Review: LG Flatron L197WH S+ 19in TFT

Good looks and performance along with some interesting features

This 19in monitor from LG is so shiny it almost looks wet but, despite this, it’s surprisingly resistant to fingerprint marks.

Its dual-hinge construction gives you a variety of viewing angle options: at its simplest it acts as a height adjustment, but it also lets you tilt the display right back, much like a lectern.

LG’s F-Engine technology is a fancy term for clever display presets. At the push of a button, the monitor will display a split screen with the enhanced image on the left and the ‘normal’ image on the right, making it much easier to decide which setting you prefer.

The stated 10,000:1 contrast ratio isn’t available in standard screen modes, instead this dynamic contrast system is only for movie playback.

In fact, activating it on the normal Windows desktop causes the display to look rather overblown – we also noticed distracting shifts in brightness as the dynamic element of the adjustment kicks in. However, during video playback and gaming it can provide a far more dynamic, engaging experience.

TFT panels work best at their native screen resolution, but with high-resolution monitors some users complain that the writing and icons on screen become uncomfortably small.

With the monitor’s EZ-Zoom key, you can quickly change the screen resolution at the touch of a button without having to alter any Windows settings. A full set of software utilities is provided that lets you control the monitor directly from your PC – your preferences are saved in profiles for easy retrieval.

In our tests, the monitor achieved good contrast ratios regardless of the F-Engine setting. It’s also capable of some vivid colours, thanks to a moderately large colour gamut. Put these together and you get an impressive-looking display that reveals the flaws in some of the competition.