Korean manufacturer LG has become the first brand to launch an affordable 4K monitor in India with the launch of the 24UD58 model.
The 24-inch flat UHD monitor is available at an online price ranging from Rs 25,200 to Rs 27,000 including shipping, making it far cheaper than any other 4K display in the country. The similar sized Dell P2415Q, for example, is priced at Rs 46,000 in India.
The company has also launched the 27-inch version, which comes at a price of Rs 37,000, making it the second cheapest 4K display in the country.
Both support display resolutions of up to 3840 x 2160 pixels and refresh rates of 60Hz.
PRICE CRASH
Before the launch of the LG models, UHD computer display prices started at around Rs 44,000.
At present, the cheapest non-LG UHD monitor is Samsung’s U28E590D, priced at Rs 40,000.
Part of the reason why LG is able to offer such cheap rates is because it is the world’s biggest manufacturer of large LCD panels, and even arch-rival Samsung is reported to be sourcing panels from LG.
This allows the company to keep its own prices lower than that of rivals, and is one of the reasons why traditional display brands such as Dell and AOC are not yet present in the affordable 4K category yet.
WHY 4K?
4K displays enable desktop users to transcend the ‘retina barrier’ and increase the resolution (clarity) of the screen to such a high level that the human eye is not able to see any kind of ‘graininess’ on the screen.
The best human eye can distinguish individual dots till about about 5,256 dots per inch, and most people can see less. When the dots are more thickly packed than this, the eye cannot see the individual dots, but sees only the overall picture.
However, full-HD monitors typically cannot achieve this resolution due to the lower number of dots on them.
At a viewing distance of 24 inches, a monitor must have a resolution of about 200 dots per inch to break the retina barrier for most people.
However, a 20-inch full-HD display has a resolution of only 110 dots per inch, which is about half of the required level.
On the other hand, a 22-inch UHD monitor has a resolution of about 200 dots per inch, and a 24-inch display comes with 184 dots per inch.