LG 34UM95 Monitor Review
by Chris Heinonen on June 18, 2014 7:00 AM ESTPre-calibration I used the Warm color temperature preset and the Gamma 1 setting. This provided results closest to our targets of 200 cd/m2, sRGB color gamut, and a gamma of 2.2. The RGB balance is good overall and the largest issue is the gamma. Yellow and Green are slightly over-saturated but most of the color gamut is good overall.
| Pre-Calibration |
Post-Calibration, 200 cd/m^2 |
Post-Calibration, 80 cd/m^2 |
|
| White Level (cd/m^2) | 207.8 | 198.8 | 81.3 |
| Black Level (cd/m^2) | 0.2023 | 0.205 | 0.085 |
| Contrast Ratio | 1027:1 | 970:1 | 955:1 |
| Gamma (Average) | 1.98 | 2.20 | 2.37 |
| Color Temperature | 6791K | 6511K | 6494K |
| Grayscale dE2000 | 1.65 | 0.46 | 0.81 |
| Color Checker dE2000 | 2.08 | 1.30 | 1.34 |
| Saturations dE2000 | 2.84 | 1.15 | 1.20 |
Post-calibration the RGB Balance is nearly perfect and the gamma is ideal as well. Color errors are improved due to the more accurate gamma but the 100% yellow and green colors are still overly saturated. Our contrast ratio drops slightly but is still good. With our 80 cd/m2 target and sRGB gamma the 100% issues at Green and Yellow remain but other colors are much better.
With a white LED backlight system, the LG is limited to the sRGB gamut. Using the internal color management system you can correct the over-saturation in the yellow and green colors but I would advise against it. I did this and while 100% improved, every saturation below 100% is worse and and the color checker test is worse as well. It is nice of LG to include a CMS system, but it does not function correctly in my testing. I would much rather see a multi-point white balance, which does work correctly, to help correct for the RGB balance and gamma inside the display instead of in the video card LUT.
Post-calibration the LG 34UM95 is good but not excellent. For most people it should be just fine, but for graphics professionals the extra saturation will pose a problem. LG also provides their own calibration software but I was unable to get it to run correctly on my MacBook Pro or PC. Even when it detected the display correctly it is unable to use my i1Pro or i1DisplayPro meters to calibrate itself. Assuming this performs similar to my last experience using it, CalMAN will still provide superior results as the LG display lacks an internal LUT.
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Ubercake - Friday, June 20, 2014 - link
Put G-sync on a monitor with this resolution and I'd consider it. I've found the wider (in pixels) the monitor, the worse the perceivable tearing when gaming. I'd consider a 60Hz monitor only for productivity.JohnUSA - Friday, June 20, 2014 - link
Only 1 year warranty is no good.Should have been 3 years.
gochichi - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
You're absolutely right, if I spend $150 on a monitor, then sure 1-year is fine. But if I invest $1000, I want a 3-year advance exchange situation.LudumHair - Sunday, June 22, 2014 - link
I bought one of these yesterday but the backlight bleed is awful. There are two bright yellowish patches in the bottom left and right corners of the display that are barely noticeable in daylight and downright distracting during evening and night use. Even with brightness set to its lowest the patches are still clearly visible. Buyer beware with these panels - I'm requesting a repair from LG and will take back to the store if that doesn't pan out.arpiggies - Sunday, June 22, 2014 - link
I feared there would be some light bleed issues with this size panel. Usually happens with first few production runs before it's fixed. May I ask what vendor you procured yours from and do you know the manufacture date of your unit?LudumHair - Monday, June 23, 2014 - link
Sure, I bought it at Micro Center in NY. The manufacture date is May 2014 and there's a "(Rev 2)" by the serial/model number.Larzy - Monday, June 23, 2014 - link
Thanks for Sharing that, lets hope LG can iron out leakage in further revisions. I guess each of the manufacturers will be using this panel though, to make thier versions, so I think I'll wait a few months till they've all been reviewed.Laststop311 - Tuesday, June 24, 2014 - link
I don't like 21:9 makes you move your head too much. 16:10 32 inch 4k monitor with 120hz is my dream monitor.gochichi - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
That's a great dream. I'd certainly consider the monitor you describe. And if it came in at $1000, I'd actually buy it too.genomecop - Tuesday, June 24, 2014 - link
Seems the backlight bleed is a known problem. I copied this from the thread at HardOcp.com...We have asked our distributor. This product currently has an unknown delivery time. The LG screens are called back because of a fabrication error in the backlight. At the moment it is not known when this model will be available...