Top critical review
1.0 out of 5 starsBudget Monitor - Poor Quality Control
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2017
First and foremost, this is a budget model. If you're looking into getting this monitor, you need to lower your expectations if you're used to higher-end LCD panels found in higher end Samsung tablets, iPads, MacBook Pros, etc. I've tried 3 units, all with varying degrees of defects, and I've simply given up.
Pros:
- Cheap for a 27" 4K display in 2017.
- Backlight bleed isn't that bad for the most part. Only one of the units had anything noticeable.
- No ghosting.
- Works with PlayStation 4 Pro in 4K @60Hz.
- Works with my gaming desktop's GTX 1080 over HDMI with 4K @60Hz.
- Works with my MacBook Pro 13 2016, and MacBook 12 2016 over USB-C to DisplayPort 1.2 Alt Mode with 4K @60Hz.
Cons:
- Mild rainbow-effect on white backgrounds is noticeable when closer than 3ft with my vision, thanks to the LCD finish. Not bad, but not great either.
- Color accuracy is mediocre out of the box. It's decent once calibrated and most of the frivolous OSD options turned off.
- Complains at you if you don't use supplied cables (warnings can be disabled), but it doesn't come with 2 HDMI cables. My AmazonBasics HDMI 2.0 cable works very well with every device I tested, but the monitor still shows a popup complaining about it. Just feels wrong.
- Remembers your last input source, so if the monitor is asleep and you turn on a device that was not your last used source, it won't wake the monitor until you manually switch inputs using the joystick under the bezel. I couldn't find an auto-detect input mode.
- All 3 units I tried had poor color consistency across the screen. Lots of reddish areas near edges/corners on every unit.
For the 3 units I tried, I had to return each due to:
Unit #1: Horrible color distortion based on angle. Very headache-inducing as my left and right eyes would see different colors for the same spot on the screen. It kind of felt like I was permanently wearing one of those old red/blue 3D glasses. The OSD joystick had its Up/Left/Center (and sometimes Right) button sensors broken and refused to work until the monitor had warmed up about 10 minutes, making input switching impossible at times.
Unit #2: Almost acceptable panel color consistency. The OSD joystick worked perfectly! However, there were vertical pin-stripe lines that ran all the way down the screen, about 0.75 - 1" wide of the right edge, regardless of what was being displayed (even with no devices connected, in the menu screens). The entire screen would also flicker when any vibration was applied to the desk. How did this make it past QC? Or maybe it was shipping damage?
Unit #3: Mediocre panel color consistency with red areas in the bottom corners. Same dead OSD joystick Up/Left/Right/Center buttons as #1. Sometimes, the image would flicker when adjusting monitor angle. Given my experience with the other units, I wasn't going to keep something that already has something loose internally.
I'm very sorry for Amazon for having to put up with my returns, but this budget model of a display really needs to be removed until LG gets these kinds of issues resolved. I was hoping to win the QC roulette, but I'm giving up. If the chances of getting a decently functional monitor without a glaring defect are this low, I suggest you stay away from this model.
