Monoprice IPS-Glass Panel Pro 27" LCD Monitor
by Chris Heinonen on October 22, 2013 2:40 AM ESTAs accurate as the post calibration numbers might be, to really be a professional display the Monoprice also would need to display good uniformity. If images looks different depending on where they are on the screen, that won’t work well for serious photo and print work. Before I even run the uniformity data I can see light leakage in all the corners that is very noticeable. I don’t work much against a black background as I do more spreadsheets and word processing, so I don’t see it as easily. If you watch a lot of movies or play a lot of games it will stand out more.
The White Uniformity is OK, but you can see the upper corners are dim while the lower corners are much brighter. The center of the screen produces very good numbers here but once you get to the edges some uniformity issues appear.
Black Uniformity really shows the scope of the issue. The upper corners have some noticeable changes, but the lower part of the screen really shows the problems in the uniformity. Black levels rise to be close to double that of the center of the display. Both bottom corners are bright and the left side has issues as well that can easily be seen. This is unfortunate but also a common complaint people have left in the reviews at Monoprice so I don’t believe it is confined to my sample.
These issues cause a big swing in contrast uniformity as expected. The two bright corners fall below 600:1, 33-43% lower than the center of the screen. The overall uniformity here is pretty poor and is the first place that the Monoprice display really shows its price point.
Those bright corners really cost the Monoprice when it comes to color uniformity as well. Most of the display is excellent, measuring very close to the center, but the corners really fall off. Two of them have average dE2000 errors of 2.0 or higher, so some colors will have visible errors, while the lower-left corner comes in at 3.17. Perhaps that corner will usually hold the start menu or some other, non-important content but it certainly won’t color match the center of the display.
If you’re able to use the Monoprice IPS-Glass Panel Pro and confine your critical work to the center portions of the screen you will see excellent overall results. Even for color critical work you’ll be able to use it without a worry. If you need that performance to extend all the way to the edges of the display as well then the Monoprice is going to fall short.
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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?