So here I am, decided to solve my screen estate problems with a 4K television from LG.
Because this thing is 49" UHD with an IPS panel for 350 € there's surely something wrong with this. Well let's find out! The store I bought this from has a most generous return policy so I have about a month to decide if I want to keep it.
Is 49" necessary?
Screen estate is the primary reason I want to explore this scenario. There's a big list of detailed technical reasons behind it, but the end result is that an 4K UHD panel in size 42-49 inches is going to offer me the amount of screen estate I really desire, even "need".
4K monitors in 27" size give me "effectively" 3.6 megapixels of screen estate because I have to scale the UI to be able to see everything comfortably. (Pics would appear super crisp though.)
4K monitors in 43" size give me "effectively" all of the promised 8 megapixels because I don't need to scale the UI.
Alternatives include: two 4K 27" monitors in scaled mode. I'm getting 2x3.6 effective megapixels = enough. But how are you going to place two big honking monitors so that you can comfortably view one straight on, and the second should still be easily viewable so that I don't waste that bought estate. This is a big logistical challenge.
Hence, a single 42-49" 4K panel is solving a lot of problems at once, and potentially very affordably at that!
Is IPS necessary?
I honestly don't know how bad/good the viewing angles are with TN panels today. But assuming that no matter how good a modern TN panel is today, equally new IPS panel is going to offer better angles.
Is LG necessary?
LG is the only manufacturer who offers IPS panels in affordable models. I have had bad and good experiences with various LG models. I know good Samsung and Philips panels to be good panels in PC use from the past. But they are not offering IPS panels in these price ranges.
Why not OLED?
OLED would be very good I assume. So good as to justify some premium at the price. But sadly the pixels they use in OLED televisions are sufficiently big that there aren't affordable options in 42-49-inch sizes.
What's good
For the price of 350 € the colors aren't bad. The screen estate is nice, very roomy. The viewing angles are pretty stretched even with IPS technology -- the edges appear somewhat dim but it's within reasonable expectations I would say.
This panel also seems to have a decent gamut and it reproduces a smooth tone gradation.
Viewing own images in 20x30" while developing is really wonderful. It's also wonderful being able to allocate more space for raw developer tools and toolbars so that you get a better sense where you're at and so on.
What's bad
The LG uses RGBW technology and now I fully realise what that means actually in use. All colored text and such loses definition in a funny way ... black on white is crisp but red on white for example looks as if it was JPEG-compressed. Very tiny text can interestingly enough lose color altogether if in one location on screen... shift it by one pixel to the left or right and you get color back.
Many hate this effect and see this "white paper" or blog post by Samsung, no doubt aimed at throwing shade at LG What is RGBW TV? -- this picture from the post highlights what I am seeing.
What's most interesting in all this, the effect is not visible while looking at images, or developing own. It's like JPEG compression in that sense also. You don't see the compression artifacts in a photograph but in normal text in an editor or web browser it's noticeable and gives a very low-fidelity viewing experience.
Like said, I'm free to return this and I have a good month or so to study workarounds and things. Do I like the big view? Yep. Would I prefer a crisper RGB pixel panel? Definitely! But TV-wise, there aren't many in FI markets that could offer IPS angles of view without RGBA in a budget friendly manner.
Because this thing is 49" UHD with an IPS panel for 350 € there's surely something wrong with this. Well let's find out! The store I bought this from has a most generous return policy so I have about a month to decide if I want to keep it.
Is 49" necessary?
Screen estate is the primary reason I want to explore this scenario. There's a big list of detailed technical reasons behind it, but the end result is that an 4K UHD panel in size 42-49 inches is going to offer me the amount of screen estate I really desire, even "need".
4K monitors in 27" size give me "effectively" 3.6 megapixels of screen estate because I have to scale the UI to be able to see everything comfortably. (Pics would appear super crisp though.)
4K monitors in 43" size give me "effectively" all of the promised 8 megapixels because I don't need to scale the UI.
Alternatives include: two 4K 27" monitors in scaled mode. I'm getting 2x3.6 effective megapixels = enough. But how are you going to place two big honking monitors so that you can comfortably view one straight on, and the second should still be easily viewable so that I don't waste that bought estate. This is a big logistical challenge.
Hence, a single 42-49" 4K panel is solving a lot of problems at once, and potentially very affordably at that!
Is IPS necessary?
I honestly don't know how bad/good the viewing angles are with TN panels today. But assuming that no matter how good a modern TN panel is today, equally new IPS panel is going to offer better angles.
Is LG necessary?
LG is the only manufacturer who offers IPS panels in affordable models. I have had bad and good experiences with various LG models. I know good Samsung and Philips panels to be good panels in PC use from the past. But they are not offering IPS panels in these price ranges.
Why not OLED?
OLED would be very good I assume. So good as to justify some premium at the price. But sadly the pixels they use in OLED televisions are sufficiently big that there aren't affordable options in 42-49-inch sizes.
What's good
For the price of 350 € the colors aren't bad. The screen estate is nice, very roomy. The viewing angles are pretty stretched even with IPS technology -- the edges appear somewhat dim but it's within reasonable expectations I would say.
This panel also seems to have a decent gamut and it reproduces a smooth tone gradation.
Viewing own images in 20x30" while developing is really wonderful. It's also wonderful being able to allocate more space for raw developer tools and toolbars so that you get a better sense where you're at and so on.
What's bad
The LG uses RGBW technology and now I fully realise what that means actually in use. All colored text and such loses definition in a funny way ... black on white is crisp but red on white for example looks as if it was JPEG-compressed. Very tiny text can interestingly enough lose color altogether if in one location on screen... shift it by one pixel to the left or right and you get color back.
Many hate this effect and see this "white paper" or blog post by Samsung, no doubt aimed at throwing shade at LG What is RGBW TV? -- this picture from the post highlights what I am seeing.
What's most interesting in all this, the effect is not visible while looking at images, or developing own. It's like JPEG compression in that sense also. You don't see the compression artifacts in a photograph but in normal text in an editor or web browser it's noticeable and gives a very low-fidelity viewing experience.
Like said, I'm free to return this and I have a good month or so to study workarounds and things. Do I like the big view? Yep. Would I prefer a crisper RGB pixel panel? Definitely! But TV-wise, there aren't many in FI markets that could offer IPS angles of view without RGBA in a budget friendly manner.