Any Problems with Hades Canyon and an LG C9?

[cons]

Anyone with any experiences hooking up a Hades Canyon NUC to an LG C9 TV?

I've been thinking about getting an LG C9 OLED for my main desktop, so I brought my portable computer, my NUC, the NUC8i7HVK variant, to Best Buy to hook it up to their display model to see how well it works in person as a PC monitor, and it didn't go well.*

The C9 manual says that some problems can happen with some PC video cards. Does anyone know if the GPU in the Hades Canyon NUC is one of those?

I'm hoping to go back to Best Buy to try once more. I know a few settings for the TV which might also help which I and the sales associate didn't know how to navigate to the first time I went, but I'm hoping to rule out the NUC as the source of the problems before I go if they happen again.

*Sometimes the connection would be lost when switching between resolutions, which would require either the NUC or the TV to be restarted; some display settings would not list as available in the display driver, such as 1440p @ 120 Hz, which is supposed to be natively supported by the TV; the picture would be cropped-in at some resolutions so that, for instance, the bottom half of the taskbar would be cut off; and the picture was overall just washed out and didn't have the color reproduction or deep blacks you would expect with an OLED. My desktop, for instance, which didn't have a wallpaper but was set simply to the color black, looked gray.

[n_scott_pearson · Accepted solution]

Intel provides lists of the third-party devices that are compatible with the NUCs. This information is provided via the Intel® Product Compatibility Tool. Select "Intel NUC" then the class of NUC product (Mini-PC, Kit or Board) and then the product itself.

Ok, that said, I agree that the lists are pretty sparse. They include only those devices that have either been provided to Intel for testing or are tested with the NUCs by the device manufacturer. Intel does not purchase devices for this purpose. This would raise NUC development costs to unsustainable levels. Only those devices voluntarily-provided get tested. Tell your device manufacturer to provide samples to Intel for testing. User-tested reports are sometimes included, but only if they can be corroborated.

In my experience, 90+% of all issues with display support are addressed by purchasing better quality cables. If replacing the cable doesn't improve things, as an alternative you could try using a miniDisplayPort-to-HDMI or USB-C-to-HDMI dongle to connect your monitor/TV via one of the other display ports provided.

Hope this helps,

...S

[cons]

I agree that I wish the compatibility list was more extensive; it's unfortunate but understandable that it can't be more comprehensive, at least when it comes to the one thing you're really looking for (in my case, TVs). I did use it when I was putting the computer together to get memory and storage I could have a high confidence would not cause any problems. The list is pretty good in those areas.

I'm with you about the HDMI cable. When I decided I'm going to go back to try once more, I placed an order for a cable which has been certified and tested - cutting down on another variable, hopefully, like I would like to do with the NUC.

[n_scott_pearson]

Let me know what happens when the new cable arrives...

...S

[cons]

It actually already came in. It's a little difficult for me to get to Best Buy, but I should be able to make it later this week, and will be sure to report back how it goes.

[cons]

It looks like I actually won't be able to get to Best Buy for quite a while. I'm a quadriplegic and a nursing change yesterday meant that it won't be possible for probably at least a month.

Although I would prefer relying on my own in-person experience, it was always going to be of only partial value to test the C9 with the NUC as my intention was to primarily use the C9 with a different computer, anyway. I'll just have to try to look for more user reports.

Thank you for your help and suggestions, though.

[n_scott_pearson]

Order it from Amazon. They will deliver right to your door...

...S

[cons]

I'll keep looking for user reports, but I might end up buying it and giving it a go. If I do, it'll probably be from Best Buy rather than Amazon because the price is usually the same and Best Buy will install it (for more money) as well as deliver it (I can't install it myself because of my disability). Also, Best Buy has a 2 year burn-in/wear-in protection plan which I will need since it's OLED and I'm going to be using it as a computer monitor, and after 2 years problems could be pretty visible.

If they are, I can activate the protection plan and get a refund to put toward a 2021 model.

[cons]

Thought I would update this thread to say that I was able to go to Best Buy and, whether because of the better HDMI cable or setting the TV to "PC Input", nearly all of the problems were gone.

The one remaining problem was that the picture was still cropped-in (or overscanned) a little, although not as badly as the first time. Someone at AVS Forum had this problem and fixed it by disabling the "Pixel Shift" setting on the TV. Someone else reports that disabling Pixel Shift did not help, but that updating the C9's firmware did, which is also good news because Pixel Shift can help delay burn-in. Either way, it seems like it might be solvable.