Monoprice Zero-G Slim 27" IPS Monitor Review
by Chris Heinonen on August 26, 2013 12:00 AM ESTDisplay Uniformity is measured using CalMAN 5.1.2 at 25 locations on screen. Every measurement is compared to the center reading, which is the reference point. Here the Zero-G does very well. I expected a far less uniform display than I got.
White level is very even, staying in the 90%-100% range over most of the monitor. Even viewing gradients and full-white test patterns on the screen I don’t notice issues with the uniformity here.
Black level has a larger uniformity issue. The upper-left corner suffers from a fair amount of light bleed. It is more bleed than I have seen from other displays, and is easily noticeable. The other corners are better, though the upper right is also a bit light. The upper-left is easy to notice in daily use.
Because of that bright corner, the contrast uniformity drops in that area. The right side of the display has better contrast than the center due to a lower black level on that half.
On our color uniformity test, the Monoprice is nearly perfect. The highest dE2000 error compared to center is 2.13, and even that is virtually invisible. Despite its low cost and some backlight issues, color uniformity is nearly perfect on the Zero-G.
I expected to see results that were more similar to the Black Uniformity on the Monoprice Zero-G, but the results on White Uniformity and dE2000 Uniformity are very impressive. I’m really surprised in a good way by these results.
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Ammaross - Monday, August 26, 2013 - link
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/aoc-q2963pm-ul...There. :)
cheinonen - Monday, August 26, 2013 - link
I always find this funny, since Chris Eberle (who writes the display reviews for Tom's Hardware) and I both handle all the projector and flat panel reviews at Secrets of Home Theater (hometheaterhifi.com).mfenn - Monday, August 26, 2013 - link
Wait a minute. You're saying that it's OK to wait for the Monoprice monitor to go on sale, but not OK to wait for the Dell? How much sense does that make?steven75 - Monday, August 26, 2013 - link
The review seems to conclude that this is a case of getting what you pay for. I agree with that conclusion based on the test results.boozed - Monday, August 26, 2013 - link
"this article is disappointing."I've always been disappointed by honest reportage too.
JlHADJOE - Monday, August 26, 2013 - link
He's probably looking for some affirmation on his recent purchase. I, for one am happy with the honest reporting. Always better to know more about a product before buying it.If i'm going to spend extra over a TN monitor to get IPS because better colors and viewing angles, then it might as well be an IPS that actually gives better colors.
psuedonymous - Monday, August 26, 2013 - link
TFTCentral reviewed the Acheiva Shimian 27" IPS Zero-G (which the Monoprice is a rebrand of), and explained that the weird brightness/contrast issue is due to the backlight being lit at a constant level, and brightness just changing the digital brightness (i.e. lowering brightness lowers dynamic range, raising it too far results in clipping). See: http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/achieva_27_ips...DanNeely - Monday, August 26, 2013 - link
More interesting is that Acheiva told TFTCentral that they will be replacing the current brightness adjustment with a PWM one. Presumably that means the monoprice model will also be updated.cheinonen - Tuesday, August 27, 2013 - link
I wasn't told that by Monoprice. My impression is that an update isn't forthcoming as it isn't something they have control over.blackoctagon - Tuesday, August 27, 2013 - link
How confident are you that 'this' Monoprice is a rebrand of 'that' Shimian? That Shimian review is very specific about the A-IPS panel from LG used, but neither this AT review nor the Monoprice website specify the panel used in this monitor. We don't even know what subtype of IPS this is, AFAIK.