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LG 31MU97 4k Display

rdav said:
The reviews that I've found are mixed. Some complain about the "grainy" image /coating look etc. But others seem to be big, happy fans. At a list price of $2,050- it's considerably more than the LG-31MC97. And it's UHD, not true C4k. With no ThunderBolt capability and, from what I can see, no Vesa mounting brackets 😕.

So, probably best to wait (if possible).


(Just saw this recent post). Q. Does it have Vesa, do you see any graininess, and is it really worth about 46% more than the LG/C4K monitor? Thx.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean about the graininess. I only notice it on white stationary backgrounds( like a finder window ), not present on videos. I bought it for video editing and so far ... So good.
It does have a wall mounting bracket but I'm not sure if it's VESA standard ?

Up to now I have only had NEC monitors ( I have two pa272ws) that I calibrate using NECs proprietary Spectravision and an I1 pro colorimeter. The Samsung came with software that is supposed to enable calibration using colorimeters but the latest version crashes on startup. I have notified Samsung and they are working on it ( the're workin in shifts 🙂 )
Part of my decision of this over the LG was based on the stellar reviews and the hardware calibration capabilities. I don't care about the difference between 4K and UHD. Is it worth 46% more than the LG ? I don't know, probably not ?
 
rdav said:
Please correct me if wrong, but I suspect that model only runs the one TB2 bus.
Click to expand...

The interesting and disappointing part is that the hardware seems to support multiple displays on the TB2 bus. After all, if Windows 8.1 running via Bootcamp can drive displays on all the connectors, the limitation here is not the hardware, but rather OSX/Yosemite. If my logic is wrong here, please let me know.
 
I've just been speaking to Apple about 4K monitor support. It was a pre-arranged call from last week and was specifically about nMP support so apologies to those who've recently been asking about the rMBP. I wanted to see if we could get some guidance about what's supported and what will be in future OS updates.

I explained what's been mentioned across this thread including the fact that the 4096 pixel LG only gives 50Hz where Windows will (according to LG) do 60Hz at the same resolution. The tech person I spoke to said that there's no reason why the hardware in the nMP won't do 4096 wide at 60Hz - even with the D300. I said it clearly isn't so is it a driver issue? He wouldn't be drawn on that, but he did say that there's no particular reason that he can see why it won't work as well as it does on Windows machines.

His final piece of advice was to buy a monitor and if it doesn't work, let Apple know so that they can make a note of it and then send the display back to the reseller. Hmmmm.

Not sure what all that tells us, but it didn't hurt to ask. 🙄
 
Apple Support - C4K (4096x2160)@60Hz Monitors - Go test yourself.

AJClayton said:
... His final piece of advice was to buy a monitor and if it doesn't work, let Apple know so that they can make a note of it and then send the display back to the reseller. Hmmmm.
Click to expand...

That's ridiculous. Is there any good reason why :apple: can't purchase a bunch of the LG-31MU97 monitors for themselves, then hook up 3x of them to a/ nMP /D300 for testing? AAPL are one of the biggest corporations on the planet. Why chuck that task back on the humble user /consumer? 🙁

Also, the Apple support pages state 50/30Hz on the nMP. Why is that?
 
rdav said:
The reviews that I've found are mixed. Some complain about the "grainy" image /coating look etc. But others seem to be big, happy fans. At a list price of $2,050- it's considerably more than the LG-31MC97. And it's UHD, not true C4k. With no ThunderBolt capability and, from what I can see, no Vesa mounting brackets 😕.

So, probably best to wait (if possible).


(Just saw this recent post). Q. Does it have Vesa, do you see any graininess, and is it really worth about 46% more than the LG/C4K monitor? Thx.
Click to expand...

It does have VESA holes. I have mine mounted on the arm which previously supported my Dell U3014.
 
Couple of people have mentioned colour calibration, I struggled to get mine correct in the midrange and it was always too saturated overall. I also found for some reason using the Apple calibration it always darkened the profile when you saved it so it was really guess work to get it right.

I use mine for repro and a lot of colour specific web work so accurate colour is a must.

I've always stayed away from the hardware calibrators as the 3 I've used over the years have always been useless and I could do a better job with my eyes.

However I thought I'd take a punt based on some good reviews and bought the i1Display Pro, yes I know anything with pro in the name is usually nothing of the sort but I it did a really good job and the colour is pretty much spot on now. so well worth it in my opinion if colour is important to you.

One other thing I do find a bit irritating though is when the screen sleeps it must change it's resolution as when it wakes up all the floating menu pallets have moved ( In all Adobe CC apps at least) lets hope that might be corrected in the next OS update. I'm using SwitchResX so not sure if that makes any difference.
 
NKirov said:
One other thing I do find a bit irritating though is when the screen sleeps it must change it's resolution as when it wakes up all the floating menu pallets have moved ( In all Adobe CC apps at least) lets hope that might be corrected in the next OS update. I'm using SwitchResX so not sure if that makes any difference.
Click to expand...

Yup this is a product of the missing support for this monitor under OS X. Even when you use one of the tweaks/hacks to enable the full resolution, anytime the computer sleeps or reboots you will lose it and have to enable the native res again.
 
NKirov said:
Couple of people have mentioned colour calibration, I struggled to get mine correct in the midrange and it was always too saturated overall. I also found for some reason using the Apple calibration it always darkened the profile when you saved it so it was really guess work to get it right.

I use mine for repro and a lot of colour specific web work so accurate colour is a must.

I've always stayed away from the hardware calibrators as the 3 I've used over the years have always been useless and I could do a better job with my eyes.

However I thought I'd take a punt based on some good reviews and bought the i1Display Pro, yes I know anything with pro in the name is usually nothing of the sort but I it did a really good job and the colour is pretty much spot on now. so well worth it in my opinion if colour is important to you.

One other thing I do find a bit irritating though is when the screen sleeps it must change it's resolution as when it wakes up all the floating menu pallets have moved ( In all Adobe CC apps at least) lets hope that might be corrected in the next OS update. I'm using SwitchResX so not sure if that makes any difference.
Click to expand...

What software are you using to calibrate with your i1 Pro ?
 
And so it begins

Just been looking on Overclockers and three of the new 32" IPS panel monitors I mentioned previously are listed on there. One I've been keeping an eye on is by BenQ and is £900 (showing as overdue now). The other two are Acers with one listed at £800 and another for £600. Specs vary a little, but they're all IPS with 100% sRGB and decent response times, viewing angles etc. Some are even "flicker free"/blue light filter/low dimming and other gizmos that may or may not be relevant to you.

The cheapest one doesn't have height adjustment, but then what do you expect for 600 quid?

The main point here is that prices for decent spec 4K monitors are dropping through the floor (at long last) so if, like me, you've been waiting for MST to be replaced by SST then you probably won't mind waiting a little longer for prices to settle and there to be a bit more choice. Whatever happens I feel pretty sure that many of us here will be using new monitors within the next 6 months or so.

It's all good.
 
LG-31MU97 - Competition, Other Panels?

AJClayton said:
Just been looking on Overclockers and three of the new 32" IPS panel monitors I mentioned previously are listed on there.
Click to expand...

Does OC mention any other true 4K(4096x2160) SST/ISP/60Hz (17:9) panels? (Not just 3.8k). Unfortunately, we've not seen much C4K-Display competition at the regular-consumer level (yet). Hopefully, as you say, it will arrive soon.
 
rdav said:
Does OC mention any other true 4K(4096x2160) SST/ISP/60Hz (17:9) panels? (Not just 3.8k). Unfortunately, we've not seen much C4K-Display competition at the regular-consumer level (yet). Hopefully, as you say, it will arrive soon.
Click to expand...

Good point. No, they mainly appear to be UHD panels at the moment, although I did read about at least one other true 4K panel on the way, but can't recall off hand who was making it and when it was coming out. Have been making notes so will have to go through them and see if I can find it.

The LG looks great to me. If it was 60Hz I might not wait, but something's telling me to hold off until the Spring. I waited 2 years for the nMP to come out, so I should be able to manage it. 🙄
 
Charles-C said:
The interesting and disappointing part is that the hardware seems to support multiple displays on the TB2 bus. After all, if Windows 8.1 running via Bootcamp can drive displays on all the connectors, the limitation here is not the hardware, but rather OSX/Yosemite. If my logic is wrong here, please let me know.
Click to expand...
These kind of issues are usually driver issues and have nothing to do with OS X itself (Windows probably has a newer driver that allows to run those 4 displays). It would not surprise me if Apple brings out an OS X update with newer drivers which fixes the problem. We've seen it before!
 
I ended up returning the LG 31MU97 for a few reasons. The screen blacking out at 4096x2160 @60Hz was annoying and needs a better 24 AWG cable which is like $50. The DPI scaling in OS X is still a bit sluggish even with a GTX 980 and running the monitor at full res with no scaling is just too small for me. The 17:9 aspect ratio is okay but kind of strange when you watch videos in fullscreen and The screen is a bit too small, the 16:9 on a 32" for 4k is the sweet spot I think.

I picked up a Samsung 32" U32D970 and besides having amazing and accurate colors the AG coating is pretty bad and the sharpness is a little soft. Kind of kills the whole 4k experience in my opinion. The panel also had a green line right out of the box with a bunch of dead pixels all over. Kind of unacceptable for a $2000 monitor. 16:9 and 32" is the definite sweet spot though, but had to return it, it was defective.

Only option at the moment left with no IPS glow and crappy AG coating, and 16:9 32" was the Asus PQ321Q, which I had actually returned earlier cause I couldn't get it to work in OS X with MST. I decided to give it one more try with the Kext hack that Macvideocards posted. Glad I did, I was able to get it to run and it works phenomenal. Great picture, comfortable to run at full rez 3840x2160 60Hz since it's 31.5" and it's very clear. Apple disables MST 4k on anything but the new iMac, nMP and the 750m macbook pro, which is so lame, but with the hack I got it to run on the GTX 980 and 2012 MacPro 5,1.

Thought I would share my experiences, thanks!
 
cast128 said:
For $1399 and without 60Hz support, I started to poke around to see what other options might be available. What seems to be the consensus, if any, on the samsung U32D970Q?
Click to expand...

As alternatives to the LG I have been considering these two only:
- ASUS PQ321Q
- Dell UP3214Q
 
LG Monitors: Fixes & Alternatives.

teeck2000 said:
I ended up returning the LG 31MU97 for a few reasons...
Click to expand...

It's a shame that LG (& Apple) have dropped the ball on the LG-34UC97. The C4k format is superior to UHD, and the specs/price are quite fair. That monitor was announced by LG at CES(2014), so it will be curious to see what comes out of CES-2015(Jan). And the nMP(7), plus the upcoming Yosemite updates. Maybe bleeding-edge will become leading-edge soon (in two or three months?).
http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/ces-2015-1257036

billtubbs said:
As alternatives to the LG I have been considering these two only: - ASUS PQ321Q - Dell UP3214Q
Click to expand...

Is there any information out there on the Dell UP3215Q monitor? Must be a contender.
 
Last edited:
LG 31mu97

Been using this display at native resolution (50hz) with my late 2013 15" MBP for the past week.

I was initially worried about stuttering and lag with interfaces / video playback etc. but after spending this entire time trying to scrutinise it I have to say it is absolutely brilliant.

Currently 10.10.1 and if an update means that it runs at 60hz then brilliant, but if it stays at 50hz then I certainly won't be losing any sleep.
 
Ryan0751 said:
Well, for working on true 4k content... uhd isn't 4k.
Click to expand...

And you work on true 4K content ?
Most of what I work on is UHD, despite having two cameras that will record C4K. For viewing UHD, I would rather have a UHD monitor. A UHD display doesn't preclude working on C4K, just viewing at native.

I guess it ultimatly boils down to what ones main use of the display will be. My wife has a 5K IMac and I do not like looking at either C4K or UHD videos using the 5K display.
 
teeck2000 said:
I ended up returning the LG 31MU97 for a few reasons. The screen blacking out at 4096x2160 @60Hz was annoying and needs a better 24 AWG cable which is like $50. The DPI scaling in OS X is still a bit sluggish even with a GTX 980 and running the monitor at full res with no scaling is just too small for me. The 17:9 aspect ratio is okay but kind of strange when you watch videos in fullscreen and The screen is a bit too small, the 16:9 on a 32" for 4k is the sweet spot I think.

I picked up a Samsung 32" U32D970 and besides having amazing and accurate colors the AG coating is pretty bad and the sharpness is a little soft. Kind of kills the whole 4k experience in my opinion. The panel also had a green line right out of the box with a bunch of dead pixels all over. Kind of unacceptable for a $2000 monitor. 16:9 and 32" is the definite sweet spot though, but had to return it, it was defective.

Only option at the moment left with no IPS glow and crappy AG coating, and 16:9 32" was the Asus PQ321Q, which I had actually returned earlier cause I couldn't get it to work in OS X with MST. I decided to give it one more try with the Kext hack that Macvideocards posted. Glad I did, I was able to get it to run and it works phenomenal. Great picture, comfortable to run at full rez 3840x2160 60Hz since it's 31.5" and it's very clear. Apple disables MST 4k on anything but the new iMac, nMP and the 750m macbook pro, which is so lame, but with the hack I got it to run on the GTX 980 and 2012 MacPro 5,1.

Thought I would share my experiences, thanks!
Click to expand...

Thanks. I still haven't decided if I am going to keep the Samsung U32D970 or not. I do not notice the AG grain while playing videos and that is pretty much what I use it for...
One thing I am slightly disappointed about is that I see frequent judder when viewing UHD content... I know this is not a display issue, but I'm not sure where it's coming from. The vids are playing from the fastest external TB2 drive available with read speeds of 800-1000 MB/s, monitors are on separate TB2 busses. I thought this setup with my nMP (D700s) would assure smooth 4K playback ?
 
rdav said:
The C4k format is superior to UHD
Click to expand...

No it isn't. It's just different...and highly specialized (see below). You get a few more pixels at an aspect ratio nobody actually uses. If you're after more real estate in terms of width, there are quite a few ultra wide monitors to choose from.

As I posted before:

4096x2160 isn't a standard resolution for any current application except as described below. The confusion (of end users AND manufacturers), and/or the marketing tactic of saying it is a "true 4K" monitor, stems from DCI 4K standards being a "Hollywood" acquisition resolution, so that a final cut can be delivered scoped at 4096x1716 (2.39:1 aspect) or 3996x2160 (1.85:1 aspect). Note that either the full horizontal or vertical resolution is used, depending upon the desired aspect ratio to be displayed when shown. Therefore, there are cameras that generate 4096x2160 video, which is intended to be CROPPED when projected, but I have not yet found another use for 4096 rez (as opposed to 3840) except for the TINY amount of real estate you gain on either side of the monitor. It’s good for visualizing DCI 4K footage and not much more as of today.

----------
mintakax said:
And you work on true 4K content ?
Most of what I work on is UHD, despite having two cameras that will record C4K. For viewing UHD, I would rather have a UHD monitor. A UHD display doesn't preclude working on C4K, just viewing at native.

I guess it ultimatly boils down to what ones main use of the display will be. My wife has a 5K IMac and I do not like looking at either C4K or UHD videos using the 5K display.
Click to expand...

Finally someone gets it.
 
mintakax said:
What software are you using to calibrate with your i1 Pro ?
Click to expand...

Just the packaged app running on the highest sampling setting, takes maybe 7 minutes to run on a nMP.

It does have an ambient light setting where it changes based on room lighting but I found that distracting so leave it on the calibrated setting, based on the half dozen litho jobs I've run so far it seems pretty accurate.
 
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