Quick Look - LG 31" DCI 4K Monitor

[Dimitri Boschma]

Mac Pro Thrashcan here also 50Hz grayed out (nothing selectable).

 

[Dimitri Boschma]

I saw some reports of people using SetResX getting 60Hz.

 

[David Kellermann]

Is there any way to use the monitor as 4k 10bit ref monitor (maybe through a BMD card using HDMI)?

 

[Patrick Grossien]

I can get to 50Hz. Didn't find a way to switch to 60Hz @ 4096x2160 with SwitchResX. The ways I tried, it returned the settings as "incompatible".
Probably depends on the system and most of all on the GPU.

David, if you want to test something, I've got it set up in my office.

 

[Patrick Grossien]

I'm seeing conflicting reports on the hertz this panel can do with the display port. Read all 18 pages here and found users running 60hz without problems. Seems like most of those user were in Windows. Found reports on 50hz being the max as well...

What is the actually visual difference between the two?

Some conflicts online as well.

One site says 50hz, another 60hz.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-123-LG

http://www.iphonehacks.com/2014/11/...-listed-officially-supported-mac-display.html

What are users getting?

The official TechSpecs from LG are:

4096 x 2160 @ 60 Hz / HDMI Video 4096 x 2160 @ 24Hz



I can't get it to switch to 60Hz I can't even get the standard OS X display settings to show the display rate.
SwitchRes X shows it @ 50Hz. Don't know how to set up a custom setting to make this work @ 60Hz

running New MacPro (late 2013)
3,5 GHz 6-Core, 64 GB, Dual AMD FirePro D700, OS X 10.10.2

 

[D Fuller]

The official TechSpecs from LG are:

4096 x 2160 @ 60 Hz / HDMI Video 4096 x 2160 @ 24Hz



I can't get it to switch to 60Hz I can't even get the standard OS X display settings to show the display rate.
SwitchRes X shows it @ 50Hz. Don't know how to set up a custom setting to make this work @ 60Hz

running New MacPro (late 2013)
3,5 GHz 6-Core, 64 GB, Dual AMD FirePro D700, OS X 10.10.2

But the official word from Apple is:

With OS X Yosemite, you can use all of the above displays as well as the following:
LG 31MU97 4K display (at 30Hz or 50Hz)

You can see the whole page here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202856

Under Yosemite, it appears 50hz is all you're going to get. My experience would bear that out.

 

[Patrick Grossien]

Thanks, David. That's what I found, too. I just wondered because of Dimitri's post.

 

[Dimitri Boschma]

Ok I will complete my story:

My system Macpro Thrashcan 4 Core Dual D300 (Yes I Know but I traded one of my Retina Macbooks)

Before Yosemite I had to make a special file and do some text entry to get it to work at the full 4096 Resolution...
As descibed here: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1811376&page=5 (post #105)
After the upgrade I still had to make the file, and with the latest update it got fully recognized. But only on 50Hz
I don't know if you do the method with the file you get some more options..(in combination with SitchResX)
When doing the research to getting it to work I read of some people with OSX getting it to work on 60hz
But my guess is that this are people with the older MacPro Towers with 980 GTX cards.

What I am also interested in is people driving the monitor through blackmagic or other card and what exactly the specs they are getting.
I am thinking about buying a second one. But want to have the good resolutions etc.

@ David from what I know you can only get the 10bit with the lower resolution 3840 resolution, 4096 is 8 bit only.

 

[Will Keir]

With the latest version of Yosemite?

I found in Windows I was able to get almost 4k at 60 hz.

Windows 7 ~ 3840x2160 @ 60 Hz

I also found that I couldn't run any games at 4k without dropping below 20 FPS, so it's pointless for that. Why even have 4k, if you can't use it right? From my first impression inside Windows 7 and Mech Warrior Online, the older Apple Cinema 30" display actually looked better. A little disappointing. I just might not be ready for 4k and as bad as it sounds, 1080p might just be good enough... for now.

Mac Pro Thrashcan here also 50Hz grayed out (nothing selectable).

 

[Will Keir]

This is the next part of my question. How do we get 10 bit?

I have heard that Windows doesn't have a 10 BIT GUI, same for OS X. So is it access through specific applications like Resolve? Does the app turn 10 bit on internally?

you can only get the 10bit with the lower resolution 3840 resolution, 4096 is 8 bit only.

 

[Dimitri Boschma]

10 bit will only with the display as a monitoring solution through a Decklink / Aja or something. (would love to hear from someone about this)

@Will what card where you using on windows, I had no problems getting 4096 x2160 @ 60hz with my machine 12 Core Z800 / 980 GTX through displayport

 

[Will Keir]

Dimitri. Thank you for being part of this conversation.

I'm using BootCamp from OS X. The internal Machine is a Mac Pro with a GTX 680 2GB GPU. Is your machine Windows only? It must be my graphics card. My debate is to understand if what I already have is good enough. If an upgrade in tech will help me on a legacy Mac Pro.

10 bit will only with the display as a monitoring solution through a Decklink / Aja or something. (would love to hear from someone about this)

@Will what card where you using on windows, I had no problems getting 4096 x2160 @ 60hz with my machine 12 Core Z800 / 980 GTX through displayport

 

[Dimitri Boschma]

To clarify I have to machines and tested the monitor on both.. 1 Z800 running windows 7 with the 980 GTX connected through displayport cable that came with the monitor. And currently running it on the Macpro trashcan Dual D300 through the displayport cable that came with it.
OSX ofcourse.

How are you running the monitor? Could also be that your card has not enough VRAM, not sure...

 

[Will Keir]

Monitor is going through the display port from GTX 680 to the panel.

To clarify I have to machines and tested the monitor on both.. 1 Z800 running windows 7 with the 980 GTX connected through displayport cable that came with the monitor. And currently running it on the Macpro trashcan Dual D300 through the displayport cable that came with it.
OSX ofcourse.

How are you running the monitor? Could also be that your card has not enough VRAM, not sure...

 

[D Fuller]

This is the next part of my question. How do we get 10 bit?

I have heard that Windows doesn't have a 10 BIT GUI, same for OS X. So is it access through specific applications like Resolve? Does the app turn 10 bit on internally?

You can't get 10bit on the GUI display on Mac OS. The OS doesn't support it. (I am not enough of a windows geek to say for sure about that).

To get 10 bit out, you need a display card like a BM Decklink, an AJA card or BMs Thunderbolt Display interface (the name of which escapes me at the moment). An app like Resolve can output 10 bit to the display through that card, but not to the GUI monitor. The OS controls that.

 

[Will Keir]

Here's a video review of the panel on youtube.com that touches on a lot of our conversations about 50hz/60hz on Mac and PC.

 

[Will Keir]

Thanks for clearing that up David.

Would a Kona 3G do the trick? What's the experience going from 8 bit to 10 bit. Jaw dropping or just a slight improvement for the details?

Oh and when I get 10 bit output, this will only be for video out in an app like resolve? I will not get 10 bit GUI right?

Thanks for helping me better understand this.

You can't get 10bit on the GUI display on Mac OS. The OS doesn't support it. (I am not enough of a windows geek to say for sure about that).

To get 10 bit out, you need a display card like a BM Decklink, an AJA card or BMs Thunderbolt Display interface (the name of which escapes me at the moment). An app like Resolve can output 10 bit to the display through that card, but not to the GUI monitor. The OS controls that.

 

[D Fuller]

Thanks for clearing that up David.

Would a Kona 3G do the trick? What's the experience going from 8 bit to 10 bit. Jaw dropping or just a slight improvement for the details?
..PPP""
Oh and when I get 10 bit output, this will only be for video out in an app like resolve? I will not get 10 bit GUI right?

Thanks for helping me better understand this.

A Kona 3G will put out 10 bit video, but not from Resolve. To the best of my knowledge, Resolve only talks to BMC Cards. (That's why Resolve Light makes sense to them--you have to buy a BMC hardware solution for output.)

No, you will still not get a 10-bit GUI. the GUI belongs to the OS, and the OS is 8-bit.

As much as I'm an advocate of 10-bit video, the difference is not earth-shaking. You don't get more intense colors, or even more accurate colors. You get more gradations of color. (Better color resolution.) The place you are most likely to see the improvement is in a clear blue sky. In 8-bit it is almost sure to show banding if you grade it at all. In 10-bit it's very hard to get the image to break like that. Why it's important is that if it breaks when viewed on a 10-bit display, the problem is real. The image is banding. If it breaks on an 8-bit display, you don't really know if the image is banding or if it's just the 8-bit monitor banding.

The counter-argument is that so many people are watching so much content on 6-bit and 8-bit displays that it may be a good thing to be judging color on an 8-bit display. If you're working for a DCP or for printed output, 10-bit is more important.

 

[Will Keir]

Much appreciated David... again.

So if I have a Kona 3g, what do I use it for? Monitor in 10 bit in FCP-X or Premiere?

I'll saving you the post since I see where this is going. No 10 bit for me. I don't have the card space in the tower, I'm not a color correction professional. I can always go to a pro for a couple hours for the final touch up anyway, which is something I enjoy very much.

A Kona 3G will put out 10 bit video, but not from Resolve. To the best of my knowledge, Resolve only talks to BMC Cards. (That's why Resolve Light makes sense to them--you have to buy a BMC hardware solution for output.)

No, you will still not get a 10-bit GUI. the GUI belongs to the OS, and the OS is 8-bit.

As much as I'm an advocate of 10-bit video, the difference is not earth-shaking. You don't get more intense colors, or even more accurate colors. You get more gradations of color. (Better color resolution.) The place you are most likely to see the improvement is in a clear blue sky. In 8-bit it is almost sure to show banding if you grade it at all. In 10-bit it's very hard to get the image to break like that. Why it's important is that if it breaks when viewed on a 10-bit display, the problem is real. The image is banding. If it breaks on an 8-bit display, you don't really know if the image is banding or if it's just the 8-bit monitor banding.

The counter-argument is that so many people are watching so much content on 6-bit and 8-bit displays that it may be a good thing to be judging color on an 8-bit display. If you're working for a DCP or for printed output, 10-bit is more important.

 

[Jimmy Grewal]

After upgrading my 2013 Mac Pro (D700) to the latest Yosemite 10.10.3 beta, I'm now reliably getting 4096x2160 @ 60 Hz using the included mini-DP to DP cable with this LG display. That has given me the confidence to order a second one so I can run a dual display system.