Is my Lagom test correct?

[Justforcause]

Hey all,

I just bough a new AOC AG241QX and did some display quality tests. While doing Lagom test the screen looks like this: https://imgur.com/a/RlDPdXx
Is it alright? As the guide says that the text should be of different colors closer to the top and bottom edges and very similar in the center of the screen.

Moreover, this AOC looks great so far BUT has one issue and that is very strong coating that looks grainy/sandy/greasy on light backgrounds. If I focus on it I can see it but while playing is fine. Should I keep this screen or go for Dell S2417DG. The price difference is 180 dollar (Dell more expensive).


Thanks a lot to you all.

[Chief Blur Buster]

Hey all,

I just bough a new AOC AG241QX and did some display quality tests. While doing Lagom test the screen looks like this: https://imgur.com/a/RlDPdXx
Is it alright? As the guide says that the text should be of different colors closer to the top and bottom edges and very similar in the center of the screen.

That's typical for a TN panel because your camera is pointing downwards from top edge -- you're photographing downwards from "above". So you're already color-shifted.

To demonstrate this (briefly, as a test) -- kneel downwards during this Lagom test. So that you're staring at exactly the middle of the screen, rather than downwards from top. You'll immediately notice the TN color shifting behavior when you lower your head closer to the bottom edge of the screen, when you kneel down temporarily.

If your monitor has a tilt adjustment -- tilting the monitor up/down does the same thing (instead of kneeling). This portion is normal for a TN panel, though they can vary in quality from panel to panel. The color shift becomes neutral for center of screen once the screen center is perpendicular to your eye gaze (i.e. not staring from above or from below).

On the other hand, if your eyes have a preference to a darker or brighter gamma, then your current viewing angle may just be fine if your eyes are more relaxed that way. That said, proper calibration of a TN panel does tend to encourage you to view the TN panel straight-on -- but a TN panel gamma can actually be recalibrated for a gamma optimized to viewing from slightly above (e.g. eyes at level of top edge of screen, staring downwards to center). This viewing-angle-compensation gamma adjustment is tricky with a colorimeter, so it's easier to eyeball it. However, if you're using gamma/brightenings in games anyway, then the Lagom pattern isn't going to really matter much -- it mainly affects quality of desktop use, videos, photos, etc...

That said, generally, the image quality of all TN does go up if you adjust your monitor's distance (to full arm's length) and also tilt it so that your vision angle is exactly 90 degrees to screen center, rather than staring at screen center from above. At least for most panels.

TN viewing angle color/gamma shift applies equally to all TN panels, including panels from AOC or Dell.

If this is something you hate, you will want to use a slower panel (e.g. IPS or VA). The speed of TN comes with the disadvantage of narrower viewing angles and such. VA has a gamma shift too, but less than TN, though many say it makes up for it by having a bigger contrast ratio than IPS. If you want best viewing angles and no color shift, IPS is the way to go if you live with different compromises.

It's hard to say if the 180 dollar difference is worth it -- it would only be worth it if you have an NVIDIA card and you want either:
Do you want GSYNC? See www.testufo.com/gsync
Do you want ULMB? See www.blurbusters.com/faq/motion-blur-reduction

That said, you won't have big differences in viewing angles between most TN panels -- they will all exhibit the most severe color shifting (compared to other panel tech like VA or IPS). It's the price to pay for having the fastest panels.