LG L246W

Btw, do NOT use sRGB mode on this screen. It shoots up contrast to 100 which causes everything >RGB 227 to be white. The proper (1:1) setting is 80.

This was probably different with the old 1.440 firmware.
 
Considering calling Circuit City and asking about stock..though it is about 45 minutes away. I got a BenQ FP241W a few months ago and was mostly happy with it until recently. I had mostly been using it only for PC and Xbox360 and it works well. However I got a Wii last week for SSB and I get frequent blackouts with Wii connected via component. My upconverting DVD player connected via DVI I also found to suffer from the blackout issue. Terrible.

I might be able to return it still and get my money back as I think I have 12 months. This should work well for PC via HDMI at 1920x1200, upconverting dvd player @ 720p, xbox360 at 1080p w/ no overscan, and wii at 480p?

Probably a waste of time as I doubt they will actually have it in stock but am in class all day and haven't had a chance to call.

Edit: Forgot to mention that yes I know there aren't enough inputs for what I want to use. But can't really avoid that using a pc monitor. I just have to switch them.
 
Been reading some of these posts, and seeing that people have been having problems w/1920 x 1200 in Windows. Does anybody have an 8800GTS 512 that can confirm/deny this?

Also, does it run 1080p w/a PS3 plugged in? Or 1080i with the 360 (the highest it can output, right?)

Ditching a Soyo 24" to get this, since it actually has all the features I want in a monitor, while still being cheap. Just hope CC B&M has this in stock!

I'm running mine with my 8800GTS 512 with a DVI-HDMI cable from monoprice in XP Pro. No problems running 1920x1200 on it. No idea with the PS3, but it only does 1080i over component with the Xbox 360. The westy l2410m will do 1080p over component, so it's the LG not the Xbox causing it to be limited to 1080i.
 
found 3 dead pixels using dead pixel buddy

listen to how awesome LG's service is:

called them up, told them about the dead pixels. no questions asked, are sending me DHL packing labels for free and are giving me a brand new monitor! not bad since the monitor i originally bought was open box anyway! hoping my new unit has no dead pixels. other than the dead pixels, this monitor is absolutely fabulous!

Thanks to Stevemedes for this deal. I just got a display model at Circuit City. I have a few dead pixels too though, so hopefully LG will come through for me. I had bought a Princeton Graphics one at Costco this weekend that is going back. It had bad backlight bleed plus I'm sure this LG is much better.

Actually you might want to stick with what you have now - dead pixels or not. Apparently this is an old and discontinued model, so chances are that LG might not have any of them left in stock for replacement. In that case they will instead give you nearest matching model and currently all their other 24 inch monitors are with TN panel.

At least that is what happened to ksoze at late January. Eventually after complains LG support managed to dig one L245WP-BN for him, but I would expect that after months their stock is even more scarce than back then.

Just a heads up to anyone considering this monitor or is considering swapping the monitor for small problems.

THEY WILL NOT GIVE YOU AN L246WP monitor back if you do a SWAP Warranty exchange! I just did a swap and they gave me an L246WH-BN. It is a TN PANEL :mad: . What pisses me off is when they approved the return they did not tell me that it would be a different monitor. I called them up and they tell me they have no more, so they decided to swap with an "equivalent" model. So what happens if a backlight fails in a year or so? They'll give you a TN model back.

To add insult to injury, the stupid monitor doesn't Pivot anymore either...

Right now I've fired off an e-mail and called them up. They will contact me again to see what they can do...

NO MORE LG MONITORS FOR ME... If you can return it, DO IT. Do not take any chances. I'm in Canada, so I don't know if that will make a difference.

BTW. There is a BIG DIFFERENCE between TN and MVA once you go to 24". The edges have different colors from the center (assuming you're looking dead center). Whoever decided that a TN panel would be acceptable for a 24" monitor (widescreen), should be dragged out and shot... multiple times...
 
ugh that blows, I think L245WP were made much longer than L246WP so I'd scream a storm for them to dig one out too.
 
thanks for the post, i just called them back to see if they have any of this specific model. he said he couldnt say whether or not they do, that has to do with the warehouse department. he did say that if they dont have the same model, theyd contact me to let me know. not sure if i believe him though... hmmm.... should i take a chance or not? i can always be like, i dont want this shit gimme my old one back.

Actually you might want to stick with what you have now - dead pixels or not. Apparently this is an old and discontinued model, so chances are that LG might not have any of them left in stock for replacement. In that case they will instead give you nearest matching model and currently all their other 24 inch monitors are with TN panel.

At least that is what happened to ksoze at late January. Eventually after complains LG support managed to dig one L245WP-BN for him, but I would expect that after months their stock is even more scarce than back then.
 
ugh that blows, I think L245WP were made much longer than L246WP so I'd scream a storm for them to dig one out too.

L246WP-BN and L245WP-BN are essentially the same monitor, but with slight differences in how the bezel looks (differently shaped and located power led, control buttons in different locations). Thus I would expect that they both were discontinued at the same time though I do not have any source to back up this assumption.

so how do i know its not a tn panel,is there a date on the back?

As far as I know all L246WP-BN and L245WP-BN monitors are with P-MVA panel no matter when they are manufactured. L246WH-BN (note the H, not P) is a TN panel version as well as their new L2452V.
 
Btw, do NOT use sRGB mode on this screen. It shoots up contrast to 100 which causes everything >RGB 227 to be white. The proper (1:1) setting is 80.

This was probably different with the old 1.440 firmware.

No one else has had this problem and most people use the sRGB setting. Sounds like somethings is borked in yours.
 
Btw, do NOT use sRGB mode on this screen. It shoots up contrast to 100 which causes everything >RGB 227 to be white. The proper (1:1) setting is 80.

This was probably different with the old 1.440 firmware.

Have you tried playing with the brightness control? A couple people in this thread have claimed that brightness and contrast are switched on it in the control panel.
 
I use sRGB, I have my brightness on 70 and it looks almost ideal (compared to the mac book pro which I consider ideal)
 
Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere, but I'm trying to get an answer before I run off to circuit city to see if i can snag one. Is this a good gaming panel? My new pc will be used for everything - gaming, watching movies, web browsing, AutoCAD 3d work, and photoshop. I currently use a 21" sun microsystems crt that does 1600x1200 at 75hz beautifully, but the thing sure is huge! I don't need absolute perfect colors, but things like humming/ghosting would drive me nuts. I'm mostly interested in the larger resolution, but if it will cost me in the realm of crispness or having to deal with ghosting/screening/other lcd issues I'm not familiar with, then I'd rather not bother. Thanks in advance! :D
 
L246WP-BN and L245WP-BN are essentially the same monitor, but with slight differences in how the bezel looks (differently shaped and located power led, control buttons in different locations). Thus I would expect that they both were discontinued at the same time though I do not have any source to back up this assumption..

I think otherwise personally, well mostly because stock of the retail L246WP has been stagnant or even dwindling since last summer and the latest Manufacture date I've heard of was April/May 2007. I had two L245WP shipped to me made in late October 2007. So 5-6 months difference or so is possible.

Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere, but I'm trying to get an answer before I run off to circuit city to see if i can snag one. Is this a good gaming panel?

As PVA/MVA panels go for gaming, these are as good as it gets. Ghosting and Lag is not a problem for me, and the fact that a there are not a good +1/4th of people reporting otherwise makes it the best such Monitor by that measure. Not CRT or TN fast, but CS:source and CoD4 multiplayer I cannot tell well enough to miss my old Phillips 109B CRT. My Text is crisp, Blacks are very Black for a LCD and colors are great for casual photoshop work (well for me and my old CS).

The only thing I really wish these L246/246wp had was more inputs.. Even just a DVI would be nice or atleast another HDMI.
 
Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere, but I'm trying to get an answer before I run off to circuit city to see if i can snag one. Is this a good gaming panel? My new pc will be used for everything - gaming, watching movies, web browsing, AutoCAD 3d work, and photoshop. I currently use a 21" sun microsystems crt that does 1600x1200 at 75hz beautifully, but the thing sure is huge! I don't need absolute perfect colors, but things like humming/ghosting would drive me nuts. I'm mostly interested in the larger resolution, but if it will cost me in the realm of crispness or having to deal with ghosting/screening/other lcd issues I'm not familiar with, then I'd rather not bother. Thanks in advance! :D

It's great for gaming. No noticeable input lag or ghosting.
 
Is anybody in the Seattle area that has checked for product availability and pricing recently? I tried Bellevue with no success in getting a hold of anybody via phone. Arrg. I don't want to get stuck w/having to buy TN panel, and end up payin more for it!
 
anyone one have some quick suggestions for calibration? Right now srgb looks the most accurate to me... and i don't feel like reading through the whole thread :p
 
Actually you might want to stick with what you have now - dead pixels or not. Apparently this is an old and discontinued model, so chances are that LG might not have any of them left in stock for replacement. In that case they will instead give you nearest matching model and currently all their other 24 inch monitors are with TN panel.

At least that is what happened to ksoze at late January. Eventually after complains LG support managed to dig one L245WP-BN for him, but I would expect that after months their stock is even more scarce than back then.

Wasn't he in Canada though? Wonder if US stock would be any different. I had only hooked mine up for a few minutes at work, so now that I'm home I'm going to try that Pixel Buddy program and see what's up. I certainly don't want to exchange to end up with a TN panel. I do have to say, this monitor is awesome. I'm going to let it warm up for a few and then do some calibrations. This thing sure is bright! I'll definitely have to knock it down a bit.
 
For calibration I use this web page:

http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/all_tests.php

First set the monitor to sRGB mode and control your contrast and gamma via the video card control panel. With my 8800GTS I needed to set the contrast to 40 and gamma to 43. For color, I set the Blue Brightness slider down to 37. It's a tad warmer than 6500k but I find that it makes the lower end of the grayscale look better. Leave Red and Green at 50.

On that page, don't worry about getting every box to appear for both the black and white level tests. If you do this monitor will look very dull. As long as you can see most of them you're good to go.
 
I called again and spoke to someone different. I told him the model number and he told me that anything after the L246 in the model number is a region code, and that I'll be getting the same monitor back. I'm gonna go ahead and do this. I'll keep you guys updated.
 
No one else has had this problem and most people use the sRGB setting. Sounds like somethings is borked in yours.
Actually, others are reporting the same (prad.de forum). Have people here checked with a gradient?

One more thing: using SoftMCSS to set brightness (via DDC, not the OSD setting) from 64 to 63 improves black level and makes black identical to "no signal" (easy to check with a resolution <1920 and 1:1 pixel mapping). With the default setting it's slightly brighter, toned blue.
 
found 3 dead pixels using dead pixel buddy

listen to how awesome LG's service is:

called them up, told them about the dead pixels. no questions asked, are sending me DHL packing labels for free and are giving me a brand new monitor! not bad since the monitor i originally bought was open box anyway! hoping my new unit has no dead pixels. other than the dead pixels, this monitor is absolutely fabulous!

I also called them up about a dead pixel I found and about the Xbox360 edges been cut off and now im also getting the package labels for free and been replaced by a new one :D LG is awsome... Im glad I got this monitor

It seems to me that they are getting cut in the sides, i connect it thru HDMI and use the Original setting. I could be wrong cause im new to LCD sorry...
 
what do you mean 360 edges?

I also called them up about a dead pixel I found and about the 360 edges been cut off and now im also getting the package labels for free and been replaced by a new one :D LG is awsome... Im glad I got this monitor
 
Actually, others are reporting the same (prad.de forum). Have people here checked with a gradient?

I checked on mine with the contrast test here; all the boxes except the '1' box on the blue are clearly distinguishable on the sRGB setting with the brightness set to 40. I have the 1.420 firmware, though. The gradient here also gets consistently brighter.
 
Just picked up the last model the Circuit City at 14th St. in Manhattan had. Got the display model for 233 + tax, beautiful. I love it.

The only thing I'm concerned about, on Newegg it says this monitor isn't HDCP complaint, while the LG website is vague on the matter but seems to imply that it is, and elsewhere it claims that the HDMI is HDCP compliant. Is that some marketing trick, where the HDMI cable is going to be compliant, but the monitor itself isn't? Or should I assume that the monitor is HDCP compliant, as long as I'm using HDMI?

Not a huge deal, I don't think it will effect me much, as I don't plan on buying a Blu-Ray player for a few years and as far as I understand the issue, that's the only place I'd run into trouble with it. Still, it would be nice to know whether it has this shortcoming or not.
 
Just picked up the last model the Circuit City at 14th St. in Manhattan had. Got the display model for 233 + tax, beautiful. I love it.

The only thing I'm concerned about, on Newegg it says this monitor isn't HDCP complaint, while the LG website is vague on the matter but seems to imply that it is, and elsewhere it claims that the HDMI is HDCP compliant. Is that some marketing trick, where the HDMI cable is going to be compliant, but the monitor itself isn't? Or should I assume that the monitor is HDCP compliant, as long as I'm using HDMI?

Not a huge deal, I don't think it will effect me much, as I don't plan on buying a Blu-Ray player for a few years and as far as I understand the issue, that's the only place I'd run into trouble with it. Still, it would be nice to know whether it has this shortcoming or not.

Rest Easy... this monitor IS HDCP :D

I have confirmed this with blu-ray on the ps3... I wigged at first because i was getting no video but after messing with the settings somehow my "super white" setting got turned on. I turned it off and was able to drool at the 1080pness :cool:
 
I just bought the last one at the Brooklyn (Cleveland) Ohio CC for $278! When I called that store the guy said that it was sold out. But a different store told me that the computer showed one left at the Brooklyn store so I ran down to check it out. There it was, hiding on the top shelf where it wasn't easy to see. :D
 
Just picked up my second tonight, it was on clearance at CC for $300.98 after tax. Thats half what I paid less than a year ago. I have noticed that the picture on the new one is a little brighter than the older one. I remembered that the service menu has an aging mode that is set to off on both monitors. Has anyone tried turning this on? What specifically does it do. Thanks all!
 
I was going to get this monitor but after reading the review on Xbit labs I'm not so sure, can anyone comment on the brightness settings and how it affects the blacks and whites 'cause according to Xbit labs any setting not between 60-65 messes up the mid whites/blacks.

Here's the review for reference
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/other/display/24inch_10.html#sect0
That review was for the LG L245W model but it's basically the same as the L246W.

The black levels are great when you put the monitor in sRGB mode. Doing this allows you to lower the brightness way down to get better blacks. That review never stated they were running the LCD in sRGB, so it's obvious that User mode was used and it doesn't allow you to turn down the brightness under 63 without causing black crush. So, what you wind up with is a monitor that looks washed out regardless of where the brightness setting is at. I think LG messed up something with the User, 9300k and 6500k modes, because when you turn the brightness down, it shouldn't be crushing the blacks at such a high setting.

Buy this LCD, put it in sRGB mode, lower the brightness to a preferred level and then adjust gamma, color and contrast via the video card control panel and you are set.
 
That review was for the LG L245W model but it's basically the same as the L246W.

The black levels are great when you put the monitor in sRGB mode. Doing this allows you to lower the brightness way down to get better blacks. That review never stated they were running the LCD in sRGB, so it's obvious that User mode was used and it doesn't allow you to turn down the brightness under 63 without causing black crush. So, what you wind up with is a monitor that looks washed out regardless of where the brightness setting is at. I think LG messed up something with the User, 9300k and 6500k modes, because when you turn the brightness down, it shouldn't be crushing the blacks at such a high setting.

Buy this LCD, put it in sRGB mode, lower the brightness to a preferred level and then adjust gamma, color and contrast via the video card control panel and you are set.

Also L245WP-BN (and L246WP-BN) monitors manufactured prior to June 2007 are apparently earlier revision and may have all kind of problems. It was never confirmed when that particular monitor reviewed by XBit Labs was manufactured, but if you read the comments at the end of the article, there are several remarks where people suspect that XBit Labs may indeed have reviewed older revision. Most also claim that this limited back light regulation should be fixed in later revision.

Marking they use to tell manufacturing month goes like "rev 706" where 7 means year 2007 and 06 means the sixth month (June) of that year. Anyways, if you are concerned just check the manufacturing month. It should be printed somewhere on the box so there is no need to even open it. Quite handy when you can check the month (and revision) at the store prior to picking up your unit.
 
Strange, the sRGB setting definitely cuts off at RGB 227 at least for the model sold here in Germany. 2 others on Prad.de have reported the same for their new LG L245WP.
Maybe LG thinks Europeans want digitally boosted contrast. :D

Fortunately, the "User" Mode on this version (1.700) also regulates the backlight so there are no color problems (I run mine at brightness 30).

Another quirk is the fact that there is some digital offset by default which causes black to be more like dark blue. As I said, using SoftMCSS to set the digital brightness value from 64 to 63 fixes it. Hopefully this does not crush red and green in dark areas, I haven't tested much yet.
 
Strange, the sRGB setting definitely cuts off at RGB 227 at least for the model sold here in Germany. 2 others on Prad.de have reported the same for their new LG L245WP.
Maybe LG thinks Europeans want digitally boosted contrast. :D

Fortunately, the "User" Mode on this version (1.700) also regulates the backlight so there are no color problems (I run mine at brightness 30).

Another quirk is the fact that there is some digital offset by default which causes black to be more like dark blue. As I said, using SoftMCSS to set the digital brightness value from 64 to 63 fixes it. Hopefully this does not crush red and green in dark areas, I haven't tested much yet.

mine is 1.440, if i look at black screen from side, it looks like Darkblue!. get much strong with high brightness level.
is there a solution for it ? "SoftMCSS " ??
 
Fortunately, the "User" Mode on this version (1.700) also regulates the backlight so there are no color problems (I run mine at brightness 30).

Another quirk is the fact that there is some digital offset by default which causes black to be more like dark blue. As I said, using SoftMCSS to set the digital brightness value from 64 to 63 fixes it. Hopefully this does not crush red and green in dark areas, I haven't tested much yet.

Mine was manufactured in April 2007 (I had no choice as this was the only one they had). How do I tell firmware version? I hope it's not on the box because I didn't get a box with mine.

What is SoftMCSS? Thanks.
 
Turn off the monitor, hold down menu + down, turn on the monitor, go into the menu, and hit down. That'll bring up the service menu and it says the version in there.
 
Anybody willing to sell this monitor at cost (who got an extra one) ?

PM me if possible. I saw one at the CC (it was being used by the store itself, and not for sale, arg).

Mucho appreciated. =)
 
1.7 is from June or something so devices bought before that are 1.4.
For the other question -> Google softmccs, leech, run.
 
1.7 is from June or something so devices bought before that are 1.4.
For the other question -> Google softmccs, leech, run.

Okay. i got the public ver 2.1.1.
from where to set the digital brightness value from 64 to 63? and how to save it?
Do you mean "Luminance - 0x10"?
it's act like brightness setting! nothing special.
 
Thanks for the responses, one more question; anyone know where to get a 246 in Canada cheap? Best I can get on the net is about 520 CAN for a 245 and 575CAN for a 246 worth it? considering it's online and dead pixels etc etc
 
Back
Top