Achieva Shimian QH270| $400 IPS 2560x1440 Korean Monitor

No fear mongering here bro, just a simple fact. None of the legit Korean electronics stores will touch these brands. Take that or leave it.

Seems like you won't be purchasing one of these bad boys. My Crossover looks and feels pretty well built and the stand is equivalent to my Dell monitor's I've had before. I'm no graphics professional, but the screen with the gloss looks gorgeous to me. It's like looking at the ACD at Fry's electronics. Anyhow, the folks over at Overclockers.net sure seem to be loving these low end monitors from Korea and the majority of folks here as well.

The earliest post I could find on these monitors was in March 2012, so just 4 months ago. No reports yet of anyone that's owned one of these just out and out dying. There could very well be a report of one of these monitors blowing up someone's face at any moment, so if we see that, or not, will determine the longevity of these monitors.

Update 1: Well, looks like I may have spoken too soon. Seems like someone's Crossover has died after two months. http://www.overclock.net/t/1232496/...-p-27m-led-2720mdp-gold-led-monitor-club/1490
 
It's too soon to tell, but for my money I'd rather not risk it. I'd much rather have a known brand on my desk. I'm pretty skeptical of the level of support you'd get if you have an isssue as well. I gotta say after four months here that Koreans can be a pretty shady bunch...especially when dealing with this kind of back-alley merchandise. And make no mistake, that's what these monitors are.

Edit: I'll be honest, if these were no-name branded Japanese monitors...I'd be all over them.
 
It's too soon to tell, but for my money I'd rather not risk it. I'd much rather have a known brand on my desk. I'm pretty skeptical of the level of support you'd get if you have an isssue as well. I gotta say after four months here that Koreans can be a pretty shady bunch...especially when dealing with this kind of back-alley merchandise. And make no mistake, that's what these monitors are.

Edit: I'll be honest, if these were no-name branded Japanese monitors...I'd be all over them.

Does Japan even make IPS panels? Maybe for TVs...
 
It's too soon to tell, but for my money I'd rather not risk it. I'd much rather have a known brand on my desk. I'm pretty skeptical of the level of support you'd get if you have an isssue as well. I gotta say after four months here that Koreans can be a pretty shady bunch...especially when dealing with this kind of back-alley merchandise. And make no mistake, that's what these monitors are.

Edit: I'll be honest, if these were no-name branded Japanese monitors...I'd be all over them.

You could also buy three of these for the price of an Apple cinema display or Dell. The Dell also has a pretty heavy AG coating from what I hear.

For $300 its not a bad deal.
 
The internals are mostly the same as the big brand monitors, and this isn't China we're talking about, so I'm still confident with these monitors, despite what that one guy is saying,
 
The LG panels and the pc boards of the monitors are all made in China.That's what my PCBANK says. It's been running daily since early April, 2012. Perfect pixel and no backlight bleeding, only some IPS glow.

The Catleaps are made by Witech, I think is a legit Korean company.

http://www.alibaba.com/member/kr112791436.html
 
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You could also buy three of these for the price of an Apple cinema display or Dell. The Dell also has a pretty heavy AG coating from what I hear.

For $300 its not a bad deal.

Exactly. I love the concept of this monitor. It's built around a decent panel with bare-bones supporting hardware to keep the cost to a minimum. The warranty plan is "Buy a new one when it breaks" because it's cheap enough that no one really minds too much.

But let's be honest with ourselves: This isn't a top-tier monitor. It's a no-name eBay monitor built with one thing in mind: keeping the price to an absolute minimum. Just look at the housings and the stands, which would never fly on a brand-name monitor. But the stand part is usually an easy fix with an extra investment. The panels are going to be the lowest binned parts, but if you're just playing games that doesn't matter one bit.

The real problem is going to be the quality of the electronics inside. I doubt the LEDs for the backlight were picked for their lifespan and the stability of their color temperature and brightness over time. The internal power regulators weren't chosen for their high system MTBF. The capacitors weren't chosen for their reliability. Everything was chosen because it was the cheapest available option that would let the monitor live up to it's 1-year "warranty" claimed on the eBay page. Down the road, if the failures are too high and the brand gets a bad reputation on the internet, they can just change their name and sell under a new name. There is zero incentive to make a quality product here beyond the initial appearance.

Don't get me wrong. I think these monitors are a great deal for enthusiasts like us, but let's not kid ourselves as to what they really are. Catleap, et. al. aren't providing us with dirt-cheap monitors out of the kindness of their own hearts, they're wrapping the cheapest supporting package around the lowest-binned 27" IPS panels that still pass and passing those savings on to us. Too many people across the internet desperately want to believe these are equivalent to a top-tier monitor at less than half the price, but when you consider the whole package over time it's absolutely not.

My 7 year-old Dell 2405 still calibrates just fine and the brightness is way more than I would ever need because it was built with quality parts. I've never had to think twice about it. If I'm using my generic eBay 27" monitor for anything worthwhile after 2 years, I'll consider myself lucky. Sure there are plenty of "my Dell failed after 3 months" anecdotes, but the Dell also has a 3 year warranty, etc. Same thing for the ACD.

So by all means, go with the 27" eBay monitors and enjoy them, but don't fool yourself into thinking you have an equivalent of the top-tier brands.
 
All the Korean monitors have LG parts, panels and PCB's. See pics from Overclock.net.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1225919/yamakasi-catleap-monitor-club/390

Sure, but that doesn't mean they're quality pieces and full of quality parts and LEDs. Jus look at those PCBs: unpopulated capacitor pads and tiny regulators on pads meant for much bigger regulators. Those are common corner cutting measures because the effects aren't immediately obvious, but the long term reliability is compromised.

Look, I'm not saying these monitors aren't a good deal. I'm just saying that they're the Harbor Freight equivalent of the 27" monitors. It's going to get the job done and be surprisingly good at it, but it's just not the same quality-wise. There's no free lunch.
 
Sure, but that doesn't mean they're quality pieces and full of quality parts and LEDs. Jus look at those PCBs: unpopulated capacitor pads and tiny regulators on pads meant for much bigger regulators. Those are common corner cutting measures because the effects aren't immediately obvious, but the long term reliability is compromised.

Look, I'm not saying these monitors aren't a good deal. I'm just saying that they're the Harbor Freight equivalent of the 27" monitors. It's going to get the job done and be surprisingly good at it, but it's just not the same quality-wise. There's no free lunch.

Im about to go get under 2 sets of HF jackstands, using my AL racing jack from HF, to do maintenance on my wifes car, had em for years :p

my HF compressor is powering my impact to get the wheels off faster

I also just had a refurb Acer monitor die in less than a year and it cost also as much as one of these.

if this one burns me, well, I'll just do the smaller DELL IPS's and stick to large TN's for serious screen real estate because I cant afford to be dropping 1500 on monitors
 
Rather than add to the profit of Dell, HP or Apple on a 27" 1440p ISP, I took the gamble with a Korean monitor for a much lower cost. I'm 100% satisfied with my purchase. Others may not want to gamble.
 
Exactly. I love the concept of this monitor. It's built around a decent panel with bare-bones supporting hardware to keep the cost to a minimum. The warranty plan is "Buy a new one when it breaks" because it's cheap enough that no one really minds too much.

But let's be honest with ourselves: This isn't a top-tier monitor. It's a no-name eBay monitor built with one thing in mind: keeping the price to an absolute minimum. Just look at the housings and the stands, which would never fly on a brand-name monitor. But the stand part is usually an easy fix with an extra investment. The panels are going to be the lowest binned parts, but if you're just playing games that doesn't matter one bit.

The real problem is going to be the quality of the electronics inside. I doubt the LEDs for the backlight were picked for their lifespan and the stability of their color temperature and brightness over time. The internal power regulators weren't chosen for their high system MTBF. The capacitors weren't chosen for their reliability. Everything was chosen because it was the cheapest available option that would let the monitor live up to it's 1-year "warranty" claimed on the eBay page. Down the road, if the failures are too high and the brand gets a bad reputation on the internet, they can just change their name and sell under a new name. There is zero incentive to make a quality product here beyond the initial appearance.

Don't get me wrong. I think these monitors are a great deal for enthusiasts like us, but let's not kid ourselves as to what they really are. Catleap, et. al. aren't providing us with dirt-cheap monitors out of the kindness of their own hearts, they're wrapping the cheapest supporting package around the lowest-binned 27" IPS panels that still pass and passing those savings on to us. Too many people across the internet desperately want to believe these are equivalent to a top-tier monitor at less than half the price, but when you consider the whole package over time it's absolutely not.

My 7 year-old Dell 2405 still calibrates just fine and the brightness is way more than I would ever need because it was built with quality parts. I've never had to think twice about it. If I'm using my generic eBay 27" monitor for anything worthwhile after 2 years, I'll consider myself lucky. Sure there are plenty of "my Dell failed after 3 months" anecdotes, but the Dell also has a 3 year warranty, etc. Same thing for the ACD.

So by all means, go with the 27" eBay monitors and enjoy them, but don't fool yourself into thinking you have an equivalent of the top-tier brands.

Exactly, I'm buying this monitor in the hopes that it lasts me a year or two until I can buy something at least comparable from a reputable manufacturer with a nice warranty. These definitely aren't comparable in quality to a Dell or ACD.
 
The point with these monitors is to send a message, imo.

DELL seem to be getting it, that a lot of people absolutely HATE the coating on the U27. And so, by the time these monitors have lived their lifespan, we can just grab an equivalent from DELL or something to that effect.

(Although I don't think they'll fail in just a couple of years. It won't last the 7 or so that a Dell will, but I think we could see them reaching 3/4/5. Hell, my DGM (UK rebrand of crossover) has a 3 year warranty on it.)
 
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I wish this would work to at least drag their attention. I am in the exact same boat, buying a korean monitor and accepting the gamble, purely cause I want a glossy display.
I am almost certain that they will not change anything in this regard, until some company comes with a semi glossy (not semi matte) coating, that will not show any grainy points at all. Also, the monitors that have less aggressive coating (my samsung tn for example) at this moment are bad due to the fact that they trick your eyes to believe that all light colors are glowing, causing eye fatigue.
Their logic is this: we sell those monitors in a huge percent to business ppl, so they don't even care that they loose the "home" customers... and I think they never will.
Nice to see that someone is starting to make a name in the world, (except apple that are way too expensive unfortunately), for selling monitors for home use simply by selling glossy monitors.
 
Exactly. I love the concept of this monitor. It's built around a decent panel with bare-bones supporting hardware to keep the cost to a minimum. The warranty plan is "Buy a new one when it breaks" because it's cheap enough that no one really minds too much.

<snip>

Don't get me wrong. I think these monitors are a great deal for enthusiasts like us, but let's not kid ourselves as to what they really are. Catleap, et. al. aren't providing us with dirt-cheap monitors out of the kindness of their own hearts, they're wrapping the cheapest supporting package around the lowest-binned 27" IPS panels that still pass and passing those savings on to us. Too many people across the internet desperately want to believe these are equivalent to a top-tier monitor at less than half the price, but when you consider the whole package over time it's absolutely not.

My 7 year-old Dell 2405 still calibrates just fine and the brightness is way more than I would ever need because it was built with quality parts. I've never had to think twice about it. If I'm using my generic eBay 27" monitor for anything worthwhile after 2 years, I'll consider myself lucky. Sure there are plenty of "my Dell failed after 3 months" anecdotes, but the Dell also has a 3 year warranty, etc. Same thing for the ACD.

So by all means, go with the 27" eBay monitors and enjoy them, but don't fool yourself into thinking you have an equivalent of the top-tier brands.

And yet, and yet....

http://www.anandtech.com/Show/Index...-shimian-qh270-a-350-27inch-wqhd-sips-display

I agree - they're not "equivalent" of top tier. But where it counts, in the panel, they are absolutely "near equivalent". I do agree with your assessment of the electronics, but we've been skirting the edge on those things here for years - Westy L2410NM, anyone, or that Soyo 24"?

For everything else - is that last 10 to 15% of quality worth 2.5 to 4 times the price? I would submit, only for professionals looking to use that last 10% to differentiate themselves in a crowded market. For the rest of us? nope.

BB
 
And yet, and yet....

http://www.anandtech.com/Show/Index...-shimian-qh270-a-350-27inch-wqhd-sips-display

I agree - they're not "equivalent" of top tier. But where it counts, in the panel, they are absolutely "near equivalent". I do agree with your assessment of the electronics, but we've been skirting the edge on those things here for years - Westy L2410NM, anyone, or that Soyo 24"?

For everything else - is that last 10 to 15% of quality worth 2.5 to 4 times the price? I would submit, only for professionals looking to use that last 10% to differentiate themselves in a crowded market. For the rest of us? nope.

BB

I couldn't agree with you more and as Anand mentioned, I hardly touch the monitor once it's set up other than to turn it on or off. All I know is that my display is incredible! I've got my fingers cross that it lasts several years, which I no doubt think it will. Hell even my GEM Crt monitor from Fry's back in the late 90's still works and that's the cheapest of the cheap.
 
Does anyone have the - New Tempered Glass 27" Yamakasi Catleap 2703 - that BCC is selling?
Is there still the dust under the glass issue? How does it look? The stand looks different, is it better or worse?
Is that strip at the bottom of the bezel shiny or just black?
 
And yet, and yet....

http://www.anandtech.com/Show/Index...-shimian-qh270-a-350-27inch-wqhd-sips-display

I agree - they're not "equivalent" of top tier. But where it counts, in the panel, they are absolutely "near equivalent". I do agree with your assessment of the electronics, but we've been skirting the edge on those things here for years - Westy L2410NM, anyone, or that Soyo 24"?

For everything else - is that last 10 to 15% of quality worth 2.5 to 4 times the price? I would submit, only for professionals looking to use that last 10% to differentiate themselves in a crowded market. For the rest of us? nope.

BB
Yes! I didn't think the screens themselves are bad in anyway, it was only the electronics and warranty that some may or may not find a need to have.

I wholeheartedly agree with your post BB :cool:
That review from anand really makes me wanna bite on one of these bad boys :eek:
 
I just got a black pixel, it doesnt look like a dead pixel but it could be. Are those common for these screens.
 
I just got a black pixel, it doesnt look like a dead pixel but it could be. Are those common for these screens.

Could just be a stuck pixel. some people have reported these and were able to "massage" them out. Check 120hz.net. You'll find a lot of great info.
 
And yet, and yet....

http://www.anandtech.com/Show/Index...-shimian-qh270-a-350-27inch-wqhd-sips-display

I agree - they're not "equivalent" of top tier. But where it counts, in the panel, they are absolutely "near equivalent". I do agree with your assessment of the electronics, but we've been skirting the edge on those things here for years - Westy L2410NM, anyone, or that Soyo 24"?

For everything else - is that last 10 to 15% of quality worth 2.5 to 4 times the price? I would submit, only for professionals looking to use that last 10% to differentiate themselves in a crowded market. For the rest of us? nope.

BB

I couldn't agree more. I love my catleap. The build quality is no where near my samsung 23" lcd it replaced but the picture is simply outstanding. For $300 I think this display is worth every penny and I am fine with the risk involved.
 
Is there anyway to get one of these to run on my laptop? Is there such a thing as a USB 2.0 to DVI-I Dual Link Video adapter?
Thanks
 
I've never seen either of those brands in the stores here in Korea. Got more information on them?

I'm still fucking waiting on my HP ZR30W. Been trying to get one here since March, but the assholes in my military post office keep fucking stealing them.

that sucks
i just sold my zr30w too
 
Sure, but that doesn't mean they're quality pieces and full of quality parts and LEDs. Jus look at those PCBs: unpopulated capacitor pads and tiny regulators on pads meant for much bigger regulators. Those are common corner cutting measures because the effects aren't immediately obvious, but the long term reliability is compromised.

From what I've read, these different korean monitors employ the same pre-made parts and do not throw in their own LED lighting solutions as that is part of the package from LG. The PCBs from the picture look decent. It's definitely not low-tier. Also check out the PCBs from all your electronics, you'll be sure to find unpopulated circuit component pads too.

So the real low quality cost cutting is going down in the chassis and lack of inputs, etc.
 
From what I've read, these different korean monitors employ the same pre-made parts and do not throw in their own LED lighting solutions as that is part of the package from LG. The PCBs from the picture look decent. It's definitely not low-tier. Also check out the PCBs from all your electronics, you'll be sure to find unpopulated circuit component pads too.

So the real low quality cost cutting is going down in the chassis and lack of inputs, etc.

Also, they save money by not having an internal scaler or OSD buttons other than Power and Brightness.
 
Is there anyway to get one of these to run on my laptop? Is there such a thing as a USB 2.0 to DVI-I Dual Link Video adapter?
Thanks

No not 2.0. Maybe in the future with 3.0, but 2.0 just doesn't have enough bandwidth.
 
I couldn't be more satisfied with my Crossover. I think these re great deals. I also believe the quality of materials and workmanship in today's world... is largely crap... regardless of what we pay.. meaning I have zero trust in anything anyway..

so paying less than 50% for something like this... demonstrates the profit...we avoid saddling... if nothing else.. about 2-3 middlemen are eliminated.. and I think thats the biggest reason we are getting a better price... more than anything else...
 
I couldn't be more satisfied with my Crossover. I think these re great deals. I also believe the quality of materials and workmanship in today's world... is largely crap... regardless of what we pay.. meaning I have zero trust in anything anyway..

so paying less than 50% for something like this... demonstrates the profit...we avoid saddling... if nothing else.. about 2-3 middlemen are eliminated.. and I think thats the biggest reason we are getting a better price... more than anything else...

+1
I am very happy with my crossover, with the possible exception of the reflective screen.
 
sadly I probably wont have time to play till Wednesday, but I will post up a mini review/comparo of it. Might have time tonight or tomorrow though. My wife is leaving town a week starting wed am so I have no idea how much free time I will have till then :p

Its replacing a 28" Hanns G 1920x1200 TN Panel, that I paid, well, about the same for, 3 years ago
 
Is there anyway to get one of these to run on my laptop? Is there such a thing as a USB 2.0 to DVI-I Dual Link Video adapter?
Thanks

Sort of... there are USB to DVI converters, but IIRC you're constrained by the available bandwidth to 1680x1050.

Which would look like shite.
 
unboxed fine.

going to be a pita to hook it up to test it before its ready to go on the mount

wife napped a bunch today so shes up past her bedtime :p (shes preggo, not 12)
 
packaging:




pixel color checks:






the monitor(with my hanns g 28 above and behind:



there is a line of all white pixels at the bottom, the very bottom row of pixels. not a bad place for it to be. my hanns g 28 actually has the same thing. I didnt test the 23.6's to see if they did, but my old westinghouse 25" had the same issue


sorry the pics are a bit fuzzy. they are from my thunderbolt and I had the lights off for the pixel test pics.

my wife squirreled the camera away as she is packing for a vacation

while they arent that sharp you can see a quality difference in the pic between the hanns g and the shimian

its quite nice, Im pretty excited
 
there is a line of all white pixels at the bottom, the very bottom row of pixels. not a bad place for it to be. my hanns g 28 actually has the same thing. I didnt test the 23.6's to see if they did, but my old westinghouse 25" had the same issue


sorry the pics are a bit fuzzy. they are from my thunderbolt and I had the lights off for the pixel test pics.

my wife squirreled the camera away as she is packing for a vacation

while they arent that sharp you can see a quality difference in the pic between the hanns g and the shimian

its quite nice, Im pretty excited

If you see white lines on all your monitors, it may have something to do with your videocard.
 
not all, just a few AFAIK, I will test others

and this has existed through multiple video cards on atleast one display, back to my 4850x2
 
Sounds suspicious. I'd consider electric interference of some sort , or even some kind of optical effect of room/overhead lighting vs bezel edges. Then eliminate other possibilities (flex they all experienced, moisture, viewing angle peeking inside bezels outside of actual display area?, overblown brightness setting bleeding in a hard line on actual edge.. etc.. etc. ).. also cables/connections, outlets/circuits, power supply. "When everything possible has been eliminated, consider the impossible". The odds of several monitors by different manufacturers having the same line for the same exact person due to a mfg defect sounds extremely slim to me by comparison to other reasons.
 
yamakasi2703_1.jpg


yamakasi_foot.jpg


Foot is both stable, and simple.

yamakasi_2.jpg


Good quality screen, ordered from red-cap 120706, delivered 120710.

Amazing value, and fast shipping!
 
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