LG 27MB85R-B new WQHD AH-IPS ?

Michaelius

Supreme [H]ardness
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Is this a new model ? I can't find any solid info about it and design looks interesting on picture

http://www.redcoon.de/B522446-LG-ELECTRONICS-27MB85R-B-LED-WQHD-AH-IPS_Monitore?refId=geizhals

B522446.jpg
 
Just put in an order for one @ B&H for $550. Estimated delivery is Tuesday, I'll let you all know how it is then.
 
Received my unit early; no backlight bleed, but a cluster of dead pixels near the center of the screen. I did a quick calibration with BasICColor 5 because I plan on returning this unit and I really don't want to sit through dispcalgui.

Luckily the calibration result was still quite good.

iisvtv.png


I went on to check the unit's interpolation quality with my PS3 and it's quite good. It certainly performs on par with the AOC Q2770PQU, which I found to be equal to the EV2736W in this department. It absolutely blows the BenQ BL3200PT out of the water, but I find the BL3200PT to have a rather poor scalar to begin with.

Moving on, the monitor is heralded as having extremely low input lag (6.8ms) and it most certainly does feel 'faster' than the AOC Q2770PQU and much faster than the BenQ BL3200PT. It's impressive, but not really mind-blowing; playing osu and multiple other fast-paced rhythm games certainly feels better, but for your run-of-the-mill action RPG or other single player games, I really don't think you'll notice much of a difference. Especially given the monitor's 'audience' (including myself) will probably swing more toward the latter than the former.

I should also mention, that the AH-IPS panel utilized in this monitor doesn't have any form of white corner-glow that I've noticed on recently manufactured PLS panels (My AOC Q2770PQU and Eizo EV2736W both suffered from this).

I'm also ever so slightly dissapointed that PiP only works with DP + DVI or DP + HDMI; no DVI + HDMI.

And, for the coup de grâce to finish off such a promising monitor, I present you with this video: http://a.pomf.se/vkuoax.mp4
Now, this was taken with my phone, with the monitor calibrated to 120 cd/m2, and it appears to have some incredibly strange flickering issue. I tested it for PWM using http://www.testufo.com/#test=blurtrail and it just shows one blurred line, so I have no idea what in the world the flickering actually is. If someone more knowledgeable has an idea, please inform me because I'm not sure if this is an isolated issue with this unit or not.

Otherwise, cool monitor. And of course, if anybody wants me to check for anything, go ahead and let me know. If it's in my power, it shall be done.

Edit:I should mention, the flickering is visible without the camera. Also, it disappears at higher brightness.

Edit 2: Manufacturing date is September 2014.
 
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Damn, I hope the flickering issue isn't definitive, because this more and more looks like the perfect monitor for me.

And... no glow ? Seriously ? *drool*
 
Damn, I hope the flickering issue isn't definitive, because this more and more looks like the perfect monitor for me.

And... no glow ? Seriously ? *drool*

Oddly enough, the flickering just randomly stopped. I literally have no idea what caused it, but I'm exchanging it for a new one regardless.

It certainly glows, but not in the same way as the AOC and the Eizo did; those two had an ungodly white glow in the left corner when viewed head-on. That being said, I don't really notice glow head-on with this monitor, but I do sit around 3 feet away from my monitor.

Oh, this thing gets pretty bright, by the way. I have the brightness @ 2/100 in the OSD, and that's 120 cd/m2 for me
 
I'd buy a second unit instead, then exchange the inferior unit since the first 1 might end up being better. Maybe the retailer can be asked to hold on to the first one. I find 2 frame or large hz differences to be obvious while smaller amounts (1 frame @ 60vs vs. no lag) require witch hunting testing methodology for me to feel.

My AOC had the same extra amount of glow in the bottom left, but the right side exhibited less glow than normal...confusing. The Acer S236HL (6 bit+FRC AH-IPS) was glow free up to sub 15cm distances, but not completely glow free like my Qnix.


Playerwares LG 27MB85R Review


Playerswares LG 27MB85Z Review
(Wide Gamut version)
 
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I'd buy a second unit instead, then exchange the inferior unit since the first 1 might end up being better. Maybe the retailer can be asked to hold on to the first one. I find 2 frame or large hz differences to be obvious while smaller amounts (1 frame @ 60vs vs. no lag) require witch hunting testing methodology for me to feel.

My AOC had the same extra amount of glow in the bottom left, but the right side exhibited less glow than normal...confusing. The Acer S236HL (6 bit+FRC AH-IPS) was glow free up to sub 15cm distances, but not completely glow free like my Qnix.

I'm actually not able to do that as the holiday season has a stranglehold on my credit card for the next few weeks and I'm content with exchanging, especially considering there's a few dead pixels in the middle of the screen. I also have the AOC sitting around still, it doesn't have to be shipped back until Jan. 31st, so it's just chilling in my room boxed up. If worse comes to worse and the LG doesn't pan out, I'll probably just cancel the return and keep the AOC.

I do fear a panel lottery on the LG, though. I imagine you're thinking the same thing.

That sure is bright !

Still, do we have a King of the 60Hz 1440 IPS monitors here ?

I really hope so.

It certainly blows the EV2736W and Q2770PQU out of the water just because of the lack of left corner glow, for me.

------------------------

If there's anything I could test on this unit before I send it back it back tomorrow, please let me know; I'll get to it in the morning before I head over to the UPS store. I'll make sure to post the manufacturer's date before it's shipped back in case there's any more reports of flickering/my new model also flickers. It's something I implore any potential owners/future owners to do.
 
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Replacement panel received, the manufacturing date is September 2014, same as the previous one. I updated my original post with this information.

Turned down the brightness and no flickering issues to speak of, but of course there's a dead pixel in the center of the screen.

I'm not sure what I want to do at this point; it glows so much less than the AOC even at 30 centimeters away, but dead pixels on both panels. Jesus.

Edit: Yeah, at about 88 centimeters away (how far away I normally sit) I can't see any glow.

Edit 2: Third times the charm? RMA and shipping label already sent to me, taking it over to the UPS store now.
 
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Aside from the wide gamut U2713H I tested, 90cm is the normal glow free distance for all of the 27" 1440p monitors I've used.

Guess you could try the PB278Q which is now delay free (new AHVA version uses a matte black bezel vs. grey for the original) or LG 27EA83R (updated version=PWM+delay free), however versions with 30ms delays and 130hz PWM exist...
 
Received my third unit on Friday. Manufacturer Date: September 2014

No dead pixels, no backlight bleed, and everything else looks to be the complete same outside of that.

The monitor comes defaulted to the custom user mode preset which is quite warm out of the box (I measured 6100K). Switching to the sRGB gives accurate color and better white point, but drops the contrast to below 700.

Custom Preset

Q1W1Xj4.png


sRGB Preset

kG0XSLB.png


Dispcalgui + 0install has apparently spontaneously broken when I went to reinstall it, so I had to calibrate via Basiccolor 5, again. It looks like I'll probably have to reformat to use dispcalgui again, or I'll have to use argyll via terminal.

I calibrate everything to 2.2 gamma because selecting sRGB makes colors appear washed out. By contrast, REC. 709 appears much too dark for my tastes.

Calibration Result

RGB Gain: R 46; G 48; B 58
Brightness: 0
Gamma Setting: 1 (2.2)
Sharpness: 7 (This is EXTREMELY important; see why here)

lzOhIzc.png



There's a couple of things I want to note, mainly minor annoyances and a few random occurrences that I can't explain.

1. The monitor does not get very dim, not at all. The uncalibrated custom mode brightness is somewhere along the lines of 122 cd/m2 at the lowest possible setting. Changing the monitor to the sRGB preset enables much lower brightness. Currently, with my calibration my lowest brightness setting is 120 cd/m2.

2. I checked the monitor for PWM using TestUFO, as I do all my monitors. There's just one big blurred line, I mean, I see nothing that would indicate that this has PWM from conventional testing. Now, when I load up http://www.gdargaud.net/Hack/DeadPixel/GreenMagenta.html I see visible flickering, but only on half of the screen - the bottom, in fact. The top is pristine, but like I said, I can't find anything to indicate that this has PWM, and it would be really strange if only the bottom of the monitor flickers as a result; however, it also goes away around 90% brightness like PWM would. So, does anyone know what that flickering might be? It only appears on the Greenmagenta test, I've found no other way to replicate it outside of that. It's not really an annoyance, given that I can only find it on one test, but I'd very much like to know what that is and why it exists. Oh, and I can't get my phone camera to pick it up, so I have no way of showing any of you :(.

3. The OSD buttons are only slightly better than the AOC Q2770PQU as they're capacitive touch (better), but still on the bottom side of the bezel, which is pretty damn annoying.

4. The OSD light flickers during sleep mode; I can't turn it off. Also, it makes a noise when it flickers, so I have to turn off the monitor when I shutdown my computer.

5. PiP is pretty cool, I guess.

In short: I like it, a lot.

Edit: Ye olde flickering appears to be similar to this http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/clock_phase.php, but only shows up on the webpage I posted earlier. Lowering the sharpness setting removes it, but images obviously become fuzzy.

Edit 2: Updated the settings with information about sharpness
 
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Glad you got a good unit at last !

Are 120 cd/m2 too much ? O still okay to work hours in a rather dark room ?

Another question you may find strange but it is a rather important thing to me; is the monitor able to display a proper 4:3 resolution ? (pillarboxed; with big black bars on the sides), and I mean by itself, not controlled by a computer gfx.
(Resolutions like 640x480 and 720x480 in 4:3 aspect, through the HDMI input. Yes no kidding ^^)
And if it is how is the scaling/interpolation quality ?
 
Glad you got a good unit at last !

Are 120 cd/m2 too much ? O still okay to work hours in a rather dark room ?

I generally calibrate everything to 120 cd/m2 because I was under the impression that it's the industry standard, but overall it's more than fine for dark room use. My room lighting is basically 4 Philips Hue bulbs and a Philips Hue bloom lamp set to various colors (often a dim red at night) and I certainly have no issues with eye-strain. My testing/calibration is done with all of my lights set to 6500k @ 550 lumens a light.

Another question you may find strange but it is a rather important thing to me; is the monitor able to display a proper 4:3 resolution ? (pillarboxed; with big black bars on the sides), and I mean by itself, not controlled by a computer gfx.
(Resolutions like 640x480 and 720x480 in 4:3 aspect, through the HDMI input. Yes no kidding ^^)

I'll have to check this tomorrow as I'm about to head to bed. I also may have to think of a way to test this as I don't believe PS3 allows 4:3 resolutions over HDMI. I have a feeling it does pillarbox appropriately, but we'll see tomorrow.


And if it is how is the scaling/interpolation quality ?

Talked about it a little in my original post, but the interpolation quality is great. I still say it's equal to the EV2736W, which had fantastic interpolation thanks to it's OSD smoothing function. The LG lacks a similar function, but doesn't require it as it looks all around great; you quite literally won't notice any difference from this and a 1080p display. I think the OSD also allows for 1:1 pixel mapping, but I can't recall and will have to check tomorrow as I'm typing this via my laptop in bed.
 
Thanks in advance!
The 4:3 thing is a bit of strange request and it's no problem if you can't get any device to output this, I am one of the few who still uses quite old video hardwares (passed through transcoders/converters) besides the normal PC use. ^^
 
Nikyo, thanks for taking the time to post here and shed some light on this monitor. I've been looking for a 1440p monitor for a while now and was set on buying the AOC's Q2770PQU until I came across this thread.
I don't suppose you have any means of verifying the input lag of this monitor? How does its responsiveness compare to the AOC's? Do you think the LG is worth extra $90 (at least that's the price difference here)?

Cheers
 
Thanks in advance!
The 4:3 thing is a bit of strange request and it's no problem if you can't get any device to output this, I am one of the few who still uses quite old video hardwares (passed through transcoders/converters) besides the normal PC use. ^^

Good news!

Once set to 480p, just change the 'Wide' ratio preset in the OSD to 'Original' and it pillarboxes perfectly. It also supports 1:1, like I thought.

6Kr4NP1.jpg


Nikyo, thanks for taking the time to post here and shed some light on this monitor. I've been looking for a 1440p monitor for a while now and was set on buying the AOC's Q2770PQU until I came across this thread.
I don't suppose you have any means of verifying the input lag of this monitor? How does its responsiveness compare to the AOC's? Do you think the LG is worth extra $90 (at least that's the price difference here)?

Cheers

I unfortunately don't have any way of testing input lag, so all I can go on is my subjective feeling. The only fast paced games I play are rhythm games (Osu, Beatmania, Stepmania, etc.) and I honestly find the LG to be much more suited for that purpose over the AOC and the EV2736W. It could be placebo, it could be the monitor lining up with lag offsets (which I never adjust) better, but it definitely feels faster, and a lot more enjoyable to play on over the AOC and EV2736W. I can surely say it's very close, if not the same, to playing on my EV2336W, which is also delay-free.

I hated the AOC, it had an awful yellow tint after calibration, left-sided corner glow which was visible from a distance ≤90 cm and the worst OSD buttons and OSD I've ever used. Meanwhile, the LG glows less than any monitor I've ever used (this includes my 23" EV2336W), it has fantastic calibrated contrast, is seemingly delay-free, and offers some cool functions like PiP which I'll somehow found some use for, I'm sure.

I guess the stand is a little disappointing as it lacks a variety a features outside of being height adjustable (not like the AOC had any feature to speak of). Every unit I received was backlight bleed free, and I've noticed LG monitors are actually manufactured in Korea, so that could be why the build quality is seemingly quite nice.

Anyway, I digress; I'm returning an AOC Q2770PQU in exchange for this LG, so I'd definitely pay $90 more for this monitor. I like it.

----------------------------

Note: I made an error in my original post, the Blue RGB gain is 58, not 57.
 
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I just bought this monitor based on NCX's #1 Rating and Nikyo's review. I'm lovin it! I got lucky and got a good one the first time from BH. Hopefully I'm lucky on my 2nd one I'm about to order.
 
Thank you very much Nikyo ! :)

OMG this monitor is the BEST. *drool*
I think people who don't read this thread or NCX's posts haven't realized yet lol

@badselection: the input lag measured by playerwares is 6.8ms. YES. ;)
Check the link posted by NCX.
 
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@Richard Jones
I did see the review, but I don't know anything about this website or how reliable its measurements are. That's why I asked.

@Nikyo
I'll be purchasing the LG tomorrow. Thanks for making the decision easier.
 
I just bought this monitor based on NCX's #1 Rating and Nikyo's review. I'm lovin it! I got lucky and got a good one the first time from BH. Hopefully I'm lucky on my 2nd one I'm about to order.

Glad to hear that you're enjoying it.

If you wouldn't mind, could you post the manufacturer's date on the back of the monitor? I'm hoping we can keep a good reference of dates in case LG has a revision that changes anything for the better or worse.

Thank you very much Nikyo ! :)

OMG this monitor is the BEST. *drool*
I think people who don't read this thread or NCX's posts haven't realized yet lol

@badselection: the input lag measured by playerwares is 6.8ms. YES. ;)
Check the link posted by NCX.

No problem!

I think we'll see this awesome little monitor become more pervasive in the very near future.

@Richard Jones
I did see the review, but I don't know anything about this website or how reliable its measurements are. That's why I asked.

@Nikyo
I'll be purchasing the LG tomorrow. Thanks for making the decision easier.

Glad I could help you make a decision.

Playware's measurement should be accurate as Zardluck has reviewed a large quantity of monitors and uses SMTT2 to check for input lag, which is the same method used by TFTcentral, =DEAD=, and NCX alike. The reason I mention placebo is because there's always a possibly that the version in North America is a different revision than the one found in Korea.
 
I have a question to the owners of this monitor, is it overclockable beyond 60hz?
I'm asking this because in my experience quite a few LG monitors can run up to 75hz (with the right timings like CVT reduced blanking) without any frameskipping, but will display an out of range message above that, e.g 76hz.
 
^ good question.

Now if only it could be as 'cheap' here in Europe that would be great.
Maybe I should wait for January and stock clearances...
 
@Nikyo September 2014 from BHVideo

Thanks!


Cool price, but Newegg doesn't exactly have the best return policy. B&H I've returned/exchanged upwards of 7 monitors now with no issues, so I'd stick with them.

I have a question to the owners of this monitor, is it overclockable beyond 60hz?
I'm asking this because in my experience quite a few LG monitors can run up to 75hz (with the right timings like CVT reduced blanking) without any frameskipping, but will display an out of range message above that, e.g 76hz.

Gave it a shot, had no luck. None of the other multi-input 1440p monitors can overclock, though; I can't say I was expecting it to.
 
I was looking hard at Dell U2715H, but I'm sold on this one now.
Couple of questions.
How is the return and exchange with B&H?
Does it display full resolution over HDMI or DVI-D?
I want to use it from i5 HD4600 via z97 mobo.
No displayport and I don't want to buy a graphics card which I don't need for my use.
By the way it's $520 now.
Thanks.
Thanks.
 
@Nikyo
Have you tried playing FPS games on it like Battlefield or Counter Strike?
I'm unsure if this LG will look good on 60hz, though I don't really have many options.
Overclockable Korean monitors are out of my comfort zone and 144hz TN panels might not suit my digital art hobby.

How bad is the tearing without vsync and how bad is the input lag with vsync enabled, in your opinion, compared to other IPS or TN screens? I've used several monitors and while they're all 60hz, the smoothness/snappiness feel different.

Do you think this monitor is currently the best 27" 1440p non-TN monitor out there regarding backlight bleeding, color accuracy, input lag, response time and all the other features?
 
@Nikyo
Have you tried playing FPS games on it like Battlefield or Counter Strike?
I'm unsure if this LG will look good on 60hz, though I don't really have many options.
Overclockable Korean monitors are out of my comfort zone and 144hz TN panels might not suit my digital art hobby.

How bad is the tearing without vsync and how bad is the input lag with vsync enabled, in your opinion, compared to other IPS or TN screens? I've used several monitors and while they're all 60hz, the smoothness/snappiness feel different.

Do you think this monitor is currently the best 27" 1440p non-TN monitor out there regarding backlight bleeding, color accuracy, input lag, response time and all the other features?

I don't own/play any FPS games so I'm unfortunately unable to test that. I also haven't used a display above 60hz in like a decade.

I've never encountered V-sync performing differently on different displays, that'd be more a GPU issue. The 'fastest' display I own is my Eizo EV2336W, which is delay-free like the LG 27MB85R and feels absolutely the same. The LG, however, feels faster vs any other 1440p display I've used which includes the AOC Q2770PQU, Eizo EV2736W, Eizo CX271, and BenQ BL3200PT.

Yes, I believe LG 27MB85R is currently the best 27" 1440p IPS monitor that's available. I've had three units in total and not a single one had noticeable backlight-bleed/clouding. The LG is delay-free as far as input-lag is concerned (6.8 ms) and has excellent pixel response times; read the review here: http://www.playwares.com/xe/index.php?mid=display_review&document_srl=45089719. The calibrated contrast is fantastic at over 1000:1 on every unit I've used, and the monitor covers over 99% of the sRGB color space.

The monitor comes with a nice variety of scaling features such as 1:1 pixel mapping, wide aspect ratio stretching, and the ability to play content in their original aspect ratio with pillar/letterboxing as well as having excellent interpolation quality to match. The monitor comes with a colorimeter which can be used in conjunction with LG's own calibration software to make a hardware calibration to the monitor's internal LUT. The colorimeter/software isn't something I've tested as I own an i1 display pro, but I may test it sometime in the future.

For any particular cons, check out the post I made about my third unit on the first page.
 
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Borrowed a camera, took some pictures of the response-time (overdrive) presets.

Disclaimer: I had never used a DSLR in my life prior to this moment.

Camera Settings
f 5.6
1/125
ISO 1600

Response Time 'Low'


CTbxTIH.jpg


Response Time 'Middle'

0b01DsS.jpg


Response Time 'High'

f1ytiso.jpg



Pictures have been resized; response-time middle is the most pleasing to use. Response-time high has incredibly severe overshoot and should not even be considered. Response-time low has more trailing due to lower pixel response time.

If I did anything incorrectly or if anyone has any tips/tricks, I'll re-do the test.
 
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Rats, I'm past my return window on my EV2736W with B&H. I play almost exclusively FPS games so a delay-free 27" IPS monitor is very attractive, though I'm not certain it's going to offer much of an advantage given the title I play (BF4, which has such spotty netcode that a frame of input lag seems insignificant). Regardless, thanks for all the analyses; should I come in to a situation where I need to replace my Eizo I will certainly consider this monitor.
 
I fear this is again the kind of monitor for which the next produced batch(es) will lack the glow-free panel.
Also I don't expect this one to stay available forever since I believe it has actually been available in Korea since around Q2 2014 or even earlier, and LG renew a lot of their products every year.
 
Disclaimer: I had never used a DSLR in my life prior to this moment.

Your pictures are fine, but you need to take more in order to get ones without what appears to be reverse ghosting which is caused by the camera.

Rats, I'm past my return window on my EV2736W with B&H.

You can probably sell your EV2736W for a small profit if it is glow free, especially since they no longer use glow free panels according to Simon from TFT Central (I asked him to asked Eizo about the different panels since they ignore me). If it is glow free I doubt you will like a non-glow free panel though. I can't stand non-glossy+non-glow free panels anymore.
 
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Is this glow-free or just "less obnoxious" than the other multi-input 1440 IPS monitors available? I saw Nikyo mentioned it didn't have heavy left-corner glow like Eizo, AOC, etc.

edit: I have a glowing Eizo....
 
Rats, I'm past my return window on my EV2736W with B&H. I play almost exclusively FPS games so a delay-free 27" IPS monitor is very attractive, though I'm not certain it's going to offer much of an advantage given the title I play (BF4, which has such spotty netcode that a frame of input lag seems insignificant). Regardless, thanks for all the analyses; should I come in to a situation where I need to replace my Eizo I will certainly consider this monitor.

If you're only a few days over, try emailing customer support and they may make an exception for the holiday season.

Your pictures are fine, but you need to take more in order to get ones without what appears to be reverse ghosting which is caused by the camera.

Gotcha, I'll give that a go tomorrow; thanks for the input.

Is this glow-free or just "less obnoxious" than the other multi-input 1440 IPS monitors available? I saw Nikyo mentioned it didn't have heavy left-corner glow like Eizo, AOC, etc.

It glows normally, it's just much less obnoxious and lacks the obvious left-corner glow. At 88 cm it's basically glow-free, but NCX says that's the distance to which majority of the monitors he's tested are glow free.
 
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Gotcha, I'll give that a go tomorrow; thanks for the input.

You can if you want to waste your time :) Or we can link people to Playerwares pixel response time measurements for the LG and a similar monitor they tested like the U2713HM.

The S27D850T I tested was glow free from my normal viewing distance, but not when viewed off angle like my Qnix. The AOC I tested also had obvious left glow, but the right side was similar to the 850T. Mayhap Samsung shipped a bad batch of panels and neither AOC nor Eizo cared to reject them. I don't know why they don't only make glow free panels and heavily market them. The AHVA/IPS/PLS war would be over if they sold delay, PWM and glow free PLS panels.
 
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You can if you want to waste your time :) Or we can link people to Playerwares pixel response time measurements for the LG and a similar monitor they tested like the U2713HM.

lol, pretty much. I took them mostly for fun; should I ever be put in a position where I need to provide more in depth information on something in the future, I want to be prepared.

Oh, and playing with cameras is pretty cool, so there's that.
 
Can the 27MB85R handle 50Hz signals ? (576p50, 480p50, 720p50, 1080p50)

And if it does, is it smooth ? (no obvious judder)

I'm not asking about interlaced sources, I doubt it can but who knows...:D

EDIT: oh wait the info was on the manual, not the specs sheet, and well it DOES support 50Hz AND interlaced signals as well, but only on HDMI (of course). :cool:
 
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