A 4K 24 inch matte "Retina" Display does exist, and I just bought one! [Review]

[tornado99]

P2415Q uses an LG panel

LG Display LM238WR2-SPA1 Overview

LG Display LM238WR2-SPA1 datasheet 3 files, 1741 stocks, 6 suppliers, price, photos, compatible model. a-Si TFT-LCD, 23.8', 3840×2160, 300 nit, 1000:1 (Typ.), 1.07B color, 60Hz, WLED, eDP (4 Lanes)

www.panelook.com

ElectriQ uses a BOE panel

BOE MV238QUM-N20 Overview

BOE MV238QUM-N20 datasheet 3 files, 1879 stocks, 11 suppliers, price, photos, compatible model. a-Si TFT-LCD, 23.8', 3840×2160, 300 nit, 1000:1 (Typ.), 1.07B color, 60Hz, WLED, eDP (4 Lanes)

www.panelook.com

Both high quality in my opinion

 

[mikeboss]

OK. So is it general experience that the lines disappear after a couple weeks, then?

nope. totally unpredictable, these (dark) lines come and go and I haven't got the slightest idea what could be the cause. bad shielding or crosstalk somewhere on the signal-path inside the panel? temperature? moon-phase/tides ;-) since I only use this display for my testing/lab-systems, I stopped bothering about... if this was my main display it would drive me up the wall though.

 

[mikeboss]

P2415Q uses an LG panel

LG Display LM238WR2-SPA1 Overview

LG Display LM238WR2-SPA1 datasheet 3 files, 1741 stocks, 6 suppliers, price, photos, compatible model. a-Si TFT-LCD, 23.8', 3840×2160, 300 nit, 1000:1 (Typ.), 1.07B color, 60Hz, WLED, eDP (4 Lanes)

www.panelook.com

ElectriQ uses a BOE panel

BOE MV238QUM-N20 Overview

BOE MV238QUM-N20 datasheet 3 files, 1879 stocks, 11 suppliers, price, photos, compatible model. a-Si TFT-LCD, 23.8', 3840×2160, 300 nit, 1000:1 (Typ.), 1.07B color, 60Hz, WLED, eDP (4 Lanes)

www.panelook.com

Both high quality in my opinion

specs seem to be 100% the same for both panels. I'm willing to bet that they both come out of the same factory but one's branded as BOE and the other one's branded as LG.

 

[tornado99]

On my model I wouldn't really describe them as lines, more like a slight texture on white backgrounds. In person it isn't bothersome (and I am quite fussy!). You need to be <30cm to notice.

 

[fibrecell]

Thank you for the review on this. I opened mine up and can confirm the panel's BOE MV238QUM-N20.

@tornado99 would you be able to share your ICC profile?

 

[tornado99]

ICC profiles vary too much to be worth sharing. also the differences on an LED-backlit panel are too small to make a difference just for normal desktop usage. i.e. the colours won't be so off that you would really notice it.

 

[staypuftforums]

Any update on this, and possible to get it in Canada?

Had to return my M1 Mini due to blurry text and do not want a 27" monitor.

 

[wakka]

Unfortunately I don't think this monitor is available outside the UK, as Electriq seems to be quite a small company and only sells its products here.

Even in the UK, the IPS version of this monitor now seems to be discontinued, with only the VA version still available.

The LG 24UD58 is very similar, as I understand it (although I don't have personal experience of it), although more expensive. You might have more luck finding that one in Canada.

EDIT: Oh, and regarding the horizontal grey lines issue highlighted on the previous page of this thread - mine eventually faded away. I can't see them at all now (not that they bothered me much to begin with, they were very faint).

 

[tornado99]

Even in the UK, the IPS version of this monitor now seems to be discontinued, with only the VA version still available.

There has never been a VA version. The confusion comes from the fact that IPS is an LG trademark. BOE uses a different technique to achieve wide angle viewing, but the end result is the same. Electriq are listing that spec wrong.

Any update on this, and possible to get it in Canada?

Had to return my M1 Mini due to blurry text and do not want a 27" monitor.

The Koios K2420U uses the same panel

KOIOSK2420U23.8 inch 4KIPSHDR10bit design drawing office computer monitor

www.roundtheclockmall.com

There is a well established market of chinese re-shippers, so you should be able to get it delivered to Canada, possibly for a cheaper price.

I have to say that this monitor is probably the best electronics purchase I've made in the last decade. It beats pretty much any monitor out there that isn't made by Apple, including the "premium" 27 inch 4K displays with lots of fancy features. The LG 5K is nice, but I find that size screen simply too large. I'm constantly turning my head to scan the whole screen.

 

[wakka]

There has never been a VA version. The confusion comes from the fact that IPS is an LG trademark. BOE uses a different technique to achieve wide angle viewing, but the end result is the same. Electriq are listing that spec wrong.

I didn't know that, that's very interesting.

Just to be clear as to what I was getting at, I bought mine from Laptops Direct where they had an IPS version listed at £160, and a VA version at £140. Only the one specified as VA now remains.

I guess the IPS version was an LG panel and the VA one is a BOE panel.

 

[tornado99]

I am almost certain that your £160 is also the BOE panel. Electriq are often inaccurate on their website.

 

[wakka]

Ah OK, interesting.

 

[DrCC]

I have a DELL P2415Q 24" 4K monitor that I intend to replace, how much is this thing worth nowadays?
It is not Retina, but 185ppi is not that bad. I see they are available new on Amazon for $450 USD, how much should I ask? It might not be a hot item for Windows users, but the 185ppi has more value for Apple users.

 

[Amethyst1]

I have a DELL P2415Q 24" 4K monitor that I intend to replace, how much is this thing worth nowadays?

I sold mine for a little under $200 IIRC.

 

[KB579]

I've just ordered this monitor, after keep coming back to this very helpful thread. It's currently on sale for £99.97 after applying a coupon. So if tornado99 is right, and I'm thinking he is, this bargain is now even more bargainlicious.

I'll post here again when I get the monitor. Hopefully it is as good as others have said.

 

[KB579]

Well I received the monitor today. A couple of thoughts.

1. Then screen really is great. It makes the LG IPS screen I was using look poor. It's obviously sharp, but it also seems bright and uniform. The very faint lines are visible, but in practice you would have to be sitting very close or have very good eyesight to be bothered by it. Viewing angles seem fine to me, if not exceptional.

2. The stand is solid, but way too low for me. I'll be getting a VESA stand from Amazon ASAP.

3. The ODS is pretty fiddly, but I don't suppose I'll need to change any settings once I'm happy with them.

4. Value for money wise this screen is ridiculous, it would be a good deal at the original price but at under £100 as I paid, with next day delivery as well, I would defy anyone to find something better.

Thanks to tornado99 for posting about the screen in the first place.

p.s. For people in the UK the Huawei MateView is currently available for just under £400 directly from Huawei UK, if you get the £100 cashback offer and order before 29th March.

 

[tornado99]

Well I received the monitor today. A couple of thoughts.

1. Then screen really is great. It makes the LG IPS screen I was using look poor. It's obviously sharp, but it also seems bright and uniform. The very faint lines are visible, but in practice you would have to be sitting very close or have very good eyesight to be bothered by it. Viewing angles seem fine to me, if not exceptional.

Yes, BOE (the manufacturer) does turn out some excellent panels. I think I read somewhere this panel was part of their roadmap to reduce the cost of 4K to 1080p levels. It's just surprising that so few display vendors have gone on to use it.

2. The stand is solid, but way too low for me. I'll be getting a VESA stand from Amazon ASAP.

Agreed. I recommend Duronic DM751 or Silverstone SST-ARM11BC. I have one of each for my two Electriqs.

4. Value for money wise this screen is ridiculous, it would be a good deal at the original price but at under £100 as I paid, with next day delivery as well, I would defy anyone to find something better.

A lot of people have no understanding of what pixel density actually means. The IT support team at my workplace have ordered in a bunch of shiny £350/£400 monitors with usb-c hubs for hotdesking. Most of these are 27 inch 1080p . They think bigger=better. It's very hard to sell a small 4K monitor outside Apple-land as the general public just don't get the value of it. That's why 27" and even 32" 4K are more popular.

 

[KB579]

Yes, BOE (the manufacturer) does turn out some excellent panels. I think I read somewhere this panel was part of their roadmap to reduce the cost of 4K to 1080p levels. It's just surprising that so few display vendors have gone on to use it.


Agreed. I recommend Duronic DM751 or Silverstone SST-ARM11BC. I have one of each for my two Electriqs.



A lot of people have no understanding of what pixel density actually means. The IT support team at my workplace have ordered in a bunch of shiny £350/£400 monitors with usb-c hubs for hotdesking. Most of these are 27 inch 1080p . They think bigger=better. It's very hard to sell a small 4K monitor outside Apple-land as the general public just don't get the value of it. That's why 27" and even 32" 4K are more popular.

Yes I can't understand how a lower PPI for such large screens, like a 27" 1080p, is considered okay. 1440p might be okay, but probably works better at 32". With large 4k monitors, at least with Macs, you have the scaling issues. I wanted to run at 2x, not 3x scaled down, on a reasonably priced screen, and there are virtually no options around. Apart from this one. So thanks for bringing it to our attention.

 

[Amethyst1]

[…] 1440p might be okay, but probably works better at 32". […]

IMO 2560×1440 is pretty much perfect for 27” (108.79 ppi). I used it for a long time before upgrading to 27” 5120×2880 for exactly twice the pixel density.

 

[KB579]

IMO 2560×1440 is pretty much perfect for 27” (108.79 ppi). I used it for a long time before upgrading to 27” 5120×2880 for exactly twice the pixel density.

Fair enough. I think the fonts would be a bit too small for me, but that's purely a personal preference.

It's a shame that we can't have a more flexible HiDPI solution on Macs. This is one thing Android got right with display independent pixel measurements from day one, as they had to support different size and resolution screens from the start, and so there is no legacy to worry about. Obviously effective layout and design is a different issue, but rendering "just works". Windows UWP did an even better job as they took into account screen size, screen resolution, and the viewing distance (binned into handheld, arms length, and across the room) in the developer framework, but they never got much developer support.

 

[Marty_Macfly]

Hi guys,

What’s your opinion on the Mac scaling etc. for the Mateview?

I’ve got 2 of the electrique 24” monitors, great work cheapies for me, great suggestion by mr tornado!

However, the missus would want something a more slick and usable stand and hardware for her. Also wants a 1 large monitor to laptop setup.

How would the 3:2 aspect ratio work with the Mac? I’d only use at weekend outside of work, but missus would use for working week.

I take it, windows 10 would love the Mateview’s large screen for pdf documents side by side etc, which would be what the missus would be working on for work.

Hope you can advise.

Regards
Martin

 

[Amethyst1]

How would the 3:2 aspect ratio work with the Mac?

It's just plain great. 18.5% more vertical real estate than with a 16:9 monitor, which really helps for pretty much any kind of productivity work.

What’s your opinion on the Mac scaling etc. for the Mateview?

"It just works." I toggle mine (I have two) between 2304×1536 (when I want things to be a little larger after a long day and my eyes are getting tired), 2560×1707 (my go-to setting which is just perfect in terms of the size of UI elements and text) and 3008×2005 (when I need lots of space). I find the scaling "artifacts" (loss of "sharpness" compared to the pixel-perfect 1920×1280 setting) acceptable despite having a 27" 5120×2880 monitor running pixel-perfectly right next to it.

 

[Marty_Macfly]

It's just plain great. 18.5% more vertical real estate than with a 16:9 monitor, which really helps for pretty much any kind of productivity work.


"It just works." I toggle mine (I have two) between 2304×1536 (when I want things to be a little larger after a long day and my eyes are getting tired), 2560×1707 (my go-to setting which is just perfect in terms of the size of UI elements and text) and 3008×2005 (when I need lots of space). I find the scaling "artifacts" (loss of "sharpness" compared to the pixel-perfect 1920×1280 setting) acceptable despite having a 27" 5120×2880 monitor running pixel-perfectly right next to it.

Hi amethyst,

Fantastic ?

I fall into the “tired eyes “category. I’m 50+, and bigger fonts are the way to go for me

Cool, I’ll look into that monitor in a bit more detail then, to see if it’s the kind of thing the Mrs would actually like, then I would discuss it with her in doors

Regards
Martin

 

[Amethyst1]

Cool, I’ll look into that monitor in a bit more detail then, to see if it’s the kind of thing the Mrs would actually like, then I would discuss it with her in doors

This is the main thread on the MateView, actual user experience starting with post 154.

 

[Marty_Macfly]

This is the main thread on the MateView, actual user experience starting with post 154.

Hi A,

Thats really helpful!


Can I pick your brain

My other half has a really old Windows surface pro - with a ‘MiniDP ’ connector - like the one in the back of the Mateview monitor, infact.


Would a cable of [‘MiniDP ’ to ‘MiniDP ’] - work for 4K 60MHZ - for the 3:2 Aspect ratio?

Amazon’s ‘MiniDP ’ cables I’ve seen - Only guarantee 4K, for the std 16:9 ratio of pixels…. Is this only the selller putting in a reasonable disclaimer - in case people try to get 5K out of the cable etc?


What is the ‘MiniDP ’ connector doing on a modern monitor anyways?!


Hope you can advise.

Best wishes
Martin

edit:
Changed wording - ‘MiniDP’ - instead of ‘Micro USB’!