Update by Konrad Krawczyk 10/30/14 6:47 p.m. ET: LG’s Australian product page currently indicates that the 31MU97 includes Thunderbolt support, but that is not the case, LG informs us.
The U.S. version of this page does not mention Thunderbolt, from what we’re seeing. This story was corrected to indicate the U.S. price of $1,400 for this display, as opposed to the Australian rate of $2,500.
In the market for a high-end 4K monitor? Are you enamored with photography, video editing, and graphic arts in general? Are you looking for a professional tool to sustain your passion?
The LG 31MU97 could be the answer to all your prayers. The 31-inch Digital Cinema 4K monitor is decidedly aimed at visual arts pros.
The display resolution is one of the main selling points, clocking in at an impressive 4,096 x 2,160 pixels. Aside from watching 4K content in amazing detail, you can also cut, trim, and rearrange it without image scaling.
The Dual Color Space feature lets you compare and contrast two different color modes simultaneously, while DCI color standard support facilitates full color expression editing. For image editing experts, as well as the average, “normal” consumer, LG displays 99.5 percent of the Adobe RGB color space. True Color Pro software optimizations also makes hardware calibration a walk in the park, and Maxx Audio technology can get the party started in times of need.
Aesthetically, the 31-inch LG monitor is far from groundbreaking or striking. But, the bezels surrounding the actual screen are mighty slim, and the pivot sustaining the monitor is subtle enough to almost go unnoticed. The monitor’s port selection is unknown, but we expect a bunch of USB 3.0 connectors nonetheless, along with HDMI, and a headphone jack.
Listed on some regional LG webpages, the 31MU97 is slated to go on sale globally later “this week.” The retail price is $1,400, which is anything but affordable. In fact, it’s inexplicably extravagant, given that Samsung charges $500 less for a 32-incher with mostly the same specs aimed at the exact same target audience.
And let’s not even compare this $1,400 monitor with Apple’s Retina 5K iMac, which is available at $2,500 and up. For that, you get an entire desktop machine that offers much more than a fancy, high-res screen.
We’re still waiting for more details regarding specs and a final release date for the 31MU97. We’ll update this post once the information becomes available.
