LG 29EA93 Monitor Review - Rev. 1.25
by Chris Heinonen on February 12, 2013 8:49 PM ESTLG also offers its own hardware and software calibration package for the 29EA93. Using a custom designed colorimeter, the hardware and software only work with LG monitors but are scheduled to sell for less than competing products from XRite and Datacolor. I mentioned earlier in the review that colorimeters are prone to errors on displays with LED backlights like the LG. This is a general rule, but since LG knows the spectral response of their displays they can program that into their own colorimeters, leading to much better results than a generic colorimeter. It usually won’t be as good as a meter profiled with a spectrometer due to sample variations, but it will be much better than without.
Using their own software and probe, I calibrated the display to the same settings I use: 200 cd/m² and a gamma of 2.2. An sRGB gamma curve is not supported, nor are colorspaces larger than sRGB with this version, but on their professional monitors with a more advanced meter, different colorspaces are supported. The process is very simple: You choose your targets, it will pop up a spot for the calibration puck on screen, and then you let it run the calibration. The process locks the monitor OSD controls as it adjusts it automatically, and then at the end it will create an ICC profile for you and install it.
To evaluate this profile, I again used CalMAN and used the same set of images that we use for our smartphone and tablet testing. Using the automated test pattern generator in CalMAN wasn’t possible, as it would attempt to load its own ICC profile and change the setting in the display. On first look, we see 197.3 cd/m² of light output and 0.19 cd/m² on a black screen for a contrast ratio of 1039:1. This wasn’t as good as I was able to achieve using CalMAN, which might indicate that it is obtaining the peak-white level differently. With CalMAN I could use the Contrast and Brightness controls to get just above 200 cd/m², allowing maximum headroom to adjust the curves to get accurate color. The LG software might not bring these down as much, and then bring down the RGB curves even more, which would lower headroom compared to the other method.
Our CCT average is 6415, but a look at the RGB balance shows that it starts out very good but then drifts a little towards the warmer, redish tint that the CCT reflects. Gamma is almost spot on at 2.21, save for a dip at 5% that most people won’t catch as they only measure in 10% increments. The dE2000 values follow the RGB balance as well, starting out very low but eventually drifting up to a level where a reddish tint will be slightly visible. The average dE2000 for the grayscale is 2.09, a number that is decent but not as good as CalMAN was able to achieve.
Looking at the Saturations and Color Checker charts, we see improvements but not to the degree that CalMAN allows. Our Color Checker dE2000 is 1.96, but with higher grayscale errors as well as larger errors in the over-saturated colors of red, yellow, and green. Blues also exhibit a bit of over-saturation as well, indicating that the LG sensor isn’t quite as sensitive as the C6 colorimeter, since blue is harder to read.
On the saturations data, we see that the Red/Yellow/Green side of the triangle has larger and larger errors as those colors get more saturated. With the over-saturated gamut, this is what we expect to see. Unfortunately none of the calibration software seems to be able to fully pull those points in and correct the over-saturated gamut there, leaving a bit of an error. The overall error is still fairly low, and with most colors not being fully saturated, that over-saturated error isn’t really bad, but better results were obtained with the CalMAN software.
Overall the LG software and hardware solution does do a decent job, but it can’t compete with what is possible using CalMAN with better hardware. Of course, the CalMAN solution with a C6 and i1Pro meter retails for closer to $2,000 than $100, so they are very different spectrums of performance. For $100, I would say the LG results are quite good and will satisfy those that aren’t graphics or video professionals most likely. Just the superior gamma will make a large difference when viewing thanks to the superior dynamic range.
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cheinonen - Monday, February 18, 2013 - link
You really don't want this, as while content above 235 is technically not support to exist, some does in the form of specular highlights and other very bright items. Displays or sources that automatically clip this WTW material are possibly losing some image information and shouldn't work that way.name99 - Thursday, February 14, 2013 - link
I don't want to be a dick, but the colors used in the bar charts are truly horrible --- the kind of colors that look like they are bleeding out of the bars.Please revert to the colors you used to use, or ask a designer to choose new colors (or just copy them from any piece of software that has already thought about this issue, eg the default colors used in bar graphs by Mathematica or Numbers).
Spoelie - Friday, February 15, 2013 - link
Something must be wrong with your monitor, they look fine to mebjevers - Friday, February 15, 2013 - link
I see Fry's has this monitor listed on their website. Is this the US version 1.25?http://www.frys.com/product/7511746
mcfrumpy - Friday, February 15, 2013 - link
I saw the same thing so I went to the Fry's by my place that said that had it in stock. The display model had a manufacturing date of Dec 2012 and Rev00 so I'm guessing it's the old one. My bet is the ones they are selling are older since no one else seems to have it in stock.I'll admit looking at the display model I was surprised how small it looked. For as long as it is, the height of the monitor reminds me a 21 or 22 inch monitor.
SpartanGR - Friday, February 15, 2013 - link
LG must find a way to fix this. I mean everyone will want the 1.25 version now.Dracusis - Sunday, February 17, 2013 - link
"Disabling the game mode only introduced another 1-2ms of lag, but at the expense of image quality, so I would leave it disabled."Hmm...
I'm guessing you meant something like:
"Enabling the game mode shaved off another 1-2ms of lag, but at the expense of image quality, so I would leave it disabled."
Regardless, what is this "Game mode" what what exactly does it do to the image quality?
The rest of the article was brilliant, so much detail and careful measurement. Then in one line you toss in this randomly subjective opinion and don't even qualify it when an explanation - I feel totally trolled right now.
SpartanGR - Monday, February 18, 2013 - link
I've spoken to a local seller in Korea and asked him which version they have. Had my hopes up guys but here 's his answer.Hello. Thank you for your interests
I contacted to LG, there was no official firmware update.
And the product we have in stock is the early released version.
Please feel free to ask if you have any further questions.
Thank you. Have a good day!
Best regards,
- dream-seller
Damn! i guess this is going to take a while
Wesley - Monday, February 18, 2013 - link
As others here have probably pointed out, a monitor like this has the potential to vastly improve the field of view in games, especially with some titles that may already have widescreen or multi-monitor enhancements. The images posted up comparing in-game screenshots were nice (thanks for going into that trouble), but perhaps a video demonstrating how things change on a monitor of this size would be better?For example, playing third-person games would enable a larger field of view but how does this affect the first-person perspective? Racing games all too often stretch the sides of the car when you're playing in cockpit view and the image becomes warped when playing in a multi-monitor environment. Would this screen give RTS players some advantage? Starcraft 2 can run on a MBP with the Retina display at native resolution. As a gamer myself, resolution becomes pretty important and I'm tired of 1920x1080. My only options are sinking cash into a 27" Korean monitor, a 30" monster, or something like this, which isn't that much larger but may be more beneficial.
macin - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
It's 4 am and I am half asleep so bare with me here.So LG is so bothered by a review of a $700 monitor that they revise it. Great.
I am happy to hear that a company actually cares enough to seek feedback to make something better.
Why is it that the only company that line calibrates monitors is Apple?
If LG wants to stand out among other panels, why not do this for the customer as well?
Once spoiled to 2650 x 1440 and the color accuracy of Apple monitors, I can't find anything else I like.
I don't own $2k worth of calibration equip and I can't "eye" anything and get it accurate, but I know it when it see it.
I can see the difference between an out of the box pic and a calibrated pic, but I have to have someone tell me what settings they used to get there.
Maybe since you guys test so many monitors, you could add a Calibrated settings to your display page?