LG 34UC97 34-Inch Ultra-Wide Curved Monitor Review

[Skypine27]

Milkod:
My opinion only of course:
Gaming: Curved (requires GTX 970 or better to be safe)
Movie watching: Either
Web browsing: Either
Graphic design: Flat

Ive never done design before. However, when opening mid size windows, I literally "feel/see" the curve. Example, opening a mid size (fills 70% of screen) Steam window (which is black), I am convinced I see a curve along the top and bottom edge of the box. I can imagine this would not work well for any photo / design stuff.

 

[milkod2001]

@Skypine27

From your personal experience which would you recommend curved of flat and why?

give us some CONS/PROS. Could curved screen be used for productivity?(graphic Design)

Thanks

 

[milkod2001]

@Skypine27
Thanks for info, appreciate it

 

[ceberle]

I own both the flat LG 34 AND the curved LG 34 (flat model is for sale on ebay) using a 2 x GTX 980's in SLI. To me, they were both great screens and I don't notice any of this BLB complaint stuff. (but I game with the lights ON normal levels, not in a pitch black room.)

But to the reviewer:
Did you REALLY write this review via HDMI @ 50hz!??!?

Both the flat and curved LG are limited to 50hz when using the HDMI input (unless doing the clever un official custom resolution creation work around with a GTX 970/980 HDMI 2.0 but you did NOT mention anything about this)

So I have to assume you are reviewing this with normal HDMI, thereby limiting yourself to 50hz. The Black Level option is "grey-ed out" and non selectable with a DP connection, I can confirm this on my monitors. So if you have changed this setting, it means you are running HDMI @ 50 hz. Which would be a travesty when 60 hz via DP is available....

Did I miss something?

I ran all benchmark and usability tests at 60Hz over HDMI. I am not aware of the 50Hz limitation you speak of.

-Christian-

 

[ahnilated]

I shall wait for this curved monitor fad to fade away. I don't want a monitor or tv that is curved and never will.

 

[eklipz330]

21:9, 3440x1440, curved, freesync, ips, 120hz, $900, thanks.

 

[RedJaron]

I'm a little bit annoyed that the curve is so subtle. The purpose of curving a display shouldn't be just for the purpose of the marketing "Curved!" but should place the edges of the screen, relatively equidistant to your eyes as the center of the screen.

curved monitors just dont look right. As has been said, you really need to sit the perfect distance away. At this stage gsync and freesync should be at the top of any gamers list, you will need lower end PC hardware and can have lower framerates and still get smooth gameplay.

I agree that curved displays should serve a purpose, other than so the marketing team can scream the term. I may be wrong, but I don't think the idea on these screens is to wrap completely around your head. I think it has more to do with viewing angles. A truly circular display ( not parabolic, as that shape is more for satellite dishes and solar reflectors, ) is meant to keep the entire display the same distance from your eyes. A side benefit of that is the entire display is completely orthogonal to your eyes, meaning you're always viewing it at 90° ( well, it'd take a spherical display to get that for up and down, but anyway... ) I don't think focal distance is as big a deal for these displays. Even on a 34" flat panel the focal distance is less than 5" between center and edge if you're viewing from 24". And the focal shift isn't jarring since your eyes usually slide from the middle to the edges. Since these screens don't have such a severe curvature, I'm guessing you wouldn't notice any distortion unless you were really close to the display.

As I said, I think this is more about viewing angles. A typical 24" 16:9 flat panel is about 21" wide ( give or take depending on bezel. ) So assuming your head is 24" from the screen, you're viewing the edge of the display at 66.5° or 23.5° off orthogonal. At 18" away, that goes to 59.8° / 30.2°. That's really not too bad. However, the larger the screen, the sharper the angles becomes. On these extra wide screens the angels go up even faster.

On a 30" 21:9 display ( which would have roughly the same height as a 24" 16:9, ) the edge viewing is 60° / 30° @ 24", and is 52.5° / 37.5° @ 18". With this 34" monster you're literally looking at 57° / 33° @ 24" and 49° / 41° @ 18". An IPS panel of course doesn't suffer as badly as a TN panel, but those still aren't great viewing angles. For perspective, a 27" 16:9, which is the same height as 34" 21:9, is only 64° / 26° @ 24" and 57° / 33° @ 18".

 

[steve4king]

@RedJaron
The viewing angle is certainly one advantage to the curved screen. (assuming you always sit dead center) But the fact that your eyes/brain perceive the surface as flat, and have to focus differently in the center than the edge does remove you from the environment it is portraying.

 

[RedJaron]

Steve, if you can keep your head at the exact focal point, then yes a circular or spherical display will be preferable. But that's also assuming you've got a desk that will work with those displays, namely a U or L or other desk that wraps around you and has both the width and depth to accommodate the screen(s).

Like I said, the focal distance change is already pretty small, even with flat screens. I work with three displays and have three at my home as well. I've been using multiple screens for nearly ten years. The focal distance change is even greater when using three flat panels compared to even one of these slightly curved displays, but I don't have a problem with eye strain or changing focus right now. We're I to get a screen like this ( I can dream, right? ) I think it would feel even smoother.

You are right that a fully circular display setup would feel the most immersive. I've even seen simulators with specially curved mirrors and projectors that focused the image on your retina to attempt a fully 3D world. But the money to get a full surround display like you're talking, using that image you posted, would cost thousands. And most people simply can't afford that. The vast majority came even afford this one monitor. It may be slightly more immersive, but I think the design as is is more marketable since it's not focal distance dependent, it can fit in most desks and work with most users despite how near our far they sit from their screens.

(Apologies for typos, if any, I typed this from my phone.)

 

[cobra5000]

Dear Santa...

 

[SMOKEMlST]

i picked up the non curved versionfor 799$ during winter sale.

 

[SkyBill40]

I've seen this beast in person and it's stunningly magnificent. What's equally stunning to me is the price. Then again, seeing as this is classified as a luxo-business monitor and not one for gaming, the cost isn't all that surprising. While it may not be ideal for gaming as far as refresh rates and response rate go, I can only imagine as to how immersive it would be on a flight sim or the like. Lack of a VESA mounting option is a big negative, however.

I'm in the market for a new monitor and this is definitely something worth considering seeing that I work from home. Oh, decisions. Mean, nasty, wallet busting decisions.

 

[RedJaron]

I hear you. I'd love to get something like this, but I can't find any way to justify spending more on a monitor than on the whole rest of my computer. Something like the Acer B29CL is the closest I'll come unless these prices get cut by more than half. Only 2560x1080, but at least it's VESA compatible, fully adjustable stand, and built-in USB3 hub

Realistically, both are out of my range for the time being. I can dream, right?

 

[falchard]

There is an issue with your LG display. Its hooked up to a Mac.

 

[Merry_Blind]

Human FOV, according to wikipedia:
"The approximate field of view of an individual human eye is 95° away from the nose, 75° downward, 60° toward the nose, and 60° upward."
"With eyeball rotation of about 90° (head rotation excluded, peripheral vision included), horizontal field of view is as high as 270°."
This means 155°:135°(31:27, very squarish) for nonmoving eyes, and 270°:135°(2:1) for moving eyes.

So does that mean that, in theory, a 2:1 monitor would be perfect for our total vision??? (I've actually suspected that for a long time)

 

[refillable]

Without any prejudice regarding my respect towards LG, this super wide angle stuff is rubbish. Since the movement from 16:10 to 16:9 I was hoping that the monitors should not go wider anymore. 16:10 is better than 16:9 in regards of functionality and I would take a 27" 2560x1600 than this even priced similarly (which is not most of the time). And no, not for ridiculous reasons, but in terms of practicality 16:10 is the sweet spot. You don't have to divide stuff strangely and move the things here and there confusingly. Because in 16:10 there is a lot of horizontal space that can be worked out and is more beneficial than super wide stuff like these.

 

[zthomas]

Not buying wide.. not until the price comes down.. twelve hundred are you kidding.. for a fricken monitor.. not even a smart TV.. 4K 8K geez.. curved.. not buying until the screen completely wraps around.. as a huggie blanket..

 

[uber_national]

21:9, 3440x1440, curved, freesync, ips, 120hz, $900, thanks.

and no backlight bleed? hell, i'd pay $2000 for that

 

[kapitalistas]

who reads long comments anyway,but DONT WANNA BE NEGATIVE i have LG BLUR-RAY DVD drive.player its self good but software im wanna vomit.its so difficult to use after upgrade Windows every time.

 

[belette]

Many thanks for the good article!
Do you plan to test the Samsung S34E790C? (main competitor right now)