LG UltraFine 5K - Owners Thread

[iBrooker]

Where are you guys getting your background desktops from? I posted a thread here https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/where-are-you-getting-your-5k-desktop-backgrounds-from.2023783/

I am LOVING this display btw. Hopefully I will be able to use a USB-C to USB hub and then a USB to 3.5mm headphone out so I can connect my amp/sub. If it all works I'll be sorted and won't mind there is no HDMI in.

With regards to the bezel, I don't mind it whatsoever. If anything black is better than a shiny reflective. I am even getting used to the glossy screen (which allows for really pure, deep blacks).

I'm surprised nobody's doing more photos or unboxings on Youtube. You guys must really be one of the rare few that have these monitors already.

I did think about it, haha! (But sold my camera and not due another till next year)

 

[kinster]

Where are you guys getting your background desktops from? I posted a thread here https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/where-are-you-getting-your-5k-desktop-backgrounds-from.2023783/

I am LOVING this display btw. Hopefully I will be able to use a USB-C to USB hub and then a USB to 3.5mm headphone out so I can connect my amp/sub. If it all works I'll be sorted and won't mind there is no HDMI in.

With regards to the bezel, I don't mind it whatsoever. If anything black is better than a shiny reflective. I am even getting used to the glossy screen (which allows for really pure, deep blacks).




I did think about it, haha! (But sold my camera and not due another till next year)

Can you aggregate it from your MBP's 3.5mm headphone socket to your amp/sub?

 

[Rafterman]

I wanted to get this (and eliminate the need for one of the upcoming external TB3 hubs from Belkin or OWC, but the lack of a second TB3 port for a second monitor is both a deal breaker and head scratching). TB's main strength is daisy chain ability, and this monitor gives you no daisy chain option. Odd.

 

[Brookzy]

I wanted to get this (and eliminate the need for one of the upcoming external TB3 hubs from Belkin or OWC, but the lack of a second TB3 port for a second monitor is both a deal breaker and head scratching. TB's main strength is daisy chain ability, and this monitor gives you no daisy chain option. Odd.

There isn't enough bandwidth in Thunderbolt 3 to daisy chain displays when a 5K display is involved. The UltraFine 5K uses:

5120 × 2880 × 60 Hz × 10 bits × 3 colours = 26.5 Gbps​

So one 5K stream with other dock functionalities of USB-C ports etc. is already saturating Thunderbolt 3.

 

[Rafterman]

There isn't enough bandwidth in Thunderbolt 3 to daisy chain displays when a 5K display is involved. The UltraFine 5K uses:

5120 × 2880 × 60 Hz × 10 bits × 3 colours = 26.5 Gbps​

So one 5K stream with other dock functionalities of USB-C ports etc. is already saturating Thunderbolt 3.

1920 x 1080 is fine for moat people, that's the kind of monitor we need. 5K is a spec 99 percent of people don't need or would even notice, other than to say "hey, I have a 5K monitor". Specs wins out over practicality.

 

[kinster]

1920 x 1080 is fine for moat people, that's the kind of monitor we need. 5K is a spec 99 percent of people don't need or would even notice, other than to say "hey, I have a 5K monitor". Specs wins out over practicality.

I guess it's not for you.

 

[Brookzy]

1920 x 1080 is fine for moat people, that's the kind of monitor we need. 5K is a spec 99 percent of people don't need or would even notice, other than to say "hey, I have a 5K monitor". Specs wins out over practicality.

So your complaint about the LG UltraFine 5K is that it's 5K? WTF...
[doublepost=1482687036][/doublepost]

I guess it's not for you.

"I'm looking for a 1080p monitor so I'll come to the thread for the 5K one and complain they should have made it 1080p!"

 

[slaWter]

Some guys simply don't understand how much bandwidth it actually takes to drive external monitors at 5K 10-Bits and can't appreciate that this is finally on the market. Those are probably the same guys that were still using 1024x768 displays when the first 30" screens came out.

 

[TechRemarker]

Got yours? Please tell us what you think of it!

Photos are always welcome!

(Mine is set to arrive tomorrow!)

Related threads of interest:

5K Desktop Backgrounds Thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/where-are-you-getting-your-5k-desktop-backgrounds-from.2023783

What's the camera resolution? Been asking apple for months but no word from anyone if it's 720 or 1080p or 4K. Macs have previously been limited so hoping 1080p hd finally.

 

[garyleecn]

1920 x 1080 is fine for moat people, that's the kind of monitor we need. 5K is a spec 99 percent of people don't need or would even notice, other than to say "hey, I have a 5K monitor". Specs wins out over practicality.

1080p is OK, fine for screen real estate, not fine quality-wise. 4k is just the 'retina version' of 1080p for apple, which mean a much better 'quality', much finer 1080p. most people CAN and WILL notice the difference between regular 1080p and 'retina' 1080p, i.e. 4k.

5k is just an upgrade on screen real estate.

 

[jetjaguar]

I wanted the 27" but it's just too small. Looking for a 32" 4K .. any recommendations? There is an Asus pa328q which is $920

 

[kinster]

I wanted the 27" but it's just too small. Looking for a 32" 4K .. any recommendations? There is an Asus pa328q which is $920

I've got the ASUS PG348Q which is completely different

 

[iBrooker]

What's the camera resolution? Been asking apple for months but no word from anyone if it's 720 or 1080p or 4K. Macs have previously been limited so hoping 1080p hd finally.

I took a photo in PhotoBbooth, and the resulting image was 1620 x 1080 pixels, so not quite 1920 x 1080p.

 

[Brookzy]

1080p is OK, fine for screen real estate, not fine quality-wise. 4k is just the 'retina version' of 1080p for apple, which mean a much better 'quality', much finer 1080p. most people CAN and WILL notice the difference between regular 1080p and 'retina' 1080p, i.e. 4k.

5k is just an upgrade on screen real estate.

?

For Apple, 4K is only Retina at 21.5". 4K at 27" is not Retina.

Also 5K does not provide any extra real estate compared with 1440p at 27" (the resolution of the non-Retina 27" iMacs) - 5K is just 1440p@2x, giving the same interface scale but in finer detail.

I took a photo in PhotoBbooth, and the resulting image was 1620 x 1080 pixels, so not quite 1920 x 1080p.

Cool, so it's a 1080p camera. I think Photo Booth just crops it to 4:3.

 

[iBrooker]

I wanted the 27" but it's just too small. Looking for a 32" 4K .. any recommendations? There is an Asus pa328q which is $920

LG are bringing out a 32" 4K next year - we should see it at CES very early next year. I posted a thread about it somewhere here.

I'd have loved for this display to be 32". 5K at 32 inches would be perfect. Right now I am running this to the equivalent of 2048 x 1152 (second option from left in scaling) as that's the best size for comfortable reading of text.

Cool, so it's a 1080p camera. I think Photo Booth just crops it to 4:3.

I'm not sure - I've never used Photo Booth before haha

 

[slaWter]

I took a photo in PhotoBbooth, and the resulting image was 1620 x 1080 pixels, so not quite 1920 x 1080p.

Can you please test the resolution for video? Quite a few webcams can take pictures in a higher resolution than video.

As for the size. Dual 27" is perfect. Everything else is too big. I once had 3x 30" and that is too big and tiring. And I really like the true Retina resolution compared to their previous 27" displays so I wouldn't want a 5K 32" or something with a lower PPI.

 

[satcomer]

Can someone plug in a 2015 or 2014 macbook pro and see how the picture looks? Does it look retina level still? It would be running in 4k mode.

Apple has a support document called Using 4K displays, 5K displays and Ultra HD TVs with your Mac that might help your questions.

 

[unagimiyagi]

?

Also 5K does not provide any extra real estate compared with 1440p at 27" (the resolution of the non-Retina 27" iMacs) - 5K is just 1440p@2x, giving the same interface scale but in finer detail.

There's a 3200x1800 option on the 27". It is usable. There's also an inbetween option > 2560x1440 that is what I would personally use on the 27". So the actual real estate is more than the standard 2560x1440p.

 

[Brookzy]

There's a 3200x1800 option on the 27". It is usable. There's also an inbetween option > 2560x1440 that is what I would personally use on the 27". So the actual real estate is more than the standard 2560x1440p.

If you choose the different scale, which you didn't mention, and which the vast majority of users wouldn't do.

(And you could also choose different scaling on a 4K display anyway.)

 

[iBrooker]

Here are the offered resolutions under the scaled option:

1) 1600 x 900 - Largest text
2) 2048 x 1152
3) 2560 x 1440 - DEFAULT
4) 2880 x 1620
5) 3200 x 1800 - Smallest text

I prefer 2 as that's the closest to what I'm used to on a 27" display (my last display was a 1920 x 1200). I might try 3 for a bit later. Generally I prefer to push the monitor as far back as I can, hence why I loved my old 32" Dell which ran 1920 x 1200 'scaled' down on a higher res display (like retina before retina was born).

 

[iAustralian]

1920 x 1080 is fine for moat people, that's the kind of monitor we need. 5K is a spec 99 percent of people don't need or would even notice, other than to say "hey, I have a 5K monitor". Specs wins out over practicality.

Retina displays have taken off in mobile markets since the iPhone 4 in 2010. But that technology has been easier to execute on smaller displays. In smartphones, the appeal of the higher resolution was very wide and made a meaningful difference to the experience for most people. It wasn't about specs.
Regarding larger retina displays, the technology for 5K as an external display is really only just arriving (we will see this increase with DisplayPort 1.3). Given that the differences between ~100ppi where pixels are visible and something where pixels become indiscernible was such a leap forward in smartphones, there's no reason to think it won't take off similarly in external displays as technology moves forward. Particularly considering most users in the market for external displays are already in fields that demand larger screen real estate, i.e. graphics and professional applications. It's only a matter of time before Apple doesn't have a single non-retina display in any of its products - and it's a matter of being able to scale with technical limitations and at difference price points. The appearance of pixelless clarity across every product in every line.

 

[garyleecn]

?

For Apple, 4K is only Retina at 21.5". 4K at 27" is not Retina.

Also 5K does not provide any extra real estate compared with 1440p at 27" (the resolution of the non-Retina 27" iMacs) - 5K is just 1440p@2x, giving the same interface scale but in finer detail.


Cool, so it's a 1080p camera. I think Photo Booth just crops it to 4:3.

I was saying
4k = 1080p + extra fineness.
5k = 4k + extra screen real estate = 1080p + extra fineness + extra screen real estate.

hence, 1080p is ok for most people, but extra sharpness 1080p (i.e., 4k) is better. extra sharpness plus extra screen space (i.e., 5k) is extra better.

 

[starsaffron]

Apple has a support document called Using 4K displays, 5K displays and Ultra HD TVs with your Mac that might help your questions.

It would be great to get a practical perspective on how the display quality is with older MacBook Pro's. Does anyone with this display have an old MacBook Pro lying around that they could test with the thunderbolt 2 to 3 dongle?

 

[iBrooker]

It's worth noting that 1080p on youtube in fullscreen looks pretty pants on these displays - it's a bit like when HDTVs first came out and standard definition/analogue broadcasts looked crap. 4K content looks amazing tho.

In many ways this is very much like the new MBPs - in that the tech is ahead of the curve (USB-C ports and touchbar on the MBP) ...you'll suffer a bit now but are ready for the (glorious?) future.

 

[jimthing]

Can you please test the resolution for video? Quite a few webcams can take pictures in a higher resolution than video.

As for the size. Dual 27" is perfect. Everything else is too big. I once had 3x 30" and that is too big and tiring. And I really like the true Retina resolution compared to their previous 27" displays so I wouldn't want a 5K 32" or something with a lower PPI.

As above, as it could be different.

Mildly interesting...
Before these were released, I phoned the UK LG tech support line about the cable and camera. Didn't know anything about the cable whatsoever, as said it was only being released for sale and all tech queries handled through Apple, who were also dealing with all replacements parts directly , but said she'd speak to senior tech staff re. camera.

After holding a few mins, she came back and said they had told her it was 1080p camera. When I asked how they knew this, she said they have the full Service Manual or some such, which gives all the detailed specs and more, but it wasn't available for public distribution, highly annoyingly!

I'd love to get a copy of that Service Manual, as all we have is this bland manual (only available on the US LG site, not the UK one strangely!) that omits half the detail and proper specs:

both dated: 22 Nov 2016
- English, 6751K: http://www.lg.com/us/lgecs.downloadFile.ldwf?DOC_ID=20150223795524&what=MANUAL&fromSystem=LG.COM&fileId=dY9eHovG8PMZ1QlMyJYCQ&ORIGINAL_NAME_b1_a1=Eng(US).pdf
- Spanish, 6722K: http://www.lg.com/us/lgecs.downloadFile.ldwf?DOC_ID=20150223796303&what=MANUAL&fromSystem=LG.COM&fileId=yG9v6AU4Ax7Rcz87kVjbyg&ORIGINAL_NAME_b1_a1=Spa(LA).pdf

Anyone good at getting hold of docs from companies, lol?
[doublepost=1482725373][/doublepost]Also, found this for the LG 5K (model#: 27MD5KA) on the "Software, Firmware, & Drivers" page:
http://www.lg.com/us/support/software-firmware-drivers

[Mac] LG Screen Manager
LG Screen Manager is an application that provide screen split and monitor software update feature.
This software is compatible with below LG monitors only.

Supported monitor: 22MD4KA, 27MD5KA
Supported OS: macOS 10.12

What exactly does this do for you on the LG 5K? Is it useful at all on the LG 5K, and if so, how does it work with it?