LG 34UC79G 34-inch Ultra-Wide FreeSync Monitor Review

Grayscale, Gamma & Color

Grayscale Tracking

Our grayscale and gamma tests are described in detail here.

The 34UC79G ships in its Custom picture mode, which corresponds to the calibration data sheet found in the box. It certifies results for grayscale and gamma, and as you can see it meets the published numbers. There is certainly no need for calibration here.

In the FPS Game 1 mode the white point takes on a blue tint, although it’s not too bad. It gives the impression of extra brightness, but the image loses a little pop in the process. Most adjustments are grayed out in this preset, but it will make changes to the settings for FreeSync and blur reduction.

We calibrated the custom mode mostly for ego’s sake and to correct a small hue error in magenta which we’ll show you below. Grayscale remains unchanged. This is superior performance, especially in a monitor priced lower than its competition.

Comparisons

Obviously a change from .65dE to .63dE is well below the visible level. Our only adjustment was to the blue slider in the color temp menu which we lowered one click. This change along with a visit to the CMS was aimed at fixing the magenta secondary which is a little off hue.

Gamma Response

The 34UC79G has three gamma presets. Obviously the default setting is the best if 2.2 is your goal. The only effect of the FPS Game 1 mode is to move the slight dip from 90% to 10%. Either way, you’re looking at essentially perfect tracking. Our white point and color adjustments have no effect here. This, coupled with the panel’s high native contrast, means you’ll enjoy one of the best images of any IPS monitor sold today.

Comparisons

When it comes to gamma tracking, these displays form a very tight group. Only the X34 shows a significant difference in performance. The rest follow the 2.2 standard closely with very small value ranges. The 34UC79G offers no reason for complaint.

Color Gamut & Luminance

For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, please click here.

The main thing we can see in the default chart is a hue error in the magenta secondary. This wasn’t fixed by calibrating grayscale so we turned to the CMS. It includes hue and saturation sliders but no adjustment for luminance. Luckily that is balanced pretty well in both Custom and FPS Game 1 modes. Getting magenta on target was easy and it improved the overall average error a bit. We couldn’t move the green or blue primaries any closer to their targets without reducing saturation. In the end, it was better to leave those controls alone and accept a slightly reduced gamut volume. While the 34UC79G isn’t quite in the professional display realm, it comes pretty close.

Comparisons

In many comparisons, 2.17dE would be a winning result. The other ultra-wides obviously have their color accuracy act together. We started at 2.43dE, so the fixes didn’t make a huge difference. We still consider the 34UC79G to be more than acceptable without calibration.

sRGB gamut volume is a bit shy of 100% due to the positions of blue and green. If you look back at the gamut charts, you’ll notice they are both a tad closer to their secondary colors, magenta and yellow, respectively. This removes a tiny bit of volume from the left side of the triangle and is the reason for the monitor’s 4.65% shortfall. For gaming and general use this loss won’t be noticed, but for color-critical applications, a custom profile will be necessary to ensure maximum accuracy.