LG 1811S (Prad.de User)

    Hello all,
    i'm writing this short review in English since it would take me too long to write in German and besides my head hurts from the PixperAn tests, i need a break from TFTs today :P


    Got a Flatron 1811S from Mediamarkt for 499 Euros. As you might know this monitor is the same as the 1811B but has no DVI input and no USB hub. Other than that it is similar.


    INTRODUCTION and OUTSIDE DESCRIPTION
    -------------------------------------------------------


    Short characteristics:


    - 18.1" IPS panel by LG Phillips
    - 30ms reaction time (official)
    - 250 cd/m2 brightness
    - 350:1 contrast
    - 1280x1024 native resolution (will interpolate 1024x768 and 800x600)
    - VESA wall mount compatible
    - Colorific software included on CD (as well as drivers and manual)


    This is how the PACKAGE looks like.


    Once you open the box, you will find the actual TFT inside :P, as well as a power cable, an analog video cable and a little bag containing: installation/driver/software CD, a quickstart guide, Warranty leaflet for Italy, France and Germany and a little calibration card from Colorific.


    You can see what's inside the box HERE.


    The monitor has a pretty nice design, i like it personally better than the "bulky" NEC 1860, but is not as good as the Samsung Syncmaster. At least it is some design to it, not just a plain face of white plastic like a lot of other TFTs out there :) You can see a picture showing the foot of the 1811S HERE.


    A nice FEATURE is that it allows the cables to access the Power and VGA inputs through a hole in the foot. The monitor can be tilted and adjusted in height, but it has no pivot or turn functions.


    In this IMAGE you can see a close-up of the buttons available on the front panel, from left to right:


    - LightView (7 brightness/contrast/gamma presets: Day/Night Text, Movie, Photo and an User Mode)
    - Menu Access (calls up the OSD)
    - Brightness Down/Up
    - Contrast Down/Up
    - Auto Adjust / Select (Auto image adjustment and OSD navigation key)
    - Power Button


    TEST RESULTS, IMPRESSIONS and CONCLUSION
    ------------------------------------------------------------


    Here we go :)
    First of all i have to say that the fact that in the shop the contrast/brightness values seemed too low is FALSE. After using the monitor for a couple of hours i cannot say that the brightess/contrast values are insufficient !!

    4 Mal editiert, zuletzt von crt_pain ()

    Desktop-2D: the picture is what one would expect from a TFT: sharp, bright, not tiresome and of course no pixel problems :) As i said before the monitor is hooked Analog to my GF4 Ti4200. The only "problem" i noticed STRAIGHT AWAY after switching from my CRT is the "slower mouse" syndrome. When running 1280x1024 at 60Hz the mouse feels laggy...if you change the refresh rate to 70 or 72Hz it is much better!! The monitor can display 75Hz as well, but the fonts/icons look washed (unclear, just like when interpolating).


    DVD Movies: i pretty much think that all newer TFTs should have no problems whatsoever displaying Video, i could not notice any flickering, stuttering, ghosting or tracing. I attached 2 pictures for your pleasure HERE and HERE :D The colours are brilliant, and for the casual DVD movie evening the 1811S is more than up for the job!


    Games: I only tried Counter-Strike so far, but i will also test F1 Challenge 99-02, BF 1942/Desert Combat 1.4j, RallySport Challenge and Unreal 2. Sorry, I do not play strategy (Warcraft, Diablo, etc..) games so i cannot test any of that :tongue:


    My CS 1.5 resolution is 800x600, even on the 19" CRT i have, so i tried it...not really good enough, so i switched to 1024x768x32bit/60Hz, Vsync ON, max_fps 60. I could not see any tearing, the "mouse lag" effect is minimal BUT it is there. Ghosting somehow happens outside of you tunnel of vision, somehow at the periphery, at least i had that feeling.


    In CS 1.6 i tried native 1280x1024 and the general impression was the same as in 1.5 @ 1024x768 but this time of course everything looked more "high-res". Veeeeery minimal ghosting is there, i guess you get used to it after a while, but the mouse "slowness" is what bothers me the most !!!


    I tried just for fun to turn the vsync off, and use max_fps 99 and i got tearing of course :) It is not THAT bad, but i must say that the mouse felt a bit better, a bit more RESPONSIVE than with Vsync ON (no matter what fps max).


    As a Counter-Strike conclusion, hmm...what can i say? I need to play like this for a couple of days to really notice the difference (some i*net play, not with bots). But overall i can almost say that ghosting is NOT the problem it used to be with "older" generation panels a year or 2 back. Things are improving, but they are NOT quite there yet...at least for my standards.


    I will update more games as soon as i test them !!!


    PIXPERAN RESULTS
    ------------------------
    Grafikmodus: 1280x1024 @ 32 bpp
    Frame Rate: 60.0 Hz
    Gamma Faktor: 2.1687


    Flaggen-Test: s->w: 89.2%, w->s: 74.0%, s->g: 57.5%, w->g: 71.2%
    Verfolgungs-Test: 16(26.7ms), 13(21.7ms), 15(25.0ms)


    Please notice that there IS A BIG DIFFERENCE if you test the monitor right after you turn it on, and after say, 30minutes or 1 hour !!! The results improve in time, especially the Verfolgungstest (the little car)! HERE you can see it.

    3 Mal editiert, zuletzt von crt_pain ()

    Hello crt_pain,


    Thanks for your tests.


    Now this is interesting: The LG1811S is able to display real 75 fps? So, if you run PixPerAn with 75 Hz, the red car still moves smoothly (without stuttering or jumping)?


    Sorry if PixPerAn made your head hurt. It was not meant to... If you have good ideas how to improve it: I'm somewhat collecting them, and someday there will be Version 2.0 :D


    And indeed, the response time of TFT's improves with higher temperature. That's why it's even recommended to make the Tests after running the TFT for about one hour.


    The mouse lag effect is a driver problem IMHO.


    With best Regards
    Wilfried

    GAMING UPDATE
    ---------------------


    BF 1942 / Desert Combat 1.4j: WOW! Da sehe ich leider keine schlieren leute...vielleeeeeicht ein bischen ausser "field of view", am rande des bildes, aber sonst 10/10 points!!!


    F1 Challenge 99-02: WOW!! Dasselbe wie DesertCombat...leute ES IST ABSOLUT SPIELBAR!!! Macht euch keine sorgen...diesmal die minimale "schlieren" am rand des bildes wirken zu ein cooooooles "motion blur" effekt irgendwie. Einfach nur geil...


    Wie gesagt, Counter-Strike ist (leider) am empflindlichsten...


    Paar bilder gibt's auch noch:


    DC
    F1_1
    F1_2


    ------------------------------------------
    wwelti: driver problem? i have a Logitech MX500 on the USB port. And the headaches from PixPerAn came from trying to get the 2 boxes as close to another as possible (verfolgung test) :) lol


    I'll test the 72/75 Frames later tonight or tomorrow.

    Einmal editiert, zuletzt von crt_pain ()

    Hi crt_pain,


    I believe more it's a graphics driver problem. Actually there is no sensible reason that vsync=on means mouse lag. Besides, with my pc i don't have this problem.


    BTW, i'm really anxious to know about the 75 Hz test :D If movement still is smoothly, your monitor synchronizes its panel update frequency with the vertical frequency (of the vga card) which would be a good thing.


    Regards
    Wilfried

    wwelti: i ran PixperAn at 1280x1024x32 / 75Hz and i got the following:


    Grafikmodus: 1280x1024 @ 32 bpp
    Frame Rate: 75.1 Hz
    Gamma Faktor: -


    Flaggen-Test: -
    Verfolgungs-Test: 18(30.0ms), 13(21.7ms), 16(26.7ms)


    The image of the car you can see HERE

    Hi crt_pain,


    Thanks for testing, but i was not asking for the Results of the "Verfolgungstest" at 75 Hz;


    Instead i was asking if the movements were smooth, without stuttering or "small jumps", at 75 Hz.


    (Many TFT's use an internal Panel-Update-Frequency of 60 Hz. These TFT's cannot display smooth movements when running at 75 Hz. So i am interested if this is the case with the LG1811S)


    (Indeed the "Verfolgungstest" has only little meaning at 75 Hz)


    Regards
    Wilfried

    I didn't notice any stuttering or jumps at 72 or at 75Hz. Everything looks OK as far as i can tell.

    Hello crt_pain,


    Thanks for checking this out. It's a good thing to know this. So it seems the LG1811S is one of the few(?) TFT's which can be used with higher frequencies as 60 Hz in a sensible way.


    Regards
    Wilfried

    Nach paar tage in betrieb kann ich keine unscharfe beim scrollen von webseiten oder office documente erkennen. Vielleicht noch 1 unterschied zwischen 1811S und 1811B ist Interpolation (bei 1811S IMMER vollbild, nicht wahlbar)...andere haben es auch bestatigt. Das qualitat ist allerdings super, klar nicht wie im natives 1280 modus, aber beim spielen merkt man das weinger als in desktop.


    You're welcomed for the test........................