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LG Ultrafine 6K announced
- Thread starter eksu
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Structure size?! I remember similar user observations with the Dell Ultrasharp UP2715K 10 years ago. At that time, there was a case where the panel was installed at a 180-degree angle, and a user also noticed this slight color shift, but in reverse.
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EugW
macrumors P6
@tahoeroscoe
I mentioned it before in this thread but off axis I can see some light fall off and possible colour shift. It seems like off axis it becomes a bit darker/grayer with perhaps a mildly cooler tint.
If I sit at <25" away from the screen with my head exactly at the middle of the screen, I can see a bit of this towards the screen edges, since those edges will be sufficiently off-axis for this to be visible. It goes away when I move my head to the sides. However, in day to day mixed usage, I usually don't actually notice this unless I'm specifically looking for it... like today after your post.
I also agree it's not in all large sized matte screens. IIRC, I didn't see this in a 32" 4K Asus ProArt, but the 4K Asus had other much worse problems like poor text quality and awful backlight bleed.
I mentioned it before in this thread but off axis I can see some light fall off and possible colour shift. It seems like off axis it becomes a bit darker/grayer with perhaps a mildly cooler tint.
If I sit at <25" away from the screen with my head exactly at the middle of the screen, I can see a bit of this towards the screen edges, since those edges will be sufficiently off-axis for this to be visible. It goes away when I move my head to the sides. However, in day to day mixed usage, I usually don't actually notice this unless I'm specifically looking for it... like today after your post.
I also agree it's not in all large sized matte screens. IIRC, I didn't see this in a 32" 4K Asus ProArt, but the 4K Asus had other much worse problems like poor text quality and awful backlight bleed.
tahoeroscoe
macrumors regular
I now realize you are referring to the light bleed on the edges of IPS panels. This is different, its a notable shift in color temperature on white backgrounds.
I sit at about 22” or so with eye level a couple inches below the top of the monitor, and the bottom half of the screen looks like its on night shift mode.
Blackstick
macrumors 68000
Tried one from a B&H open box special, and yeah... the blue shift on the edges of the panel were astoundingly noticeable and nothing I even notice on $150 Dell 24 inch "IT department standard issue" panels. Also disappointing height adjustment for the stand, not the smooth travel you see on the XDR or Studio Displays with height adjustment. I returned it and grabbed a used Apple studio display for $900 which is unsurprisingly bulletproof. It'll tide me over until a better 6K display comes, or a 120hz 5K option.
The quality of the case and the stand are very sub-standard. The adjustment of the stand looks like the Apple Studio 5K but the stiffness and lack of adjustment is truly bad. The person above is right, this is "IT Department" cheap productivity monitor level of finish, not a premium 6K screen.
The lack of native volume control is also really bad, same for brightness control. I ended up installing the LG Switch app but that shouldn’t be needed. And on the speakers, they sound poor in comparison to the Apple Studio 5K.
The colours looked awful in HDR mode, so I turned that off immediately. And they should have a camera built in.
The sharpness is fine, at least that is a saving grace.
A bit more than AUD$5000 worth of screens here - LG must do better!
I would go as far to say this is a notable step back from the Ultrafine 5K.
One interesting touch, the power brick is like a step back in time to the Apple A1083 display. 😉
The lack of native volume control is also really bad, same for brightness control. I ended up installing the LG Switch app but that shouldn’t be needed. And on the speakers, they sound poor in comparison to the Apple Studio 5K.
The colours looked awful in HDR mode, so I turned that off immediately. And they should have a camera built in.
The sharpness is fine, at least that is a saving grace.
A bit more than AUD$5000 worth of screens here - LG must do better!
I would go as far to say this is a notable step back from the Ultrafine 5K.
One interesting touch, the power brick is like a step back in time to the Apple A1083 display. 😉
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This is my setup:
The Apple Studio 27" display is on the other 2019 Mac Pro (the dual W6800X Duo machine). The LG Ultrafine 5K I'm letting someone else have it.
When I tried the thunderbolt pass through from one screen to the other, the first screen did 60hz while the second only did 30hz so I abandoned that idea and connected them directly to the W6800X MPX.
The Apple Studio 27" display is on the other 2019 Mac Pro (the dual W6800X Duo machine). The LG Ultrafine 5K I'm letting someone else have it.
When I tried the thunderbolt pass through from one screen to the other, the first screen did 60hz while the second only did 30hz so I abandoned that idea and connected them directly to the W6800X MPX.
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Since these screens don't have a camera/microphone functions built in, I ended up going with Insta360 Link 2:
www.insta360.com
The camera ends up quite high so you aren't seen at a normal angle but there isn't much more you can do. I suspect I'll end up trying to get the different alloy stand that the Chinese monitors are using, that should allow me to bring the height of the screens down.
On first uses, the Insta360 Link2 seems quite good, but the follow function gets confused if you move quickly.
Insta360 Link 2 & Link 2C - AI webcam, pro audio.
Superb 4K video and pro-level audio set Link 2 & 2C apart. Choose a 2-axis gimbal or standard model. For seamless online meetings and live streams.
The camera ends up quite high so you aren't seen at a normal angle but there isn't much more you can do. I suspect I'll end up trying to get the different alloy stand that the Chinese monitors are using, that should allow me to bring the height of the screens down.
On first uses, the Insta360 Link2 seems quite good, but the follow function gets confused if you move quickly.
EugW
macrumors P6
I have the Link 2C. The video quality is great but the people I FaceTime with will hear an echo unless I wear AirPods. I don’t use the Insta360 software though.Since these screens don't have a camera/microphone functions built in, I ended up going with Insta360 Link 2:
Insta360 Link 2 & Link 2C - AI webcam, pro audio.
Superb 4K video and pro-level audio set Link 2 & 2C apart. Choose a 2-axis gimbal or standard model. For seamless online meetings and live streams.
The camera ends up quite high so you aren't seen at a normal angle but there isn't much more you can do. I suspect I'll end up trying to get the different alloy stand that the Chinese monitors are using, that should allow me to bring the height of the screens down.
On first uses, the Insta360 Link2 seems quite good, but the follow function gets confused if you move quickly.
Ooh, cheers!
I tried it once on Teams today seemed okay, but I didn’t use my AirPods Max, audio was through the same LG screen the Link was connected to.
Nobody on the call complained so it must have been okay.
EugW
macrumors P6
Do you use their software? I found it a bit buggy and it uses a lot of resources.
No, I hate installing extras. The LG Switch software for the screens is irritating enough.
If the software isn't strictly required to make use of the device, then I'm not installing it. 😉 So device manufacturers if you happen to read this, take note.
I have installed it now, that's the only way to control brightness and volume by the keyboard. It is irritating, it is slow on startup (watch the spinner going), I guess it is trying to phone home.
I don't see why they couldn't just have brightness and volume control as it was done on the old LG Ultrafine 5K, that worked so flawlessly with nothing extra needing to be installed and it was the native experience of MacOS.
What they have now is very clunky and poorly done, the overlay that appears is sluggish and looks poor:
I fail to see how someone can see having to install software to achieve something that should just work as a good experience. If you need to control firmware updates, then have that as a separate application that the user can run when needed.
I cannot recommend this 6K screen as it is. The Apple Studio 5K has less resolution and is smaller but overall is a superior, higher quality offering at slightly less money. Sorry LG, I wanted to like this screen.
Attachments
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EugW
macrumors P6
Yes I use MonitorControl for brightness. No need for the LG Software, aside from firmware updates.
Although the LG speakers are much better than average for a monitor, I don’t use them, as I have a pair bookshelf speakers on either side of the monitor for much better audio quality.
Although the LG speakers are much better than average for a monitor, I don’t use them, as I have a pair bookshelf speakers on either side of the monitor for much better audio quality.
Seems most vendors are offering both a 27” and 32” model but then saying the 32” is correct for the studio display. I understand this is the wrong thread for this, but any idea when the 27 vs 32 should be selected or just always go with 32?That Chinese aluminum Apple knockoff stand is a great match to the LG UltraFine 6K.
View attachment 2578224
Base top surface and bottom surface. Four screws attach it to the main part of the stand. Screw holes are recessed.
View attachment 2578212View attachment 2578211
As you can see, the base comes with pads to protect the surface of the table. They are in partially recessed cutouts.
It turns out I didn't need the spacers/washers I bought for the VESA mount. The standoffs I mentioned before on the LG 6K monitor inside the VESA mount cutout don't interfere with the mounting plate of the stand. Contrary to the schematics on the website listing, the stand does NOT have a 12 cm mounting plate. It's ~11.5 cm, and those standoffs are each ~2.5 mm wide, so it's an exact fit between the standoffs. Is 11.5 cm a standard size for such mounting plates? Cuz it looks like those standoffs were designed specifically to align the mounting plate. Note that it did not come with those protective washers for the VESA screw mounts, and I didn't bother to add any.
Stand showing the VESA mount and the lift design. The closeup of it partially mounted shows the standoff aligning the plate.
The stand came with thumb screws. The screw holes are recessed, and the collars of the thumb screws fit inside.
View attachment 2578213View attachment 2578215
Monitor lowered
View attachment 2578216View attachment 2578219
Monitor raised. In the first pic you can see those standoffs again on either side of the mounting plate.
View attachment 2578218View attachment 2578217
Highest vs lowest, front view
View attachment 2578244View attachment 2578221
At minimum height the monitor's bottom edge is 3.75" above the table, and the monitor's top edge is 20" above the table. That means I was able to lower the monitor 1.6 inches compared to the stock stand.
Rotated
View attachment 2578222
New vs stock
View attachment 2578223
Thumb screw type. That collar is narrower so it fits inside the recessed part of the screw holes.
View attachment 2578225
It stays put after raising or lowering it. If your table is not stable the monitor can wobble a bit, but it seems pretty stable in my setup. The hinge tilt mechanism isn't the smoothest, but it works fine.
It arrived in 8 calendar days from China, and I didn't get hit with any additional fees (so far) even though it was supposed to be a DAP shipment. I paid US$82 shipped, but it seems I got very lucky because now it's ~US$130 (to Canada at least) with the same Alibaba Premium shipping method, or ~US$115 with Standard shipping.
27inch 32inch All Aluminum Alloy Stand Xdr Style Monitor Cnc Rotating Lift Table Vesa Bracket For Desktop Computer Screen - Buy Factory Wholesale 24 27 32 34 Inches Monitor Lift Swivel Stand Desktop Computer Screen Vesa Bracket desktop Computer Full
27inch 32inch All Aluminum Alloy Stand Xdr Style Monitor Cnc Rotating Lift Table Vesa Bracket For Desktop Computer Screen - Buy Factory Wholesale 24 27 32 34 Inches Monitor Lift Swivel Stand Desktop Computer Screen Vesa Bracket desktop Computer Full Set Used 22-27 Inch New Computer Monitor...www.alibaba.com
EugW
macrumors P6
I would check the supported weight specs too. It seems there are a few variations out there with slightly different specs.
Hello. I received my LG 6k 10 days ago. I use a Mac Studio. Last week I tried calibrating it with the LG Calibration Studio software because I want to use hardware calibration. I'm interested in sRGB and Adobe RGB because I'm a photographer. Unfortunately, I had a nasty surprise: Adobe RGB isn't among the target color gamuts in the calibration software! You can only choose between: Native, sRGB, SMPTE-C, EBU, Rec709, P3-D65, Manual, and Upload Profile. This seems absurd for a monitor like this, where they advertise 99.5% Adobe color coverage... but what if you can't calibrate for Adobe?!?! In the end, I calibrated using the Native Color Gamut target, which should be a bit beyond Adobe. Has this happened to you too? Have you tried? Thanks in advance...
Quotenfrau
macrumors 6502a
This monitor is now $400 off at various places. Are they upgrading the hardware? Or are sales slow?
For owners of this monitor that have had it for a reasonable time, how do you like it?
For owners of this monitor that have had it for a reasonable time, how do you like it?
EugW
macrumors P6
Mine works great and it is my daily driver with my M4 Mac mini. I use Thunderbolt 4 and get full 6K 10-bit 4:4:4 support using macOS' built-in support for DSC compression. When I first got it, it didn't have a Mac specific colour calibration setting, but it did have programmable on-board custom settings available, so I did a custom Apple Display P3 setting which gives great colours with macOS. However, a firmware update added a couple of custom Apple colour settings, although I don't actually use them, because LG doesn't actually provide the specific details for those settings. One of them looks like my iPhone colours but I still use my on-board custom Display P3 setting because I know exactly what that is. The LG firmware update software sucks and is kind of invasive though, so after installing the firmware update I deleted that software. I left the LG Calibration Studio software installed, but I turned off its background service since it's unnecessary.
The KVM functionality and Thunderbolt / USB hub on the monitor are well thought out and work well. I actually run my Time Machine backup Thunderbolt / USB 4 SSD off the monitor. Also, the monitor wakes up every time after sleep as expected. OTOH, sometimes my M4 Mac mini doesn't go to sleep if there is an app on screen even if it's just Safari, but I don't know if that's due to macOS or the combo of macOS with that app and that LG monitor. However, if I close all apps, then it will sleep normally.
I liked the look of the stock LG height-adjustable stand, but I'm relatively short and the stand didn't go very low, making the monitor too tall for me. So, I bought a third party Chinese solid aluminum height-adjustable stand and now the monitor can be adjusted significantly lower. It also happens to match the colour of the back of the LG monitor perfectly.
The monitor actually has acceptable built-in speakers. Most monitors have utter junk for speakers but this is significantly above average. They're not actually what I would call good, but acceptable. However, I already had external speakers so I use those. There is no built-in web cam. I was originally using a cheap Lenovo webcam which worked fine but which wasn't very good quality. I then bought a white Insta360 Link 2C webcam which has way, way better video quality. Night vs. day improvement in video quality, and better than Apple's webcams. However, the problem is now I get reverb in the microphone audio. I suspect it could be because I'm not using Insta360's software because it's bloated. Unfortunately the interaction between macOS and the webcam without the extra software is problematic specifically with videoconferencing software like FaceTime and Zoom. For the time being I've just used my iPhone for FaceTime meetings, but will consider reinstalling the Insta360 software or else just getting a different webcam. Or I can just use the old Lenovo webcam in a pinch. Or maybe I'll buy a dedicated microphone, since I was previously considering doing that anyway.
Note though I think the base pricing for this LG 6K monitor in the US is simply too high. I bought mine in Canada, and the retail pricing was slightly lower than in the US, but LG Canada also had significant promotions at launch to bring the pricing way down. After all discounts and promotions, I ended up paying just over US$1500 for the monitor before taxes, 6 months ago. That's actually less than the $1600 that LG USA is charging now, but remember that in the US they have various ongoing promotions too, including the LG Appreciation Program which can provide additional discounts for some people. Overall, I think $1599 should be the retail pricing to begin with. $1999 is just too high, even with its very good Thunderbolt 5 support.
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EugW
macrumors P6
Screen uniformity seems OK. Brightness evenness across the screen isn't perfect but not something I notice in daily usage. There is mild blue-grey colour shift off axis. I think both may be partially related to the matte surface because if I look at the middle straight on from relatively close up, the brightness at the edges appears mildly diminished with that mild colour shift, but if I physically move my head to the edge of the screen and look at that edge straight on, I don't see the diminished brightness or colour shift anymore. I understand why some people might prefer curved screens in this context, but I'm not one of them. I generally don't like curved screens so I'm still happy it's flat.
Two of these would use a lot of desk space and you'd probably want to angle them, partially for the reasons mentioned above.
I think US$1500-$1600 is a fair price for these. US$2000 is not.
Alameda
macrumors 68000
I almost bought one, but thanks to tariffs and shipping fees the $79 stand will cost $154 delivered. At that price, I'll pass.