LG 5K UltraFine, 27MD5KL-B — uniformity/uneven brightness?

[cybertruck]

Hello,
recently bought LG 5K UltraFine, 27MD5KL-B.

Under certain conditions and viewing angle, it appears there is slight difference in the brightness; from what I can tell, the issue is visible on white background, where part of the right side of the screen seems as it transitions to slightly darker white — somewhat like having drop shadow/fade effect.

It’s one of these things, where when you see it, you can’t unsee it. Kind of annoys me, because the screen is not cheap, but it's great when comes for reading text.

Do any of you experience similar issues? Do you think I should return it for exchange or maybe I’m too picky and that is normal level of uniformity?

 

[sam_r]

Hello there,

Unfortunately you're not alone. I received my LG Ultrafine 5k last week which had the same issue as yours, plus some faint vertical lines.

I got it exchanged, received the new one a couple of hours ago and just plugged it. Very disappointing. It's better looking than the first one I got, but far from being flawless and still exhibits vertical lines and uneven brightness.

That makes me angry as I already have an Ultrafine 5k (but the previous generation, without usb-c support) and I love it, that's why I wanted to have a second one.
Now after having seen two bad copies in a row and read your post above, not sure if I should call again my reseller and try to have it exchanged...

I've read that @ralphthemagi was happy after having exchanged his Ultrafine 5k, is that still the case?

Has anyone else also having similar issues?

Thanks!

 

[cybertruck]

Hey Sam, thanks for the reply. That’s disappointing … It seems these issues are common — not sure if it’s generally poor quality control, bad batches or inherent property of the technology.

I think I’ll try to exchange mine and see if the new one is better.

Hope other owners chime in and report.

 

[cybertruck]

Received the second unit and unfortunately it exhibits similar issues; it seems the uneven brightness is even worse now, because it’s not concentrated in one specific area and it transitions across the whole screen (top-right to bottom-left).

I’m seeing discussions saying all IPS panels exhibit similar irregularities due inherent limitations of the IPS technology, but my Apple Thunderbolt Display didn’t had anything similar.

Not sure what to do now 🤷🏼‍♂️

 

[turbineseaplane]

Here's how my iMac 5k panel looks - Looks like we are in the "ugh" club here...

 

[wowee]

Also in a similar boat and only a week left to be able to return my display. Wondering what to do. I will say I have tried multiple displays (different models/brands) and they all seem to have a bit of this issue.

My display also looks like it is more "red" on the left hand side - only really noticeable on a white screen.

Also - when you have the LG 5K at zero brightness - is it still on? I can't get mine to go completely black.

Let me know! I want to make sure I don't have a dud!

 

[KPOM]

Also - when you have the LG 5K at zero brightness - is it still on? I can't get mine to go completely black.

Let me know! I want to make sure I don't have a dud!

Yes, it is still "on" at 0% brightness.

 

[wowee]

Yes, it is still "on" at 0% brightness.

thanks for checking - by "on" i mean the screen still shows the image - just dimmed down - I can't get it to go "black" like on my macbook when I reduce brightness to zero. THis is the same for you correct?

 

[KPOM]

thanks for checking - by "on" i mean the screen still shows the image - just dimmed down - I can't get it to go "black" like on my macbook when I reduce brightness to zero. THis is the same for you correct?

Yes.

 

[wowee]

Yes.

Thanks. I'm reading now many people are having issues with the macbook 2020 with the LG 5k.

Do you have this configuration? I am using a macbook 2017 12inch but with plans to get a new macbook within the next year so I am concerned about the compatibility issues

do you have this configuration?

I have the latest 27MD5KL LG 5K

 

[sco]

Bad backlight bleed on mine which arrived today. It is noticeably red in the corners and much more bleed than a mid range LG 4K display that is almost two years old.

Raw photo off my phone - emphasises the problem

Adjusted as close as I can to what it looks like in real life to me but in real life the black level is slightly higher and the bleed about double the size:

This is the histogram for the top photo in Preview - a burst of red clearly visible.

This is after calibrating the brightness to 120cd/m - the brightness slider is centered above the u in "adjust" in Display prefs.

Apart from that everything else seems OK - camera works, speakers OK. Attached to a MB Pro 16"

How is uniformity on a black screen on your monitor?

Edit:
After a bit more investigation...
The back panel behind the top left and top right corners of the monitor moves about 1mm when I gently squeeze the corner of the bezel and the same spot on the back panel and makes a clicking noise. The bleed varies if I gently press on the middle of the bezel while holding one of the adjacent corners - so it seems the mounting is not sturdy enough to keep the panel flat.

Edit 2:
Here's a better photo showing the issue:

I've organised a swap - will report back once the new one arrives.

 

[sco]

So Apple screwed up my exchange and now can't supply a replacement for 6-8 weeks. Giving up and returning it for a refund. I recently fired up a 12 year old Dell 1920x1200 24" monitor to use temporarily - the uniformity and black levbel on this old thing leaves the LG 5K for dead (as well as my 4K LGs).

 

[cybertruck]

Good riddance.

I’ve tested 7 monitors in total. Both 27MD5KA-B and 27MD5KL-B, from different vendors. Each of them had marked uniformity issues and backlight bleed. Some units also exhibited more pronounced tinting and faint vertical lines.

I’m disappointed.

 

[StraightHit]

Good riddance.

I’ve tested 7 monitors in total. Both 27MD5KA-B and 27MD5KL-B, from different vendors. Each of them had marked uniformity issues and backlight bleed. Some units also exhibited more pronounced tinting and faint vertical lines.

I’m disappointed.

Same with mine. My MacBook Pro display is also made by LG, and has light bleeding issues. Samsung MacBook Pro Displays do not have light bleeding issues. **** LG!

 

[dukee101]

Good riddance.

I’ve tested 7 monitors in total. Both 27MD5KA-B and 27MD5KL-B, from different vendors. Each of them had marked uniformity issues and backlight bleed. Some units also exhibited more pronounced tinting and faint vertical lines.

@cybertruck what did you eventually end up doing after going through 7 monitors? I'm in a similar boat, having gone through 3 of these LG 5Ks now: one with dead pixels and two with vertical banding / "tiger stripes". I don't know what to do anymore

 

[dukee101]

@cybertruck what did you eventually end up doing after going through 7 monitors? I'm in a similar boat, having gone through 3 of these LG 5Ks now: one with dead pixels and two with vertical banding / "tiger stripes". I don't know what to do anymore

Following up here: I exchanged my LG 5K for a unit from the February 2021 manufacturing batch and it does not exhibit this issue. If you bring home one of these and it has the problem I originally described, do not accept that "it's just the way it is". It is absolutely a QC issue from the factory with certain batches.

 

[cybertruck]

@dukee101 I’ve settled with Dell U2720Q — it doesn’t have uniformity issues, but it’s nowhere near as crisp as the LG 5K display.

 

[StraightHit]

@dukee101 I’ve settled with Dell U2720Q — it doesn’t have uniformity issues, but it’s nowhere near as crisp as the LG 5K display.

I got a Dell Ultrawide 38' instead. I really miss the Ultrafine after about 7 months, the Retina quality was just simply amazing and I loved doing work on it. However, the **** that I had to put up with it was not worth it, so I grudgingly stay with this monitor for now. If Apple releases their own for <2k, I might make the hop.