Ultra-broad vs. Dual Monitor

Video content

For movies, the LG Flatron 29EA93 is superb. Films released in an ultra-wide format (i.e. many recent movies) fill up the entire 29-inches of glorious screen existent estate. Every bit previously mentioned, the display's advantageous width, rich color, excellent dissimilarity and brightness, bang-up viewing angles and deep blacks make it a pleasure to utilise for popcorn-worthy flicks.

As expected, 16:9 videos don't fill the entire screen; rather, such standard-fare films are flanked by blackness sides in order to maintain a proper aspect ratio. I did non find this distracting though, as videos essentially retain their full size anyhow since the 29EA93 has a vertical pinnacle of 1080 pixels.

Ultra-wide vs. dual monitor configurations

Would I trade in my dual 27-inch setup for a single 29EA93? No. Absolutely though, the 21:9 monitor does serve as an adequate stand-in for dual monitors nether a number of usage scenarios.

I was a fleck skeptical at offset, but the 29EA93 is wide enough to accommodate two 1325 pixel-broad windows side-by-side. As it turns out, the vast majority of the web, documents and applications I use fit within these boundaries and often very comfortably at that. Side-by-side window action gives LG's ultra-wide Flatron i of the greatest advantages afforded by dual-monitors: multiple full-size windows at one time. With this in heed, the 29EA93 is superior to most single sixteen:9 displays in terms of productivity sans the handful of other 2560px-wide displays.

Windows 7 and 8's native windows snapping feature was immensely useful on a 21:nine monitor -- just drag one window to the left edge, elevate the other to the correct and both will take up their respective halves of the screen. Utilities like WinSplit (complimentary download) farther enhance window positioning -- something that grows increasingly useful for such a broad playing field. Bonus: different in dual monitor configs, snapping as well works on both left and correct edges of the display.

When it comes to multitasking with full-screen content though, dual monitors remain undisputedly awesome. Gaming on one screen while following a walkthrough on the other, for example, isn't an experience ultra-wide monitors can replicate well. Similarly, working (or pretending to) while playing a video over to the side was truly awkward on a single screen. For some activities, dual screens merely do it better.

The 29EA93 does provide a highly-configurable suite of picture-in-picture features though, including numerous ways to divvy the screen across different inputs -- a kind of illusionary dual, triple and even quad-head setup.

When in 2-column mode, for example, the 29EA93 appears as two independent monitors to the host reckoner -- 1 column tin can be driven by HDMI and the other past DVI or MDP. Interestingly, this behavior can also be controlled on-the-fly via LG's bundled "Screen Split" PC utility without having to wade through the OSD (as intuitive as it may be).

Admittedly though, while I found this flexibility intriguing, I nonetheless have problem inventing practical usage scenarios. Features like PIP, tri-cavalcade and quadrant modes may prove useful for some very specific situations, just I don't suspect the vast majority of users out there will bother.

Quirks, odds and ends

Although the screen is not small by whatever ways, a 29-inch brandish with a 21:9 aspect ratio has slightly less surface area than 27-inch 16:ix display. For anyone using a 24-incher, the 29EA93 will be an obvious upgrade in terms of size. For owners of 27-inch displays though, this 29-inch ultra-wide isn't -- nor will information technology feel like -- an upgrade in size.

Additionally, and I'm nitpicking here, but one curious thing almost the 29EA93 is how oddly framed the LCD panel is.

Imagine this: the LCD panel seemingly sits within a 4mm-thick plastic frame with a two.25 cm tall plastic bezel concealing the bottom. While powered off, the matte panel surface smoothly continues to the meridian and sides of the frame, giving the impression that the 29EA93 may feature a sort of edge-to-border design. When powered on though, it becomes apparent there is roughly a centimeter of "blackness bar" along the acme and sides. Those black confined aren't covered with a plastic bezel or anything -- they are simply inactive parts of the LCD panel itself.

Naturally, couldn't help but fantasize about how impressive the 29EA93 would look with an image spanning the entire dimensions of its inner surface. I wonder if at some point LG had considered shipping information technology with a console that produces an edge-to-border image output.

For anyone migrating from their trusty old TN panel, the 29EA93 (like most IPS displays) takes nearly 7 seconds to either power on or change resolutions. For IPS owners, tedious mode and power country changes come with the territory though.

Conclusion

The LG Flatron 29EA93-P is an impressively broad IPS display that produces brilliant output with rich colors, deep blacks and excellent contrast. Information technology's possibly the most evenly-lit and brightest monitor I've encountered, armed with a plethora of ports (sans VGA), a USB iii.0 hub while also boasting solid structure, a stylish look and a myriad of OSD fine-tuning options.

Gaming on the 29EA93 feels more immersive than your average 16:ix brandish with no appreciable input lag and minimal latency. Meanwhile, your favorite flicks will be a treat to watch and multi-tasking with side-by-side windows works markedly well. These are all areas where its 21:nine attribute ratio excel.

While LG gets plenty right with the 29EA93, it'south not perfect. The 29-inch monitor is plenty wide to conform ii windows, but its relatively narrow height and 1080px vertical resolution may go out some claustrophobic at times. Additionally, while a single 29EA93 brandish won't serve as a suitable replacement for your multi-monitor setup, information technology does allow for some of the utility making information technology a better choice than any xvi:9 1080p panel. Even so, this utility will set you back almost as much as a few competing WQHD displays with superior resolutions (2560 x 1440).

Pros: Excellent IPS display quality. Ultra wide works great for a bulk of content, especially gaming and picture watching. Well built. Proficient connectivity. USB 3.0 hub.

Cons: Not an effective replacement to dual monitors. Toll is a scrap steep.