LaCie 324 Evaluation
At first blush, the LaCie 324 OSD seems more limited than the options on other LCDs. There are only three main screens, one of which is for PIP. The other two screens are full of useful adjustments, however. LaCie also uses touch-sensitive buttons, and we periodically encountered difficulty with activating the "down" button (i.e. we would press it, move our finger around, etc. all to no avail; exiting the menu and returning would usually correct the problem). We would have preferred tactile feedback, but the overall result wasn't quite as finicky as the Samsung buttons, in part because the six buttons have white labels that are clearly visible.
LaCie provides six color presets, five color temperature settings, and five gamma levels. The last should be of particular interest to those involved with desktop publishing, where the ability to switch between 1.8 and 2.2 gamma can be useful. The 324 also has an "Over Speed" option that is supposed to improve pixel response times. Again, we didn't notice any serious issues with pixel response, but unfortunately the "over speed" mode does not address input lag.
| LaCie 324 Resolution and Input Notes | |||
| DVI | HDMI | VGA | |
| 800x600 | Yes | Wrong AR; Stretches horizontally to fill LCD | Yes |
| 1024x768 | Yes | Wrong AR; Stretches horizontally to fill LCD | Yes |
| 1152x864 | Yes | Wrong AR; Stretches horizontally to fill LCD | - |
| 1176x664 | Poor scaling artifacts | Underscanned 720P | - |
| 1280x720 | Poor scaling artifacts | Yes | Yes |
| 1280x768 | - | - | Sets 1280x800 and clips top and bottom |
| 1280x800 | Wrong AR (1280x960) | Wrong AR; Stretches horizontally to fill LCD | Yes |
| 1280x960 | Yes | Wrong AR; Stretches horizontally to fill LCD | Yes |
| 1280x1024 | Yes | Wrong AR; Stretches horizontally to fill LCD | Yes |
| 1400x1050 | - | Wrong AR; Stretches horizontally to fill LCD | - |
| 1440x900 | Yes | Wrong AR; Stretches horizontally to fill LCD | Yes |
| 1600x1200 | Yes | Wrong AR; Stretches horizontally to fill LCD | Yes |
| 1680x1050 | Always has top/bottom black borders | Wrong AR; Stretches horizontally to fill LCD | Yes |
| 1768x992 | - | Underscanned 1080P | - |
| 1920x1080 | Interference/Static Present; Always has top/bottom black borders | Yes | Clips output to 1680x1050 |
| 1920x1200 | Yes | - | Yes |
There are four scaling options: Real, Smart Zoom, Zoom, and Dx2D. "Real" is the same as what other LCD manufacturers call "1:1". "Smart Zoom" stretches whatever resolution you are running to fill the LCD while maintaining the correct aspect ratio, and "Zoom" fills the entire LCD. We're not at all sure what the "Dx2D" is supposed to do; sometimes it looks the same as "Smart Zoom" and other times it looks like "Real", though in a few cases using it instead of one of the other scaling options will result in fewer scaling artifacts.
For the inputs, HDMI only works properly with 720P/1080P resolutions and should be avoided for most other resolutions if possible; otherwise you get a horizontally stretched image with black borders on the top and bottom. VGA connections work properly except for a couple resolutions, while DVI has scaling errors on several resolutions, including the frequently used 1680x1050. It also seemed as though the VGA input showed more signal interference than on other LCDs, but the cable we were using may have been to blame.
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Scaling on the LaCie 324 looks good when it works properly, as seen here. Just do your best to avoid the problem resolutions/inputs listed in the chart above.
Considering this is a professional LCD, we were definitely interested in seeing what sort of color accuracy LaCie could achieve. If we had looked at the 324 before receiving some of the other monitors, the uncalibrated color accuracy would have been very impressive. As it stands, LaCie does well but professionals will still want to use calibration hardware and software. Color gamut is also good, coming in at 95%.
The question on our minds while reviewing the LaCie 324 is what exactly do users get for the extra ~50% price increase relative to the competition? We can say quite easily that we are not the target market, despite the fact that we do plenty of online publishing. For most users, 10-bit gamma correction and color lookup tables just aren't going to make that big of a difference. After all, Dell manages to achieve better color accuracy according to our measurements. However, the selection of gamma, temperature, and color options within the OSD will likely benefit certain users.
If you have a regular need to work at 1.6 gamma to 2.4 gamma, the LaCie may in fact be the better choice. The 10-bit gamma helps to provide better gradients without banding. Perhaps more important is the warranty that LaCie provides. A 3-year warranty isn't any better than what many of the other companies provide, but an advance replacement policy to minimize downtime is noteworthy. LaCie also sells a bundled package consisting of the 324 LCD with their blue eye pro software and colorimeter, and they state that the software is tuned for their hardware. Finally, LaCie is committed to using the same wide color gamut S-PVA panel on all 324 LCDs, so you won't find different versions with different panels. They test for color uniformity and only use panels that pass their testing, eliminating lower grade panels.
As a whole package, LaCie is clearly targeting professional users, from the LCD and warranty to their blue eye pro software and colorimeter. We did run some initial tests with blue eye pro, and one aspect that is definitely better than competing solutions is that the software and hardware worked under Vista 64-bit -- something we can't say of ColorEyes Display Pro or Optix XR Pro. There were some periodic pauses when we tried to use blue eye pro under 64-bit Vista, but it did successfully calibrate our test monitor.
Given the online price of $900 or more, we are more inclined to stick with one of the LCD alternatives. After all, $900 will get you pretty much any other 24" LCD plus appropriate calibration equipment -- sometimes with change left over. However, there's a reason LaCie is viewed as a professional solution and if that's your line of work, the extra cost should be easy to stomach as a long-term investment.
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AnnonymousCoward - Friday, May 16, 2008 - link
I agree with Jarred on both accounts: you can't go wrong with the LP3065 or 3007WFP-HC, and input lag is far less than the lag time you experienced on the tablet. But if you're really sensitive to it, I'd avoid the Dell 2708, Dell 3008, Samsung 244T, and Samsung 245T, as those seem to have the worst lag of all.For unbeatable 24" color accuracy, the choice is obvious: NEC LCD2490WUXi (U.S.) or Hazro HZ24W (U.K.). I think they have mid-range lag (35ms?), which you probably wouldn't notice. The LP3065, 3007, and DoubleSight 26" are high quality IPS screens with very little lag, and for professional animation work, why not go bigger than 24"?
AnnonymousCoward - Sunday, May 11, 2008 - link
Jarred, I'm glad to see input lag drawing so much attention. You seem well aware of this, but I wanted to point out that the LP3065 was a poor choice for a reference monitor. It likely performs the same as the 3007-HC, which has measurements that bounce from 0-20ms; 3 increments on your scale (maybe 2 considering refresh rate). Some LCDs out there consistently measure close to 0ms.The editor's comments are completely out of context! ("They're huge, heavy, and require more power, and the best ones were made over five years ago. Sorry - LCDs are where everything is heading.") A heavy, power hungry, old, and obsolete 15" CRT would still be an ideal reference.
JarredWalton - Tuesday, May 13, 2008 - link
It would probably be a faster reference, but I'm not going to try to dig one up. Sorry. My place is crowded enough without keeping around an obsolete CRT. I sold off a couple 19" CRTs two years ago, and that was the last time I had one around for testing. I had to junk my old 21" CRT (from 1997) because I couldn't even give it away. 85 pounds now at the junk pile.As it stands, I will continue to use the LP3065 as a reference LCD. If I test an LCD that scores better than the LP3065, that's not a problem: it will have a negative "relative input lag" score. A CRT might very well score 20ms faster; my problem isn't with 0ms vs. 20ms (assuming CRTs can score 0ms); it's with 0ms vs. 60ms and perhaps 0ms vs. 40ms.
Personally, I'm certainly fine with the LP3065 - it is in use on my own gaming system and I've never been bothered with any discernible input lag. Image tearing caused by turning off VSYNC is a much bigger concern -- and that's one area where I'd like to see LCDs improve; a 120Hz refresh rate would help a lot. But then we'd need all new graphics cards and connectors to manage the data rates for 120Hz at 2560x1600.
AnnonymousCoward - Friday, May 16, 2008 - link
I hear ya on CRTs being too big to keep around :)I thought your measurements would have more variation, like by 40ms, since in many lag tests I've seen, measurements varied by 20ms. But your variations were 20ms, including both the reference and the one tested. I'd have to agree that a CRT isn't necessary, since the variations are under control (but I'll still add 11ms to the final numbers, as you've talked about). I'm surprised your 245T results weren't higher.
I have a 3007-HC and agree about the excessive tearing. And of course if the framerate can't stay above 60, I have to disable vsync and live with it. You gotta admit, it's quite nice that the 8800-series cards came out within a year of the 30"ers, and that those two separate technologies complement each other.
I wonder why the DoubleSight is going EOL, if it's such a great monitor and hot seller! Does that indicate customer return problems?
ShocWave - Wednesday, May 7, 2008 - link
Actually, I have a 2493HM.AV mode will display 720p and 1080p at the correct aspect ratio with overscan. What it basically does is fill the screen and crops out the sides.
It's not 1:1, but better then nothing.
JarredWalton - Wednesday, May 7, 2008 - link
I just don't understand why anyone would *want* overscan. AV Mode takes 720p stretched to fill the whole screen and then overscans it, right? Or are you saying it only crops the left and right sides? (I suppose I could check if I dig the LCD back out.)I'm not a stickler on aspect ratios, especially 16:9 stretched to fit 16:10 - the information is merely listed for those who really do care. I still think the Gateway has a better approach and overall better design. The Samsung however offers better color accuracy and a non-glossy panel for the same price. It's a close second in the TN panel contest (out of tested LCDs).
10e - Saturday, May 10, 2008 - link
Yes, that's exactly what it does. Takes the 720p/1080p image and "zooms" it so that it fills the screen vertically, but gets cut off at the sides. So you have a 16:10 "window" looking at a 16:9 screen that is missing some of the image left and right (about 5%)I use an image from the "TigerDave" site that shows exactly the amount of 720p and 1080p overscan a display will suffer. It does actually cut off a very small part of the image top and bottom as well.
I don't know what Samsung had in mind here. The newer revisions of the 245T and 275TPlus have a built in image setting for 16:9 now that supposedly works, so why they couldn't fix this in a technically newer design (2493HM) is confusing.
BattleRattle - Wednesday, May 7, 2008 - link
Do input lag against a CRT... Its the analog of the CRT that mattersviperboy2025 - Tuesday, May 6, 2008 - link
How does this compare to other reputable LCD monitors, I can't help but think anandtech is commercializing Dell displays. I mean how about the profesional serious from viewsonic, VP2650wb. They don't have a 24" oddly, but they do have a 26", VP2650wb, at a similar price as the dell 24", costing $615 at onsale.com with free shipping at the moment.The specs of this monitor seem to be better at everything than the dell, as it has 26" (compare to 24"), same resolution, 3ms response time, same 110% color gamut, 4000:1 contrast ration (compare to 3000:1), only difference I see are the inputs, since the professional serious doesn't carry TV inputs. But viewsonic does has a line of the X serious, all of which have hdmi, component, composite, and s video components, which i even doubt most people would use anyways since they would be attaching this to a computer not using it as a TV.
JarredWalton - Tuesday, May 6, 2008 - link
Drop contrast ratio and response time from that list, as they are meaningless figures. Color accuracy with "dynamic contrast" is horrible on all the displays I've tested - you can see the screen get darker/brighter as you watch, and I find it extremely distracting. So what you end up with is a 26" display at a good price. Is it better or worse than the Dell? In color accuracy, I'd bet a lot of money that it's worse without calibration.For the record, Dell displays are already "commercialized". The only thing wrong with the 2408WFP that I can see is input lag. I made this quite clear. If you're looking for a good 24" LCD for professional work, I'd recommend it without reservation. If you want a gaming LCD, probably look around more.
I can't review every LCD out there, in part because most companies don't send us samples. Viewsonic is one of those companies (I've emailed them at least six times in the past year without a single response). They can call something a "professional display" if they want, but that doesn't make it any more true than the "get rich quick" schemes you see floating around. It may or may not be a great LCD; I'd love to get one sent here for review. Note also that all it took was one email to LaCie and they jumped at the opportunity for this review. If you're looking for a true professional display and you want great support, I'd recommend them in a heartbeat. $300 more is a tough pill to swallow for casual use, but for professionals that should be a non-issue.