Monoprice IPS-Glass Panel Pro 27" LCD Monitor
by Chris Heinonen on October 22, 2013 2:40 AM ESTAs accurate as the post calibration numbers might be, to really be a professional display the Monoprice also would need to display good uniformity. If images looks different depending on where they are on the screen, that won’t work well for serious photo and print work. Before I even run the uniformity data I can see light leakage in all the corners that is very noticeable. I don’t work much against a black background as I do more spreadsheets and word processing, so I don’t see it as easily. If you watch a lot of movies or play a lot of games it will stand out more.
The White Uniformity is OK, but you can see the upper corners are dim while the lower corners are much brighter. The center of the screen produces very good numbers here but once you get to the edges some uniformity issues appear.
Black Uniformity really shows the scope of the issue. The upper corners have some noticeable changes, but the lower part of the screen really shows the problems in the uniformity. Black levels rise to be close to double that of the center of the display. Both bottom corners are bright and the left side has issues as well that can easily be seen. This is unfortunate but also a common complaint people have left in the reviews at Monoprice so I don’t believe it is confined to my sample.
These issues cause a big swing in contrast uniformity as expected. The two bright corners fall below 600:1, 33-43% lower than the center of the screen. The overall uniformity here is pretty poor and is the first place that the Monoprice display really shows its price point.
Those bright corners really cost the Monoprice when it comes to color uniformity as well. Most of the display is excellent, measuring very close to the center, but the corners really fall off. Two of them have average dE2000 errors of 2.0 or higher, so some colors will have visible errors, while the lower-left corner comes in at 3.17. Perhaps that corner will usually hold the start menu or some other, non-important content but it certainly won’t color match the center of the display.
If you’re able to use the Monoprice IPS-Glass Panel Pro and confine your critical work to the center portions of the screen you will see excellent overall results. Even for color critical work you’ll be able to use it without a worry. If you need that performance to extend all the way to the edges of the display as well then the Monoprice is going to fall short.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
41 Comments
View All Comments
peterfares - Tuesday, October 22, 2013 - link
Would you really count $475 for this as a steal? It seems quite expensive for a rebranded cheapo WQHD monitor.The Dell is probably worth the extra money, especially considering the 3 year advanced exchange warranty included vs 1 year not.The Microcenter monitor also has the same inputs for $400.piroroadkill - Tuesday, October 22, 2013 - link
I'd agree that a far more premium look, more inputs, better stand, etc are worth $75 alone.Let alone 3 year advanced exchange warranty. The Dell is definitely worth the extra money.
Fergy - Tuesday, October 22, 2013 - link
I would gladly play $50 not to have glossy plastic bezels. And $50 to calibrate it for me. I have had my current Dell monitors since 2006 and I am not going to pay $100 less for a cheap looking monitor. It would just irritate me every day.DanNeely - Tuesday, October 22, 2013 - link
To a large extent these monitors are aimed at people who consider $600-700 crazy; but are willing to make compromises to stretch up from a 1080p screen. They're the same people who bought the low end 1920x1200 monitors a half dozen years ago when good ones cost $500 and most people bought $200 1680x1050 screens if they were stepping up from the cheapest common denominator.LancerVI - Thursday, October 31, 2013 - link
.....or they're just gamers who don't need/want that kind of color fidelity, but want the resolution and decent response time. Now that GPU's are getting beefy enought to push beyond 1080p maxed out, it's only natural for gamers to look beyond 1080p monitor solution.Flunk - Tuesday, October 22, 2013 - link
With a $75 delta over a $400 base, I would get the Ultrasharp every time. Dell's monitor is not only better out of the box but you've got a much better history of quality with their high-end monitors. I was going to post that I would rather have a 24" Ultrasharp than this 27" cheapie but the price different is much less than I expected.Maybe if they priced this at $350 it would look like a deal to some. I still wouldn't buy it, LCDs last too long to buy a cheap one.
CaedenV - Thursday, October 24, 2013 - link
That is what I learned the hard way. 4 years ago I picked up a 1200p display for $300 because it was what I could afford, instead of spending the $5-600 on one that would really be nice. But now I am stuck with a monitor that has a faint but noticeable buzzing sound, backlight bleeding, horrible color, huge pixels (1200p on a 28" monitor), and displays have improved so much that there is no possible way to resell the thing to help me move up. So now I am stuck with this thing for another couple years every day being painfully aware that I made a bad call.Next time around I will be waiting for a non-tiled 4K 60fps display in the 35-42" range. It will cost a pretty penny, but if I am going to have to look at it 4-10 hours a day for 7-10 years then the price will be more than justifiable. Monitors, power supplies, and hard drives are things that cost a bit more up front for quality, but more than pay themselves off in reliability and longevity.
CecileWamsley - Monday, October 28, 2013 - link
my Aunty Maria recently got an awesome cream Chevrolet Corvette Z0-Six by working off of a macbook. pop over to these guys... http://smal.ly/8wUo2blau808 - Tuesday, October 22, 2013 - link
Sorry, but that thing is hideous.imsabbel - Tuesday, October 22, 2013 - link
Okay, this monitor is just as unusual as the other monoprice one. Over 150 Cd/m^2 MINIMUM brightness? I know people like "brighter is better", but 100 Cd/m^2 is the recommended brightness in a well lit workplace. For a reason.At night, in a dark room, its already too bright. 163 minimum means you are messing up your eyes bigtime if you are a nighttime gamer. In a dark room, 20-30 are perfectly fine.