LG IPS226V-PN
The IPS226V is a new display from a new line of monitors from one of the world leaders in monitor manufacturers LG Electronics. This model combines an IPS panel with LED Backlighting.
THE GENERAL PRESENTATION
LG’s new line of monitors comprises 4 models: LG IPS2062T (20 inch), IPS226V-PN (21.5 inch), IPS236V-PN (23 inch) and IPS231P (23 inch). The first 3 models are consumer models (or normal user oriented – a user that likes a quality display and would like to enjoy good viewing angles and great colors), the last being a professional display (it is a display oriented to the graphic designers, photographers, etc).
THE BOX
What can you say about the package of a product? I believe that the package is not an important part of the product, but merely a marketing technique. The package used by LG is a standard cardboard box, of good quality and not too many colors used (I actually like a simple box). The first thing that you see on the box is the new message for this line of products: “IPS Teams up with LED”. It is a very clear message that summarizes the essential in this line: the use of an IPS panel (actually according to LG it is a PREMIUM IPS PANEL) with led backlighting technology.
Printed on the box are also some of the features of the monitor like: full hd resolution, mega contrast ratio (refers to the dynamic contrast 5.000.000:1), energy saving, HDMI port.
Inside the box we find the usual: connection cables VGA and DVI-D (but the included cables can be different depending on the country or region) , warranty card and drivers CD with the electronic manual, the stand, a 35W power brick with power cord and surprising 4 screws for the VESA mounting.
ASSEMBLY
Actually the assembly is easy, and the only operation that you have to do is to attach the stand base to monitor using 2 thumb screws. The system used by LG as stand is very basic and it doesn’t allow for any adjustments except for a limited tilt positioning.
SPECIFICATIONS
On paper the specifications look very good.
SPECIFICATIONS
On paper the specifications look very good.
- Screen size: 22 inch (21.5 inch)
- Pixel pitch (mm): 0.248*0.248
- Resolution: FULL HD 1080P (1980×1080)
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Brightness (cd/m²): 250 cd/m²
- Panel type: IPS (viewing angles H/V 178° / 178°)
- Backlighting: Super LED
- Response time: 6ms
- Input/Output: VGA, DVI, HDMI and Headphone jack
- Power consumption: 35W (27W normal use)
- Features: Mega Contrast Ratio (5.000.000:1 dynamic contrast ratio), Ultra-slim LED Monitor (the monitor is very slim and good looking), Smart+ Package.
The IPS Panel used in this display is a IPS6 series, which according to LG, features a low response time (6ms), true color reproduction (“colors true to nature” referred to by LG), super viewing angle of 178 degree, less energy consumption from the use of LED technology.
BUT IS IT REALLY TRUE?
First out of the box the display shows remarkable colors and the quality compared to a TN panel, but what surprised me was that this model doesn’t come calibrated from factory. I know that it is intended to be used by normal consumers (and most will not feel the need to calibrate them), but it is a shame to have an IPS panel not calibrated properly. Don’t get me wrong the quality of the image and colors are great if you compared to a TN panel, but I also use a Dell IPS display and that one came properly calibrated from the factory. So the second thing that I had to do was to calibrate the display. You can use software tools to calibrate, but it is best to use a hardware specialized tool (e.g. DATACOLOR SPYDER 3, Pantone Huey or ColorMunki Create from X-Rite). You can also find calibrated profiles on the internet (google is your friend – sometimes).
Having the monitor calibrated, I took a look at the viewing angles. LG advertises 178° viewing angles, and after some check I have to say that the used panel is very good and respects the specifications. The only problem that I detected regarding the viewing angles is the fact that when approaching the 178° angles the images tend to get a blue coloring tone. But, it is not very obvious and disturbing in any way. It doesn’t affect the clarity of the image in any way.
Response time is what really mater for gamers. After some tests in some FPS, I haven’t seen any signs of ghosting effects or delays. The tests were done in Call of Duty Black Ops (a short movie will be uploaded on my youtube channel in the next days), Medal of Honor 2010 and Metro 2033. I haven’t tested yet any racing games (it’s not that I couldn’t find any, it’s just: I HATE RACING GAMES, but a test will be done – in the name of science – on Need For Speed: Shift).
Below is a short video presentation of the monitor running Call of Duty Black Ops.
Movie playback on the monitor is great and I haven’t seen any delays or any obvious problems. In fact the quality is great. The monitor comes with some predefined modes, including a movie preset that makes the movie view, bright and clear.
Below is a short video presentation of the monitor running a game on Xbox360 and some tests to see the quality of movie playback.
Text viewing is also comfortable. I include here text processing or webpage reading.
THE MENU
Well the menu is simple and easy to understand. The monitor comes only with touch buttons (7 in total including the power button), but they are very responsive. The touch of any of the 6 buttons that are on the left of the power button will open the menu. The menu is set so that when it opens each function will correspond to a button. Pressing on the bezel under the corresponding dot will activate that function. Further advancing in the menu, will change the functions of the touch buttons. The main functions are: MENU, SMART+, MODE, AUTO, INPUT, EXIT.
From the MENU function the user can change the most usual functions: language, contrast, brightness, color scheme, screen position, turn power indicator light off, change the volume for the headphone jack.
From SMART+ you can activate a function that feature a dual web mode that makes the manipulation of the separate screen easier, the Cinema Mode automatically finds the optimal settings.
MODE will allow access to some preset modes: movie, text and other usual presets.
AUTO will auto adjust all the usual functions (contrast, brightness, colors, etc).
INPUT will allow you to change the input port used (VGA, DVI or HDMI).
EXIT = Exit the menu.
As I stated above, the buttons are very responsive and the blue light from the power button is not very disturbing or unpleasant, but after using the display for 2 weeks (give or take a couple of days), I found that pressing the power button to turn the display on and off, made a permanent stain (or better stated permanent smudge). Oh, and not to forget the bezel is a magnet for prints.
CONCLUSIONS
Well, taking into consideration the quality of the display, the products on the market from other manufacturers (Dell, HP) and the prices (in my country the price is about 200 Euro or 268 USD), I think it’s a very good product to buy.
PROS:
- IPS Panel
- 6 ms response time
- LED Backlighting
- Full HD
- HDMI Port
CONS:
- No USB
- No factory calibration
- Limited adjustments options
- The bezel is a magnet for prints
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Oops put the comment in the wrong post 🙂
I was looking for the panel name/part number that is inside the monitor but couldn’t find any info on it. Can you please look at the stickers on the monitor and stickers on the box to see if there is any info about the panel.
Just post any number you can find, that would be really nice of you. Thank you.
Hi
Thanks. The panel is an LG IPS Premium Panel. I will post also the numbers on the back of the monitor, but I don’t think it will help much.
According to LG press release regarding the new monitor line, the panel is produced by LG and it is an IPS6 series panel with low GtoG response time. I would like to think that since they are using Premium IPS Panels, there shouldn’t be any dead pixels (well I couldn’t be more wrong).
In my country the sale of this line of displays is done exclusively by an online retailer (and they have a policy that if you’re not happy with the product you can return it in 30 days) and from what I can see they already received back a couple, due to dead pixels. My display came without dead pixels or other „construction” problems.
PS: I will delete the comments from the previews post.
hello I would like to ask you how you calibrate the colors, and if you’ve changed some options from the user menu of the monitor. I bought this monitor for two days and I’m trying to set it. Thank you very much for your help, and.. sorry for my bad english i’m italian 🙂
Hello Vincenzo,
I didn’t made changes in the user menu of the monitor, I used a hardware calibration tool Spider 3 Pro from Datacolor and a link to the tool: http://spyder.datacolor.com/product-mc-s3pro.php (there is also a much cheaper version the Spider 3 Express). You can correct some color errors from the monitor user menu, but it is best to use a calibration tool (hardware or software). The software ones are easy to find online and free -usually (some prof. photo processing software include such tools Adobe Photoshop includes one, or another example Nokia Monitor Test or Eizo monitor test), but the result will not be as good as if you would use a hardware tool.
Hello……did you encounter backlight bleeding with your monitor? I seem to have some at the left side. It is visible with black backscreens but also with white backscreens. Than the colour turns yellowish/greenish.
Hello,
I have encounted some but only barely visible on black backscreens and no other lights in the room. But, even in these conditions it is barely visible.
Hi, I’ve been searching for a monitor that can dim really low to use in a dark room at night, but in general monitors can’t get low enogh for me, could you take a picture with the brighness in maximum and another with brighness in minimim both with the same reference on the side of the monitor, like another monitor or a lamp? so we can see the diference…
Hi, Ok I’ve done the tests. I will post the picture in a new post on the blog.
Hi there….Nice review.
I just got the IPS226V and i’m really liking it. No backlight bleeding, 0 dead pixels, everything’s well. However, i wanted to know if the electronic buzzing noise that i’m hearing at the top right of the LCD is normal.
When i have a white/black background and the contrast level set at maximum, i’m hearing this noise coming out from inside the LCD. It’s not loud, but i’m worried about the LCD’s wealth itself. I already called LG, and told them about this problem. And they said that it’s normal/common for LCD’s to make these types of noises, as they have different technologies than a laptop LCD, etc….
But, anyway. I just wanted to know if yours does the same thing (hear a „distorted-like” electricity running inside the LCD), and if i should worried about. I don’t wanna send it back/replace it with another model that might have other different problems.
Plus, I already had a Samsung that did the same thing, send it for repair, and came back as i sent them (unrepaired, of course!).
Thanks in advance.
Hi, sorry for answering so late. Actually someone already asked me if I hear any sound while the brightness is at maximus and made some tests and I don’t hear any sound, but a I have also 2 Samsung displays and one of them actually does make a buzzing sound when I turn the brightness to maximum.
Hi. Thanks for your kind answer.
I noticed that the buzz only occurs once the LCD gets warmed up (attached to the computer), and from there it stay on all the time.
I tried tweaking with the brightness/contrast settings, but it doesn’t resolve anything. My suggestion is that it’s normal, specially when a whiter background is displayed (with white, the LCD has to work hard to display it correctly, hence why it might buzz a little more than usual). I too have a Samsung display which does buzz when brightness is set to minimum, but in the end, i think a slight buzz will be always heard on LCD’s. I think it has to do with the technology or some kind of component (such as the backlight) working hard.
Anyway, thanks for your kind answer.
Just purchase the IPS226V on Amazon. What I notice, during boot up the computer, before windows loads, I have light in corners. After windows boot up, I do not see those lights. I set the screen to black and still did not see it. since, the browser background is set to black, I see in left bottom corner some light Sometimes does more and sometimes less. Should I send back and request another?. Thanks.
Hi,
I’m sorry for your problem. My monitor doesn’t have this problem. So, I would return it. Sometimes the manufacturers, do not consider back light bleeding a problem, but it can be, depending on what you use your display.
Hello Prasanu,
first of all – many thanks for this useful review! Just what I needed.
Secondly, I have one dilemma, which seems trivial, but I’d love to know your opinion. I’m deciding between LG IPS236V and LG IPS226V. The only difference between the two is in size (and, subsequently, the dot / pixel pitch). Everything else is exactly the same, including resolution, etc. Have you considered both of them, too, or did you go straight for 226V?
I suppose the 226V is smaller, therefore the dotch pitch is smaller too, so I think that would be more pleasant to work with close-up and the image would be sharper and slightly less diluted, which seems like an advantage.
On the other hand, 236V offers a bit larger viewing space, but with bigger pixel pitch, so could be better for films and viewing from more distance.
As it stands, I’d prefer IPS226V, because I’m planning to do editing work with films and photos, is that something you would also recommend?
Many thanks again for the review and for your thoughts.
Regards,
Marian
Hello Marian,
I use mine also for editing videos and photos and some occasional gaming. As regarding the size I never took into consideration the 236V because of its size (it’s too big and it bothers my eye when working long hours).
Thanks alot my friend.
Pls advice me 2 best ips led monitor for HD Movies and games with out ghosting.
Hi,
I couldn’t tell you the best monitors for HD movies and games, but this one is pretty good. I didn’t notice any ghosting.
Hello
This monitor is good for soccer games? In soccer games it has ghosts and blur?
This monitor has some problem if used at night?
Thanks
Hello Juan,
I haven’t tested the monitor in any soccer games, but I tested NfS Shift and I didn’t notice any ghosting. I will try Fifa this weekend and give you a reply. I used it at night and I haven’t noticed any problems.
Thanks for the reply. Really this monitor can be a nice buy.
I will wait by the soccer game test xD.
Thanks
Can you share your OSD setting values? I didn’t have any luck finding color calibration profile on this monitor and I don’t have any kind of utilities either.
Hello 🙂
A nice review 🙂 Generaly – when you change mode settings (user, movie, text etc.) the screen changes brightness etc. But Have you ever noticed when you switch the screen between movie, text and photo that the one part of the screen is changed to mode and the second part is darker? Something like darker line on the right side. It does not happen when you switch between user and sRGB.
Thanks 🙂