UPDATE: I pull the trigger on the LG 226WT

[b1gduk]

I ordered the LG 226WTQ screen the night before spotting this forum and this thread. How I have punished myself ever since fearing the worst. Today the monitor arrived and I was in two minds whether to send it back unopened.

I am GLAD I did open it though.

WOW is all I can say to the sharpness and clarity of this screen.

In addition and slightly to my annoyance it also **came with a DVI cable** as well as a VGA cable. To my annoyance because everywhere I looked it stated it didnt so I bought one (albeit cheap) off ebay which has yet to show up.

I dont really have the graphics card to play modern games at the native resolution but I did play Trackmania Nations and it is glorious. No noticable POV issues. I have also run some tests with lcd test tools and they all look great to me.

One of the tests being Passmarks MonitorTest v2.2. This included a test with a black screen and big white squares moving across as different speeds. Again, there was no ghosting or POV issues here. Spot on.

I would be very interested to know how I could easily try to reproduce the issues seen by other users. Is there a tool or method to reproduce without having to install a game like World of Warcraft ?

The reason I ask is because I want to see if my panel is affected and if not report back here and contribute, if so get on LG's back and support the cause. I dont think I will be returning it because its just so nice.

My Setup

LG 226WTQ-SF (Silver frame with Black stand) - auto installed with native XP drivers. Not used the drivers on supplied disk. (Why fix what isn't broken ?)
DVI-DVI connection
AMD Athlon 3200+ 1.5GB
ATI Sapphire 9800 Pro 128MB GFX

Purchased from overclockers.co.uk in the UK Received 23/5/07

Oh and please post back if there is any feedback from LG about disabling overdrive or RTC. Woud be useful to know for future.

Regards,
Big-D

 

[Starbuck1975]

b1gduk,

In digging around numerous forums, I did encounter several instances where users from Europe were not reporting the same ghosting issues as I was experiencing on the WQT. In fact, UK, German and other users have reported model numbers for the 226WT that I have never seen here in the USA.

The most obvious test I can think of is to bring up this very forum on your screen. Scroll down to the blue colored area that immediately follows the end of a post thread.

Now run your cursor over this blue area. If you have a ghosting issue, you should notice a white trail behind your cursor.

Another test is to load up MS Paint. Create a grey colored background. Then create a circle over the grey colored background, and color in the circle as red.

Now scale down the MS Paint window so that you can drag it across the screen. If you have the ghosting issue, the red circle should leave a noticeable halo and trail behind it.

Those are the two tests I used, based on postings from other forums. On my WTQ, the ghosting was apparent. On the WT, none at all.

 

[Gusty987]

Originally posted by: Starbuck1975
b1gduk,

In digging around numerous forums, I did encounter several instances where users from Europe were not reporting the same ghosting issues as I was experiencing on the WQT. In fact, UK, German and other users have reported model numbers for the 226WT that I have never seen here in the USA.

The most obvious test I can think of is to bring up this very forum on your screen. Scroll down to the blue colored area that immediately follows the end of a post thread.

Now run your cursor over this blue area. If you have a ghosting issue, you should notice a white trail behind your cursor.

Another test is to load up MS Paint. Create a grey colored background. Then create a circle over the grey colored background, and color in the circle as red.

Now scale down the MS Paint window so that you can drag it across the screen. If you have the ghosting issue, the red circle should leave a noticeable halo and trail behind it.

Those are the two tests I used, based on postings from other forums. On my WTQ, the ghosting was apparent. On the WT, none at all.

Yeah those were my postings Starbuck is referring to. Do the MS Paint test, I gaurantee you will see a white/blue trail behind the circle with the WTQ.

 

[b1gduk]

I have just done these tests. I have no artifacts, halos or ghosts.

The question is in the name of science do I try to do things I think could bring about this issue like install the suppied drivers and play with other settings.

This screen is clearly labelled on the box and unit itself 2ms.

If I find anything I will update this post.

Thanks starbuck

 

[b1gduk]

Originally posted by: Gusty987

Originally posted by: Starbuck1975
b1gduk,

In digging around numerous forums, I did encounter several instances where users from Europe were not reporting the same ghosting issues as I was experiencing on the WQT. In fact, UK, German and other users have reported model numbers for the 226WT that I have never seen here in the USA.

The most obvious test I can think of is to bring up this very forum on your screen. Scroll down to the blue colored area that immediately follows the end of a post thread.

Now run your cursor over this blue area. If you have a ghosting issue, you should notice a white trail behind your cursor.

Another test is to load up MS Paint. Create a grey colored background. Then create a circle over the grey colored background, and color in the circle as red.

Now scale down the MS Paint window so that you can drag it across the screen. If you have the ghosting issue, the red circle should leave a noticeable halo and trail behind it.

Those are the two tests I used, based on postings from other forums. On my WTQ, the ghosting was apparent. On the WT, none at all.

Yeah those were my postings Starbuck is referring to. Do the MS Paint test, I gaurantee you will see a white/blue trail behind the circle with the WTQ.

No, there is no such thing. The big red circle remains just that and there is no ghosting or drag, all I can see is a hint of screen redraw

 

[Starbuck1975]

Interesting that you are not experiencing the ghosting. I wonder if LG has managed to correct the ghosting issue on the WTQ, and you are reaping the benefits on your side of the pond.

I wish I could find a definitive answer, but LG does not have a wealth of information readily available when it comes to tech specs, and I haven't gotten very far with their customer support line as of yet.

 

[b1gduk]

Also interesting is that the ASUS MW221U is another 22" LCD rated at 2ms response time using an overdrive feature. This got reports of ghosting and similar issues when overdrive is switched on however if the latest review here is to be believed they have managed to resolved the problem with a firmware fix.

Asus MW221U

Perhaps my unit is one of a later bunch with later firmware. It may be S/W not H/W at fault here ? Perhap they have disabled overdrive realising most people wont notice the difference between 2ms and 5ms which is probaby quite true ?

Anyone have any idea how I can see F/W revision on this unit ? I bet there is some hidden menus somewhere.

Regards,
Big-D

 

[ianeecha]

I live in Slovakia. Resellers usually just copy/paste technical parameters of products. Then it ends up like this :

there are these monitors in e-shop :

A) 22" LG LCD L226WTQ-SF -2ms, DVI, eZ Zooming --- silver frame and black stand
B) 22" LG LCD L226WTQ-WF-2ms, DVI, eZ Zooming ---black frame and white stand
-parameters are the same

C) 22" LG LCD L226WA-SN-2ms, DVI, eZ Zooming, A/ V inputs --- which is whole black
-but this is without "F engine", and it's HDMI compatible

but if you check closer the docs you'll find out this :

A) is actually L226WT-BF/SF with 5ms response time, complies with TCO03
B) is actually L226WT-WF also with 5ms, but this one does not comply with TCO03
C) is actually L226WA-BN which is 2ms panel, complies with TCO03, has HDMI input, PC audio output, Component video input, PIP function, but has not F Engine.

So according that info A) is better then B) (because of TCO03 standard) and C) is good for multimedia station. It probably has digital correction (2ms response). Is a F Engine very important ? Because I'd go for the C) case gladly if not.

All the info are from reseller's site only. It's likely not to be true.

Another reseller's site claims LG L226WTQ-WF (22") is 2ms and complies TCO03.

And finally they are from so little as 395$ to 429$.

 

[Starbuck1975]

I sent another email off to my contact at LG to see if:

1. There is a way to turn off the response time compensation, which based on previous posts, they may be referring to as the "F Engine."
2. See if there is a firmware fix on the WTQ to fix the ghosting error I experienced, and others, with the WTQ.

One other note I forgot to mention...last night, I went into the service menu and switched the setting from CMO to LG for the panel...interestingly enough, the color flatness I mentioned previously went away...setting the panel to LG definitely added the vibrance back that was previously missing on the WT...but now forte manager is crashing again

 

[b1gduk]

Here are the service menu setting by default
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
L226WTQ V1.14
GM5822H made by ms_han
2007.03.28
CLEAR ETI NO
AUTO COLOR NO
AGING OFF
PANEL LPL22W.4
NVRAM INIT NO

9300 R 199 G 205 B 255
6500 R 255 G 255 B 255
OFFS R 54 G 5 B 56
GAIN R 332 G 336 B 353

Took: maniac11, kju77
Circuit : kevinlg, khoon, airpjc
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

So my unit appears to the the LG.Philips panel ? With fairly recent firmware. Certainly newer than when you posted yours although I am not sure what screen you had when you posted because it doesnt say WTQ on it.

Rgds D

 

[BernardP]

Originally posted by: b1gduk
Here are the service menu setting by default
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
(...)

Took: maniac11, kju77
Circuit : kevinlg, khoon, airpjc
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Strange characters to find in a service menu. Looks like a bunch of hackers had a go at it. :roll:

 

[b1gduk]

Originally posted by: BernardP

Originally posted by: b1gduk
Here are the service menu setting by default
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
(...)

Took: maniac11, kju77
Circuit : kevinlg, khoon, airpjc
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Strange characters to find in a service menu. Looks like a bunch of hackers had a go at it. :roll:

Well it looks like these hackers did a good job and are welcome back anytime

Further evidence that this line of monitor doesnt suffer from effect here. Plenty of positive reviews Review of 226WTQ from buyers at overclockers.co.uk
No mention of artifacts or ghosting here.

 

[Starbuck1975]

Just got off the phone with LG tech support. The gentleman I spoke with was very friendly and helpful.

He searched the tech support repository for reported problems with the WTQ respective to ghosting. He didn't find anything specifically, but suspects it has something to do with Forte Manager, the LCD firmware and the driver.

Apparently there is a Forte Manager update, which updates the software, driver and firmware for the monitor. You cannot download this file from the LG site directly, but the tech support gentleman said he would provide me with a link. When and if I receive the info, I will post it here.

In the meantime, some of you may want to try downloading the latest version of Forte Manager here:

Forte Manager V2.76

Another tech support gentleman I spoke with confirmed that the 226WTQ does not use response time compensation. It DOES utilize the F-engine color enhancer, which is a hardware fix built directly into the monitor. The suggestion he offered was to turn off the F-engine from the monitor controls menu, and see if that helps...as I don't have the WTQ anymore, I cannot test this solution out from here.

 

[Maike]

Originally posted by: Starbuck1975
I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the 226WT...got it for $339 at Fry's, around $370 after tax and recycling tax.

A few quick questions:

1. Is this monitor supposed to come with a DVI cable? The packing contents specify that it does, but mine only came with an analog cable?

2. Had a chance to run Company of Heroes, Supreme Commander and Morrowind on the monitor thus far. Haven't played for an extended period of time, but my GPU is definitely stuggling to keep up...had to turn down the graphics settings on all three games to prevent sputtering.

3. Haven't noticed any ghosting as of yet.

Will post more specifics once I have a chance to truly take it for a test drive.

Answer to 1 was probably given, but be aware that there are different versions of that Monitor apparantly with a DVI cable. L226WTQ-SF has both cables. But it was manufactured after your post i just noticed rofl. Brandnew mine is =)

2 of yours is not looking like a question, but from what i learned the higher the resolution the more PC power you need of course.

3. What does ghosting mean? Probably image retention or so? Thats looking fine on mine.

 

[Maike]

Originally posted by: Gusty987

Originally posted by: Starbuck1975
b1gduk,

In digging around numerous forums, I did encounter several instances where users from Europe were not reporting the same ghosting issues as I was experiencing on the WQT. In fact, UK, German and other users have reported model numbers for the 226WT that I have never seen here in the USA.

The most obvious test I can think of is to bring up this very forum on your screen. Scroll down to the blue colored area that immediately follows the end of a post thread.

Now run your cursor over this blue area. If you have a ghosting issue, you should notice a white trail behind your cursor.

Another test is to load up MS Paint. Create a grey colored background. Then create a circle over the grey colored background, and color in the circle as red.

Now scale down the MS Paint window so that you can drag it across the screen. If you have the ghosting issue, the red circle should leave a noticeable halo and trail behind it.

Those are the two tests I used, based on postings from other forums. On my WTQ, the ghosting was apparent. On the WT, none at all.

Yeah those were my postings Starbuck is referring to. Do the MS Paint test, I gaurantee you will see a white/blue trail behind the circle with the WTQ.

Seems b1gduk has the same monitor as mine. Its difficult to notice an effect your pointing at.
As for the cursor trail on the blue background. There seems to be a visible white effect left of the cursor if very slowly moved to the right and looking very close. And it stops as soon as the cursor stops.

The Red circle test seems flawed to me. I made the circle the size of a coin, and when moving it i had trouble focusing it which was weird.
I moved it very slow and focused at it very long and there was a bright blue halo growing huge. But the halo remained when stopping to move. Once i blinked the halo vanished. Knowing this i can now create this halo just by staring at it some seconds without moving at all. Its like you watch a hypnotic image.
So this is clearly an effect of the eyes and brain and not the monitor.

 

[b1gduk]

Maybe the response times of peoples eyes are more to blame, a bit like staring at the sun and leaving an impression that persists for a while but not to that extreme. Perhaps some people are more sensitive than others.

I have uninstalled ForteManager from mine as I didnt see the point with the controls infront of me anyway. Just more pointless S/W on the taskbar.

Please post the link but I if provided but I wont be installing anything as I dont want to risk breaking mine.

Sheers

 

[Gusty987]

Originally posted by: Maike

Originally posted by: Gusty987

Originally posted by: Starbuck1975
b1gduk,

In digging around numerous forums, I did encounter several instances where users from Europe were not reporting the same ghosting issues as I was experiencing on the WQT. In fact, UK, German and other users have reported model numbers for the 226WT that I have never seen here in the USA.

The most obvious test I can think of is to bring up this very forum on your screen. Scroll down to the blue colored area that immediately follows the end of a post thread.

Now run your cursor over this blue area. If you have a ghosting issue, you should notice a white trail behind your cursor.

Another test is to load up MS Paint. Create a grey colored background. Then create a circle over the grey colored background, and color in the circle as red.

Now scale down the MS Paint window so that you can drag it across the screen. If you have the ghosting issue, the red circle should leave a noticeable halo and trail behind it.

Those are the two tests I used, based on postings from other forums. On my WTQ, the ghosting was apparent. On the WT, none at all.

Yeah those were my postings Starbuck is referring to. Do the MS Paint test, I gaurantee you will see a white/blue trail behind the circle with the WTQ.

Seems b1gduk has the same monitor as mine. Its difficult to notice an effect your pointing at.
As for the cursor trail on the blue background. There seems to be a visible white effect left of the cursor if very slowly moved to the right and looking very close. And it stops as soon as the cursor stops.

The Red circle test seems flawed to me. I made the circle the size of a coin, and when moving it i had trouble focusing it which was weird.
I moved it very slow and focused at it very long and there was a bright blue halo growing huge. But the halo remained when stopping to move. Once i blinked the halo vanished. Knowing this i can now create this halo just by staring at it some seconds without moving at all. Its like you watch a hypnotic image.
So this is clearly an effect of the eyes and brain and not the monitor.

It's not an effect of the eyes. Look at the photos I uploaded in this thread...

The halo is really there.

 

[Jugdriver]

The Halo is definitely there on mine, no doubt.

Here are my menu settings

Lx6WT ODC V 1.00
GM5822H made by ms_han
2007.01.30 19
CLEAR ETI >NO
AUTO COLOR > NO
AGING > OFF
PANEL >LPL22W.4
NVRAM INIT >NO

9300 R221 G218 B255
6500 R225 G245 B233
OFFS R57 G53 B55
GAIN R385 G387 B387

Tool: maniac11, kju77
Circuit: kevinlg, khoon, airpjc


My screen is a little older.

JD

 

[Jugdriver]

Originally posted by: Starbuck1975
It DOES utilize the F-engine color enhancer, which is a hardware fix built directly into the monitor. The suggestion he offered was to turn off the F-engine from the monitor controls menu, and see if that helps...as I don't have the WTQ anymore, I cannot test this solution out from here.

I do not see how this can be done through the controls menu

JD

 

[Starbuck1975]

I did a little more reading on the LG site...apparently, through forte Manager, you can set a "User Preset" that disables the f-engine. I dont have Forte Manager installed anymore because it keeps crashing my computer with the FT...go figure...but if I remember correctly...there were three presets for f-engine: normal, movies, text, user...click on user, and it should take you into a custom menu where you might be able to disable the f-engine.

Also, have you tried the latest drivers and Forte Manager available from the LG service homepage I linked previously?

 

[b1gduk]

Originally posted by: Jugdriver
The Halo is definitely there on mine, no doubt.

Here are my menu settings

Lx6WT ODC V 1.00
GM5822H made by ms_han
2007.01.30 19
CLEAR ETI >NO
AUTO COLOR > NO
AGING > OFF
PANEL >LPL22W.4
NVRAM INIT >NO

9300 R221 G218 B255
6500 R225 G245 B233
OFFS R57 G53 B55
GAIN R385 G387 B387

Tool: maniac11, kju77
Circuit: kevinlg, khoon, airpjc


My screen is a little older.

JD

Your firmware is definately a lot older than mine.

L226WTQ V1.14
GM5822H made by ms_han
2007.03.28

You can see my settings in this thread on page 6. Also curious why Lx6WT is quoted and not L226WTQ if you have the 226WTQ model ?

I have seen those screenshots taken and I dont have any of those artifacts.
I have played Trackmania Nations, Halflife 2 and Ghost Recon Avanced Fighter and my experience has been nothing but impressive.

I have uninstalled fortemanager in favour of setting my monitor the old fashioned way with the buttons. I have tested all the presets in f-engine but cannot get the problem with the halo or ghosting.

The best hope at the moment is that the new F/W included with the fortemanager starbuck talks about is able to correct this. I am not sure it has anything to do with forte manager as I cannot see what else it offers you that the buttons dont other than the ability to save more profiles ?!?

 

[Starbuck1975]

The tech support guy I spoke with mentioned that the new version of Forte Manager does provide a firmware upgrade...I can't confirm that, nor was there anything in the Forte Manager install that would suggest this...there isn't any documentation with the latest version of Forte Manager that documents changes to previous versions, so who knows.

The only way we will be able to confirm this is if someone who has the WTQ , and is experiencing the ghosting problems, installs the new Forte Manager, and the problem goes away.

I am having my share of headache with the WT...Win XP is not loading the driver, and I suspect that is why Forte Manager keeps crashing...when Forte Manager is installed, sometimes my monitor goes asleep and I can't wake it save for a reboot...other times, the monitor image will split into 100s of little rectangles, staggered in like a brick wall or ladder effect...once I uninstall Forte Manager, these problems cease.

With the WTQ, Win XP accepted the drivers no problem, and Forte Manager ran without a hitch...but the ghosting was bugging my eyes.

 

[Maike]

Originally posted by: Gusty987

Originally posted by: Maike

Originally posted by: Gusty987

Yeah those were my postings Starbuck is referring to. Do the MS Paint test, I gaurantee you will see a white/blue trail behind the circle with the WTQ.

Seems b1gduk has the same monitor as mine. Its difficult to notice an effect your pointing at.
As for the cursor trail on the blue background. There seems to be a visible white effect left of the cursor if very slowly moved to the right and looking very close. And it stops as soon as the cursor stops.

The Red circle test seems flawed to me. I made the circle the size of a coin, and when moving it i had trouble focusing it which was weird.
I moved it very slow and focused at it very long and there was a bright blue halo growing huge. But the halo remained when stopping to move. Once i blinked the halo vanished. Knowing this i can now create this halo just by staring at it some seconds without moving at all. Its like you watch a hypnotic image.
So this is clearly an effect of the eyes and brain and not the monitor.

It's not an effect of the eyes. Look at the photos I uploaded in this thread...

The halo is really there.

oops thats not what i get. The effect i get is comparable as you stare into the sun, a spot of negative color (blackish) appears for a while at whatever else you look at.
Probably your monitors LCD cells overreact big time.

How do i see those menu settings your all posting?

 

[Starbuck1975]

Maike, I believe you are referring to the service menu. To bring up the service menu, use the following steps:

Turn off your monitor.
Hold down the menu key on the monitor.
While holding the menu key, turn the monitor back on.
When the screen is on again, release the menu button, and then hit the menu button once.

Instead of the normal menu, a service menu should come up.

 

[Maike]

Originally posted by: Starbuck1975
Maike, I believe you are referring to the service menu. To bring up the service menu, use the following steps:

Turn off your monitor.
Hold down the menu key on the monitor.
While holding the menu key, turn the monitor back on.
When the screen is on again, release the menu button, and then hit the menu button once.

Instead of the normal menu, a service menu should come up.

thanks alot
Heres what mine sais:

L226WTQ V. 1.14
GM5822H made by ms_han
2007.03.28 11

Clear ETI No
Auto Color No
Aging Off
Panel LPL22W.4
NVRAM Init No

9300 R 192 G 192 B 255
6500 R 255 G 255 B 255
OFFS R 66 G 60 B 62
GAIN R 391 G 401 B 405

Tool : maniac11, kju77
Circuit: kevinlg, khoon, airpjc