Hands on with LG's 21:9 monitors
Widescreen viewing for business or pleasure
IFA 2012 With so many telly boxes out there, it seems likely an on-board tuner on the TV itself will become a thing of the past in the not too distant. Perhaps LG’s EA93 21:9 aspect monitor, announced at IFA, offers a clue to the shape of things to come.
A 29in monitor touting a 2560 x 1080-pixel resolution it may be, but the EA93 certainly wouldn’t look out of place in studio flat or at the end of the bed, and given you can plug your phone into it if it’s MHL compliant, then the idea doesn’t seem so daft after all.
Still, this is a serious piece of kit and LG has the EA83 alternative for photo professionals too. This is a 27in 2560 x 1440-pixel (16:9) version with Adobe colour space support that pumps out 350 nits compared to 300 nits on the EA93.
In common with both units is some comprehensive connectivity. You’ll not find VGA here, but there’s DVI-D Dual, two HDMI inputs (one supports MHL), DisplayPort, USB 3.0 (one up and three down), audio in and headphone out. The EA93 also benefits from 2 x 7W speakers.
On show, the EA93 produces a vivid picture that seems made for movies and it also delivers some very useful real estate for computing tasks – it'll even perform a four screen split, if needed. Still, if you’re tempted to use it for leisure, LG revamped its SP820 Smart TV Upgrader box this summer, so you’ll not miss out on premium VOD and telly apps.
Much smaller than it looks, the SP820 is akin to a slightly chunky paperback
What with the Philips range of Cinema TVs and Toshiba’s stab at a movie buff’s ultra widescreen laptop with the Satellite U840W, these LG monitors sit nicely in the middle and, in terms of size, appear a very practical compromise, but then again, that all depends on the cost.
For now, you'll just have to wonder if this could be your next display or bedroom telly, as pricing and availability of the LG EA93 and EA83 monitors has not yet been announced. ®
COMMENTS
Argh!
Argh! another 1080 line display.
Thanks for some pixels on the side, but please please please can we get back to ensuring at least 1200 lines. This isn't 2001 and this isn't funny.
Even if you want to watch videos, you might like to be able to have some screen space to put controls or other stuff.
At least they're also offering a 27" 1200 line screen.
Re: Argh!
The best of which is the Dell U2412m. I'm glad at least one manufacturer recognises this market. Unfortunately, they're not exactly the £100 monitors I'd usually buy.
Re: Argh!
+1. I recently needed to source a new 24" monitor, and the selection of those that can do 1920x1200 pix is pitiful.
Note to manufacturers: This isn't a telly, it's a monitor. To be connected to a PC*. To *do work on*. We need a massive desktop for many open windows at once, and playing videos is only a *tiny fraction* of how it'll be used.
*Other computers are available.
Ugh, 1080 again.
Waiting for the 40" 3972x1600 pix version for some proper wide-screen desktop and games playing.
Samsung T240M - check this.
Samsung T240M:
1920 x 1200 - check;
DVI - D - check;
HDMI - check;
VGA - Check;
Video Component - Check;
Remote Control - Check.;
Included Speakers (low wattage, but it has sound at least) - Check.
Onboard analog tuner for Aerial TV - check; - even when if you don't need it.
Under US$ 300, even imported to Brazil - hell check!
on the other hand:
Cheap TN panel with narrow view angle - and who need wide view angles on a PC or small Den? - check.
Now ask Samsung why they stopped making those, and the answer is: it cannibalized all the TV's they made to sell here at the time, because it had FULL HD at 24", and they were selling those here at 3x the price. I didn't want a large(r) screen, (I don't have a large room) but I wanted the resolution.
So... they have the means to do it, but they choose not to. Not anymore.
