UPDATE: I pull the trigger on the LG 226WT

[Starbuck1975]

My system currently states that I have the default WIN plug and play monitor driver. I forgot to uninstall the WTQ drivers, but after fiddling with my drivers for an hour, it does not appear that an LG driver is currently installed.

If I explore the CD-ROM, I can see three files in the driver folder:

Security Catalog
ICC Profile
Setup Information

I went to LG's website, and it appears that they have the same drivers available as are on the CD-ROM.

Any pointers on how to resolve this?

 

[xtknight]

Did you try right-clicking the "Setup Information" (.inf) file and clicking Install?

You do not need these to calibrate your monitor properly. The "driver" only includes frequency ranges. The ICC file contains gamut information for a typical monitor of your kind, although you don't need even that if you are trying to calibrate with a colorimeter. If that's not the calibration you're talking about then installing this "driver" won't actually calibrate or touch the colors at all. It's (properly) loading the ICC file (independent of the "driver") that will change colors.

 

[xtknight]

I suggest people check what panel they have using these instructions:

"Turn off your screen, then hold the menu button and turn on the screen. When you see an image again, release the menu button and press it again. Now you should see the service menu."

 

[Starbuck1975]

xtknight

I pulled up the service menu and this is what it says:

L226W PC V 1.1
GM 5726H by MSHAN
2007.01.04 6

Clear ETI: No
Auto Color: No
Aging: Off
Panel: CMO22.W.AOC
NVRAM INIT: NO

9300 R 189 G 190 B 255
6500 R 227 G 227 B 255
OFFS R 65 G 55 B 65
Gain R 408 G 428 B 420

Does any of this info help?

As for calibrating the monitor, I uninstalled forte manager because it was causing problems.

I know that I can set the monitor to the settings you recommended using the controls on the actual menu button.

Now, nVidia control panel also has monitor settings. Should I set the nVidia control panel settings to the factory defaults, and then calibrate my LCD to the settings you recommended for the 226WT?

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Starbuck1975
xtknight

I pulled up the service menu and this is what it says:

L226W PC V 1.1
GM 5726H by MSHAN
2007.01.04 6

Clear ETI: No
Auto Color: No
Aging: Off
Panel: CMO22.W.AOC
NVRAM INIT: NO

9300 R 189 G 190 B 255
6500 R 227 G 227 B 255
OFFS R 65 G 55 B 65
Gain R 408 G 428 B 420

Does any of this info help?

Thanks for taking a look. It appears yours uses the CMO which is actually surprising. What's even more interesting is that if you go down to the <Panel> item you can change it to LPL, and the color temperature will become either cooler or warmer. If you make a mistake and press Clear ETI as you're going down to the Panel item don't worry, I did that also and it didn't seem to do much (at worst it may have reset contrast/brightness but I don't think it even did that). That color temp thing may be why you think one model is warmer or cooler. If you're really curious you could open up your panel and see what's inside but I'm not going to make you do that. I wouldn't for fear of voiding warranty.

You don't happen to still have the Q model at all, right?

Ideally you could report what the FCC ID is on the behind of the WT and WTQ panels. Mine is BEJL226WTM (which is supposed to be CMO).

If yours has a different panel than mine then perhaps my calibrated settings will look rather crappy.

As for calibrating the monitor, I uninstalled forte manager because it was causing problems.

I know that I can set the monitor to the settings you recommended using the controls on the actual menu button.

Now, nVidia control panel also has monitor settings. Should I set the nVidia control panel settings to the factory defaults, and then calibrate my LCD to the settings you recommended for the 226WT?

Yes, those NVIDIA 'settings' should be all default. That is video card-level adjustment and it should just be all zeroed out as if it were a pass-through.

 

[Starbuck1975]

Thanks for taking a look. It appears yours uses the CMO which is actually surprising.

When I hear surprising, that makes me nervous...are you pleasantly surprised or surprised as in, oh he got a crappy panel? What is CMO exactly?

As for the calibration settings you recommended, they didnt work too well on my panel. I set my nvidia control panel to default, and used forte manager to fine tune mine.

Honestly, right now I am pretty happy...no ghosting, the color vibrance is comperable to what the Q model was...but not as bright, and no artifacting.

You don't happen to still have the Q model at all, right?

You suggesting I should have kept the Q, or are you just curious what panel it had?


Oh, also that trick you told me to get into the service menu...now, every time I hit the menu button, it goes right into the service menu...how do I change it so it reverts back to the normal menu when I hit the button.

I may play around a bit in the service menu and see what happens if I change the settings first.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Starbuck1975

Thanks for taking a look. It appears yours uses the CMO which is actually surprising.

When I hear surprising, that makes me nervous...are you pleasantly surprised or surprised as in, oh he got a crappy panel? What is CMO exactly?

Oh...don't blow it out of proportion. CMO is Chi Mei Optoelectronics, I just would have expected it to have an LG panel. The entry in the LG service menu has been known to be a misnomer, though. I was just curious. If you're happy with it that's all that matters really. I have no idea if the one labeled CMO or the one labeled LPL is better.

As for the calibration settings you recommended, they didnt work too well on my panel. I set my nvidia control panel to default, and used forte manager to fine tune mine.

Honestly, right now I am pretty happy...no ghosting, the color vibrance is comperable to what the Q model was...but not as bright, and no artifacting.

You don't happen to still have the Q model at all, right?

You suggesting I should have kept the Q, or are you just curious what panel it had?

Nope, I was just wondering what panel it had.

Oh, also that trick you told me to get into the service menu...now, every time I hit the menu button, it goes right into the service menu...how do I change it so it reverts back to the normal menu when I hit the button.

I may play around a bit in the service menu and see what happens if I change the settings first.

I think simply cycling the power should make it go to the normal menu again.

 

[Jugdriver]

I just bought the LG226WTQ on Saturday. I wish I had seen this thread before hand; at least I have 2 weeks to take it back. I am a bit torn I have to say the halos are very annoying, but the color from this monitor is great! Unfortunately I am sure the more I game the more the halos will drive me nuts so I think I am going to take it back.

I do have a request, Starbuck if the tech guys at LG get back to you and tell you how to turn the response time compensation off can you post it in this thread so I can turn mine off and not have to take this monitor back?

I have to say I find it strange that LG would go to the trouble of claiming 2ms response time with a system that creates such a problem. I wonder if they even test it in games to see if it works, or if they just benchmark it and call it good.

Thanks

JD

 

[MBrown]

I have one of these and its awesome.

 

[LoryWiviott]

Just got my LG 226WT (non "Q") and no ghosting at all. There is a bit of top & bottom backlight bleed but overall it's gorgeous, big and bright.

I haven't installed Forte Manager as I'd heard it was buggy...anyone know it that's worked out and worth doing?

Lastly, can anyone suggest optimal settings for the OSD? My service panel menu indicates my panel is an LPL22.w.AOC...does that mean it's not made by LG but rather by AOC (like the Samsung 226BW "A" pamel?)

Oh BTW, Circuit City in Northern California has the L226WT on sale at $329...pick up a $40 off coupon on EBay and you've got yourself a sweet deal!

Regards,
Lory

 

[BernardP]

Originally posted by: LoryWiviott
My service panel menu indicates my panel is an LPL22.w.AOC...does that mean it's not made by LG but rather by AOC (like the Samsung 226BW "A" pamel?)

AOC: not to be confused with AUO, AU Optronics, the maker of the A panel in the Samsung 226BW.

But to confuse things a bit more, there is another monitor maker called AOC, but AFAIK, they are not a LCD panel manufacturer. So I don't know what the AOC means in the LG's service menu...Unless AOC makes them for LG under contract :evil: Everything seems possible in the 22-inch widescreen class.

As you have a WT with LPL panel, could you report the FCC ID on the sticker at the back of your monitor? This should allow access to detailed info about this monitor on the Federal Communication Commission web site. It is interesting because previous reports of the WT was that it has a Chi Mei panel (CMO). Yours seem to have a true LG-Philips panel (LPL)

 

[Starbuck1975]

I just bought the LG226WTQ on Saturday. I wish I had seen this thread before hand; at least I have 2 weeks to take it back. I am a bit torn I have to say the halos are very annoying, but the color from this monitor is great! Unfortunately I am sure the more I game the more the halos will drive me nuts so I think I am going to take it back.

This was the situation I was in...the WTQ did have amazing color, but I found it a bit too bright, and the artifacting was making me a bit dizzy while gaming...I played for a few hours last night on my new WT, and while I liked the color on the WTQ better, the WT didn't start bothering my eyes the way the WTQ was...also, the color differential between the WT and WTQ is more apparent on my desktop than it is in gaming...after playing both Oblivion and Supreme Commander last night, the colors were amazing...if anything, especially after a few dungeon crawls in Oblivion, the dark areas appeared "blacker" on the WT, yet I was able to make out objects lying about better because the brightness wasn't killing my night vision...also for some odd reason, Supreme Commander is running better on the WT...on the WTQ, when I zoomed in and out from the battlefield, my screen would stutter a bit...on the WT, it is a smooth transition.

One thing of note...when the WIN XP loading screen pops up during boot up, the colors are exactly how I want them...then, when the desktop actually loads, the color shifts and becomes a bit "cooler" as I reported earlier...not sure why it is doing this, and I am still playing around with my color settings a bit.

I do have a request, Starbuck if the tech guys at LG get back to you and tell you how to turn the response time compensation off can you post it in this thread so I can turn mine off and not have to take this monitor back?

They are supposed to get back to me this week...unfortunately, my window for returning my WTQ ended today, so I had to return it...but if they send me anything on how to disable the RTC, I will post it here.

I haven't installed Forte Manager as I'd heard it was buggy...anyone know it that's worked out and worth doing?

I had Forte Manager installed on my WTQ, and it worked great...once I plugged in my WT, I started having problems...but after uninstalling my WT and Forte Manager, and then starting from scratch on the install, I got everything to work fine.

I will say this...the Forte Manager calibration wizard is quite excellent.

As you have a WT with LPL panel, could you report the FCC ID on the sticker at the back of your monitor? This should allow access to detailed info about this monitor on the Federal Communication Commission web site. It is interesting because previous reports of the WT was that it has a Chi Mei panel (CMO). Yours seem to have a true LG-Philips panel (LPL)

After reporting the service menu information from my WT, it appears I have the CMO panel...I will check the FCC sticker tonight and then pull up the info on their website.

I do find this rather annoying that LCD manufacturers utilize different panels under the same model name, but whadaya gonna do.

 

[Jugdriver]

Is there any chance the Halo produced by the 226WTQ is happening becuase I am using a D-Sub instead of a DVI cable? The damn thing did not come with a DVI cable so I am using the D-Sub. I am under the impression that they do not ship with a DVI cable so I am wondering if the halo is caused by using an analog connection and not a digital connection?..

Also Does anyone know if the 24?? LG monitor (L246WP) has RCT/RTA?



Thanks

JD

 

[LoryWiviott]

BernardP,
I'll check the FCC ID this evening when I get home.
is it easy to spot?

 

[Starbuck1975]

Is there any chance the Halo produced by the 226WTQ is happening becuase I am using a D-Sub instead of a DVI cable? The damn thing did not come with a DVI cable so I am using the D-Sub. I am under the impression that they do not ship with a DVI cable so I am wondering if the halo is caused by using an analog connection and not a digital connection?..

I swapped out the analog connection for a DVI cable on my 226WTQ, and it didn't make a difference in the artifacting.

 

[BernardP]

Originally posted by: LoryWiviott
BernardP,
I'll check the FCC ID this evening when I get home.
is it easy to spot?

It's right there

See at bottom left of the sticker: FCC ID BEJL226WTM

Yours might have a different number if the FCC makes a distinction between CMO and LPL models, because the above ID is for CMO.

 

[Gusty987]

Originally posted by: Starbuck1975

Is there any chance the Halo produced by the 226WTQ is happening becuase I am using a D-Sub instead of a DVI cable? The damn thing did not come with a DVI cable so I am using the D-Sub. I am under the impression that they do not ship with a DVI cable so I am wondering if the halo is caused by using an analog connection and not a digital connection?..

I swapped out the analog connection for a DVI cable on my 226WTQ, and it didn't make a difference in the artifacting.

Seconded.

 

[Starbuck1975]

For those interested, the FCC ID on my LCD is BEJL226WTM. So what does that mean exactly?

 

[LoryWiviott]

BernardP, my FCC ID# is also BEJL226WTM...does this mean CMO panel?

Note that in service menu the LPL versus CMO is selectable, but if I do a factory default reset it goes to LPL. You'd like to think that it's set at factory to match the panel.

Very confusing, can you shed any light?

Overall, I love the monitor but still tweaking OSD..any recommended settings?

 

[BernardP]

Originally posted by: LoryWiviott
BernardP, my FCC ID# is also BEJL226WTM...does this mean CMO panel?

Note that in service menu the LPL versus CMO is selectable, but if I do a factory default reset it goes to LPL. You'd like to think that it's set at factory to match the panel.

xtknight knows more about this than I do, but I have the impression that both CMO panel and LG-Philips panel L226WT models have the same FCC ID.

The idea was to go on the FCC web site and look at internal pics of the monitor to try to see the panel maker. However, the FCC ID you list shows a CMO panel in those pics. It might be that the monitor has to go through the FCC for approval, but when it's done, they will not necessarily require a new ID and approval for each panel revision.

xtknight's father has also a L226WT, but it is showing as CMO in the service menu. I would be curious to know if it resets to CMO at default. In that case, this could well indicate the true physical panel in the monitor.

I think the factory menu has presets for both panels, and that it is set accordingly when the monitor is put together. This would explain the change in color balance when switching from LPL to CMO.

If my hypothesis is true, you are lucky, because you paid the premium LG price and actually got the LG-Phillips panel.

It's not that the CMO panel is not good, but simply that it can be had in less expensive monitors, such as ChiMei's (CMO) own monitor

 

[Starbuck1975]

If my hypothesis is true, you are lucky, because you paid the premium LG price and actually got the LG-Phillips panel.

It's not that the CMO panel is not good, but simply that it can be had in less expensive monitors, such as ChiMei's (CMO) own monitor

Well since mine is a CMO panel, looks like I lost the panel lottery once again :roll:

 

[BernardP]

Originally posted by: Starbuck1975

If my hypothesis is true, you are lucky, because you paid the premium LG price and actually got the LG-Phillips panel.

It's not that the CMO panel is not good, but simply that it can be had in less expensive monitors, such as ChiMei's (CMO) own monitor

Well since mine is a CMO panel, looks like I lost the panel lottery once again :roll:

Maybe , maybe not. It depends if my hypothesis is true. And whatever your panel, you do like your monitor :thumbsup:

 

[Starbuck1975]

Quite true. One thing I forgot to mention is that when I first purchased the LG226WTQ a month ago, Fry's only had two left in stock.

When I returned my LG226WTQ to Fry's last weekend, they already had two sitting in a pile at the returns desk.

I took a stroll back to their LCD section out of curiosity, and they had a huge pile of LG226WTQs...all of them marked as returns, with reduced pricing.

Could explain why the customer service rep gave me a little attitude about the return.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Starbuck1975

If my hypothesis is true, you are lucky, because you paid the premium LG price and actually got the LG-Phillips panel.

It's not that the CMO panel is not good, but simply that it can be had in less expensive monitors, such as ChiMei's (CMO) own monitor

Well since mine is a CMO panel, looks like I lost the panel lottery once again :roll:

Eh, why make assumptions? I don't even know what the heck that menu item indicates if you want to know the truth. It could be random for all we know. There was an article awhile back on BeHardware where it was suspected the readout was invalid (it said IPS in the readout but it had tons of MVA-like characteristics). I have an intense doubt that any L226WT uses a CMO, or if it does, it was contracted from CMO and highly modified to LG/LPL's standards. For example, Hi-FRC originated from CMO but they really just sell it to everyone else to use. There are patent agreements.

I believe that all L226WT (WT/WTX models, excluding WTQ) sold are of very close to the same quality. I have seen no evidence of the contrary, thus you have nothing of which to be disappointed.

The FCC's data seems a bit outdated. Half of the variants aren't listed. I have seen before in LG's FCC data that they had submitted a revision (to LH2065H, codename for contract-manufactured HP LP2065) that offered an "AU Optronics A-MVA" as an "alternate panel". I have seen no such revisions on the LG monitors yet, yet it's fairly clear some of them use LPL panels since none exhibit characteristics like those of other Chi Mei 22" LCDs.

 

[Starbuck1975]

Oh I know xtknight...I am just making noise at this point given the whole nature of my LCD journey into insanity.

It just amazes me that manufacturers can so loosely define the components that go into their products.

Imagine if food labels were the same way...this product may contain ingredient A, but it may also contains ingredient B if we ran out of ingredient A due to high demand.

At this point, I know I am happy with my monitor...well I have to be, because if I go on another LCD swap hunt, my wife is going to throw me and my computer out the window.