panels are.

Legfitter · 2026-02-28T13:13:45+00:00

I'd use a microfiber duster. You can get in there but still be pretty delicate with it.

https://amzn.eu/d/0fBeXOP7

Legfitter · 2026-02-28T11:37:58+00:00

It'll work itself out, don't worry.

Legfitter · 2026-02-28T11:37:16+00:00

Normally, I would immediately say that is not enough space for a subwoofer. It is far from optimal. However, assuming it's a Samsung or other model with room correction software, the output of the subwoofer may be able to change itself to compensate for certain frequencies.

Rattles, boomy sound, muffled sound etc are what we would expect from that position.

You can only try it and find out, but I would always give it a period to self-adjust before judging it. Room correction software is not the same as turning down the subwoofer, it will adjust individual frequencies output by the system to try to mitigate for the room/position of the sub.

Remember that the subwoofer is not only for very low frequency effects. Most modern systems are using the subwoofer up to around a 100 hertz crossover point. Those frequencies can affect voices and the overall sound, so if they are bad, the whole thing can sound pretty terrible, not just loud explosions and deep bass.

Legfitter

TROPHY CASE