X-bit labs

19" LCD Monitors Roundup. Part VIII. (page 18)

Category: Other

by Aleksey Meyev

[ 10/11/2007 | 09:24 AM ]

The color temperature modes are not very accurate: the temperature dispersion amounts to 1500K.

The monitor’s got a standard color gamut: more greens and fewer reds than in the sRGB color space.

The response time is much better than that of the above-described RTC-less models. The average speed is as low as 3.2 milliseconds GtG with a maximum of 11 milliseconds. That’s just a good fast TN matrix.

The RTC mechanism is set up well with an average and maximum error of 3.3% and 17%, respectively. That’s a very good result, and you can only see the RTC-provoked artifacts if you are looking for them on purpose and with special tools.

The max brightness and static contrast ratio are not record-breaking, but acceptable for a majority of applications.

Let’s see what happens to the brightness and contrast as you are switching through the f-Engine modes:

The f-Engine feature is careful about the contrast ratio: it is always higher than at the default settings due to the lower level of black. The brightness doesn’t change much and its value is too high for comfortable work unless there is direct sunlight hitting at the screen of the monitor (which should not occur if your workplace is organized properly). For example, a brightness of 100 nits is considered the normal value for working with text in a well-lit office room. This is two times higher than the brightness value in the Text mode of this monitor.

The LG Flatron L196WTQ is not a definitely good product. It should be a good choice for people who want to play games as it offers a high speed with negligible RTC artifacts. On the other hand, its color temperature modes are set up sloppily and its backlight is very irregular, which means that the L196WTQ does not suit well for image-processing applications.