Samsung U28E590D vs LG 27UD88-W

The Samsung uses a 10-bit color display panel, resulting fantastic picture quality. It can reproduce more than a billion colors, compared to the 16 million colors of 8-bit panels. The color saturation and accuracy easily compete with more expensive screens, although they are not precise enough for photo-centric work. Contrast levels are average, but the monitor is brighter than other monitors in its price group.

The brightness measures up to 300 nits after calibration and the matte screen reduces glare, making it easy to view the screen in bright conditions

It delivers a standard contrast ratio of 1:1000, although when properly calibrated, the contrast ratio goes down slightly.

This screen offers an excellent response time of only 1 ms, compared to the 5 ms (or more) of other monitors in this price range. Input lag measures at 15 ms, which is second only to dedicated gaming monitors with 10 ms response times.

This screen's connectivity consists of two HDMI 2.0 ports and one DisplayPort 1.2., which is enough for most users. Samsung offers picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture modes. Meaning that you can view two inputs side by side or one can be scaled down to a small window that you can place on one of the corners.

The screen’s 10-bit panel covers 97% of the sRGB color spectrum which is a respectable result for a budget monitor. For professional use, you will have to look for something more accurate. Color saturation and accuracy is excellent and can compete with higher priced models.

The stand takes little place and has a metallic finish and is quite stable, even if at first this doesn’t seem to be the case

This monitor offers a flicker-free backlight, which reduces strain on your eyes. It also includes a setting that reduces the amount of blue light in the screen, making the picture look softer and facilitates nighttime use.

This monitor is finished in a black plastic with metallic look borders and looks elegant and minimal.

The screen can be very bright, at 320 nits, above the industry average of 240 nits. This means it can be used with no problems in well lit rooms. The screen is coated with a matte finish, preventing errant glare and reflections.

The bezel is barely visible, except for the bottom part of the screen, resulting in an elegant look and an illusion that the screen is bigger than it actually is.

The settings of the monitor are adjusted using a joystick at the bottom of the monitor. It's easy to reach, precise and all the controls are displayed on the screen. The OSD menu is clear and understandable.

The LG 27UD88 offers a wide choice of connectivity options. It includes two HDMI 2.0 ports, one Display port 1.2 and USB-C port that can be used as a video input port as well. There are also two USB 3.0 ports for external hardware or media devices.

It is made from plastic, but feels robust and solid. The back is white and the foot has a silver metallic finish. The stand has a large footprint, but should fit on most of the tables and still feel stable. Overall it looks premium more expensive than it actually is.

Height and tilt adjustment can be made on this screen, although the height adjustment interval is rather small. Pivot is also available, so it can be used in portrait mode, when needed.

The monitor has outstanding sharpness, brightness, color accuracy and an almost perfect sRGB color coverage. It comes factory pre-calibrated that will satisfy most users, but there are also plenty of calibration options if needed. The viewing angles are excellent at nearly 180 degrees, meaning pictures will look good even from extreme angles, without any noticeable color distortion.

This screen suits multi monitor setups particularly well, since it has almost no visible bezels.

Users will be able to find the best preset for their specific use of the monitor as it comes with 14 different ones. These include an sRGB preset, a preset for eased reading, for color blindness, multiple broadcasting standards and gaming presets. There are also several picture-by-picture presets, but only for two inputs at once. You can make your own presets as well and switching between them is quick and easy using the joystick at the bottom of the screen.

Laptop users with USB type-C connector can transmit video signals directly to the monitor. When connected, you can also use the monitor as a USB port for data transfer as well as charge your laptop if it supports type-C charging. All of this can be done simultaneously through just one wire.

The screen can produce 1.07 billion colours and covers 99% of the sRGB color spectrum. This means great performance in nearly every situation, from gaming to professional photo/video color correcting and post-processing. Color accuracy is one the best among its competitors, and is on par with more expensive monitors. This monitor comes factory calibrated for accurate color accuracy, but can be further adjusted with LG’s True Color Pro calibration software.

Even the most experienced gamers will like this monitor as27UD88 has one of the lowest input lags currently available for 4K display, measuring only at 9,8ms, making it ideal for virtually lag free gaming. The pixel response time measures at 5ms that is not the best result, but still is really good and should not cause any noticeable problems for majority of the users.