Looking for LG 43UN700-B reviews/info

candre23

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It's been out in Japan for a few months, and B&H lists it as "coming soon" in the US. There are amazon sellers that will send you one now if you're willing to pay ~$100 shipping. I'm wondering if anybody has seen any hands-on reviews or details beyond the press release from back in November. I'm specifically interested to know if it has a proper RGB subpixel layout, instead of the crappy BGR layout used in almost every other ~40" 4k display. I'm looking to replace my aging 39" seiki, and since I'm using it for 90% productivity, the ability to properly display small text is pretty important.

Thanks.
 
I have one. Managed to get it from Amazon about a month ago when they had it in stock for $597 shipped. I can't tell you what sub-pixel layout it is as I can't really tell. I haven't been able to find the information anywhere. I can only tell you that I ran through the Cleartext adjustments and then calibrated with SpyderX Pro. I have it sitting next to a Dell U3415W and don't really see any major difference in text. I haven't had any issues with web surfing, Youtube, movies, etc. I've played a few games of World of Tanks and have had no issues.
 
I have one. Managed to get it from Amazon about a month ago when they had it in stock for $597 shipped. I can't tell you what sub-pixel layout it is as I can't really tell. I haven't been able to find the information anywhere. I can only tell you that I ran through the Cleartext adjustments and then calibrated with SpyderX Pro. I have it sitting next to a Dell U3415W and don't really see any major difference in text. I haven't had any issues with web surfing, Youtube, movies, etc. I've played a few games of World of Tanks and have had no issues.
Are you able to get the panel's serial number?
 
Are you able to get the panel's serial number?
Not sure how to get that information. I have the monitor serial number obviously, but I didn't see anything that indicates the panel serial number.

This site has some images that are pretty good at helping you determine the layout, though a magnifying glass is really the best method.
I can't really tell a major difference, but maybe you can. Below is a screen grab of the text displayed. I tried using a magnifying glass, but I don't have any that are strong enough.

subpixel.JPG
 
Not sure how to get that information. I have the monitor serial number obviously, but I didn't see anything that indicates the panel serial number.

I can't really tell a major difference, but maybe you can. Below is a screen grab of the text displayed. I tried using a magnifying glass, but I don't have any that are strong enough.

You'd have to disassemble the monitor to get the make and model of the panel. If you're not comfortable doing that, definitely don't try.

A screenshot isn't going to allow anybody else to diagnose your subpixel layout. Those images only work because of the way your monitor is displaying them - viewing them on my monitor only indicates my subpixel layout. I find the first set of images more diagnostically relevant. The one you posted is really just an indicator of whether or not your OS/browser is correctly compensating for the layout you have. If you look at the blue and red box, only one of the sides should have a thin black line between the blue and red. That side tells you which layout you have. It's subtle, and you might have to get your face a couple inches from the panel to see it. You might also have to take off your glasses, if you wear them.
 
Not sure how to get that information. I have the monitor serial number obviously, but I didn't see anything that indicates the panel serial number.


I can't really tell a major difference, but maybe you can. Below is a screen grab of the text displayed. I tried using a magnifying glass, but I don't have any that are strong enough.

View attachment 229630
Sometimes you can get it from the back, but usually you have to disassemble the frame and take the panel out. Obviously I am not asking you to take your monitor apart, but was just wondering if it was easy to get to.

A screen shot isn't going to show what it looks like when it is displayed on your monitor. You have to take a photo of the screen.
 
You'd have to disassemble the monitor to get the make and model of the panel. If you're not comfortable doing that, definitely don't try.

A screenshot isn't going to allow anybody else to diagnose your subpixel layout. Those images only work because of the way your monitor is displaying them - viewing them on my monitor only indicates my subpixel layout. I find the first set of images more diagnostically relevant. The one you posted is really just an indicator of whether or not your OS/browser is correctly compensating for the layout you have. If you look at the blue and red box, only one of the sides should have a thin black line between the blue and red. That side tells you which layout you have. It's subtle, and you might have to get your face a couple inches from the panel to see it. You might also have to take off your glasses, if you wear them.
Sometimes you can get it from the back, but usually you have to disassemble the frame and take the panel out. Obviously I am not asking you to take your monitor apart, but was just wondering if it was easy to get to.

A screen shot isn't going to show what it looks like when it is displayed on your monitor. You have to take a photo of the screen.

Yeah, not planning on disassembling a brand new monitor. I attached the screen capture for reference as I know it's highly dependent upon your monitor calibration but figured why not. To me, I don't discern a difference. Everything looks good to me including photo work. When I look at the first picture set with the boxes, I honestly can't tell a difference. Maybe 5 years ago I could tell you, but my eyesight has gone downhill in the past couple years, i.e. contact lens prescription has been changing after being stable for over 20+ years and I now need reading glasses if I have my contacts in. Sucks getting older.
 
The only real review I found is the following: (it's in Dutch though)

https://tweakers.net/pricewatch/1511636/lg-43un700-b-zwart/reviews/

They seems very positive about it. Stating that the colours are good, stand is very stable, speakers are good, they like the remote, no glare, appreciate the USB-C and think the overall build is strong. Only downside they state is that the PIP can't be set big enough.

The same person did a review for the Iiyama ProLite X4372UHSU-B1 at almost the same time. They were not happy with that one, and state that they exchanged it for the LG one, which they liked much more: https://tweakers.net/productreview/231848/iiyama-prolite-x4372uhsu-b1-zwart.html

But sadly nothing about BRG or RGB :(

I'm looking at the same monitor, so would love to know more too.
 
Shame they completely ignored Freesync on these. Nothing with IPS at this size which has it sadly (the 43UD79 doesn't count), so they could have had quite a unique product then.
 
Freesync would certainly be a big plus. My ideal 40-43" 4k monitor would have RGB subpixels, freesync, HDR, and 2khz+ (or PWM-free) backlight dimming. It's not a ridiculous wishlist or anything, but there's not a single large 4k display that actually has all four features. There are plenty of smaller panels that fit the bill, and you can easily get one or two, but never all four. I've been watching the large 4k display market for several years, and I'm starting to think the engineers designing these models have never actually used a monitor before.
 
Freesync would certainly be a big plus. My ideal 40-43" 4k monitor would have RGB subpixels, freesync, HDR, and 2khz+ (or PWM-free) backlight dimming. It's not a ridiculous wishlist or anything, but there's not a single large 4k display that actually has all four features. There are plenty of smaller panels that fit the bill, and you can easily get one or two, but never all four. I've been watching the large 4k display market for several years, and I'm starting to think the engineers designing these models have never actually used a monitor before.
The demand for gaming-specific monitor panels is quite likely extremely low.

It's not that they can't make them, but that they'd never sell enough to cover the costs of development, production, release, and support.
 
The thing is, there are several large 4k monitors with freesync. The acer predator and asus ROG are clearly gaming-centric. The phillips momentum has freesync, and it's not even particularly expensive. They went to all the trouble of adding freesync to these monitors (and they're marketed as monitors, not TVs), but they couldn't be bothered to source a RGB panel.
 
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The demand for gaming-specific monitor panels is quite likely extremely low.

It's not that they can't make them, but that they'd never sell enough to cover the costs of development, production, release, and support.

Eh? Acer have one, and Asus have two... VA panels, but they are a premium product and generated a lot of buzz and excitement until people realised they were overpriced TV's with many issues that made them unsuitable as all round monitors. Because at this size, you aren't going to be able to fit a second screen in. If a high refresh VRR IPS 43" monitor was available though, it would definitely sell. There is a clearly a market for 43" generally speaking, as we aren't short of models, old and new. The excitement that preceded the Asus/Acer models demonstrates gamers would also be interested. The eagerness many people are showing for LG's upcoming 48" OLED should also be a strong indicator for the potential demand of a monitor like this. They're missing a trick, but no such panel exists of course, nor is it likely to anytime soon.
 
VA panel tech has improved significantly in the last several years. Even the best VA panels still wash out at wide angles, but this is hardly an issue for monitor usage when it's exclusively going to be viewed from straight ahead. For monitor use, panel type is practically a non-issue compared to the subpixel layout.
 
VA panel tech has improved significantly in the last several years. Even the best VA panels still wash out at wide angles, but this is hardly an issue for monitor usage when it's exclusively going to be viewed from straight ahead. For monitor use, panel type is practically a non-issue compared to the subpixel layout.
Just for monitor use, I can use anything.

But for gaming use, the desktop VA panels still have that slow black response time issue VA is known for. I see it in games, hell, I see it scrolling down a webpage. Color is not consistent across the normal range of viewing angles.

I'll pay more for IPS until OLED hits.
 
No, it's not technically available in the US yet, and I'm not willing to pay the import/shipping premium with so little information available.

Plus, my house it on a "no new toys" buying freeze with the whole coronavirus thing. If my wife and I are still employed after it all blows over, I'll revisit the monitor situation. With everybody tightening their belts, I suspect we're going to see some pretty hefty sales in the coming months as retailers try to unload inventory that's not moving.
 
I asked someone on reddit that just bought it, and looks like it's BGR.
That is definitely BGR from that picture. Disappointing. I hope all larger monitors are not going to continue this trend, but it doesn't look promising so far.
 
At 10+ feet, nothing. But when you're using the panel as a monitor at arm's length with 100% scaling, it's problematic. Most programs/OSs assume RGB subpixel layout for their scaling and font smoothing algorithms, because this is what all proper LCD monitors have used since forever. When the subpixels are arraigned differently, it leads to jagged, janky-looking text and rainbow ghosting around vertical lines. Some OSs can compensate to an extent, but anything that uses its own renderer is still going to make the (incorrect) assumption about layout and the picture quality will suffer. Here's a pretty good example of the issue:

f9d4772b_compare.png
 
Aha, I thought support for it was much better these days.

Are there any options for a similar monitor that does have RGB? I just heard back from the store that apparently I just missed the last one, so it'll take at least a month for my order to arrive, so I'm thinking if I find something better in the meantime I'm cancelling my order there.
 
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