LG IPS231P-BN 23-Inch Widescreen LED LCD Pivoting Monitor with IPS Panel

What's special about this LG IPS231P monitor is its e-IPS technology and yet the price is still the same as the conventional TN type monitors.

It's awful to edit photos on a a conventional TN based monitor. The color and contrast shift when my head moves a couple inches from right to left, and I could never be sure what the image really looks like. It's especially worse when viewing a photo on a larger screen, since the corners look darker and warmer than the middle of the screen. IPS type monitor can fix this viewing angle problem, but I couldn't afford the cost that usually runs double to triple the conventional TN monitor price. That's why I had been using the old humongous CRT monitor that took up half of my desk. Everybody laughed when they saw that beast.

Within the last year, several makers started producing cheaper IPS monitors, using e-IPS, with the "e" probably stands for "economy". This monitor has the same advantage as true IPS, meaning the color and contrast don't shift depending on viewing angle. The cheap price comes with a couple of set backs, compared to true IPS:

1. The wide angle isn't as wide as true IPS. But it's still much better than TN. I can see a huge difference between the TN monitor at my office and the IPS231P monitor in this test: [...] (replace the underscore with the dot to see the page)

2. The color depth isn't true 8-bit. It's actually 6-bit that's extended to 8-bit. While I can see all the color shades here www_lagom_nl/lcd-test/contrast.php, the gradient test www_lagom_nl/lcd-test/gradient.php shows some minor banding.

If you're looking for vibrant colors, this monitor isn't it. Vibrant color is not the same as true colors. Look around and you'll see that true colors in the real world are actually more subdued. The problem with using an artificially vibrant monitor is that your photos look worse when you print them out or when other people view them on their screens.

One overhyped feature is the colors. While the colors are accurate, a good quality TN monitor will be just as accurate. Some newer TN monitors actually do better. The real advantage over the TN monitor is that the colors remain accurate when viewing angle changes, and stays accurate from one edge of the screen to the other. The IPS231P only covers the sRGB color space, not the extended AdobeRGB color space. This is why professional graphics editors should look for true IPS monitors. Being an armature graphics editor, sRGB is good enough for me, mostly because everything else in my workflow use sRGB, like printers, cameras, editors and browsers.

The pixel response time is slower than TN monitors, but in practice it doesn't matter much. Tests show that it's more like 15ms lag rather than the 5ms in the specification. However, during action and sport movies, I could not see any ghosting even if I tried to look for it. Only hard-core gamers need to worry about this.

Another thing that doesn't matter much, and yet attracted most of the complaints is the light leaks in the corners due to the new LED lighting. The leaks are very faint, and only visible when the entire screen is completely black.

While lacking HDMI port, this monitor supports HDCP encryption via its DVI port, so that you can still watch blu-ray on your computer. There's a cheap DVI to HDMI converter that you can buy if necessary.

You should also look at these competing models: Asus ML239H, NEC EA232WMi, Dell U2312HM. They have about the same graphics quality, with differences mainly in the features. The Dell and Asus have better pixel response time and have HDMI port, but the Dell is more expensive, and the Asus doesn't have adjustable height. The NEC adds 4 USB ports and costs more.

The bottom line is that this monitor is much better than the conventional TN type, but can't match true high-end IPS type. The affordable price compared to true IPS type is what makes it attractive.

-- Update May 22nd 2012 --

I understand now why people think the color from this monitor is more vibrant. It's because of the deeper black. It makes colors look more saturated and also increases the contrast. In other words, cheaper TN-type monitors don't have enough black, which make darker colors look pale.

The built-in speakers sound worse than those on my laptop. It makes movies hard to understand. Only good enough for software beeps and dings. If you watch movies or hear music from your computer at all, you'll need real speakers.

I measured power usage with a Kill-A-Watt device. The monitor only consumes 20 watts on the lowest brightness (which is still a little too bright for my dark room).

If you are looking for a 23" monitor, I highly recommend the LG IPS231P-BN 23-Inch Widescreen LED LCD Pivoting Monitor with IPS Panel. Text is clear and sharp; colors are vivid and very true. As a more mature individual, whose eyesight isn't quite what it used to be, I found that it was not easy to read online information on my old 17-inch monitor. After two months of using this monitor, I will be recommending it to others who may be looking to upgrade to an HD monitor! I really like the larger screen size on this LG monitor.

The LG IPS231P-BN 23-Inch Widescreen LED LCD Pivoting Monitor with IPS Panel comes with easy-to-understand installation directions; hook-up was simple and quick. The factory settings were excellent for reading, shopping, and viewing photos. Since I do not do photo editing, I cannot compare this monitor to others which professionals or serious hobbyists may recommend. I did play a family video shot on a Sony camcorder and found that it was clear, easy to see, and that there was no lag as the video moved from frame to frame. The monitor does not have a USB port - if you need one, you may want to explore other options.

I particularly like the matte finish on the monitor's screen as I use it in a room which has overhead lighting. A glossy screen tends to have glare spots. However, others who prefer a glossy screen or are using the monitor where overhead lighting is not a factor may have different opinions. The clarity of print on the screen is excellent. Contrast is very good and adjusting for different settings is simple; one only needs to use the buttons at the lower right-hand edge of the monitor's frame. Color reproduction is outstanding! I did not need to tweak the color; it was very true-to-life.

The LG IPS231P-BN 23-Inch Widescreen LED LCD Pivoting Monitor with IPS Panel is easy to adjust with respect to height and angle. My spouse prefers to look down at a screen, while I like to have the print at eye-level. This monitor allows us to easily adjust height and tilt for our individual preferences. When viewed from a side angle, there is little-to-no fade of the images on the screen.

I highly recommend this monitor for those seeking a large, wide-screen monitor. In my opinion, it is definitely a five-star product.

I purchased and tested a Viewsonic VX2453MH for one week and returned it because of poor washed out colors and low sharpness on text. I tried fiddling about with all the color & contrast settings and even used settings recommended by someone on Amazon who had calibrated it. I replaced it with the LG IPS 231P-BN and am very happy with the colors and sharpness of text. I am using a $7 HDMI to DVI-D adapter and driving the monitor off my Dell XPS-15 Lap top fitted with a 1 GB Nvidia card. The colors are vibrant, bright,natural and text is very sharp. The monitor worked perfectly out of the box without the need for any adjustments.
I highly recommend this monitor.