31MU97 monitor
LG’s Digital Cinema 4k monitor has eight million-plus pixels. But does it really suit your needs?
With a decent amount of vertical tilt and height adjustment, the first thing you’ll notice about the LG 31MU97 is that you’ll absolutely be able to get it into a position to suit your work setup. It’s an unassuming design, but that reflects its positioning as a professional piece of hardware, rather than a gimmicky, glitzy consumer toy.
Keep in mind that you could be looking at it for hours upon hours a day and the plainness becomes very appealing. Besides, the display itself is beautiful. If you’re used to a standard widescreen monitor then this will look just slightly wider. And it is: the aspect ration is an unusual 256:195 (pretty close to 17:9).
Before you go jumping on the 4k bandwagon, though, you need to weigh up whether the monitor meets your requirements or not. Sure, the eight million-plus pixels might be lovely to paint with, but you might just find your input device doesn’t quite suit. For such a high resolution you may need to invest in a larger graphics tablet, or you run the risk of inaccuracy. Menus and screen text can also be harder to read, and although you can scale them in the display settings, this misses the point.
The real benefit of this resolution comes when working with video and animation. The colour accuracy is superb, with 100 per cent sRGB and even 97 per cent of the digital cinema colour standard, meaning this isn’t far from a true grading monitor. The benefit to working with timelines should be pretty obvious, with room for more time or detail, and if you work with keyframes or curves then you’ll be very happy.
The quality of this display is fantastic. Just make sure it’s suitable for your 2D work before splashing the cash.