LG 31MU97

shadow85 said:
Are you saying this monitor really won't be good for gaming even if we wanted to modd it to get it working properly? Koz I have ordered this monitor, and I intend to play those games too, and I am mainly a gamer on my comp.




Well I do alot of starcraft 2 laddering, will I be screwed if I get this monitor?
Click to expand...

In-game cinematics for most games are locked at 16:9. Nobody has managed to fix this yet. The only thing flawless widescreen mod/widescreen fixer does is fix *some* games to properly render 16:9 to 17:9 in "regular gameplay." None of these mods fix either cutscenes or menus.

Again, some people are *okay* with this (although most of the ones saying that don't have or don't intend to own this monitor anyway, but that's the internet isn't it?), I'm not sure I am. From personal experience I would prefer a 16:9 monitor. IMO most people have experience with small black bars top and bottom running 16:10 (I've done my share of 1920x1200 gaming). To me that's less intrusive than losing resolution on the horizontal side.
 
Last edited:
zurv said:
the monitor is fine for gaming. the blur stuff is minor. everything is a trade off. Personally, I care a lot more about PQ than minor blur and tearing. It is different for others.
the monitors scales fine (either via the monitor or gpu scaling to 3840x2160).
If you are looking for a 30+ 4k monitor - i'd suggest this is it. (your only other options now are the sharp based screens - which are fine. But the MST seems to slow down perf a bit. Also, what is the point of 4k and a smaller screen :) )
The build quality if great. the sharp/asus felt cheap. the dell... ugh .. the dell.. so many problems. :) but had better build quality. but dell doesn't give a shit and the screen needs a firmware upgrade that is never going to happen.
Yes, own the sharp pnk321 (asus is just a rebadge of it) and the dell UP3214Q. (4 titans and 4 980s too).
Click to expand...

Samsung UD 970 is already out, it just costs more than this monitor. Eizo Flexscan EV3237 is launching this month, Benq BL3201PT is launching on November 10. So there's plenty of options for 3840x2160 coming up non-MST. There's no need to resort to a 17:9 monitor unless you purposely are trying to gimp yourself for gaming.
 
Not sure why so much fuss about 17:9, it means you have the pixels if you want to see stuff in 4k digital cinema, and if a game doesn't support it you just have some black bars and big deal. So it's only really a problem if you wanted to game with three in landscape. But if you're serious about gaming you'd run a swift in addition.
 
dragonageinquisition said:
Samsung UD 970 is already out, it just costs more than this monitor. Eizo Flexscan EV3237 is launching this month, Benq BL3201PT is launching on November 10. So there's plenty of options for 3840x2160 coming up non-MST. There's no need to resort to a 17:9 monitor unless you purposely are trying to gimp yourself for gaming.
Click to expand...

Do you know if theres any other 4k monitors coming out soon? I might just "suck it up" and go 17:9 and call it a day. I really want 16:9 though. That BENQ BL3201PT looks interesting. AHVA panel, 32 inches, 16:9 4k resolution. I was gonna pick up a 28 inch 4k TN panel from monoprice or Asus this coming winter...however I feel 28 inches and 4k resolution is just way too small for day to day use. 32 inches would be nice though.
 
dukenuke88 said:
Do you know if theres any other 4k monitors coming out soon? I might just "suck it up" and go 17:9 and call it a day. I really want 16:9 though. That BENQ BL3201PT looks interesting. AHVA panel, 32 inches, 16:9 4k resolution. I was gonna pick up a 28 inch 4k TN panel from monoprice or Asus this coming winter...however I feel 28 inches and 4k resolution is just way too small for day to day use. 32 inches would be nice though.
Click to expand...

I'm returning the LG, tired of running 3rd party apps (already have widescreen fixer, flawless widescreen mod, gedesato, and windows borderless gaming app) having to use a profile for each game I play, and still it doesn't fix menus or cutscenes, and most indie games on steam don't have profiles available anywhere and I have no programming knowledge. It's not LG's fault, a few years ago any game could run pretty much any resolution a monitor reports. If you look at the Rage Engine, it could support any resolution, but the same engine used in Evil Within only supports 16:9. So basically developers are to blame for aggravating gamers.

I'm ordering a 4th Samsung to see if I can get one finally without dead pixels, but I'm not holding my breath on that.

Other than the Benq BL3201PH coming out on Nov 10. Sometime this month is the Eizo EV3237. There's also a Asus PA328Q coming (before end of the year) which is 32" 4K IPS. There may be more but I'm not sure. I just know of these five "4K" displays out now or before end of year.
 
Is gaming really that bad on it to warrant a return of the LG?

Im starting to get doubts now about this monitor. I have been waiting since APRIL for a 30+" 4K non TN, SST monitor.
 
shadow85 said:
Is gaming really that bad on it to warrant a return of the LG?

Im starting to get doubts now about this monitor. I have been waiting since APRIL for a 30+" 4K non TN, SST monitor.
Click to expand...

Only if you are OCD like me :D

No I think I've just been too used to gaming on a big screen (40-50" TV) so I don't want to give up any real estate.

Truth is you should just wait 8 days and the Benq BL3201PT will be out. $400 cheaper than the LG, 2" bigger (the LG is really a 30.3" because it has a 1/3" black area inside the bezel with no active pixels), and is 3840x2160 so everything but movies will run full size.

Also LG has a weaker SST scaler than the Samsung UD970, you need a way thicker DP cable to run the same distance compared to the Samsung, otherwise you get flashing or a black screen.
 
shadow85 said:
Is gaming really that bad on it to warrant a return of the LG?

Im starting to get doubts now about this monitor. I have been waiting since APRIL for a 30+" 4K non TN, SST monitor.
Click to expand...

Same here...I've been totally waiting for a decently priced 4k monitor with SST. TN or IPS, I don't care...as long as it kicks ass....it also has to be 32inch or higher. I would have already gotten the Asus 28 inch 4k....but text and daily internet browsing hurts with such a high resolution and small panel size.

Gosh I hope another company comes out with an exact copy of that BENQ BL3201PT. Dell, Asus, etc. I don't feel comfortable at all buying a BENQ monitor. They seem like they cater more to gamers (FPS) and could careless about high quality parts.
 
dukenuke88 said:
I don't feel comfortable at all buying a BENQ monitor. They seem like they cater more to gamers (FPS) and could careless about high quality parts.
Click to expand...

Where do you get that impression?

There's plenty of satisfied customers whom have bought BL2710PTs and BL3200PTs. If anything, BenQ is making great strides in all categories with their affordable high-end monitors which have all used semi-glossy coatings, and their flicker-free (PWM free) branding.

BenQ only has one line of gaming monitors; Asus and Eizo sell more monitors aimed at gamers than they do by far.

You also mention Dell, a company with incredibly poor quality control, and random issues that are exclusive to their monitors.
 
Last edited:
Nikyo said:
Where do you get that impression?

There's plenty of satisfied customers whom have bought BL2710PTs and BL3200PTs. If anything, BenQ is making great strides in all categories with their affordable high-end monitors which have all used semi-glossy coatings, and their flicker-free (PWM free) branding.

BenQ only has one line of gaming monitors; Asus and Eizo sell more monitors aimed at gamers than they do by far.

You also mention Dell, a company with incredibly poor quality control, and random issues that are exclusive to their monitors.
Click to expand...

Prior to them releasing these higher end monitors, pretty much everything about BENQ screamed gamer, or budget monitor. Not trying to start an argument or anything, but it's the truth. I might change my mind once reviews come out on this new BENQ 4k monitor....but I'm hoping for another OEM using the same panel. Such as Dell or Asus

And yes I do agree Dell has dropped the ball with the Dell U3014 and I believe another monitor. Can't think of it off the top of my head....but I still would trust Dell over BENQ anyday. I have dealt with Dell advanced RMA quite a few times, and they have been extremely fast.
 
dragonageinquisition said:
Only if you are OCD like me :D

No I think I've just been too used to gaming on a big screen (40-50" TV) so I don't want to give up any real estate.

Truth is you should just wait 8 days and the Benq BL3201PT will be out. $400 cheaper than the LG, 2" bigger (the LG is really a 30.3" because it has a 1/3" black area inside the bezel with no active pixels), and is 3840x2160 so everything but movies will run full size.
Click to expand...

I already have ordered the LG last week so I can't decide on anything else now. But if for some reason I am not happy with gaming on it, I might try and sell it for a different 4K monitor....


But arrgh, this feels like torture to me, I have been waiting sooooooo long. Lols
 
Any measurements on input lag @ either 4K resolution?

Also, anyone try running a > 60hz frame rate (i.e. 72 / 90 / 120) at 1080p or 1440p any sub-4K resolution?
 
So you other owners are getting 4096 x 2160 @ 60hz? When I run at that res and refresh rate I have terrible artifacts in-between the screen going black randomly. I've used a few different cables and tested on x2 780 Ti's in SLI and a Radeon 295x2. With the thicker mini-DP to DP cable that came with the monitor, I get the above. With other, thinner cables I don't even get a picture.

I think I could live with the black bars in games stuck at 16:9, but I don't think I want to run this monitor at 50Hz, which is what I have to do to get rid of the artifacts/dropped picture problem.
 
Dolorous Chris said:
So you other owners are getting 4096 x 2160 @ 60hz? When I run at that res and refresh rate I have terrible artifacts in-between the screen going black randomly. I've used a few different cables and tested on x2 780 Ti's in SLI and a Radeon 295x2. With the thicker mini-DP to DP cable that came with the monitor, I get the above. With other, thinner cables I don't even get a picture.

I think I could live with the black bars in games stuck at 16:9, but I don't think I want to run this monitor at 50Hz, which is what I have to do to get rid of the artifacts/dropped picture problem.
Click to expand...

The monitor has a VERY weak SST scaler, that's one of the main reasons I returned it. I have my PC about 20 feet away in a storage closet and I couldn't get any signal for 28, 26 awg cables, and it flickers like crazy on a 24awg cable. Samsung UD970 was a lot less picky and could use a variety of cables of thinner gauge. Basically I was forced to tether the monitor to my PC with a 3 foot DP cable to get good signal.
 
dragonageinquisition said:
The monitor has a VERY weak SST scaler, that's one of the main reasons I returned it. I have my PC about 20 feet away in a storage closet and I couldn't get any signal for 28, 26 awg cables, and it flickers like crazy on a 24awg cable. Samsung UD970 was a lot less picky and could use a variety of cables of thinner gauge. Basically I was forced to tether the monitor to my PC with a 3 foot DP cable to get good signal.
Click to expand...

I can imagine the problems you've had with a cord that long. I dug through my cables and found a thicker (probably 26 awg) cable I had. Now I'm experiencing much less artifact and no dropped picture. Al though there is still ever so slight image artifacts coming through. So yeah, you are correct, this monitor definitely need the higher throughput cables (which are more expensive and that LG probably didn't want to add to the cost of this monitor).

I looked up the 24 awg 6 foot DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable at DVI Gear. $60.00, not including shipping.

Problem for the Raedeon 295x2 is it only has miniDP outputs, so one would have to get the 24 awg converter also, I believe. I didn't see any miniDP 24 awg cables???

Looks like I'm running the 780Ti's for now.
 
dragonageinquisition said:
The monitor has a VERY weak SST scaler, that's one of the main reasons I returned it. I have my PC about 20 feet away in a storage closet and I couldn't get any signal for 28, 26 awg cables, and it flickers like crazy on a 24awg cable. Samsung UD970 was a lot less picky and could use a variety of cables of thinner gauge. Basically I was forced to tether the monitor to my PC with a 3 foot DP cable to get good signal.
Click to expand...

Besides the weak scaler, do you prefer this monitor over the UD970?

My computer is only < 1 metre from the screen, so I should be able to get no artifacts and stuff rite?
 
Well I got a refund from the korean seller, after 3 weeks he still could not get this in stock, wasted my time.

He claimed LG were having some issues with a shipment of pallette of these monitors and they had to recall those units and stop any more delivery or production till they fixed the issue. I don't know how much truth there is in that claim, but in the mean time I have now ordered it from newegg.
 
So, after playing around for a bit I finally figured out how to use the hardware color calibration on this monitor.

If you run True Color Pro in normal full screen mode, you'll get an error stating that the monitor can't communicate over the USB port.

What I found is that the USB calibration communication is only enabled if the monitor is in PBP mode. Once the monitor is in PBP mode True Color Pro will initialize without error. It is then possible to create a calibration that will save to the calibration 1 profile on the monitor.

I tested it with my Spyder4 and it seems to have worked pretty well.
 
Mr__Death said:
So, after playing around for a bit I finally figured out how to use the hardware color calibration on this monitor.

If you run True Color Pro in normal full screen mode, you'll get an error stating that the monitor can't communicate over the USB port.

What I found is that the USB calibration communication is only enabled if the monitor is in PBP mode. Once the monitor is in PBP mode True Color Pro will initialize without error. It is then possible to create a calibration that will save to the calibration 1 profile on the monitor.

I tested it with my Spyder4 and it seems to have worked pretty well.
Click to expand...

Anybody know where to download True Color Pro from?
(don't have the disc around - can't find it anywhere on LG site)
 
So I ordered and received a 24 AWG DisplayPort 1.2 to DP cable ($60.00 from DVIGear) and that has solved the dropped picture and image artifacts that plagued this monitor when set to 4096 x 2160 and 60Hz. I calibrated with my i1 display pro (the factory calibration was good but I feel the colors and brightness are noticeably better after my re-calibration. For one thing the blue channel was way to strong, making the white balance far to cool). After calibration I get 99% of the Adode RGB gamut and a white balance of ~6490K (attempting 6500K).

The monitor's image quality is truly outstanding. I've owned 2 other 4k UHD monitors: the Dell UP3214Q and the ASUS PQ321Q (both 3840 x 2160), and I believe this LG's picture quality is better than both. For one thing, the scaler is SST and not MST. So the problems that come with MST (poor wake from sleep performance, loss of 1/2 of the screen image, random resolution changes, etc.), are not a factor for the LG. The slightly higher resolution is noticeable, but barely. The monitor is much thinner than the Dell or ASUS and the footprint is lighter on my desk. However, it is also slightly smaller at ~30.5 diagonal inches. It's really to bad that LG chose not to just raise the price some and include a (very) high quality cable but I suppose they figured customers would not miss another 10Hz. In addition to video and photo editing work, (and some layout jobs as well), I like to game on my PC. So having the monitor run at 60Hz was a feature I really wanted.

So I would recommend this monitor, but if you want to run it at 4096 x 2160 and 60Hz you are going to have to dish out another $40 to $120 (depending on cable length) for a 24 AWG DisplayPort cable.

Finally, if you are running an AMD Radeon card like my 295x2 which only has miniDP outputs you will also have to spend another $25.00 on a good miniDP to DP converter since I could only find the 24 AWG cable in full DP to full DP.

Thanks for the tip Mr_Death. It was driving me crazy that I could not get the True Color software to work!!!

turbineseaplane, I could not find the TrueColor software anywhere online and had to copy it from the disk on my laptop (I don't have an optical drive on my desktop).
 
Dolorous Chris: Sounds good that it actually works properly when fed through a good DP cable.
Would it be possible for you to try and specify a refresh rate higher than 60Hz and see if it is able to overclock? If I recall the DP1.2 bandwidth correctly, it should be possible to transfer up to 4096x2160x24bit at 80Hz (64Hz at 30bit color) with DP1.2. So with a bit (or a lot) of luck, this monitor might be able to do 72Hz at 24 bit color.
Also, would any of the owners of this monitor be able to do an input lag test? Either absolute or relative to a known monitor.

I'm seriously considering this monitor, and I'll be using it both for work and gaming.
 
Dolorous Chris said:
So I would recommend this monitor, but if you want to run it at 4096 x 2160 and 60Hz you are going to have to dish out another $40 to $120 (depending on cable length) for a 24 AWG DisplayPort cable.
Click to expand...

Thanks Chris for the input. My monitor should arrive here in Adelaide from newegg today. Hopefully my brother will pick it up. Cant wait to get it.

I have a question about this 24 AWG DP cable. Are they available in Australia because I can't seem to find them anywhere on the web for Australia.

And what is the difference between 24 AWG and 26 AWG, which one is better and what is the highest quality to get?
 
shadow85 said:
Thanks Chris for the input. My monitor should arrive here in Adelaide from newegg today. Hopefully my brother will pick it up. Cant wait to get it.

I have a question about this 24 AWG DP cable. Are they available in Australia because I can't seem to find them anywhere on the web for Australia.

And what is the difference between 24 AWG and 26 AWG, which one is better and what is the highest quality to get?
Click to expand...

For ever 6 feet you need a gauge thats roughly 2 values smaller, it's a general rule but varies because manufacturers aren't completely accurate with their ratings all the time.

So

24 gauge 16 feet = 26 gauge 10 feet = 28 gauge 4 feet

I asked monoprice and they said they are at least 1 year away from being able to introduce thicker DP cables so for now you gotta buy from vendors like DVI gear that charge an arm and a leg for 24awg cables.
 
shadow85 said:
What AWG cable can I use if I am only needing 1 metre cable length?
Click to expand...

dragonageinquisition said:
For ever 6 feet you need a gauge thats roughly 2 values smaller, it's a general rule but varies because manufacturers aren't completely accurate with their ratings all the time.

So

24 gauge 16 feet = 26 gauge 10 feet = 28 gauge 4 feet
Click to expand...

Now google 1 meter to feet.

shadow85 said:
Most of the DP cables from the local aussy sellers only sell DP cables with max resolution support of 3840x2160 :(
Click to expand...

The suggested 'max resolution' is irrelevant; what resolution can be driven is entirely dependent on the cable's data bandwidth. Keep in mind that this is a 17:9 monitor, which creates a fairly awkward resolution to brand for.
 
Does anyone know if the 3.5mm audio output on this monitor supports optical output? Was anyone able to try in mini-TOSLINK cable to test this out?

Thanks!
 
Im a bit confused here, how much bandwidth cable do I need for full 4096x2160 @ 60Hz to work @ max bpp this monitor can do?
 
LOL i looked at DVIGear and it costs $107 shipping to AUS, for a 1 metre $30 displayport cable.

Thats almoat the same shipping I paid for the actual LG monitor.

WTF is up with that shipping price for a cable.
 
Anybody else thinking of returning this monitor?

TrueColor Pro has never worked for me (throws connection with monitor errors, even though USB works for everything else through the monitor).

Been on LG chat for an hour - They've never even heard of TrueColor Pro (came in the box on CD) and the monitor STILL isn't even in the LG website support list where you pick a monitor model to register and /or get support.

Very worried that LG is just doing a "ship it and forget about it" with this monitor

Screenshots of TrueColorPro Errors:

http://cl.ly/Ygl9

http://cl.ly/Yh1f
 
Well managed to get 5 mins to test this. I was surprised Left 4 Dead 2 let me chose 4096x2160 (16:9). Unfortunately starcraft 2 did not let me go further than 3840x2160.
 
I'm thinking of getting this for work and games, anybody has any idea of availability in Canada? Seems MIA everywhere.
 
Well I have managed to squeese a few more days use on this monitor and despite the negative things people said about this monitor I am really liking it.

Windows 8.1 scaling is good. Also much to my surprise games do work well for me out of the box.

I can play Left 4 Dead 2, Crysis 3, and Dragon Age: Inquisition at the native 4096x2160 res. no problems at all. Although some games display the black bars on the side it is hardly noticeable at all.

As for Starcraft 2 I had to use 'flawless widescreen' to run it at 4096x2160 since the ingame did not allow resolutions higher than 3840x2160. But with that mentioned app it plays very well @ 4096x2160 fullscreen and even without the black bars displayed.

To be honest the clarity is only slightly more than 1440p, it feels like slightly more pixel density as a 27" 1440p screen but retaining as much but slightly more density on 31" screen.

The colour is very good, it feels much like my previous monitor, Samsung S27B970D PLS screen and that had outstanding colour reproduction. Although this LG feels slightly more brighter than that sammy.

Also people was complaining about the stock DP cable not giving them good quality signal at max res 60Hz. I myself did not have any problems. I am using the factory DP cable and I can run 4096x2160 in Windows straight out of the box @ 60hz and I have not experienced any visual issues at all. No signal loss, no artifacting etc.

Overall I am very pleased with this monitor. Tbh after reading weeks of people's thoughts I thought I made a mistake buying it when the monitor was on it's way to me, but I fortuantely have had nothing but great experience with tit so far. I will definatly be keeping it. :)
 
Armpit said:
I'm thinking of getting this for work and games, anybody has any idea of availability in Canada? Seems MIA everywhere.
Click to expand...

Have you tried newegg? They were bloody fast at delievering this to me, and I'm in Australia.
 
Man I am loving this monitor, Left 4 Dead 2 looks extremly sharp.

And I just fired up Watch Dogs, with the merged mods + sweetFX @ 4096x2160 60Hz and OMG it is breathtaking eyecandy on this monitor, even though it is bringing my SLI GTX 980 Gamings to its knees. I showed my brother Watch Dogs on this monitor and he could not believe how realistic it looked.

And I feel lucky that I have not experienced any issues with this monitor, it is such a sturdy design. Definatly blows my S27B970D out of the water.
 
I just got mine all set up and GAWD DAYUM this thing is burrrriiiiffffuuuul!

I have literally had every kind of display over the last 238 years and this thing is a real sweet piece of ass! Even though its only 60hz I still had to shelf my Rog Swifts...well the Rogs still serve the FPS purpose but for everything else....WOW this display is the fantabulous!
 
I do love this display however, I think this monitor makes my eyes sore very easily. I don't know why I get strain using this alot, my last monitor which was a S27B970D, did not give me eye strain as much as this one.

Why is it making my eye sore quickly? Is it brightness? I turned brightness down a lil too.
 
shadow85 said:
I do love this display however, I think this monitor makes my eyes sore very easily. I don't know why I get strain using this alot, my last monitor which was a S27B970D, did not give me eye strain as much as this one.

Why is it making my eye sore quickly? Is it brightness? I turned brightness down a lil too.
Click to expand...

I suspect is the blue levels of the monitor being high. Even setting color temperature to as warm as possible the monitor still displayed bluer images than any of the other 4k displays Ive tested.
 
shadow85 said:
I do love this display however, I think this monitor makes my eyes sore very easily. I don't know why I get strain using this alot, my last monitor which was a S27B970D, did not give me eye strain as much as this one.

Why is it making my eye sore quickly? Is it brightness? I turned brightness down a lil too.
Click to expand...

You more than likely have the brightness cranked way too high.

Try Daywalker's settings at the bottom of this page (Use google translate): http://prohardver.hu/teszt/lg_31um97_digital_cinema_4k_ips_monitor/meresek_kalibralas.html

The default white point is actually 6407, putting it under the industry standard target of 6500k; the image is not "too blue".

Alternatively, try sitting farther back. I actually had eye-strain when I received my BL3200T, largely because I was too close and unable to fill my field of vision with the entirety of the monitor (eyes moving around constantly).

Edit: The S27B970D uses edge-to-edge glass and is extremely glossy/reflective. It's possible that the LG's matte coating is bothering you compared to your old monitor's lack thereof.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top