Introduction

As regular visitors will know, we don't often review displays simply due to the difficulty in properly testing the actual screens against the manufacturer's claims without the proper gear. As such, this quick look at two of the newer models in LG's display lineup will be more a look at each monitors features and subjective performance rather than an in depth review. We didn't have very much time with these screens and our resources for testing them were limited, but hopefully we can provide a decent, however brief, look at the basics of these two monitors.

We received their widescreen 20 inch L203WT and their standard aspect ratio, 19 inch LG L1932TX-SF to peruse for a while and take a few notes and pictures. Both of these monitors use what LG dub their f-ENGINE chip which is designed to boost colors and image quality when employed. Both monitors also come with a very a high contrast ratio rating, and while we were not able to validate these claims, we will be doing a subjective look at the contrast as well general image quality of the two monitors. Other simpler aspects such as the basic features, ports, and On Screen Display (OSD) usability will also be looked into.

We're hoping that we'll be able to take a better look into LG products in the future, but for now we hope that these general impressions are helpful for anyone considering their options in either of these crowded segments.


The Monitors

While the sizes and aspect ratio of these monitors are different and they are obviously using different panels, LG have incorporated identical features and performance functions into both monitors. The first of these is what they call their 'Digital Fine Contrast' or DFC technology which basically functions as a backlight adjusting tool. Depending on the image being displayed, the backlight brightness will adjust to maximize details in particularly dark or light areas. This allows LG to claim that these monitors both have 1400:1 contrast ratio, despite the fact that this is a misleading figure. The 1400:1 is a rating of the dynamic contrast ratio, as a rating over a period of time versus the static rating taken at any given moment. When watching a movie for example on one of these screens, the backlight will automatically adjust itself depending on whether the scene being displayed at that moment is predominantly dark or light. At times this can be fairly obvious but it generally tends to work decently. Slightly inflated claims aside, LG have found something that has a practical outcome on image quality which is good.

The other bit LG have added to their lineup to try and improve image quality is their f-ENGINE chip. This essentially boosts saturation and brightness levels and has a number of presets for different applications. Between these two features, the awkwardly-dubbed Digital Fine Contrast does more out of the box, however the f-engine presets make it easier to quickly boost colors over adjusting the standard sliders which also function as usual.

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