Not knowing anything about the monitor in question, what are the settings you have your display set to. If you're on Windows, what is the color quality setting of your monitor. It should be 32 bit. Anything less and there is a chance you'll see some banding in areas of slight gradation.

I wrote the original review and still have the LGE L2000C I purchased and based my review on. Since then several Shutterbug readers have indicated they have purchased this display, and I have had no negative feedback, no problems have been reported.

You did not specify what computer platform you are using, and it would also be helpful to know what video card is in the computer. In addition, is the display connected via DVI to a digital output video card? These are all factors which could be a source of what you refer to as banding.

Quote:
In December of last year I bought a LCD monitor - LG2000C. I had severe problems with that, it showed banding and a dead pixel. However, LG's swap service is good, without any problems they offered me a second model which arrived yesterday. This model has the same problem as the previous one. I probable can swap this one again, however I think it makes no difference. I called LG's service centre, they do not know what banding is, never heard about the term...(have to mention that I live in Netherlands, also called the low cuntries)which might explain a bit.

I read a review on this website, not mentioning any kind of banding. The reviewer, was very positive about this monitor. I think overal the monitor is of good quality in relatino to price, however it is (if you have banding) totally not suited for photographic work. I'm wondering if there are more banding 'victims'

I don't think you are the only one, I've read some posts of people having problems with 'banding', most of them were seen on Dell 2007 series and were fixed with a new firmware update. According to this, reviewer hasn't seen any color banding issues on his L2000C LCD.

http://www.unreal.ie/forum&c=showthread&ThreadID=2749&page=1#lastpost

Is the banding you are reporting as bad as this picture taken from a 'bad' dell lcd?

http://home.comcast.net/~rrighetti/WoW_Banding.jpg

Also I've read depending on the region this LCD ships with 2 different panels either S-IPS or P-MVA. You can very easy tell, by having black screen/background and if you move sideways, blacks will start turning pinkish. Also with P-MVA you will see bright spots in the corners creating an illusion of an "X".

Other than banding (in some cases) are L2000C users satisfied with it? How is the text quality and is the LCD easy on eyes (eye strain problems)?

Thanks,

Martin

Martin,

What is referred to in these posts as banding is really stepping of graduated tones like a bald sky in a landscape that reproduces the differences in graduated monotones as distinct steps. This has not been uncommon in graphics and digital photography even with CRT displays.

The stepping of graduated monotones is caused by 8-bit image depth. With some applications and video cards, as well as displays this image artifact is apparent unless in either the video card or the display processor there is a chip processor running at a higher bit-depth that smooths the gradation. Higher-end video cards and pro graphics LCD displays using imaging chips which process the 8-bit input converting it to 10 or 12-bit that provides a visually smooth gradation of tones, and is sometimes referred to as gamma correction.

In other words if you want very smooth, refined reproduction of image files having a high performance video card with 256MB of video ram and a high quality codec and other processing components usually eliminate stepping of gradated monotones, as does a pro graphics LCD display with 10 or 12-bit gamma correction processing and 10 or 12-bit LUT's.

In other words seeing the steps in an 8-bit image that should be smoothly graduated is NOT a manufacturing or performance error or defect in an LCD, it is just indicative of the limitation of the performance capabilities of consumer priced products. If you want better performance choose a pro-graphics LCD display model that has high-bit image processing chips specified and pay the higher price that usually accompanies these models.

In other words if you want Mercedes-Benz performance, don't expect to get it at VW prices.

Hi David,

Thank you for you excellent answer. I understand what you are saying and I agree with you 100%, you always get what you pay for . I just don't want end up buying an 8bit S-IPS based monitor (LG L2000C) and have worst performance than 6bit+dither TN based monitor such as my current AL1706. I know that there will be always some kind of banding, but I don't want it to be as 'severe' as other users of Dell 2000FP (same panel) have reported.

I would expect something like you see in the middle and not what you see on left:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Colour_banding_example01.png

Hence I would like to hear opinion from other LG 2000C users, especially since I cannot see the monitor before I buy it (online) and if I return it I'll lose 15% restocking fee. My other alternatives are HP LP2065 (uses same panel), Samsung 204T, Samsung 971P (both use S-PVA panels, color shift issues) or NEC 2070NX (that would be my first choice if it was a little bit cheaper). I'm using my LCD mainly for some light amateur photo/video editing and internet browsing and light gaming.

BTW...is the L2000C good with text and easy on eyes, 2000:1 contrast ratio is marketing propaganda, I bet you had to turn down a bit

Thank you once again for your comments

Cheers,

Martin

Martin,

Unless the Dell you refer to as being the same has LG's "F" engine and the following specs, its not really the same, but a similar unit made to Dell's price specs for Dell by LGE, which is the world's largest OEM LCD display manufacturer.

Diagonal Size: 20.1 in
Viewable Size: 20.1 in
Aspect Ratio: 4:3 (Standard)
Resolution: 1600 x 1200 (UXGA)
Response Time: 8 ms
Color Depth: 16.7 Million Colors (24-bit)
Contrast Ratio: 800:1
Brightness: 300 cd/m2
Pitch: 0.255 mm
Horizontal Viewing Angle: 178 degrees
Vertical Viewing Angle: 178 degrees

I have heard from some readers that they purchased an LGE L2000C, but no feedback specifying any problems or complaints other than one replacement needed that I would assume was due to damage in shipment. In other words no news is good news.

I've been using mine every day for almost a year now, and considering the cost, I could not be more pleased.

Although I have not tested it specifically I would assume the Samsung Syncmaster 204T would be close to the L2000C in performance and possibly at a slightly better price. The LGE L2000C seems to be in fairly short supply and offered by fewer dealers, which may have kept the price higher, and LGE recently released a similar model but in HD format, which may actually be a replacement for the L2000C - there seems to be more demand for HD format LCD's - although for photography I don't find the wide displays are as suitable.

The reason I purchased the LGE L2000C was a recommendation that it is the sharpest panel in the 20/21 inch size category, and I found that to be true which pleases me because I use it primarily for retouching.

I would be concerned about whether the specification of a 2000:1 contrast ratio is an error or if the LCD it refers to is really the LGE L2000C.

As far as being easy/hard on the eyes once adjusted by calibration and profiled for photographic application every LCD I have tested in the last 2-3 years has been easy to use for long periods, especially compared to CRT's.

Hi,

Thanks for your prompt reply and good comments.
The monitors are not the same, but share what is the most important the same panel made by 20" LG.Philips S-IPS (LM201U05). According to http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/
the same panel is shared among this monitors:

- Dell 2007FP 16ms or 8ms G2G 20" LG.Philips S-IPS (LM201U05) or Samsung S-PVA (LTM201U1)
- NEC LCD2090UXi 8ms G2G 20" LG.Philips S-IPS (LM201U05)
- LG L2000C 8ms G2G 20" LG.Philips S-IPS (LM201U05)
- BenQ FP2092 12ms G2G 20" LG.Philips S-IPS (LM201U05)
- Philips 200P7 8ms G2G 20" LG.Philips S-IPS (LM201U05)
- Philips 200P7ES 8ms G2G 20" LG.Philips S-IPS (LM201U05)
- NEC LCD2090UXi-BK 8ms G2G 20" LG.Philips S-IPS (LM201U05)
- HP LP2065 8ms G2G 20" LG.Philips S-IPS (LM201U05)

The difference is the electronics used inside, feauters used as video inputs/usb...etc...and the firmware driving the panel. This said the only two that I know of out of all them that have/had color banding issues are LG L2000C and Dell 2007FP.
As for the 2000:1 it is actually 'dynamic' DRC ration, so IMHO it is really 800:1....once again it is a marketing trick.

http://ca.lge.com/en/prodmodeldetail.do?...Select+a+model#

Also like you said David there is a shortage of L2000C and if I decide to buy one (from my Candian local computer store via special order) it will be at least couple of weeks before I see it. Like you I'm not big on 16:10 (WS)displays and I'm going after 4:3 20" LCD. Did you have any experiance with NEC 2070NX lcd or hear any good/bad things about it? If I find the right price I'm might go for it. It uses older S-IPS panel, but it seems everybody loves it. There are no color-banding and uneven/bad backlight leaks reported.
Also what kind of tools did you use to calibrate your LCD? software or hardware or both?

Thanks so much for all your help,

Best Regards,

Martin

Martin,

I would question lumping all the models you have together and assuming the panels are all the same. One reason is I have both the US version of the LGE L2000C and the NEC/Mitsubishi 2090UXi also sold as the LaCie 320, and I can assure you the panels are not the same, nor at all like the first 20.1 inch panel released to the market and made by Sony.

The NEC 2070 has a good reputation I agree, but it is a model that came out shortly after the Sony 20.1 inch (which I did test and found somewhat lacking and difficult to effectively calibrate and profile), but I did test the first LaCie 20" which was probably an NEC (2070?) made LCD, and that was almost 3 years ago. There are at least 4 distinct and different factories which manufacture 20 inch panels.

I use and prefer ColorVision Spyder2 Pro colorimeter and software for calibration and profiling. I have used a version of the Eye-One 2 and found it does a much poorer job of calibrating and profile building. I use Chromix ColorThink software to analyze and evaluate profile results.

Finally, there is reason I think to suspect that the LGE L2000C that has been sold in the US and the same model (designation) that is sold in Europe and Canada differ. The reports of gradation stepping with the L2000C I have seen have not come from the US models.

And along a similar line, prime manufacturers like NEC/Mitsubish-Samsung-LGE that supply OEM brand marketing products cannot be assumed to be equivalent. Companies like Dell have OEM products made to a particular price point they want to sell at, which may require downgrading internal components in cost and quality. Prime manufacturers who market products under their own brand name are inclined, I believe, to provide a level of performance their OEM partners cannot compete with directly.

Thanks for all the pointers..... ;-) Today I've received another confirmation from LG Canada that L2000C contains S-IPS panel Hopefully it won't have a big color banding, text will be easy to read and it won't burn my eyes out.... I'll report once I get it. It could be long several weeks, since it is a new item and most of the dealers are out of stock.

My last question have you ever had a chance to work with Viewsonic VP2030B?

Thanks,

Martin

Martin,

Good luck. I hope the LCD you are delivered provides what you are looking for and performs as well as the L2000C I have used for some months now.

I don't cover Viewsonic products. I have to restrict the number of brands and models I test and report on due to limited space and time so I only cover those LCD display brands and models that are specifically designed and intended for the pro-graphics users, and mostly prime manufacturers who make panels as well as specialty high performance brands like Eizo and LaCie.