Achieva Shimian QH270| $400 IPS 2560x1440 Korean Monitor

For monitors, warranty coverage of defects are much more important - just look at the number of people who return IPS panels over and over again because they've got problems. A large number of products, especially LCD screens, do arrive with defects such as heavy tinting and dead pixels. That's where warranty comes into play.

I understand I'm in a different market to most people buying this monitor but this is Hardforum after all. $450-500 for a 2560x1440 monitor w/OSD is cheap but if I want a pitch perfect monitor, I wouldn't buy anything without warranty. Its not like you're saving a lot of money, 27" 2560x1440 monitors are pretty cheap in Australia (RACV discounts, EPP discounts, etc.), strangely enough, so you're paying $150 for a height adjustable stand and extra warranty. This is peanuts if it means you'll end up with a product you want.

As for the "how many items have failed" argument, I've used warranty for at least four expensive items: my AV receiver, my car, my Panasonic plasma, as well as my monitor. Many people can say that they've used post-sales support for laptops and TVs as well, especially considering Samsung's TVs like to get that blinking red power light defect.

Edit: What I'm saying is that there is a decent reason why people still buy the more expensive brand name products. Because they can somewhat guarantee the quality of products they are offering.
 
Last edited:
Just an FYI....

Ordered a QH270 lite from ta_planet. Shipped on 4/12, out for delivery today 4/13. My actual ship date on fedex tracking is 4/18, so the tracking ship date is completely incorrect. Crossing my fingers for a good one!
 
So I know this has been talked about before but is it a wise idea to get a step up/down transformer? Like a 100w 110-220V one? My brick included with the Shimian gets warm which is fine but I'm a little nervous about long term use.
 
If you're nervous about the power brick, I would do the following:

1) open up the power brick and see what the rectifier inside of it is rated for...it should have its own label.
2) if it isn't rated for 110V either, or you don't want to rip open the power brick, go buy a 110V version of it. They are on ebay. You can probably take it into a radio shack as well, and they will help you...possibly.
 
tommye said:
$450-500 for a 2560x1440 monitor w/OSD is cheap but if I want a pitch perfect monitor, I wouldn't buy anything without warranty. Its not like you're saving a lot of money, 27" 2560x1440 monitors are pretty cheap in Australia (RACV discounts, EPP discounts, etc.), strangely enough, so you're paying $150 for a height adjustable stand and extra warranty
Click to expand...
just to clarify, no/OSD Monitors can be picked up for around $340 (Catleap) or thereabouts. Which 27" 2560x1440 Monitor is pretty cheap in Australia? Are you talking about a U2711? With discounting, the lowest price for a non-refurb would be around $650. Add to that, it's not LED, has a fairly heavy coating (which some hate, some don't) but has a better stand. So you're talking about fairly different Monitors and fairly different price points.

Your points about warranty are very valid but your argument would have greater plausibility if you compared no/OSD pricing. Then the relevant questions for the individual purchaser become:
1) is the additional warranty/quality risk worth $300+?; and
2) are LED backlighting and the absence of coating important factors?
 
U2711 runs 10 bit electronics (8 bit + FRC), has a 4 port USB hub, a higher quality panel, higher quality backlighting, higher colour gamut (YMMV), card reader and generally better aethetics than most of these korean monitors. And comes with Displayport, another DVI, HDMI, VGA, and component and composite inputs.

The above are all factors as well.
 
I would not say the Koreans have trumped dell / HP, perhaps. But more importantly they have figured out that all the bullshit on typical US branded monitor is just that, bull shit. Anyone who runs one of these monitors should be inputing native resolutions, all the random extra inputs are wholy uneeded for almost anyone running these monitors. Same with USB inputs and so on. The only one thing I think that the US companies get is that pivot should be a function on these monitors. But the crossfire can do it for $400. I assume most people buying these can output DVI-D. Running them at anything other than native resolution is a niche case and borderline crazy.

The point is some customers want to have a complete feature rich monitor like the Dell, but there are a TON and I mean TON of people who would be thrilled to have feature stripped monitors if they could save many hundreds of dollars. It is just too bad no company in the US is willing to cater to these customers.
 
I assume most people buying these can output DVI-D.
Click to expand...

I assure you that this is not the case. The majority of people who use these monitors do not have a DL-DVI port. Most people run integrated graphics, of which the vast majority do not have a DL-DVI ports. Even more people run laptops, and those definitely do not have DL-DVI. For mass market appeal in NA, such a market would require displayport (or minidisplayport), D-sub (VGA), or HDMI. DL-DVI is (for better or worse) dying, and will die in the near future.

All the value added stuff that comes with the monitors? You may not appreciate it, but people want (and need) them in a monitor like this. I'd have gladly paid an extra $50-$75 just for displayport capability. I'm not gonna buy a $400 monitor just to game on it, what a waste. Let me hook up my laptop to get some real work done, and now we're talking.

The point is some customers want to have a complete feature rich monitor like the Dell, but there are a TON and I mean TON of people who would be thrilled to have feature stripped monitors if they could save many hundreds of dollars. It is just too bad no company in the US is willing to cater to these customers.
Click to expand...

Not much profit in it, and a lot of hassle. Look at the overclock.net thread for 100hz Catleaps. There are a bunch of people who want this and that and don't want to pay for it. These monitors are already half price and they want more. Are these the tons and tons of people you're talking about? No thanks, I don't need that kind of business.
 
AFAIK HDMI cannot out put the resolution these accept.. Why spend extra on this resolution if you cannot output to it. Same with VGA, If display port is where it is, I do not care if that is the only input. I think you underestimate how much cutting the price of a product in half can do for opening up a new market. You can say there is not enough demand but since no one offers us this in the USA then we can't really know that. The extreme popularity of these threads here and other forums says something.
 
rudy said:
AFAIK HDMI cannot out put the resolution these accept.. Why spend extra on this resolution if you cannot output to it. Same with VGA, If display port is where it is, I do not care if that is the only input.
Click to expand...

HDMI can technically do it. VGA cannot, but it seems to be able to do it anyways. I'd have preferred a displayport only monitor, but that's my preference and I realise that would have even a smaller market than DL-DVI only.

The point is that if you have only one model, that simplifies logistics and manufacturing, and you can charge extra for it. Having 6 different models of the same thing dilutes the customer base, is more expensive to manufacture and maintain and is just a hassle to support.

I think you underestimate how much cutting the price of a product in half can do for opening up a new market. You can say there is not enough demand but since no one offers us this in the USA then we can't really know that. The extreme popularity of these threads here and other forums says something.
Click to expand...

I do not make a point about demand. I make a point about profit. The demand is there, sure. If you sell something cheap enough, people will come. But if I were selling these monitors, I wouldn't want to deal with the hassle of dealing with people like I see in those threads. "Can I get a thinner bezel? I'd pay $10 extra for it!" "Can we get a discount? We're buying 3! Must be good for $50 dollars off each, right?" "Can we get a custom backlight implementation? Should be only $1 difference, I calculated it." "I want a blue LED!" "Can you check for bad pixels? I'd pay you $20 for it!" "Can you check for backlight bleed?" etc. etc. etc.
 
Well it is profitable enough for the Koreans to ship them anywhere in the world one at a time. You would think that a large company could import them in bulk and do it cheaper. Ya all those people complain like all humans, you see the same requests of apple which charges 1000 for something that is pretty stripped. You just dont care because no matter what they say between all these threads in just a few months time hundreds if not thousands of these monitors have shipped. And that is with all the deficiencies they have.

I think the main issue is the US companies are using these as premium product upsellers. Same way a Lexus is pretty much the same as a Toyota but costs a whole bundle more for the extras. GM makes more money on a single Caddilac than 20 Chevy cars. Its just an upselling technique and typically it gets those companies in trouble when a young fresh company comes up and says I can do better for alot less.
 
rudy said:
I would not say the Koreans have trumped dell / HP, perhaps. But more importantly they have figured out that all the bullshit on typical US branded monitor is just that, bull shit. Anyone who runs one of these monitors should be inputing native resolutions, all the random extra inputs are wholy uneeded for almost anyone running these monitors. Same with USB inputs and so on. The only one thing I think that the US companies get is that pivot should be a function on these monitors. But the crossfire can do it for $400. I assume most people buying these can output DVI-D. Running them at anything other than native resolution is a niche case and borderline crazy.

The point is some customers want to have a complete feature rich monitor like the Dell, but there are a TON and I mean TON of people who would be thrilled to have feature stripped monitors if they could save many hundreds of dollars. It is just too bad no company in the US is willing to cater to these customers.
Click to expand...

You're absolutely right. I use my monitor purely for gaming and general computing. I don't need extra ports, I don't want to run anything outside of the native resolution, I don't need ANY extras that drive up the price. I just want a higher end display capable of decent speeds. Problem is, a lot of the nicer higher end display panels also are filled with features that mean nothing to me. So a higher end display quality will also cost a ridiculous amount of money.

I definitely don't like the idea of taking such a chance on these korean displays.. but it seems like there's a good likelyhood that my display is going to work out for me with minimal or no defects for an exceptional price. I would glady pay 100$ more than I did to have the exact same display from a name brand US company just in case something goes wrong. I'm not excited about the possibility of having to deal with a korean company in case this thing doesn't work (as well as 100$ in shipping!)
 
rudy said:
Well it is profitable enough for the Koreans to ship them anywhere in the world one at a time. You would think that a large company could import them in bulk and do it cheaper. Ya all those people complain like all humans, you see the same requests of apple which charges 1000 for something that is pretty stripped. You just dont care because no matter what they say between all these threads in just a few months time hundreds if not thousands of these monitors have shipped. And that is with all the deficiencies they have.
Click to expand...

Yeah, those complaints go in... but Apple also makes about 10 times as much money (if not more) per monitor, so dealing with the complainers is worth it. I'd be ok listening to someone complain for $300 per monitor, but $30 to listen to someone complain? forget it.

I think the main issue is the US companies are using these as premium product upsellers. Same way a Lexus is pretty much the same as a Toyota but costs a whole bundle more for the extras. GM makes more money on a single Caddilac than 20 Chevy cars. Its just an upselling technique and typically it gets those companies in trouble when a young fresh company comes up and says I can do better for alot less.
Click to expand...

Hopefully this will happen.
 
At the end of the day, you are paying $330-$400 for a 27" ips 2560x1440 monitor. Complainer should be shot :p These panels are not perfect. But for the money, they are the best monitor you can buy.
 
So far my screen is perfect as far as I can tell.

I even had a hand written little note from ta_planet saying "tested pixel perfect" (even though I just bought the 328$ lite version)
 
I ordered the Pixel Prefect Catleap from BigClothCraft on Monday shipped out Thursday and arrived Friday, crazy shipping. That's not even the most crazy part I got a 2B panel!!! Most amazing looking monitor I have ever got.
 
kevinsbane said:
I assure you that this is not the case. The majority of people who use these monitors do not have a DL-DVI port. Most people run integrated graphics, of which the vast majority do not have a DL-DVI ports. Even more people run laptops, and those definitely do not have DL-DVI. For mass market appeal in NA, such a market would require displayport (or minidisplayport), D-sub (VGA), or HDMI. DL-DVI is (for better or worse) dying, and will die in the near future.

All the value added stuff that comes with the monitors? You may not appreciate it, but people want (and need) them in a monitor like this. I'd have gladly paid an extra $50-$75 just for displayport capability. I'm not gonna buy a $400 monitor just to game on it, what a waste. Let me hook up my laptop to get some real work done, and now we're talking.
Click to expand...

Pretty much this. As I said, I'm not in the same market as these people since I'm not much of a hardcore gamer. I won't use the composite but I definitely will use DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort. OSD is a great help too (since I use multiple computer systems) and if it has hardware calibration, then even better but no big loss if it doesn't have it.

Heck, if the Catleap has ditched the shitty VGA port (who the hell uses VGA, outside of projectors and CRTs, in this day and age?) it'd be a really good monitor provided the pixel perfect guarantee actually does anything.

As I said I can't deal with dead pixels or strange tinting. I mean I can't really complain about the model I got, I'm using it as a misc content display right now, but I'd definitely feel like I'd lost $350 if needed a new main display and it ended up with dead pixels. YMMV of course.

Poster Oled seems to like to speak in absolutes, which he seems to love to do especially with the 16:10 vs 16:9 debate, hinting that there was zero reason to buy local models. All I'm saying is that there are a lot of reasons to not buy these Korean models...I'm not saying you shouldn't buy these monitors or they're a bad deal because they're definitely theoretically great for what you get. I even bought one for crying out loud!
 
Last edited:
Dual-link DVI is all the input I would ever need, and most other people here as a matter of fact. Don't believe me? Look at the popularity of the Dell 3007WFP-HC.

$327.40 for the vanilla Achieva from ta_planet is an absolute steal.
 
Jesus Christ, it's like the minute you say something remotely negative about these monitors, people jump on you. What I've said isn't even negative, its like plain obvious that these monitors are going to have close to zero warranty support for dead pixels and they're not going to be as feature packed as monitors for a different market sector.

No, I completely believe you dual-link DVI is all a lot of people need. Maybe I should bold the "I know I'm in a different market from these people" line a billion times because obviously I'm not making myself clear enough.
 
tommye said:
Jesus Christ, it's like the minute you say something remotely negative about these monitors, people jump on you.
Click to expand...
Maybe a little paranoia is creeping in. I, along with a couple of others, actually said you made good points re warranty & quality issues and the risks involved but it was somewhat weakened by diminishing the dollar differential between the Dell and the most popular vanilla Korean models.

I also think that perhaps you're overlooking the shortcomings of the U2711 (ie. the Monitor you're using for a point of comparison). The coating is the reason some people won't buy that Monitor. The fact it's not LED is also a factor. It's all down to personal preference but the majority of reports I've read give the edge to these cheap Korean Monitors for image/text "clarity" (bad pixel issues aside).

I think if Dell made a U2711 equivalent with LED backlighting and no grainy coating, you'd find more people in your position, ie. willing to pay the extra $300+ for better warranty, build quality and panel grade. And even more so if Dell's "retail" pricing (ie. the starting point before discounting) wasn't so bloated - $899 in the case of the U2711.
 
tommye said:
Jesus Christ, it's like the minute you say something remotely negative about these monitors, people jump on you. What I've said isn't even negative, its like plain obvious that these monitors are going to have close to zero warranty support for dead pixels and they're not going to be as feature packed as monitors for a different market sector.

No, I completely believe you dual-link DVI is all a lot of people need. Maybe I should bold the "I know I'm in a different market from these people" line a billion times because obviously I'm not making myself clear enough.
Click to expand...

I know how you feel, but honestly it seems stupid to buy these monitors with all these extra features. All I've done on my current monitor is set everything to full and then change settings via the GPU. I never use all the extra crap that comes with these things. I have a keyboard with a mic and headphone jack. I never use them and it's a waste. I just need to hook one device up. I have no need to pay for all this extra crap. I think a lot of people get defensive because they know that they're buying a watered down monitor.

edit: As for reliability, the less things that are on it, the less things there are to break.
 
Bigclothcraft has the Achieva Shimian at $324.80 with Best Offer enabled. I'm guessing he might accept $320 shipped?
 
As an eBay Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
What do you guys recommend for a colorimeter? I really don't want to spend too much and have had bad luck with the pantone huey pro.
 
Is there anywhere that rents out calibrators? It seems like the best ones are crazy pricey, particularly for something that I would only use rarely.
 
I dont know off hand of rental calibrators. I think if you were looking for that you should post on craiglist, I bet some local photographer would do it for a couple bucks, someone might even do it for free just to network or whatever.

For me personally I just ask photographers I know to do it.

If that does not pan out it seems like a service that some place in your town would offer, most likely a local camera or printing shop.
 
Bigclothcraft kind of stopped responding to my emails about trying to get something done about my imperfect "perfect pixel" display so I left him a neutral feedback. I am still considering whether or not to go through eBay buyer protection but he may still respond eventually so I will wait on it.
 
Well I am very close to pulling the trigger on one of these. I am leaning towards the catleap monitor.

Are all of these basically the same thing? I dont want glass and I like the looks of the catleap over the shimian. I know the shimian can be wall mounted but can the catleap?

Is there any reason to go with one or the other?
 
Hok, So I've been hesitant to really document my experience because I'm honestly trying to give him time to make things right, but after I bought a DOA monitor from Green-Sum, took almost 8 days to arrive (customs w/ EMS et et), there was clearly rattling in the front right of the monitor around where the button panel was (and no one was able to post pictures of what to look for so that was out). Anyway, I shipped the thing back via USPS airmail at a lovely price of 107 bucks. It got back to him almost 6 days ago now (I know this because the last time I asked for a status he said "we have received the monitor and it is in the factory for testing". Well, I am sitting here, its been over a month since I ordered my monitor (40 days to be exact), I'm out 484 bucks, and I can't imagine that it takes this long to confirm something is DOA. I don't even care what he does at this point, I just want SOMETHING out of it, Hell if he gives me my money back I'll get something from ta_planet or Bigclothcraft just to get the fast shipping and even cheaper price. I don't know I just want something...

*End Rant*
Wings
 
wings2004 said:
Hok, So I've been hesitant to really document my experience because I'm honestly trying to give him time to make things right, but after I bought a DOA monitor from Green-Sum, took almost 8 days to arrive (customs w/ EMS et et), there was clearly rattling in the front right of the monitor around where the button panel was (and no one was able to post pictures of what to look for so that was out). Anyway, I shipped the thing back via USPS airmail at a lovely price of 107 bucks. It got back to him almost 6 days ago now (I know this because the last time I asked for a status he said "we have received the monitor and it is in the factory for testing". Well, I am sitting here, its been over a month since I ordered my monitor (40 days to be exact), I'm out 484 bucks, and I can't imagine that it takes this long to confirm something is DOA. I don't even care what he does at this point, I just want SOMETHING out of it, Hell if he gives me my money back I'll get something from ta_planet or Bigclothcraft just to get the fast shipping and even cheaper price. I don't know I just want something...

*End Rant*
Wings
Click to expand...

With proof that you sent it back you win paypal or credit card chargeback. Dispute with paypal immediately because there is a time limit! Then fire the CC chargeback at will.
 
Honestly in the event of DOA I dont even think you should have to pay return shipping. I Wouldnt have, I would have just documented the hell out of everything & gladly shipped back on the sellers dime or would have disputed it. This is the case for anything I order online. Mind you I only hold this firm stance with DOA items. If i just dont like it or care for it thats a complete different story & I will pay to ship back, but if I ordered a working product & they dont deliver a working product at all then I think that falls on the seller. Best of luck to you though wings2004.
 
bastage said:
Honestly in the event of DOA I dont even think you should have to pay return shipping. I Wouldnt have, I would have just documented the hell out of everything & gladly shipped back on the sellers dime or would have disputed it. This is the case for anything I order online. Mind you I only hold this firm stance with DOA items. If i just dont like it or care for it thats a complete different story & I will pay to ship back, but if I ordered a working product & they dont deliver a working product at all then I think that falls on the seller. Best of luck to you though wings2004.
Click to expand...
This 100%

Unfortunately a lot of sellers take advantage of decent people in regards to DOA items, fortunately Ebay and Paypal allow disputes for this. And if there is shipping damage, that is for the seller to determine and sort out, after the monitor is shipped back to them on their dime (insist on it during the dispute, it will be granted with high cost returns). Whatever you do, as a buyer do not make the determination that it is shipping damage, you may be left on the hook to sort it out. This is not being dishonest, because like i said before, shipping damage is for the seller to sort out. You pay for a working item, you should receive a working item and not pay extra for it.

And like Bastage mentioned earlier, this applies for DOA or severly defective items only, not something with a couple of stuck pixels or a stand that tilts two millimeters to the left.
 
I'm going to be brutally honest. I upgraded from a BenQ 2400w and this Yamakasi Catleap is fucking amazing. Whites are about a billion times whiter, blacks are a billion times darker. There's no ghosting or anything, it's all fantastic.

I was going to grab my 2400w and run dual monitors, but it looks like crap compared to this and it's not even worth it.
 
wings2004 said:
Hok, So I've been hesitant to really document my experience because I'm honestly trying to give him time to make things right, but after I bought a DOA monitor from Green-Sum, took almost 8 days to arrive (customs w/ EMS et et), there was clearly rattling in the front right of the monitor around where the button panel was (and no one was able to post pictures of what to look for so that was out). Anyway, I shipped the thing back via USPS airmail at a lovely price of 107 bucks. It got back to him almost 6 days ago now (I know this because the last time I asked for a status he said "we have received the monitor and it is in the factory for testing". Well, I am sitting here, its been over a month since I ordered my monitor (40 days to be exact), I'm out 484 bucks, and I can't imagine that it takes this long to confirm something is DOA. I don't even care what he does at this point, I just want SOMETHING out of it, Hell if he gives me my money back I'll get something from ta_planet or Bigclothcraft just to get the fast shipping and even cheaper price. I don't know I just want something...

*End Rant*
Wings
Click to expand...

I would dispute the transaction immediately if you used paypal! Paypal has a time limit on the disputes so just be careful
 
sdlvx said:
I'm going to be brutally honest. I upgraded from a BenQ 2400w and this Yamakasi Catleap is fucking amazing. Whites are about a billion times whiter, blacks are a billion times darker. There's no ghosting or anything, it's all fantastic.

I was going to grab my 2400w and run dual monitors, but it looks like crap compared to this and it's not even worth it.
Click to expand...

I wish I had a quadrillion to one contrast ;) Looks like you like it!
 
I am thinking about buying one of these cheap 27" 2560x1440-Monitors but I have concerns about the usability. I know that the low-res BIOS won't work, but what about games starting with a default setting of 1024*768 or something else low?
I've read somewhere that you can configure the driver somehow to scale the screen always to 2560x1440. Does this work?
 
Once Windows is loaded you won't have any issues, your graphics card drivers will take care of it.

The BIOS issue is only with some video-cards, it's not universal.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top