Monoprice IPS-Glass Panel Pro 27" LCD Monitor
by Chris Heinonen on October 22, 2013 2:40 AM ESTAll calibration measurements are done using SpectraCal’s CalMAN 5.1.2 software with a custom workflow. Measurements are done using a C6 colorimeter that is first profiled against an i1Pro spectrometer to ensure accurate results. There are two sets of targets we use. Pre-Calibration and our first calibration aim for 200 cd/m^2 with an sRGB gamut and a gamma of 2.2. This is a common real-world setting for a display. The final target changes the light level target to 80 cd/m^2 and the gamma curve to the tougher sRGB standard.
|
Pre-Calibration |
Post-Calibration, 200 cd/m^2 |
Post-Calibration, 80 cd/m^2 |
|
| White Level (cd/m^2) | 200.35 | 199.3 | 80.05 |
| Black Level (cd/m^2) | 0.2025 | 0.22 | 0.1669 |
| Contrast Ratio | 989:1 | 906:1 | 480:1 |
| Gamma (Average) | 2.1753 | 2.1818 | 2.41 |
| Color Temperature | 6401K | 6495K | 6551K |
| Grayscale dE2000 | 4.1762 | 0.5602 | 0.9245 |
| Color Checker dE2000 | 3.2142 | 0.99 | 0.9496 |
| Saturations dE2000 | 2.5515 | 0.8227 | 0.8172 |
There are a few preset modes in the Monoprice Glass-IPS Panel Pro display but the Standard mode is the most accurate one. Using Standard and the Normal color temperature setting produces the most accurate results. However the display still has a serious lack of blue in the grayscale and the gamma curve is well off the target. Colors also show large errors, especially in skin tones, and they are exacerbated at lower levels due to the poor gamma. The overall errors levels are OK but not wonderful.
With our 200 cd/m^2 calibration target the Monoprice improves immensely. The contrast ratio has a slight drop to 906:1 but the grayscale, RGB balance, and gamma are now virtually perfect. More impressive is the improvement in the color gamut, with an average dE2000 for the color checker chart of only 0.99. A few samples creep above dE2000 levels of 2.0 with a little over-saturation in the red gamut, but otherwise this performance is phenomenal.
The 80 cd/m^2 results are not quite as good. Due to the high minimum brightness setting the contrast has to drop all the way down to 480:1 to make our light output target. The grayscale and gamma are still virtually perfect, but you won’t have the same pop that you do with a target of 160 cd/m^2 or higher. What you will see are colors that are still as accurate as the prior calibration and virtually perfect.
Considering the color accuracy of this display after calibration, it seems like a cheap option for an image professional that wants color accuracy. Fortunately for them contrast ratio usually isn’t as important as overall accuracy so that lower contrast level may still work fine. That small change could produce a display with one of the overall best set of post-calibration benchmarks that I’ve yet to test if it were made.
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shaolin95 - Tuesday, October 22, 2013 - link
Why even get that?QNIX is much cheaper and looks awesome. Anandtech come on now...tons of cheaper Korean monitors out there...whats going on...?
DanNeely - Tuesday, October 22, 2013 - link
In general, if a company isn't willing to provide a review sample their products don't get reviewed.Byte - Wednesday, October 23, 2013 - link
My fairly ancient Soyo 24" MVA is finally dying so i need to get something soon. What the consensus on Samsung PVA vs LG IPS (crossover/catleap/shimain vs qnix/x-star). Googling doesn't help much. I want a glossy panel.kedesh83 - Tuesday, October 22, 2013 - link
I just purchased the catleap crossover with the included P-blade stand. For $399 I can't complain, even with the lack of an OSD. The professional stand is enough IMO to choose the catleap.joelypolly - Wednesday, October 23, 2013 - link
I wonder how much variation there are in panel uniformity between sampleswffurr - Wednesday, October 23, 2013 - link
Chris, does this monitor have audio passthrough? A headphone jack would be acceptable.I'd prefer to use a decent 2.1 setup instead of the built-in speakers for audio over displayport or HDMI. I have an Auria EQ276W, and it lacks this feature, which is pretty annoying, especially with a device like a Chromecast that doesn't have a separate audio out.
The 3.5mm jack on the Auria only works as an audio *input* alongside the DVI or VGA video inputs, and won't reverse into an output when using Displayport or HDMI.
twinclouds - Wednesday, October 23, 2013 - link
I got this one at a little over $300 from Rakuten so it was a great deal. Before buying it, I checked with Monoprice and they told me it should have zero dead pixels and when I got it the second day, there was indeed no dead pixels. I like this monitor. However, there are two "major" problems for me. First one is the stand as everybody have noticed. I have to use one of my good old Asus monitor stand and it is much more sturdy. The second issue was not too bad but very annoying. Once my computer turned monitor off and I made it back by using mouse or keyboard, the monitor light sometimes turned on but there's no display. The only ways to make it on is to turn the monitor off and on or let the kvm switch go through a full cycle. I contact their customer service but he cannot really fix the problem. He gave me some useless suggestions which just wasted a bunch of my time. BTW, I tested on two computers and both had the same problem. Both uses Intel graphics so I don't know if it is graphic board specific.Wall Street - Wednesday, October 23, 2013 - link
Chris, I know that IPS displays are all the rage. However, any chance that you can test the 144 Hz displays from ASUS and BenQ? Specifically, the input lag & pixel response at both 60 Hz and 144 Hz compared to 60 Hz TN displays and IPS displays would make for a really good read IMHO.k9cj5 - Friday, October 25, 2013 - link
I think it funny when people talk about paying a lot for a monitor when they will spend 400 bucks on a video card, and 350 bucks for a processor but when it comes to the monitor they'll buy the 100 dollar special on newegg. The monitor and sound is what makes your games pop, and allows you to enjoy the content. When you get a good one you will notice a difference. I bought the ZR24w about 2 years ago and at first I didn't notice much of a difference, but when I go over to my friends house or use the computer at work its night and day.fathomit - Tuesday, October 29, 2013 - link
If I connected the Dual-Link DVI cable directly to a mini-display port on a laptop and the USB part of the cable directly to a USB hub that's connected to the laptop...would it work?