LG UltraFine 5K - Owners Thread

[pro-noun]

Anyone have a solution to take an HDMI source and convert it to work with a first gen (27MD5KA) LG 5K monitor? Is there a special adapter?

This is for connecting dual 5K's from a mac mini M1. This mac can only display 1 thunderbolt source from what I have read which leads me to think I need to use the HDMI port. Does this mean I could use a thunderbolt dock to get the second 5K to work?

 

[1369281]

This may have already been mentioned, but Big Sur 11.1 update today includes this:

• LG UltraFine 5K Display may incorrectly display at 4K resolution on Macs with M1

 

[saulinpa]

This may have already been mentioned, but Big Sur 11.1 update today includes this:

• LG UltraFine 5K Display may incorrectly display at 4K resolution on Macs with M1

One thing fixed but another is worse on M1s. For me it is the issue of losing the brightness settings after coming back from the energy saver turning off the display.

 

[jimthing]

Anyone have a solution to take an HDMI source and convert it to work with a first gen (27MD5KA) LG 5K monitor? Is there a special adapter?

This is for connecting dual 5K's from a mac mini M1. This mac can only display 1 thunderbolt source from what I have read which leads me to think I need to use the HDMI port. Does this mean I could use a thunderbolt dock to get the second 5K to work?

HDMI to TB3 is not possible (TB3 to HDMI is). So no.

As for trying the new 4-port TB3 docks; no again, as while these ports are separately bused on the new M1 Macs, they M1 chip won't support more than one 5K3K display. Though you could still connect another 4K display via the HDMI.

...another reason for many to wait for M2 machines or later.

 

[joevt]

Anyone have a solution to take an HDMI source and convert it to work with a first gen (27MD5KA) LG 5K monitor? Is there a special adapter?

This is for connecting dual 5K's from a mac mini M1. This mac can only display 1 thunderbolt source from what I have read which leads me to think I need to use the HDMI port. Does this mean I could use a thunderbolt dock to get the second 5K to work?

The 27MD5KA is the first gen 5K which doesn't support USB-C input. It requires Thunderbolt. You would need to use a HDMI 2.0 to DisplayPort 1.2 adapter connected to a Thunderbolt 3 add-in card DisplayPort input which is then connected to the LG UltraFine 5K via the add-in card's Thunderbolt port. You would only get 4K in that situation. There is no way to get 5K from a single DisplayPort input to this display.

 

[Ener Ji]

Hello everyone - is there a definitive guide to connecting the LG 5K (newer model 27MD5KL-B) to a Windows PC and getting 5k resolution (or at least a reliable 4k)? I have a guest who will be visiting for several days and needs to connect an external monitor to their HP ZBook 15 G6 Mobile Workstation. I won't be able to test this in advance and if I can't lend them my LG 5K I'm going to need to go buy them a monitor, which I'm hoping to avoid!

The laptop is configured with an Nvidia Quadro T1000 discrete GPU. The technical specs for the laptop states the following with respect to the video out ports:

• 1 HDMI 2.0b
• 2 USB Type-C™ (Thunderbolt™ 3, pass through support DispalyPort™ 1.4, USB 3.1 Gen 2, with BC 1.2)

If I'm not mistaken, the newer LG 5K will support a Displayport 1.4 signal, albeit possibly at 4k resolution? Is there any special cable required or will the included Thunderbolt 3 monitor cable work?

Also, does anyone know what "with BC 1.2" means as part of the USB 3.1 Gen 2 support?

Thanks in advance!

 

[jimthing]

Hello everyone - is there a definitive guide to connecting the LG 5K (newer model 27MD5KL-B) to a Windows PC and getting 5k resolution (or at least a reliable 4k)? I have a guest who will be visiting for several days and needs to connect an external monitor to their HP ZBook 15 G6 Mobile Workstation. I won't be able to test this in advance and if I can't lend them my LG 5K I'm going to need to go buy them a monitor, which I'm hoping to avoid!

The laptop is configured with an Nvidia Quadro T1000 discrete GPU. The technical specs for the laptop states the following with respect to the video out ports:

• 1 HDMI 2.0b
• 2 USB Type-C™ (Thunderbolt™ 3, pass through support DispalyPort™ 1.4, USB 3.1 Gen 2, with BC 1.2)

If I'm not mistaken, the newer LG 5K will support a Displayport 1.4 signal, albeit possibly at 4k resolution? Is there any special cable required or will the included Thunderbolt 3 monitor cable work?

Also, does anyone know what "with BC 1.2" means as part of the USB 3.1 Gen 2 support?

Thanks in advance!

AFAIU, the B-version can be connected to any USB-C host device's output, using a suitable USB-C-to-USB-C cable.
Put it this way, if the iPad Pro's can do so, then provided your PC supports USB-C video out, I doubt you'd have problems.

 

[joevt]

Hello everyone - is there a definitive guide to connecting the LG 5K (newer model 27MD5KL-B) to a Windows PC and getting 5k resolution (or at least a reliable 4k)? I have a guest who will be visiting for several days and needs to connect an external monitor to their HP ZBook 15 G6 Mobile Workstation. I won't be able to test this in advance and if I can't lend them my LG 5K I'm going to need to go buy them a monitor, which I'm hoping to avoid!

The laptop is configured with an Nvidia Quadro T1000 discrete GPU. The technical specs for the laptop states the following with respect to the video out ports:

• 1 HDMI 2.0b
• 2 USB Type-C™ (Thunderbolt™ 3, pass through support DispalyPort™ 1.4, USB 3.1 Gen 2, with BC 1.2)

If I'm not mistaken, the newer LG 5K will support a Displayport 1.4 signal, albeit possibly at 4k resolution? Is there any special cable required or will the included Thunderbolt 3 monitor cable work?

Also, does anyone know what "with BC 1.2" means as part of the USB 3.1 Gen 2 support?

The tech specs for the HP ZBook 15 G6 Mobile Workstation says the following:

HP ZBook 15 with hybrid graphics supports maximum of three independent displays (the internal panel plus three external displays connected to HDMI and two Thunderbolt 3 ports)

Since it says that two displays can be connected to Thunderbolt, it means the Thunderbolt controller has two DisplayPort connections so it can send them both down a single Thunderbolt cable to the LG UltraFine 5K which uses two DisplayPort 1.2 signals to support 5K 60Hz 10 bpc. Use the Thunderbolt cable in this case.

If the HP ZBook 15 does something stupid like have two separate Thunderbolt controllers each with only one DisplayPort connection, then the LG UltraFine 5K will be limited to 4K. Use a USB-C cable in this case if the Thunderbolt cable doesn't work.

The LG UltraFine 5K does not support DisplayPort 1.4 in any way.

BC 1.2 means Battery Charging Spec 1.2. I think this means the Thunderbolt ports can charge a battery powered USB device like a iPhone or iPad? The HP ZBook 15 has a separate power connector so it doesn't use the Thunderbolt ports to charge itself using Power Delivery spec.

USB - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[saulinpa]

I have a ZBook 15u G6 which is a step down from the regular 15 as it has a single TB3 port but with the AMD Radeon Pro WX3200 Graphics. It does support the original LG 5K using the TB3 cable and reports 5120x2880@59hz. The picture isn't perfect at max resolution as visually it seems to be doing some sort of compression but not the standard chroma subsampling. B&W test pattern looks like it is doing the full resolution but other images can show strange luminance patterns.

Yes, the laptop has a separate power connector but was shipped with and uses a USB-C charger. I use the laptop with a dock that bypasses both ports going to a 4K monitor most of the time. The 4K has the same luminance issue so may just be a bad video card.

 

[gadgetfreak98]

One thing fixed but another is worse on M1s. For me it is the issue of losing the brightness settings after coming back from the energy saver turning off the display.

I have this issue too. I have brought it to Apple engineering via Apple Care. I also have tried a clean install and it happens there too. Furthermore, under 11.1, I am more frequently getting an issue with about an inch-wide swath in the middle of the screen being misaligned (by about 1 pixel) with the rest of the image. A removal and reconnection of the TB3 cable fixes it for a time.

I have not had these issues with a 2018 mini on Catalina, btw. Admittedly, that was a different Ultrafine unit.

 

[gadgetfreak98]

Every once in a while I'll get a weird distortion line right in the middle of the display. I understand that the display uses two streams and puts them together for the final picture. A simple unplug and replug of the thunderbolt cable fixes it. It's not just my display. I had the same thing happen on others as well.

I have been getting this more frequently in 11.1.

 

[avedis]

Hi Guys,

I've the current MD5KL which I use frequently with both my MacBook Pro and iPad Pro 2018. However, I would need to swap out the included cables TB3/USB C every-time I change between the mentioned devices. Saw this cable on Amazon and was wondering would this solve the problem? Or is there any that would?

Know it's not really a big problem but I don't wanna spend big on Apple's Pro Cable.

Thanks!

 

[joevt]

I've the current MD5KL which I use frequently with both my MacBook Pro and iPad Pro 2018. However, I would need to swap out the included cables TB3/USB C every-time I change between the mentioned devices. Saw this cable on Amazon and was wondering would this solve the problem? Or is there any that would?

Know it's not really a big problem but I don't wanna spend big on Apple's Pro Cable.

It says it works, so maybe it does.

 

[1369281]

Hi Guys,

I've the current MD5KL which I use frequently with both my MacBook Pro and iPad Pro 2018. However, I would need to swap out the included cables TB3/USB C every-time I change between the mentioned devices. Saw this cable on Amazon and was wondering would this solve the problem? Or is there any that would?

Know it's not really a big problem but I don't wanna spend big on Apple's Pro Cable.

Thanks!

I’d recommend this if you can make the length work: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MQ4H2AM/A/thunderbolt-3-usb‑c-cable-08-m

 

[jimthing]

Hi Guys,

I've the current MD5KL which I use frequently with both my MacBook Pro and iPad Pro 2018. However, I would need to swap out the included cables TB3/USB C every-time I change between the mentioned devices. Saw this cable on Amazon and was wondering would this solve the problem? Or is there any that would?

Know it's not really a big problem but I don't wanna spend big on Apple's Pro Cable.

Thanks!

https://www.amazon.com/Compatible-Thunderbolt-Maxonar-Supports-External/dp/B08HQZ3TZ9
^ link without the genius BS, that screws it up!

 

[KPOM]

The tech specs for the HP ZBook 15 G6 Mobile Workstation says the following:

Since it says that two displays can be connected to Thunderbolt, it means the Thunderbolt controller has two DisplayPort connections so it can send them both down a single Thunderbolt cable to the LG UltraFine 5K which uses two DisplayPort 1.2 signals to support 5K 60Hz 10 bpc. Use the Thunderbolt cable in this case.

If the HP ZBook 15 does something stupid like have two separate Thunderbolt controllers each with only one DisplayPort connection, then the LG UltraFine 5K will be limited to 4K. Use a USB-C cable in this case if the Thunderbolt cable doesn't work.

The LG UltraFine 5K does not support DisplayPort 1.4 in any way.

BC 1.2 means Battery Charging Spec 1.2. I think this means the Thunderbolt ports can charge a battery powered USB device like a iPhone or iPad? The HP ZBook 15 has a separate power connector so it doesn't use the Thunderbolt ports to charge itself using Power Delivery spec.

USB - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

FWIW, my work notebook (HP EliteBook 840 G5 with the May 2020 firmware update) supports the LG UltraFine 5K through the Thunderbolt port at 5K. Prior to that firmware update, it would only connect 4K directly, but would connect at 5K through the HP Thunderbolt Dock G2.

 

[joevt]

FWIW, my work notebook (HP EliteBook 840 G5 with the May 2020 firmware update) supports the LG UltraFine 5K through the Thunderbolt port at 5K. Prior to that firmware update, it would only connect 4K directly, but would connect at 5K through the HP Thunderbolt Dock G2.

This seems to indicate that the HP EliteBook 840 G5 with the old firmware was not connecting to the LG UltraFine 5K using Thunderbolt? You should be able to tell by looking at Device Manager and viewing by Connection. The devices in the LG UltraFine 5K should appear under the Thunderbolt controller as PCIe devices instead of just USB devices.

 

[masim]

Furthermore, under 11.1, I am more frequently getting an issue with about an inch-wide swath in the middle of the screen being misaligned (by about 1 pixel) with the rest of the image. A removal and reconnection of the TB3 cable fixes it for a time.

I see this exact issue as well, really weird! In my case preceded by screen suddenly going blank/black for a few seconds, and I am kicked out to the login screen. After that the swath is present. Your experience the same?

 

[KPOM]

This seems to indicate that the HP EliteBook 840 G5 with the old firmware was not connecting to the LG UltraFine 5K using Thunderbolt? You should be able to tell by looking at Device Manager and viewing by Connection. The devices in the LG UltraFine 5K should appear under the Thunderbolt controller as PCIe devices instead of just USB devices.

Yes, with the new firmware, it shows up as a Thunderbolt device in HP’s Thunderbolt management app.

 

[KPOM]

Hi Guys,

I've the current MD5KL which I use frequently with both my MacBook Pro and iPad Pro 2018. However, I would need to swap out the included cables TB3/USB C every-time I change between the mentioned devices. Saw this cable on Amazon and was wondering would this solve the problem? Or is there any that would?

Know it's not really a big problem but I don't wanna spend big on Apple's Pro Cable.

Thanks!

Apple’s “non-Pro” 1m Thunderbolt cable works with both the MacBook Pro and iPad Pro.

 

[avedis]

Apple’s “non-Pro” 1m Thunderbolt cable works with both the MacBook Pro and iPad Pro.

Yes, it’s just too short as I’m using the 2 TB port MacBook Pro that’s on the right of my monitor.
Hope USB 4/TB4 cables will have quick adoption. So that I can get it at 2m

 

[x2max]

Hello,
does the LG 27MD5KL really have a 10 Bit (8+2 FRC) panel? The web says the monitor has a LG LM270QQ2-SPA1 panel which have 16,7 million of colors. That means it is a 8 Bit Panel. On M1 Macs there is at the moment no possibility to check it in the system preferences. Could anybody who has a Intel Mac check in the system preferences if it shows 30 bit.

Thank in advance!

 

[saulinpa]

Tech specs say billions of colors: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HMUB2LL/A/lg-ultrafine-5k-display but most other sites are showing 8 bits + FRC. Connected to an Intel Mac shows 10 bits. Guessing the FRC is handled outside the 8 bit display panel by the electronics instead.

 

[shansoft]

Hello,
does the LG 27MD5KL really have a 10 Bit (8+2 FRC) panel? The web says the monitor has a LG LM270QQ2-SPA1 panel which have 16,7 million of colors. That means it is a 8 Bit Panel. On M1 Macs there is at the moment no possibility to check it in the system preferences. Could anybody who has a Intel Mac check in the system preferences if it shows 30 bit.

Thank in advance!

It is a 8bit panel, the only way to display that extra is from FRC by flashing the pixel rapidly between colors to create an illusion of it. It's definitely far from true 10bit, but sort of work when you need it.

 

[AeroUK]

I have this issue too. I have brought it to Apple engineering via Apple Care. I also have tried a clean install and it happens there too. Furthermore, under 11.1, I am more frequently getting an issue with about an inch-wide swath in the middle of the screen being misaligned (by about 1 pixel) with the rest of the image. A removal and reconnection of the TB3 cable fixes it for a time.

I have not had these issues with a 2018 mini on Catalina, btw. Admittedly, that was a different Ultrafine unit.

Exact same issue here with the M1 MBP. I’m returning it all and wasted hours on this. What are your plans?