LG 43UD79 Information?

I've had this monitor for a couple weeks now and noticed some issues as well:

- PWM flicker (even though the monitor is advertised as being Flicker Safe) - for example, if you look at a white background and wave your hand over it, you can see trails of your hand. Setting brightness to 100 prevents PWM and fixes this issue, but then the brightness is higher than what I'd like

- Monitor edge shadow covers about 15 pixels on all sides of the screen. The shadow goes away if you move your head over to the edge, but otherwise the shadow is very noticeable when sitting in front of the monitor normally. I enabled the underscan feature of this monitor to constrain the screen area to be inside the edge shadows, but that's not ideal either since the image is scaled and also not using the full screen area.

- BGR subpixel layout, which isn't ideal since I'm using it with a Mac

- Occasionally the screen will cut to black for a second before coming back on. This happens randomly a few times a day


Does anyone else notice these issues too? Especially the PWM flicker and the screen randomly cutting out
 
I just set up mine (couldn't wait til Sunday). Some early observations:

  • There's definitely the shadow effect on 3 of the 4 borders. The bottom shadow is most pronounced. I'm not pleased with that.
  • PWM never bothers me with my Samsung KS8500 when used as a monitor, so I don't notice it on my LG.
  • Haven't tried any games, but I'm not sensitive to input lag. I don't expect this to be an issue.
  • I got used to the curve on my KS8500. It's a little odd looking at a flat monitor.
I'll give the monitor a workout over the next few days. The shadow thing really bothers me. Would be easier to overlook if the bottom shadow was at the top.
 
- PWM flicker (even though the monitor is advertised as being Flicker Safe) - for example, if you look at a white background and wave your hand over it, you can see trails of your hand. Setting brightness to 100 prevents PWM and fixes this issue, but then the brightness is higher than what I'd like

I think I can see what you mean by the trail varying with brightness, but it's pretty subtle. If it's worse than my zr2740w, it isn't much worse. And I haven't noticed any eye strain or other issues, and I've been using it a lot.

- Occasionally the screen will cut to black for a second before coming back on. This happens randomly a few times a day

I've had issues like this with marginal cables using my 43UF7600. So far I have not had this issue with my 43UD79. It does make my other monitors do a brief blank when it is powered on or woken from sleep, which is mildly annoying. But windows aren't being moved between displays like they were when the 43UF7600 switched off, so I can live with it.
 
It's pretty appalling if you're right that this monitor is using PWM below 100 brightness. On other LG monitors their flicker safe branding indicated PWM free. PWM on a monitor this size will kill it for me.

I googled around and their flicker safe branding is never defined anywhere. They advertise a certification as flicker free from TUF on a few monitors, but TUF also doesn't publish their standard for flicker free.
 
just set mine up. It was a relief to have 4k 60hz work first time out of the box on my hackintosh with GTX 970 displayport, after the struggles I had getting HDMI to work at 60hz 4k using a TV on Mac OS. First impressions, it seems like a decent upgrade over the Samsung 40" 4k TV I was using before.

cons:
inputs are a pain the ass to access (bottom instead of side like my samsung)
remote is flimsy and cheap looking compared to the nice samsung remote
only 1 displayport input. only 2/4 HDMI inputs work at 4k 60hz. I would have paid another $100 for like 3 more DP inputs =/
bgr instead of rgb

overall minor complaints I guess. I'm far from a display expert and I don't know anything about PWM flicker, will have to research that and why its a bad thing. I haven't had it blip to black screen and back on yet (knock on wood) but its only been an hour or so in use. FWIW my Samsung TV did that blink out thing occasionally, or it did this weird thing where the whole image jumped to the left a few inches and jumped back for a split second, randomly maybe once or twice a day. haven't had that happen yet with the LG

haven't tried gaming yet
 
I'm going to return mine. I hoped I'd end up ignoring the black line/shadow thing, but it just annoys me too much after dropping $650 on this monitor. Glad I tried it, at least.
 
I'm going to return mine. I hoped I'd end up ignoring the black line/shadow thing, but it just annoys me too much after dropping $650 on this monitor. Glad I tried it, at least.

Mind taking a picture since this has been mentioned by several people? It might help those looking at this thread and trying to decide if they'd be bothered by it.

After knowing about that and the PWM, I guess I'm still sticking with my Samsung until I buy an OLED. It doesn't sound like this would be much of an improvement unless I just really wanted an IPS panel for whatever reason. I just wish the LG OLEDs came in sizes smaller than 55", ugh.
 
Mind taking a picture since this has been mentioned by several people? It might help those looking at this thread and trying to decide if they'd be bothered by it.

After knowing about that and the PWM, I guess I'm still sticking with my Samsung until I buy an OLED. It doesn't sound like this would be much of an improvement unless I just really wanted an IPS panel for whatever reason. I just wish the LG OLEDs came in sizes smaller than 55", ugh.
UGH... just finished boxing it up. Sorry, man.

Agreed on the TV size, though. My 49" Sammy is just a bit too big, IMO. I definitely prefer the 43" for monitor use. Might get a 43KU7500 if I can find one for less than $700.
 
No worries, man. I just thought that it might be helpful to others. Maybe someone else can post pics of it.

I'm kind of surprised that the 43KU7500 for $450 hasn't been back. I managed to snag one but haven't had a chance to play with it yet. I'm waiting on a couple of things to happen at work before I decide whether to set it up there or try it out in place of my 48" at home.
 
Wow, never knew the 43KU7500 went for as low as $450!!! That was a steal, to be sure!
 
It is not easy to get an accurate picture, since looking at it straight on makes it vanish. I snapped a pic to give an estimate of what it might look like (I do wonder if it varies on each display).

In my use it never looks as extreme as this, I'd say this is like a worst case of a single corner. My background is mostly black and this is my floating CPU monitor at the very bottom right corner.

 
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Flicker Free=Flicker Safe=no LED PWM Dimming - LG states this on the display specs sheet.

Waving a hand against white background does not sound like a reliable method to determine presence of PWM.

P.S. About the screen going blank every once in a while - changing the cable and/or videocard connector might fix the problem.
 
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It is not easy to get an accurate picture, since looking at it straight on makes it vanish. I snapped a pic to give an estimate of what it might look like (I do wonder if it varies on each display).

In my use it never looks as extreme as this, I'd say this is like a worst case of a single corner. My background is mostly black and this is my floating CPU monitor at the very bottom right corner.

Thanks turbo.

Flicker Free=Flicker Safe=no LED PWM Dimming - LG states this on the display specs sheet.

Waving a hand against white background does not sound like a reliable method to determine presence of PWM.

I've never personally used it but what about this test?
 
I can confirm that at least for my particular monitor (LG 43UD79-B), it does use PWM dimming (which contradicts it being advertised as Flicker Safe)

For example, when using this test (https://www.testufo.com/#test=blurtrail), there are single moving vertical lines when brightness is set to 100, but as brightness is decreased, multiple copies of each line start to appear
 
Yes, in my opinion this is a simple and reliable test.

Joebloogs, try this on your new monitor.

P.S. Aha, didn``t read your post.

Well, too bad, I had some hopes for a good 43 inch monitor... There are obvious false claims in advertising the LG 43UD79...
 
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I use my monitors for basic office stuff (documents, presentations, etc), I also look at financial charts, and play World of Tanks. So, would you guys recommend this or just get a X900E 49" Sony tv?

Thanks for your comments.
 
I tried the above test at the default settings and I wasn't seeing any difference between brightness 50 and 100, but using these settings there is distinct separation of the lines around brighness 70 and below, but not at 90 and above. I tried the different modes on the monitor and the various response times in "Game Mode" and it was basically the same in all of them.
 
Thanks for the info, turbo_.

Can you make a slow motion clip as shown here for the DELL P4317Q?



This is a horrible low frequency PWM, I hope in the 43UD79 is not the same.
 
I don't have a camera that will shoot 240fps, I tried capturing it at 120fps but the PWM frequency must be higher than that - it's not visible.
 
Wow, never knew the 43KU7500 went for as low as $450!!! That was a steal, to be sure!

I wouldn't recommend that TV either. I had that one before looking into this LG. The primary issue is that the side are horribly color shifted from 3 feet away. The monitor is a VA panel and its so wide that even with the curve the edges color shift from the severe viewing angle. This TV was what convinced me a 40+ inch monitor needed to be OLED or IPS. It also has horrible PWM and some quirks with waking from sleep. I sent mine back even at $450.

If you sit far enough away from your screen it could be good, but in that case the curve will be more a hindrance than a benefit.
 
I wouldn't recommend that TV either. I had that one before looking into this LG. The primary issue is that the side are horribly color shifted from 3 feet away. The monitor is a VA panel and its so wide that even with the curve the edges color shift from the severe viewing angle. This TV was what convinced me a 40+ inch monitor needed to be OLED or IPS. It also has horrible PWM and some quirks with waking from sleep. I sent mine back even at $450.

If you sit far enough away from your screen it could be good, but in that case the curve will be more a hindrance than a benefit.

He and I both have Samsungs that are larger than the 43KU7500. He can clarify but I think his main issue was with the size of his current set, so the 7500 would be like what he has but in a more manageable size. None of the things you mentioned bother me. Sorry it didn't work for you but all of these large displays have proven to have some compromises so any of them are going to be a placeholder until an OLED in this size comes along. IPS has flaws too (glow, grey blacks, limited contrast) and I definitely prefer the curved VA Samsung over pretty much everything else I've tried and that includes 120Hz monitors, IPS monitors, curved and flat, etc.

Anyway, my main point is that because he already has a Samsung he knows what to expect. It sounded to me like he'd be happy with a smaller version of what he has now.
 
I was about halfway through my response to burburbur when Lateralus' post popped up. It's as if he Vulcan mind-melded with me on this topic. Well-stated, sir!
 
Got my 43UD79 today. There is a black dot about the size of half a penny on the top right corner. Thought it's just a tab for removing a layer of protection film on the screen. Turned out it's a defect on the display, ughhh...
 

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He and I both have Samsungs that are larger than the 43KU7500. He can clarify but I think his main issue was with the size of his current set, so the 7500 would be like what he has but in a more manageable size. None of the things you mentioned bother me. Sorry it didn't work for you but all of these large displays have proven to have some compromises so any of them are going to be a placeholder until an OLED in this size comes along. IPS has flaws too (glow, grey blacks, limited contrast) and I definitely prefer the curved VA Samsung over pretty much everything else I've tried and that includes 120Hz monitors, IPS monitors, curved and flat, etc.

Anyway, my main point is that because he already has a Samsung he knows what to expect. It sounded to me like he'd be happy with a smaller version of what he has now.

If that's the case, I imagine he would be. I think if you're not sensitive to PWM and you can sit in a position/distance that minimizes the color shifting on the screen sides it works well for a monitor.
 
I got to try mine today. Input lag feels normal for 60hz monitors (probably in the 20-30ms range). No dead or stuck pixels or obvious defective spots. However the edge darkening is definitely pretty severe (would be a lot better if it were curved). It is pretty close to 10 pixels darkened on the sides and bottom, and basically nothing at the top.

I build this little test image to determine it.

http://i.imgur.com/X05xtlv.png

And here is a photo of the monitor displaying that image from my normal sitting distance.

 
Can somebody take a clear photo of the notorious darkening at the edges? I would really appreciate it.
 
Can somebody take a clear photo of the notorious darkening at the edges? I would really appreciate it.

I just gave it a go. It's hard to get a picture that shows what is going on. If you can see the whole monitor there's not enough detail, and if you can see the detail, you lose the context.

But here are some pictures of older Korean monitors which have LG IPS panels with basically the same shadow issues:

This composite picture of the bottom left corner of a Crossover 434k, is a somewhat exaggerated picture of the bottom shadow.

This video shows the side shadow on a Wasabi Mango UHD420. But it's not in a way that you see it when viewing the monitor normally. Rather it's what you see when you move your head over near the left side of the panel from less than 1 ft away.


And here's an attempt to describe what's going on in detail, when actually viewing the monitor:

The bottom shadow:
If you're viewing from about the middle of the screen to a bit above the middle, from less than 24", then bottom-most 3-5 rows of pixels are shadowed. You can still see them, but they are darker than they "should" be.

The side shadows:
If you're viewing from the center of the screen square on, from about 18"-36" away you can barely make out, or even not see at all about 10-15 columns of pixels on the left and right of the screen. As you move your head farther away, or to the left or right, you can make the screen side columns of pixels more visible.

As I've mentioned elsewhere. For desktop use, the shadows don't bother me at all. I simply don't position windows where important parts can't be seen. I don't even have to think about it.

For gaming use, sometimes HUD elements are in affected areas, in those game, I use a custom resolution that simply removes the edge pixels from consideration. I also prefer many games in 21:9-ish resolutions. For those I usually use a resolution of about 3800x1620.
 
Thanks, stewartjm, now I got an idea... I wouldn`t say this is something to complain about.... it`s bad only if there is a button or HUD element in this area.
 
Getting one tomorrow to replace the 404k, It ghost too much. I'll do what I can or you can point me at things to try... Not really sure what you may want...Pictures obviously. my perception of ghosting.
 
LG 43UD79-B: http://www.lg.com/us/monitors/lg-43UD79-B-4k-uhd-led-monitor

LG 27UD88-W: http://www.lg.com/us/monitors/lg-27UD88-W-4k-uhd-led-monitor

Both of these monitors are priced the same, except one is way bigger. I'm trying to figure out what the trade-offs are and if it makes sense to get the 43" since I'm tempted to get that huge screen. I also want the USB-C port since I have a MacBook Pro 13" w Touch Bar 2017.

I will primarily be using this for work, movies, and occasional casual CS:GO and LoL.

From what I understand the main thing I'm sacrificing with the 43" is color accuracy, which I'm not to concerned about. There are also minor things like BGR subpixel arrangement, monitor edge shadow, flicker issues, and a poor FreeSync implementation.

What else am I missing? Why are the monitors priced so similarly?

Thanks in advance!
 
Having a 43" 4k monitor is basically the exact same thing as having 4 22" 1080p monitors in a 2x2 grid, without any bezels getting in the way between them.

A 27" 4k monitor is basically like having a 27" 1440p-ish screen, but with the ability to have sharper text and graphics.

Of course viewing distance does play a role. I usually sit about 26-32 inches from my displays. To have the same view of a 27" monitor, that I have of a 43" monitor at 29 inches, I would need to have the 27" display about 18 inches from my eyes. I could also move the 43" display out to about 46 inches from my eyes, to have the same sharpness as the 27" display at 29 inches.
 
Having a 43" 4k monitor is basically the exact same thing as having 4 22" 1080p monitors in a 2x2 grid, without any bezels getting in the way between them.

A 27" 4k monitor is basically like having a 27" 1440p-ish screen, but with the ability to have sharper text and graphics.

Of course viewing distance does play a role. I usually sit about 26-32 inches from my displays. To have the same view of a 27" monitor, that I have of a 43" monitor at 29 inches, I would need to have the 27" display about 18 inches from my eyes. I could also move the 43" display out to about 46 inches from my eyes, to have the same sharpness as the 27" display at 29 inches.

Thanks appreciate it.

I totally get the viewing distance implications and all of that but I'm more curious about the technical details of the two monitors and why they are priced the same despite the size difference.
 
On the one hand, yes, they're both 4k displays. But on the other hand, the size disparity makes them almost completely different in their use cases. I personally currently have zero use for a sub 40" 4k monitor on a desktop PC. Windows still has too many gotchas with using display DPIs much beyond 100 for general desktop use.

If it's for a Mac, and the -W, meaning white, is a big hint, that LG probably intends it primarily for Mac use, then it's probably more worthy of consideration. It being intended for a Mac, also probably at least someone explains it's cost compared to other 27" 4k IPS displays.

Compared to more basic monitors, both support PBP and both have modern USB hubs, which justifies a bit of a price premium. From reading the specs, the 27" does support Freesync. The 43" was originally reported as supporting Freesync, but I don't think it made it into the actual retail product. If it's mentioned in on screen menu, I haven't found it yet.
 
Can anyone set the resolution to 1920x1080 and let me know if it's clear and crisp (another than being huge) or blurry? Looking for a 4k monitor that does pixel double/quadrupling instead of pixel interpolation.

Thank you in advance!
 
"I totally get the viewing distance implications and all of that but I'm more curious about the technical details of the two monitors and why they are priced the same despite the size difference."

The 27UD88 seems like a more complete package... It has Freesync support, which is explicitly stated, it also covers 99% of the sRGB color space, unlike 43UD79 which covers only 86% when the white point is set at 6500K. And there is probably more.... border shadows, etc. The issue with the flickering is still unclear.
 
Can anyone set the resolution to 1920x1080 and let me know if it's clear and crisp (another than being huge) or blurry? Looking for a 4k monitor that does pixel double/quadrupling instead of pixel interpolation.

I gave it a go. Turned off GPU scaling. Fired up a game at 1080p. If I turn off anti-aliasing, edges on graphics are very blocky, which I think shows that no interpolation is occuring. Fonts look a bit smoothed no matter what, but I think that's just windows cleartype doing it's thing. I didn't try to turn cleartype off.
 
I gave it a go. Turned off GPU scaling. Fired up a game at 1080p. If I turn off anti-aliasing, edges on graphics are very blocky, which I think shows that no interpolation is occuring. Fonts look a bit smoothed no matter what, but I think that's just windows cleartype doing it's thing. I didn't try to turn cleartype off.

The text in Windows would give it away. It would be blurry, almost hazy if it was interpolating. I had a 28" Acer before and 1080p text was so blurry that it was unusable. SO few displays do pixel quadrupling, it seems so easy to do too...

So Windows text was clear?
 
The text in Windows would give it away. It would be blurry, almost hazy if it was interpolating. I had a 28" Acer before and 1080p text was so blurry that it was unusable. SO few displays do pixel quadrupling, it seems so easy to do too...

So Windows text was clear?

Windows fonts look bad, I disabled cleartype, and they still look bad. If I also go into Performance Options and turn of Smooth edges of Screen fonts, then some fonts look a bit better. Most windows fonts at most sizes, are simply not pixel perfect without some sort of anti-aliasing/smoothing

But if I pull up the 4:4:4 test image, which is just a bitmap with non anti-aliased text in it, it looks quite sharp.

(To clarify, this was all testing at 1080P)
 
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