LG 34UM95 Monitor Review
by Chris Heinonen on June 18, 2014 7:00 AM ESTAnother area where 21:9 displays have shined is in their uniformity. They have had some of the most uniform screens of anything I have tested to date. The LG 34UM95 proves to be a good performer here, but with a couple issues.
As soon as we look at white uniformity we see what the issue is going to be. The upper corners of the display are very dim in comparison to the rest of the screen. If you leave those corners out the rest of the display is very uniform with an all-white screen. The middle 60% of the display is within 3% and even the lower-corners are within 5%. It's those upper corners that are dim that cause a problem with the uniformity.
Black Uniformity is also good except for a bit of brightness in the lower-right corner. The upper corners are darker, which isn’t as much of an issue with black as compared to white. The lower-right corner has a significant rise in black level but very little change in white level. Excluding that point the rest of the display is quite good.
Other than the lower-right corner, the whole display has a contrast ratio of close to 1000:1 with a median of 979:1. The average is dragged down by the lower-right corner as you’d expect but overall the whole screen is good here.
Color Uniformity suffers as a result of the dim corners at the top of the screen. This causes all the color checker samples to miss their target luminance levels and dE2000 errors are higher as a result. As you can see in the center of the screen, uniformity is excellent, but those corners are just not good. The Median color error is only 1.27 but the average falls to 1.65 due to the poor performance in the corners. If you are doing photo work, you can use the center of the screen and be safe, which is basically a 27” display at that point, but avoid the edges due to the light issue.
It is a shame the two upper corners on the LG are so dim. Had they been closer to the rest of the display it would be an excellent performer for uniformity. As it is it only comes in as a very good display. The uniform area is still close to a full 27” QHD display in size, but that is making an excuse for those two corners.
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Sm0kes - Wednesday, June 18, 2014 - link
Thanks for the review. I've had this on pre-order for a couple of weeks. For someone with both a Mini-ITX gaming PC and a Macbook Air, the inclusion of both DP/HDMI and Thunderbolt is a nice touch.Like many, I've been considering the jump to 4K, but it still feel like there's too many compromises given the price. The Asus ROG 27' 1440p display is interesting (despite the TN), but I'm tired of waiting.
Azurael - Wednesday, June 18, 2014 - link
It's a shame it doesn't support running at 1/2 its native resolution when pretending to be two monitors. I frequently watch full screen video in one of my monitors whilst working on the other, which doesn't really work the same on one wide monitor, else it'd be perfect. Oh well, I'm sure somebody will release something that meets my needs eventually. I just hope it happens before much more of the backlight on one of my 2405fpws turns yellow...Gast - Wednesday, June 18, 2014 - link
Can we get a good picture with this display on a desk with a keyboard & mouse so we can get a good feel for the size? And maybe one with a standard 24" and/or 20" display for comparison?cheinonen - Wednesday, June 18, 2014 - link
I can try to place it next to a standard 20" 4:3 display and a 27" 16:9 display today or tomorrow. I'll use my wife's desktop since no one needs to see the mess that is my workspace.crazysurfanz - Wednesday, June 18, 2014 - link
there is such a picture (your first request at least) on the forum thread at ars that mackjam linked earlier: http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=19&am...Mark_gb - Wednesday, June 18, 2014 - link
Just over a month ago, I purchased a 29" AOC ultra-wide 21:9 format monitor. AOC 2963Pm. I've been using monitors on computers since they were experimental (and they were TV's at first). Thats going back to the 1970's. This is my first Ultra-Wide. You will not get me to ever buy another "normal" monitor again. If I had known this one was coming out, I might have waited for it. I have no use for thunderbolt ports and those are expensive add-ons, so they must be going after the Apple market more with this monitor.In any case, when I need another monitor, I will be looking for the largest affordable ultra-wide monitor that I can get.
And please dont call these a niche product. You should hear the oooohs and aaaahs I get when people see my screen. The more that people see these,, the more they will sell. I believe that eventually, most monitors will be ultra-wide.
Just use one. Then you will know.
madmilk - Wednesday, June 18, 2014 - link
So what benefit does your 29" 2560x1080 21:9 monitor have over a 32" 2560x1600 16:10?fokka - Wednesday, June 18, 2014 - link
@anandtech: not wanting to step on anyone's toes, but i think the product pictures could use a bit more polish. better lighting could go a long way in this regard. kthxbye!crazysurfanz - Wednesday, June 18, 2014 - link
I have to politely agree with you on that one, they are not great.cheinonen - Thursday, June 19, 2014 - link
I wish I had the space for a better picture setup, but I really do not right now. Finding the space to photograph a small device (smartphone, tablet) isn't too hard, but for a 34" monitor it is a challenge.