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Add to SafariWhen comparing Planar Helium PCT2785 vs LG 25UM57, the Slant community recommends LG 25UM57 for most people. In the question“What are the best monitors?” LG 25UM57 is ranked 6th while Planar Helium PCT2785 is ranked 30th. The most important reason people chose LG 25UM57 is:
The fact that a monitor of this price range has a 5M:1 contrast ratio is simply astonishing. This means users get cinema-like picture quality right at their desk.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Decent black levels, good contrast ratio
The black levels are respectively low at 0.16cd/m², which helps the contrast ratio achieve 1100:1 which is much lower than the advertised 5000:1, but still quite good.
Pro Pretty fast response times make the system feel quick
The response time is 12ms, which isn't lightning fast, but it's still quick enough to make the system feel more responsive than cheaper monitors. While not fast enough for high-level gaming, this monitor won't make your system feel slow or unresponsive.
Pro 'Massive tablet' design is unique, and versitile
It really does look like a massive tablet with a kickstand - but that's not a bad thing. There's no stand visible, leaving the front looking very clean. The stand can angle anywhere from 15-70 degrees which allows for flexible use, or it can be folded in and used flat on the desk or even mounted using the VESA mounting holes.
Pro Built-in speakers, webcam, and mic
This monitor has many peripherals built-in, and unless you use them heavily they will do the job just fine. Unless you feel the need for dedicated hardware, the built-in stereo speakers work well enough, and the webcam and mic are acceptable quality for occasional recreational use (for business calls or other uses where quality is important, you'll want to upgrade to dedicated hardware).
Pro Cinema-like picture quality for an affordable price
The fact that a monitor of this price range has a 5M:1 contrast ratio is simply astonishing. This means users get cinema-like picture quality right at their desk.
Pro Good sound quality with no need for external speakers
This monitor's speakers are as good as those found on small TVs. They're located in the back and come with an audio jack for headphone connectivity.
Pro Immersive
The 2560x1080 resolution creates an immersive setup. This applies even for work tasks: multiple documents can be displayed side-by-side with no legibility sacrifice. It's equivalent to having two monitors with 1280x1080 screens.
Pro Advantageous for all uses
This monitor's ultrawide screen has advantages for all uses. When it comes to movie watching or gaming, the screen size contributes to a truly engaging experience. As far as general productivity goes, the ultrawide screen makes it easy to have different applications or documents open side by side.
Pro Great for watching movies
The 21:9 aspect ratio comes in handy when watching movies. This is the default aspect ratio at which almost all of the films are shot. Hence, you can watch your movies without having two black bars at the top and bottom of the screen.
Cons
Con Disappointing color accuracy
The MVA panel (multi-domain vertical alignment: in-between of TN and IPS technologies) doesn't reproduce colors very accurately. It scores just 82% of the sRGB color gamut, while other panels offer high 80s and even above 90%. This display's weakest points are with the green and cyan shades, while reds and blues appeared just fine.
Con Dim display
The display doesn't get very bright - at just 172cd/m² this panel is very dim. Many monitors can achieve 300cd/m² or higher brightnesses.
Con Takes much more power than similar monitors
Without using the ECO mode, this monitor requires about 50 watts to power it. This is double than other monitors. There are different levels of ECO modes, however these dim the display and barely get down to the power level of other monitors when they are all enabled.
Con Limited connectivity
This monitor has two HMDI ports, which is pretty good. However, it misses other display inputs such as DVI or Display Port, making incompatible with older computers.
Con Lack of support for ultra-widescreen in (old) games
A handful of games do not support 21:9 aspect ratio by default. Some examples are Overwatch, Fallout 3, and Starcraft 2. If this is important for you, it is recommended you test this issue before getting this monitor. But there are solutions: you can either install fixes (only available for some games) or play in windowed mode, using a different aspect ratio.
Con Slow response time
A response time of 5 ms on a gaming monitor is pretty awful. Considering its refresh rate, it is understandable but not acceptable. Note that this response time is from gray-to-gray.
Con 720p and 1080p videos are sandwhiched
This monitor's aspect ratio means that many online videos, such as those from Netflix or YouTube, will have black spaces on the sides, which can be annoying.
