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Wednesday, April 7, 2010

LG Flatron L1981Q

Being ultrathin isn't in vogue for supermodels only--it's also de rigueur for LCD monitors. The superslim LG Flatron L1981Q takes this to the extreme, measuring 1.5 inches thick, where most LCD panels are 3 inches or more. Staying slim comes with some costs: this Flatron has an external power block instead of integrated power, and inputs connect at the monitor's base instead of its back. Just an average performer, the main strength of the L1981Q lies in its design and flexibility. At $499 (as of August 2005), the Flatron L1981Q is fairly priced for a 19-inch LCD with pivoting capabilities; other monitors in this price range, such as the HP L1940, offer superior performance but less pivot flexibility.

The sleek Flatron L1981Q's screen is surrounded by a thin black-and-silver bezel, while the back and the neck are made of glossy white plastic. The dual-hinged neck connects to a silver, 10-inch ring-shaped base. This stable design keeps the monitor from wobbling when you adjust the screen. The dual-hinge design lets you flip the screen over the hinges, tilt it back so that the display faces the ceiling, and pivot it 180 degrees--twice as far as most other monitors. It doesn't swivel horizontally, however, and its height can be adjusted only 2.5 inches. Once you install LG's included ForteManager software, the image will automatically adjust when you pivot or flip the screen. The HP L1940, by contrast, swivels, pivots 90 degrees, and is height adjustable; it performed better on our tests, though it is a tad wobbly. On the L1981Q, the digital, analog, and power inputs plug into the monitor's base, eliminating the need for a cable management system but necessitating the use of a power block instead of a single cord.

The onscreen menu (OSM) buttons are discreetly tucked under the bottom edge of the screen; only the power button is visible on the silver part of the front bezel. All of the buttons are touch sensitive with no tactile feedback, which makes them very easy to hit accidentally when adjusting the screen. When pivoting the display, we often hit the power button or accidentally changed settings. Still, the OSM menus are easy to navigate, and you can adjust brightness, contrast, gamma, and screen position; there's also an f-engine button that opens a list of preconfigured screen settings for Text, Movies, Normal, and User-defined. By using the ForteManager software, you can bypass the OSM and calibrate your settings with your keyboard and mouse. Unfortunately, CNET's test unit came with an outdated version of ForteManager, so we had to download a 20MB file to get all of the features to work.

At its native resolution of 1,280x1,024 pixels, the Flatron 1981Q turned in an average performance. Text looked superb, especially when we used the f-engine text preset, but we were less impressed with the color and grayscale quality on CNET Labs' DisplayMate-based tests. Whites looked bright, but we saw color throughout the scale and noticed compression on the light and dark ends. Finally, brightness was not uniform, with the top third of the display perceptibly darker than the bottom, especially toward the right. Despite the color problems, DVDs looked pretty good, thanks to a fairly fast 8-millisecond pixel-response time. Colors looked vivid, but some details were lost in the darker scenes.


LG provides an abundance of extras and support for the Flatron L1981Q. The box comes with analog and digital cables and a bracket for an arm- or wall-mount. LG provides the industry-standard three years of coverage for parts, labor, and backlight and pays shipping both ways for service; you also get lifetime 24/7 tech support on a toll-free line.

CNET Labs DisplayMate tests
(Longer bars indicate better performance)




Manufacturer: LG

Part Number:L1981Q

General

Display Type LCD display / TFT active matrix

Width 16.6 in

Depth 10.3 in

Height 16.1 in

Weight 12.3 lbs

Image

Image Color Temperature 6500K , 9300K , Adjustable

Display (projector) image aspect ratio 5:4

Image brightness 250 cd/m2

Image Contrast Ratio 500:1

Max horizontal view angle 160

Max vertical view angle 160

Display

Diagonal Size 19 in

Viewable Size 19 in

Dot Pitch / Pixel Pitch 0.294 mm

Max Resolution 1280 x 1024 / 75 Hz

Color Support 18-bit color

Max Sync Rate (V x H) 75 Hz x 83 KHz

Response Time 8 ms

Controls / Adjustments Clock , Phase , Contrast , Brightness , H/V position , Input select , Gamma correction , Color temperature

Display Positions Adjustments Tilt , Swivel

Display Screen Coating Anti-glare , Hard coating

Video Output None

Signal Input DVI-D, VGA

Features Sync on Green , F-ENGINE technology

Video Input

Analog Video Signal RGB

Digital Video Standard Digital Visual Interface (DVI)

Audio Output

Type None

Input Device

Type None

Expansion / Connectivity

Interfaces 1 x VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15) , 1 x DVI-D - 24 pin digital DVI

Miscellaneous

Flat Panel Mount Interface 100 x 100 mm

Compliant Standards CE , UL , CSA , GOST , SEMKO , C-Tick , DDC-2B , TUV GS , TCO '99 , VCCI-II , ISO 13406-2 , FCC Class B certified

Power

Voltage Required AC 120/230 V

Power Consumption Operational 43 Watt

Power Consumption Stand by / Sleep 2 Watt

Sustainability

EPA Energy Star Compliant Yes


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