Crystalline effect?

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speancer
Posts: 241
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Crystalline effect?

Post by speancer » 06 Jun 2020, 16:44

Hi,

I was reading a monitor review, and "crystalline effect" term was used there as one of the cons. I tried to search Google for what it is, but I failed to find any explanation. The reviewer wrote "the presence of a slight crystalline effect" as one of disadvantages.

Could anyone explain what crystalline effect is?
Main display (TV/PC monitor): LG 42C21LA (4K 120 Hz OLED / WBE panel)
Tested displays: ASUS VG259QM/VG279QM [favourite LCD FPS display] (280 Hz IPS) • Zowie XL2546K/XL2540K/XL2546 (240 Hz TN DyAc) • Dell S3222DGM [favourite LCD display for the best blacks, contrast and panel uniformity] (165 Hz VA) • Dell Alienware AW2521HFLA (240 Hz IPS) • HP Omen X 25f (240 Hz TN) • MSI MAG251RX (240 Hz IPS) • Gigabyte M27Q (170 Hz IPS) • Acer Predator XB273X (240 Hz IPS G-SYNC) • Acer Predator XB271HU (165 Hz IPS G-SYNC) • Acer Nitro XV272UKV (170 Hz IPS) • Acer Nitro XV252QF (390 Hz IPS) • LG 27GN800 (144 Hz IPS) • LG 27GL850 (144 Hz nanoIPS) • LG 27GP850 (180 Hz nanoIPS) • Samsung Odyssey G7 (240 Hz VA)

OS: Windows 11 Pro GPU: Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D + be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 + Arctic MX-6 RAM: 32GB (2x16GB dual channel) DDR5 Kingston Fury Beast Black 6000 MHz CL30 (fully optimized primary and secondary timings by Buildzoid for SK Hynix die on AM5 platform) PSU: Corsair RM1200x SHIFT 1200W (ATX 3.0, PCIe 5.0 12VHPWR 600W) SSD1: Kingston KC3000 1TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD2: Corsair Force MP510 960GB PCIe 3.0 x4 MB: ASUS ROG STRIX X670E-A GAMING WIFI (GPU PCIe 5.0 x16, NVMe PCIe 5.0 x4) CASE: be quiet! Silent Base 802 Window White CASE FANS: be quiet! Silent Wings 4 140mm PWM (3x front, 1x rear, 1x top rear, positive pressure) MOUSE: Logitech G PRO X Superlight (white) Lightspeed wireless MOUSEPAD: ARTISAN FX HIEN (wine red, soft, XL) KEYBOARD: Logitech G915 TKL (white, GL Tactile) Lightspeed wireless HEADPHONES: Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless (white) 24-bit 96 KHz + Sennheiser BTD600 Bluetooth 5.2 aptX Adaptive CHAIR: Herman Miller Aeron (graphite, fully loaded, size C)

STOPchris
Posts: 129
Joined: 13 Jan 2020, 18:23

Re: Crystalline effect?

Post by STOPchris » 06 Jun 2020, 18:55

It sounds like the aggressive anti-reflective coating on some screens. I had it on the PG278Q when I had one. It was actually really bad. The lighter AG coatings used on most monitors today are not bad at all. What monitor were you looking at?

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speancer
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Re: Crystalline effect?

Post by speancer » 06 Jun 2020, 19:29

Hmm, I'm not sure. It's weird, because there is some ambivalence concerning this crystalline effect in this review. First, the reviewer says:

"The crystalline effect is weak, as the value of pixel density is at a relatively low level, most users will not notice it."

...but further into the review, he states:

"The presence of a slight crystalline effect" (mentioned as a con)

...and then, in conclusion:

"As for the drawbacks, for me, it was one thing - uneven back-lighting and a slightly pronounced crystalline effect (maybe I'm just used to monitors with higher ppi values). Maybe, I have come across such a specimen."

This is from the ASUS ROG STRIX XG279Q review on Guru3D (https://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/a ... iew,1.html).

Seems like it's connected with pixel density, although it's weird, because 1440p resolution is perfect for 27 inch size screen, imho, and the tested display is 27" 1440p. If the reviewer says he's used to higher pixel density, he must be using 4K.

Funny thing is, I think I actually might know what he's talking about, although I've never heard "crystalline effect" term. Recently I've been testing a 27-inch monitor with 1080p resolution (ASUS TUF VG279QM), which some people would surely call too low for this size (I personally prefer and currently use 1440p for 27 inch display). While I played some games on it, I could sometimes see this strange effect on the screen, like... pixels in some spots strongly appearing on the image, like in waves... it could be called crystalizing.
Main display (TV/PC monitor): LG 42C21LA (4K 120 Hz OLED / WBE panel)
Tested displays: ASUS VG259QM/VG279QM [favourite LCD FPS display] (280 Hz IPS) • Zowie XL2546K/XL2540K/XL2546 (240 Hz TN DyAc) • Dell S3222DGM [favourite LCD display for the best blacks, contrast and panel uniformity] (165 Hz VA) • Dell Alienware AW2521HFLA (240 Hz IPS) • HP Omen X 25f (240 Hz TN) • MSI MAG251RX (240 Hz IPS) • Gigabyte M27Q (170 Hz IPS) • Acer Predator XB273X (240 Hz IPS G-SYNC) • Acer Predator XB271HU (165 Hz IPS G-SYNC) • Acer Nitro XV272UKV (170 Hz IPS) • Acer Nitro XV252QF (390 Hz IPS) • LG 27GN800 (144 Hz IPS) • LG 27GL850 (144 Hz nanoIPS) • LG 27GP850 (180 Hz nanoIPS) • Samsung Odyssey G7 (240 Hz VA)

OS: Windows 11 Pro GPU: Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D + be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 + Arctic MX-6 RAM: 32GB (2x16GB dual channel) DDR5 Kingston Fury Beast Black 6000 MHz CL30 (fully optimized primary and secondary timings by Buildzoid for SK Hynix die on AM5 platform) PSU: Corsair RM1200x SHIFT 1200W (ATX 3.0, PCIe 5.0 12VHPWR 600W) SSD1: Kingston KC3000 1TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD2: Corsair Force MP510 960GB PCIe 3.0 x4 MB: ASUS ROG STRIX X670E-A GAMING WIFI (GPU PCIe 5.0 x16, NVMe PCIe 5.0 x4) CASE: be quiet! Silent Base 802 Window White CASE FANS: be quiet! Silent Wings 4 140mm PWM (3x front, 1x rear, 1x top rear, positive pressure) MOUSE: Logitech G PRO X Superlight (white) Lightspeed wireless MOUSEPAD: ARTISAN FX HIEN (wine red, soft, XL) KEYBOARD: Logitech G915 TKL (white, GL Tactile) Lightspeed wireless HEADPHONES: Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless (white) 24-bit 96 KHz + Sennheiser BTD600 Bluetooth 5.2 aptX Adaptive CHAIR: Herman Miller Aeron (graphite, fully loaded, size C)

STOPchris
Posts: 129
Joined: 13 Jan 2020, 18:23

Re: Crystalline effect?

Post by STOPchris » 06 Jun 2020, 19:40

speancer wrote:
06 Jun 2020, 19:29
Hmm, I'm not sure. It's weird, because there is some ambivalence concerning this crystalline effect in this review. First, the reviewer says:

"The crystalline effect is weak, as the value of pixel density is at a relatively low level, most users will not notice it."

...but further into the review, he states:

"The presence of a slight crystalline effect" (mentioned as a con)

...and then, in conclusion:

"As for the drawbacks, for me, it was one thing - uneven back-lighting and a slightly pronounced crystalline effect (maybe I'm just used to monitors with higher ppi values). Maybe, I have come across such a specimen."

This is from the ASUS ROG STRIX XG279Q review on Guru3D (https://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/a ... iew,1.html).

Seems like it's connected with pixel density, although it's weird, because 1440p resolution is perfect for 27 inch size screen, imho, and the tested display is 27" 1440p. If the reviewer says he's used to higher pixel density, he must be using 4K.

Funny thing is, I think I actually might know what he's talking about, although I've never heard "crystalline effect" term. Recently I've been testing a 27-inch monitor with 1080p resolution (ASUS TUF VG279QM), which some people would surely call too low for this size (I personally prefer and currently use 1440p for 27 inch display). While I played some games on it, I could sometimes see this strange effect on the screen, like... pixels in some spots strongly appearing on the image, like in waves... it could be called crystalizing.
It really does sound like the AG coating. This is all in the same paragraph: "The matrix of the monitor is coated with a half-matt coating, which prevents glare. The crystalline effect is weak, as the value of pixel density is at a relatively low level, most users will not notice it."

I think he means that the higher the pixel density the more noticeable it is. I noticed this on my PG278Q, it was pretty bad actually. Hopefully, the Chief Blur Buster can chime in and give you a more definitive answer though.

User avatar
speancer
Posts: 241
Joined: 03 May 2020, 04:26
Location: EU

Re: Crystalline effect?

Post by speancer » 07 Jun 2020, 11:53

STOPchris wrote:
06 Jun 2020, 19:40
It really does sound like the AG coating. This is all in the same paragraph: "The matrix of the monitor is coated with a half-matt coating, which prevents glare. The crystalline effect is weak, as the value of pixel density is at a relatively low level, most users will not notice it."

I think he means that the higher the pixel density the more noticeable it is. I noticed this on my PG278Q, it was pretty bad actually. Hopefully, the Chief Blur Buster can chime in and give you a more definitive answer though.
It does not make any sense what he says actually, 1440p on 27-inch display is high pixel density, a sweet spot, so how can that be "relatively low level" of pixel density? 1080p on 27 inches would be rather low pixel density, but surely not 1440p on 27 inches. It's crisp.

Anyway, could you try and describe how exactly that crystalline effect looks like?
Main display (TV/PC monitor): LG 42C21LA (4K 120 Hz OLED / WBE panel)
Tested displays: ASUS VG259QM/VG279QM [favourite LCD FPS display] (280 Hz IPS) • Zowie XL2546K/XL2540K/XL2546 (240 Hz TN DyAc) • Dell S3222DGM [favourite LCD display for the best blacks, contrast and panel uniformity] (165 Hz VA) • Dell Alienware AW2521HFLA (240 Hz IPS) • HP Omen X 25f (240 Hz TN) • MSI MAG251RX (240 Hz IPS) • Gigabyte M27Q (170 Hz IPS) • Acer Predator XB273X (240 Hz IPS G-SYNC) • Acer Predator XB271HU (165 Hz IPS G-SYNC) • Acer Nitro XV272UKV (170 Hz IPS) • Acer Nitro XV252QF (390 Hz IPS) • LG 27GN800 (144 Hz IPS) • LG 27GL850 (144 Hz nanoIPS) • LG 27GP850 (180 Hz nanoIPS) • Samsung Odyssey G7 (240 Hz VA)

OS: Windows 11 Pro GPU: Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D + be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 + Arctic MX-6 RAM: 32GB (2x16GB dual channel) DDR5 Kingston Fury Beast Black 6000 MHz CL30 (fully optimized primary and secondary timings by Buildzoid for SK Hynix die on AM5 platform) PSU: Corsair RM1200x SHIFT 1200W (ATX 3.0, PCIe 5.0 12VHPWR 600W) SSD1: Kingston KC3000 1TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD2: Corsair Force MP510 960GB PCIe 3.0 x4 MB: ASUS ROG STRIX X670E-A GAMING WIFI (GPU PCIe 5.0 x16, NVMe PCIe 5.0 x4) CASE: be quiet! Silent Base 802 Window White CASE FANS: be quiet! Silent Wings 4 140mm PWM (3x front, 1x rear, 1x top rear, positive pressure) MOUSE: Logitech G PRO X Superlight (white) Lightspeed wireless MOUSEPAD: ARTISAN FX HIEN (wine red, soft, XL) KEYBOARD: Logitech G915 TKL (white, GL Tactile) Lightspeed wireless HEADPHONES: Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless (white) 24-bit 96 KHz + Sennheiser BTD600 Bluetooth 5.2 aptX Adaptive CHAIR: Herman Miller Aeron (graphite, fully loaded, size C)

STOPchris
Posts: 129
Joined: 13 Jan 2020, 18:23

Re: Crystalline effect?

Post by STOPchris » 07 Jun 2020, 13:19

speancer wrote:
07 Jun 2020, 11:53
STOPchris wrote:
06 Jun 2020, 19:40
It really does sound like the AG coating. This is all in the same paragraph: "The matrix of the monitor is coated with a half-matt coating, which prevents glare. The crystalline effect is weak, as the value of pixel density is at a relatively low level, most users will not notice it."

I think he means that the higher the pixel density the more noticeable it is. I noticed this on my PG278Q, it was pretty bad actually. Hopefully, the Chief Blur Buster can chime in and give you a more definitive answer though.
It does not make any sense what he says actually, 1440p on 27-inch display is high pixel density, a sweet spot, so how can that be "relatively low level" of pixel density? 1080p on 27 inches would be rather low pixel density, but surely not 1440p on 27 inches. It's crisp.

Anyway, could you try and describe how exactly that crystalline effect looks like?
On the PG278Q the anti-glare coating made text look less clear. It had a crystal like effect (for actually lack of a better term). The image also looked dirty when a white image was displayed. People were actually removing the anti-glare coating because it was that bad. The PG279Q that I own does not have this issue and I'm not sure what Hilbert is getting at. Maybe the xg279q has a more aggressive anti-glare coating. I guess if you are used to a sharper image and then step back to 2560x1440 you would notice...

Actually, after finding this review, it does look like the anti-glare coating on the XG279Q is more aggressive: "The screen has a matte anti-glare coating with a slightly grainy surface, but the picture is overall very clear. Basically, you’ll only be able to notice the somewhat grainy effect if you’re really looking for it on a completely white background."

https://www.displayninja.com/asus-xg279q-review/

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