Performance, resolution, color fidelity, detail are certainly required of a monitor. And above all screen size: big, bigger and bigger, huge. This is at least on a theoretical level. Because then, with the yardstick in hand, the desire to see big collides with the constraints of space on the desk, especially now that the screens are all widescreen if not even 21:9.
But, especially for domestic teleworkers, space is often an even more stringent constraint than the wallet. And suddenly a monitor with a completely unusual aspect ratio – 16:18, almost square – which at first glance would seem bordering on the senseless, becomes curiously interesting. And, once tried, also a truly space-saving solution, both physical and virtual space. And above all ergonomic, in defense of sight and posture. Here are our impressions of using the LG Dual Up 28″ monitor, MQ780 series.
A 16:18 monitor: what aspect ratio is it?
That 16:18 that describes the aspect ratio of this LG monitor could almost seem like a mistake: at that point, make it square, right? But the most attentive to the recurring numbers of electronics will not have missed the opportunity to notice that that “16” looks a lot like the one found in the most used aspect ratio in the world, precisely 16:9. And that the 18 that follows is just double 9. To put it simply, in practice it is two 16:9 monitors stacked one above the other on the same screen, hence the name DualUp. So the resolution is an unusual 2560 x 2880; cutting it horizontally in two, however, becomes a more usual 2560 x 1440 pixels. In short, a new cut that not even LG knows exactly which category to place on its site: given that it is not a 4K monitor, it ends up almost due to lack of a better position among the Full HD models, even if the number of pixels of the LG DualUp is almost four times that of 1920×1080 matrices.
Even the size declared – 28″ – does not do justice to the surface of this monitor: given the almost square shape, the useful surface of the screen is about 20% higher than that of a 28″ in 16.9 format.
It’s called “DualUp” but there are more than two advantages
Once the natural reluctance to deal with an object with an unexpected shape has been overcome, the beautiful discoveries begin. Starting from the positioning on the desk: unless you have unusual height constraints, what matters most is the horizontal occupation of the monitor. Well, this DualUp 28″ is only 48 cm wide, i.e. as much as a conventional 21″ monitor but offers double the surface. This allows you to place a monitor of this surface even where there would never have been.
But the advantages don’t end there: this monitor is part of LG’s highly ergonomic line, it is fixed to the edge of the desk with a clamp (a bit like lamps with two spring arms) and is equipped with a very mechanically articulated arm. sophisticated that allows you to easily raise and lower the screen, as well as rotate it to the right and left, to obtain the most suitable positioning for maintaining correct posture.
It is also possible to rotate the screen 90 degrees and reverse the orientation, which is not particularly useful, however, given that we are dealing with an almost square screen.
In case the desk is fixed or completely adjacent to the wall and therefore it is not possible to attach the clamp along the edge, the pedestal can also be fixed through the classic cable holes that are often found on office desks. However – and this is limiting – there isn’t the possibility of positioning this monitor freestanding: this can greatly limit the installation possibilities.
In any case, thanks to this articulated arm, it is not the neck that has to adapt to the position of the monitor, but the opposite, a very important thing especially in domestic situations which often include tables at non-ideal heights and seats that are not for the office but for housewives, therefore not height adjustable. In addition, the ease with which position is changed lends itself to ergonomic use in different operating positions.
Finally, the “strange” aspect ratio proves to be really useful, for example in viewing vertical documents and scrolling in the browser, which becomes very long: after all, web pages have a drastically vertical development (and this will increasingly be the case with of sites mainly made for mobile browsing).
Just to give a few examples, Google searches on this warning have many results on the page; those who develop code will see many more lines on the same screen, thus avoiding many jumps back and forth to check any cross-references.
In video editing, it becomes very easy to have the timeline in the lower half and the full-width program in the upper half.
The possibility of using two inputs at the same time is nice
The range of inputs of the LG DualUp is rich: two HDMI, a DisplayPort and a USB-C. The latter is able to transfer the video signal, the USB connection and also the recharging of any notebook (90W power delivery).
However, the most qualifying factor of this monitor in relation to the inputs is the fact that it can manage more than one input at the same time.
In fact, a bit like many 21:9 monitors, it is possible to configure the device to display two sources, one in the upper half and one in the lower half of the screen. The sources to be displayed and their positions are selected directly from the menu.
An example of use is the possibility of keeping a video source, such as a decoder, on an HDMI input to show, if necessary, any TV transmissions on a part of the monitor while continuing to work.
Another very valid possibility is to keep two computers connected, for example a desktop and a laptop, even a Windows and a MacOs. To avoid unnecessary desktop clutter and usage complications, it is also possible to use a single keyboard and mouse to control both machines: just load the LG Dual Controller software on both computers and configure one of them as master (the one you want use mouse and keyboard) and the other as a slave. In this case you switch from one computer to another simply by sliding the mouse from the top portion of the screen to the bottom and vice versa. It is also possible to transfer files from one machine to another with a simple copy and paste (files up to 2GB).
Furthermore, although it might seem counterintuitive, it is also possible to connect the same PC to two inputs and therefore use the single monitor as if they were two monitors of the same machine.
In this way it is possible for example to send only the full screen output of a video editing program to the upper part and keep the editing interface in the lower part. Obviously a configuration of this type can be obtained, moreover with greater flexibility, also by adequately positioning the windows of the different applications on the same full-screen desktop. But by dividing the screen into two logical screens it is possible to maximize the applications in half the screen; with single screen management, on the other hand, the MacOS interface (unless you use additional plug-ins) only allows automatic tiling in half a horizontal screen but not along the vertical one. Better does Windows that allows you to split the screen into two horizontal halves.
A space-saving and sight-saving monitor, with small limitations to be fixed in an upcoming version
We come to the image: the resolution is definitely sufficient compared to the screen size. The pixel pitch is 0.18 mm, higher than a Retina monitor, but the typical distance of use justifies this value and the vision is pleasant, detailed, similar to that obtainable with a 4K monitor of the same surface area. The anti-reflection surface finish is very pleasant, which neutralizes most of the ambient light disturbances and the colors are excellent: even with the factory settings we are very close to the performance of our NEC calibrated monitor to which we have added this LG DualUp.
Audio is provided by two downward-firing speakers supported by small 7 watt amplifiers: they do what they can, very well on the high frequencies and – as usual – much worse on the low frequencies. You hear it, but it could be done better.
As well as on the webcam, which isn’t there. In some ways it is also right: given the aspect ratio, a fixed webcam in the upper part would only frame the upper portion of the head.
But the problems remain, in some ways, even with external webcams resting on the upper edge of the monitor: the point of view remains too high compared to the subject, creating an unsatisfactory perspective and the usual problem of the framed subject who, looking at the monitor (often more below) does not look into the camera.
Furthermore, for a certain time we doubted the functionality provided by the specifications for adaptation to light conditions: the brightness of the monitor seemed to us to never be affected by the changed conditions. In fact – we only realized later – we had placed the webcam in the center of the screen, right above the brightness sensor which therefore always saw a dark environment, moderating the brightness of the screen.
There is a solution and it would be to integrate an adjustable webcam in the middle of the screen on one of the two sides: an asymmetrical design would be created, but the shooting point would certainly be excellent because it is aligned with the user’s face. It could be a starting point for an evolution of this monitor format which certainly has many advantages.
The 28″ LG DualUp monitor has a price list of 799 euros but can be found everywhere, even on the same LG site, at the discounted price of 550 euros. Or even less, considering the discounts in place on the same LG site
