LG L246WP-BN : 24″ LCD Monitor
LG L246WP-BN
Size: 24″
Aspect Ratio: 16:10
Pixel Format: 1920 x 1200
Brightness: 500 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio: 1000:1
Response Time: 8ms
Inputs: VGA, HDMI, Component
Panel: In-Plane Switching (IPS) technology or Multidomain Vertical Alignment (MVA)
Viewing Angle: 178/178
Price: MSRP $650
I have always preferred LCD monitors that use In-Plane Switching (IPS) panels. A display’s primary function, in my opinion, is to accurately display information, may that be text, graphics or video. For graphics color is very important. IPS panels are known to have little color shift as you go off-angle leading to great color reproduction. That is why almost all of Apple’s LCD monitors use IPS panels. And that is one of the reasons why I like LG’s L246WP-BN.
The 1920 x 1200 pixel format is great for displaying high-resolution pictures and having two windows of 960 x 1200 side-by-side. I like using the “Tiles Windows Vertically” feature in Windows quite a bit, and that is how I am blogging right now. I have the Wordpress window on the left and the LG product page in the right window. Oh, I’m not using the LG monitor for this, yet. I have a 17″ Dell Inspiron 9300 with 1920 x 1200 pixels. The fonts can be on the small side for some, but the added productivity outweighed the smaller fonts and icons when I was making the purchasing decision about 2 1/2 years ago.
I was surprised to see the 1000:1 contrast ratio. LG.Philips LCD (LPL) generally makes excellent IPS panels, but contrast ratios have generally lagged behind Vertically Aligned (VA) panels from Samsung or AU Optronics (AUO). I guess they have been making advances in IPS panels: making blacks more black or whites more white. Another interesting choice was the HDMI in lieu of DVI port. Most IT-targeted LCD monitors will sport a VGA + DVI combo, but LG’s L246WP-BN has a VGA + HDMI combo. My guess is that LG was hoping to capture the wallets of consumers looking more toward consumer electronics (CE) applications. CE applications like the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Blu-ray and HD-DVD players have HDMI out, but not DVI (some have both). So if you wanted to play some games with your PS3 or Xbox 360 with 1080 lines, then this would be a good monitor to do it with. But, one caveat: the response time is only 8ms. This is on the slow side as some brands, namely Acer, have come out with really fast response times. Motion blur is the blur effect you see when things move about quickly especially when you watching sports. LCD TVs without 120Hz or black frame insertion technologies will experience quite a bit of motion blur since most of the time they are displaying moving pictures. Of course, this 24″ beaut will be used for both work and play. Just don’t expect CRT-like fast and crisp movements when watching sports on ESPN HD if you happen to connect your STB via HDMI.
The $650 price can be a bit much and I was quite surprised when I came across Best Buy’s sale. BB regularly has LG’s 24″ for $599.99. But, BB was having the L246WP-BN for just $450! BB’s online store stated that it was sold out, and as of Dec. 22 9:19am PST, it still is. I went by the BB store in Santana Row (a popular hang out place with lots of name brand shops and places to eat in San Jose, CA) yesterday but they were completely out of stock. But the good news was that I was able to have a look at inventory for LG’s L246WP-BN for all the stores in Northern California. Unfortunately, all San Francisco Bay Area BB stores were out of stock. But, I was in luck. I saw 4 units for a BB in Salinas. And I have a dear relative who lives there! To make a long story short (it’s already long enough!), I’ll be staring at a 24″ IPS-based LCD monitor tomorrow afternoon!
Update Christmas Day 2007
I received my L246WP-BN yesterday. I am using it to post this blog. Just to make sure I had a perfect display, I used Dead Pixel Buddy (I downloaded it from FreewareFiles.com) to test my very large LCD monitor. The LG IPS panel turned out to be perfect without a pixel defect or a sub-pixel defect. Yay! Compared to my 17″ TN LCD in the Dell Inspiron 9300… actually I can’t compare: The IPS display can be seen, without hardly any color shift, from side to side. I am very happy with the display performance so far. The only challenge that I am having is using the DVI-HDMI cable. I am currently running 1920 x 1200 via the VGA cable as I have had trouble using the HDMI connection. Anyone know what I must do? I have googled the problem but did not find a solution. Let me know if you know. And Merry Christmas!
Update 2007.12.29
I think I have found the solution! My L246WP-BN is being driving via the DVI-HDMI connection right now. Compared to the VGA connection, text is so much more crisp! Ah. Finally! This is what I did:
1. Connect the DVI-HDMI cable. Use the OSD on the LG and set the input to HDMI. Promptly, the LG monitor will go to sleep mode.
2. Enter display settings and make sure to set it so it is using the LG display as either duplicated or extended (I use extended).
3. Reboot PC. I have Windows XP Pro SP2.
4. The connection simply works when Windows boots up.
I am simply ecstatic! I can’t say how much I am relieved. I hope all of you out there that have a L246WP-BN can get the HDMI-DVI connection to work. Happy New Year everyone!
Technorati Tags: LG, LG Electronics, LGE, 24″, LCD Monitor, 1920 x 1200, HDMI
Thanks for the tip! I checked BestBuy online and my local store had one, so I went and picked one up — their weren’t many left. I plugged it in to make sure it wasn’t DOA, but can’t comment on the display quality yet.
Hi,
Are you sure that this LG monitor is S-IPS? There was a discussion at one of the Anandtech threads (http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=31&threadid=2135720) where a frequent poster thought this was a VA panel. I tried to find out more information myself, but could not confirm that it is indeed S-IPS. Are you able to provide any additional information?
Thanks,
–Ken
Hi Ken,
Thanks for reading my blog! I’ll try to answer your question as best as I can.
LG Electronics procure LCD panels from several source, but mostly from LG.Philips LCD, a joint venture between LG Electronics and Philips Electronics. LG.Philips LCD is a In-Plane Switching technology house and makes most IPS panels in the world. Others such as BOE Hydis, HannStar, Hitachi and a Japan-based joint venture called IPS Alpha also make IPS-based displays.
VA-based LCD is manufactured by companies such as Sharp, Samsung, AU Optronics, Chi Mei Optoelectronics, Chunghwa Picture Tubes and others. Although the possibility of the LG 24″ LCD monitor having a VA LCD panel is there, it would be surprising. Although some sites report that the LG 24″ LCD monitor uses a VA panel, my personal test, which I will show you below, shows that that is not true.
A way of figuring out if you have a IPS or VA panel is to use a pair of polarized sunglasses, or any piece of glass or transparent plastic that is polarized.
Polarized sunglasses are great at blocking light that bounces off of flat surfaces (roads, body of water, etc.). The light is generally polarized vertically and what that means is that horizontal light, light that bounces off roads, etc., are blocked, removing a lot of glare and helping you to see better.
If you place a set of polarized sunglasses in front of the LCD, you should see the contents pretty well. If you tilt it 45 degrees (positive or negative), most TN and VA panels should turn black. Now, if you tilt it 90 degrees a IPS panel will turn black. This is based on my understanding of how liquid crystals are aligned and therefore how light is polarized for VA versus IPS technologies. Try it and let me know what happens with your LCD monitor.
Note: Some polarized sunglasses are not completely vertically polarized and may be off by a few degrees.
Hi Jin,
Thank you for the detailed response. While I have not yet had a chance to perform the test that you have described, I did contact LG USA customer service today. They specifically stated that this model has an MVA panel. It is also listed as such at the LG Canadian web site: http://ca.lge.com/en/products/model/detail/lcdmonitors_l246wpbn.jhtml# under the specification tab near the bottom of the page. Its great that MVA technology is becoming so similar to S-IPS that it is becoming harder and harder to tell them apart.
–Ken
Thanks Ken. I have also done some digging and it seems that LG has procured from more than one panel supplier for the 24″ LCD monitor. Although for most consumers the difference between IPS and VA panels might not make much of a difference, for those that are seeking out IPS technology, this development is slightly disappointing.
On another note, the power saving problem has come back and after several reboots the monitor does not want to work. Even though the price was great, I cannot continue to deal with a monitor that simply does not want to work. Unfortunately, the 24″ monitor will be going back to Best Buy tomorrow or sometime next week.
I am still in need of a solid 24″ LCD monitor and am currently researching HP’s w2408. The price is just as competitive at just $485 shipped. But more important than price, I will need for it to simply work and will complete its due diligence before I purchase it.
Please offer up any advice you may have if you know of excellent 24″ LCD monitors. Thanks!
-Jin
[...] only when they have a sale of a certain item that is cheaper than anywhere else I can get them. The 24″ LG monitor is a good example (though I had to return it). The $449 price was simply unbeatable. At other [...]
The powersaving problem you speak of is from using the HDMI connection? I did what you said to do and made my hdmi connection as my main monitor and then unextended it from the vga connection. I haven’t had any problems since. I bought it for 449 at circuit city. Good deal.
@thirdshiftdj
Yes, I experienced the power-saving problem when the LG was connected via the DVI-HDMI cable. I am very happy to hear that your LG is working without a problem for you. I wish I can say the same. I returned the LG unit and am still looking for a 1920 x 1200 external monitor. I might instead go with two 1600 x 1200 monitors instead.
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[...] indicate that the power is on: when it’s on, it’s blue. This is similar to the larger L246WP-BN. The response time is a fast 2ms and the dynamic contrast ratio is 5000:1. I’ve mentioned [...]