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LG 34WL85C-B Curved UltraWide IPS Review - Beyond Immersive

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We take a look at the new LG 34WL85C-B 34-inch Curved UltraWide IPS monitor here in the Philippines.
LG 34WL85C-B Curved UltraWide IPS Review - Beyond Immersive
Curved UltraWide display

Curved and ultra-wide monitors have steadily been gaining popularity over the years and recently, LG Philippines aims to address both features in one monitor. The new LG 34WL85C-B 34-inch curved ultra-wide monitor with a resolution of 3440 x 1440, HDR10, Thunderbolt 3, and MAXX AUDIO stereo speakers aims to fill the aforementioned Gap.

On paper, the display's specs are impressive but how does it perform in real-world scenarios? Let's find out.


Unboxing/Accessories


It comes in a massive black box with the render of the monitor. Inside the box are the 34-Inch Monitor, DisplayPort Cable, HDMI to HDMI Cable, Power Cable, External Power Adapter, Warranty, and Quickstart guide.

Build Quality/Design

Back Side with stand
Back Side with stand

The 34WL85C-B is made of a mix of metal, glass, and polycarbonate. The display panel is covered with glass while most of the outer shell of the monitor is made of high-quality polycarbonate and the internals has a metal frame.
100 x 100 VESA mount compatible with ports
100 x 100 VESA mount compatible with ports

At the back is of the monitor is the monitor stand mount, regulatory information, and the various ports. There are one USB Type-A, one USB Type-B, two HDMI ports, AC power in, 3.5mm headphone jack, and one DisplayPort.
Topside of the monitor
Topside of the monitor

The top side of the LG monitor is smooth while at the bottom are the directional control knob and the two speakers. The left and the right side are smooth two.
U-shaped base
U-shaped base
Solid metal inner frame
Solid metal inner frame

The stand is made of a polycarbonate outer shell and a metal inner frame. It supports both height (4.3-inches) and tilt-adjustment (-5 degrees to 15 degrees).

Multimedia Experience

Wide enough for three to four windows at the same time!
Wide enough for three to four windows at the same time!

The massive 34-inch panel with 3440 x 1440p resolution allows of up to 4 full-sized windows side by side at the same time. The display has a maximum brightness of 300 nits and supports HDR10, 8-bit + FRC color, and 99 percent of the sRGB color space which gives users an immersive, bright, and color-accurate visual experience.

At the bottom of the display are the speaker grills that houses the dual-channel 7W speakers.

These speakers were able to produce a sound that at maximum volume can fill a small bedroom.  Sound quality at maximum volume is good with minimal distortion and loss of crispness. Overall, we recommend placing the volume at 80 to 90 percent for the best sound crispness, depth, and clarity.

Performance

Adobe Photoshop 

The large diagonal area allows for unparalleled multitasking with the ability to have multiple windows at the same time. The 21:9 aspect ratio could be an issue for watching or streaming movies as there will be letterboxing on top or on the sides depending on the aspect ratio of the video. 

LG has added an anti-glare treatment on the panel and as you can see on the top left corner, it was able to minimize the glare of the light source whereas if the panel was untreated, it will just be a white reflection.

Otherwise, fans of movies or tv shows that support HDR10 will be happy that the display will be able to provide decent HDR because of the 8-bit + FRC support.

This means that the color reproduction capability and brightness of the display are more than enough for everyone.

This monitor is geared more towards productivity and media consumption over gaming. Great examples include people who need the real estate for Microsoft Excel or for Video editing complex and long timelines. 

The curve adds to the immersion and it also allows the user to easily view content from edge to edge. One drawback of the curve is that it could throw off the distortion of Photographers who need images to be straight or aligned. This is a specialized case and may not apply to everyone.

It can be used for gaming but the 5ms response time could be an issue for a specific genre of pc games.

Color critical professionals that do not need 10-bit will be happy with the color reproduction of the display. For professionals that need true 10-bit and true HDR color reproduction, they may have to look for monitors with True 10-bit support and not 8-bit+FRC.

As you can see from the image above, you can fit your wide or high-resolution images and still have enough space for the tools and the Adobe Photoshop UI.

Our only nitpick is that widescreen, the user has to use more neck muscles to pan his/her eyes from one end of the monitor to the other. In the beginning, it causes cause sore neck muscles but eventually, the user's neck will get used to it.

Pros - Wide immersive display, HDR10 support, perfect for multi-tasking, 99 percent sRGB, height and tilt adjustable stand,
Cons - 5ms response time is not for gaming, At PHP 45,999 price isn't for everyone

LG 34WL85C-B Curved UltraWide IPS Monitor Specs

Display Size: 34-inch
Resolution: 3440 x 1440
Panel Type: IPS with Anti-Glare and 3H surface treatment
Aspect Ratio: 21:9
Brightness: Minimum 240 nits, Typical 300 nits
Color Gamut: sRGB 99% (CIE1931)
Color Depth: 1.07 Billion, 8-Bit + FRC
Contrast Ratio: Minimum 700:1, Typical 1000:1
Response Time: 5ms
Viewing Angle: 178 degrees
Speaker: dual-channel 7W speaker with Maxx Audio
Connectivity: 2 HDMI port, 1 DisplayPort 1.4, 1 USB 2.0 Upstream, 2 USB 3.0 Downstream, 3.5mm Headphone port
Others: External Power Adapter, Tilt/Height Adjustable Stand, Wall Mountable (100 x 100mm), HDR10 support, Colors: Black
Dimensions: 814 x 569.5 x 250.8 mm
Weight 8.0 kg
Price: PHP 45,999

Verdict

You can stream netflix while working on MS Excel
You can stream Netflix while working on MS Excel

For those who demand or need a monitor with a large visual real-estate that produces vibrant and accurate color for both productivity and media consumption, the LG 34WL85C-B could be for you.

The display produces an image with a resolution of 3440 x 1440 with 99 percent of the sRGB color space which makes it perfect for 8-Bit color workflow while its HDR10 support and 300 nit peak brightness make it great for media consumption. It may even be great for games that don't require lightning-fast pixel response time.

At PHP 45,990 it is expensive but you get what you pay for in terms of panel and build quality.

What do you guys think?

Build/Design - 4
Multimedia Experience - 4.5
Performance - 4.5
Average - 4.33/5
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