LG Flatron L194WS 19 Wide LCD Monitor - Performance Analysis (Page 4 of 5 )
As soon as I unsealed the package and took out the monitor, I set up its “base,” rushed into my office, placed it on my desk, and plugged in the cables. Well, in short, it transformed my desk into a top-notch workplace. It keeps up with the pace of technology and looks up-to-date. The higher resolution and its wide characteristics were huge deal-makers because it improves my productivity a lot.
This one is for starters: when you purchase a monitor and you cannot “try it out” at the shop or retail store to see whether it has some dead or stuck pixels, or if it works or not, and basically if you like it or not, then the first thing you do when you arrive home is test it out. By test I don’t mean just “checking” it out. You need to follow a thorough testing routine that verifies each particular detail.
All of this starts with the freeware utility called Nokia Monitor Test (alternate download links here and here; if these fail, then you should still “feel lucky” thanks to Google!). This utility is definitely a “must-have” software tool each time you purchase a new monitor. It contains patterns for readability, convergence, moiré, brightness, contrast, focus, geometry, color, screen regulations, and so forth.
This utility was designed mostly as a monitor adjuster that configures your monitor to display the best possible pictures/images. Sure this helps find the best brightness and contrast ratios, but this isn’t my point here. Due to those “dozens” of test patterns, you can thoroughly analyze your monitor! Pay careful attention to the “full” color patterns, such as the totally black screen and white screen. Using these two patterns is possibly the best way to help identify stuck and/or dead pixels.
Should you have any problems, ask for a replacement ASAP. If you can, do it within the first hour you bought it because you might find the same salesmen at the retail store. This way you will quicken the RMA process by a long shot. Either way, I haven’t had any issues. Neither my previous monitor, nor this had any problems. Don’t trust unorthodox techniques to recover a new but defunct/DOA monitor. If it’s old and does nto have any warranty left, then yes, do whatever it takes.
Now let’s talk about the real technical part of a review – the performance. The monitor provides totally vivid and natural pictures. Each picture is razor sharp and has truly amazing color management. The 5000:1 DFC contrast ratio is, simply put, striking. The black is blacker than black, seriously. And the white stands out and outshines any previous “shades” of white that I’ve noticed on other monitors.
I’ve popped in a DVD movie - some kind of action flick (without sounding like a shameless advertisement… it was Hitman) - and I was impressed. Totally. Of course, since I’ve already seen the movie I jumped directly to a part where the Hitman is dressed up in its elegant black suit and white tie. Now that was some serious contrast and image reproduction technology. I caught him in the middle of a full-speed action scene fighting several opponents. The quality was so perfect… it was amazing!
Okay, watching a movie passed. What’s next? Gaming of course. I ran a quick 3D Mark benchmark and it was still razor sharp and clear. There was absolutely no ghosting, blurring, or anything negative that you can think of. The monitor played accordingly with the required aspect ratios. This was expected, due to its built-in chip.
As I said at the beginning of this review, I think it’s rather pointless to point out the fact that 5ms of gray-to-gray refresh time is satisfactory. Whether or not you are planning to play the fastest-moving games with the latest bleeding-edge graphics, this monitor would definitely suffice. Given its panoramic characteristic, games can turn into genuine reality simulations where it’s too easy to get involved in the virtual world.
The monitor’s viewing angle is 170/170 degrees. This is a huge improvement. It started at 30-50 degrees and as manufacturing technologies advanced, this angle expanded. 170 degrees makes viewing a movie without losing quality, such as the image becoming darker and losing effects, possible for a group of people.
Finally, here are the last two attributes that I’ve noticed: the monitor is pretty much resistant to extended use (after 18+ hours of continuous usage, all that happened was that its back got warm) and the LCD panel isn’t glossy at all. Some manufacturers add a “glossy” effect to alter the contrast perception of customers. This is a fishy strategy and it certainly does not fit with the business model of LG – the innovators of DFC (digital fine contrast).
The one and only drawback that I could think of is the lack of a DVI connector and, consequently, the monitor’s inability to play back content natively protected by HDCP. HDCP stands for High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection and this format needs to be converted in either DVI or HDMI. Unfortunately, since the LG Flatron L194WS model lacks the DVI connector, native HDCP support is impossible.
Next: Conclusions >>
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