[Reggy]

First of all, thanks for the thorough reviews! I appreciate that you also test monitors for IPS glow, which IMO is a big problem with a lot of monitors and yet it’s ignored by many reviewers for some reason (I’ve been ranting about it elsewhere…).

From looking at user photos it seems that some IPS monitors don’t have as much glow, but they’re usually slow 60Hz monitors from the likes of Eizo or Apple.
Have you seen any faster models (let’s say around 5ms GtG measured across the range, low overshoot) that don’t have noticeable glow?
For context, I used the Gigabyte M27UA and it had too much glow for my taste. It didn’t look good off angle with dark colors. Even looking head on it had visible glow in the corners.

[PCM2]

Hi Reggy,

All models I’ve come across (and others will just share the same or similar panels) tend to share a moderate level of IPS glow with some on the higher end and some slightly better. The exception would be Mini LED models which occasionally have a ‘low glow’ panel, which I’ll come back to shortly. IPS glow can be attenuated by reducing brightness levels on the monitor as much as is practical, moving further back from the screen (assuming a central viewing position) and is also reduced if the monitor doesn’t have significant backlight bleed or clouding issues. Which is unit rather than model specific most of the time. Mini LED models like the ASUS PG32UQX and Acer X32FP have reduced IPS glow levels from a normal viewing position and it’s also reduced but not eliminated when viewing off-angle. Unfortunately most newer Mini LED models forgo this “low glow” panel, but they’re generally significantly cheaper. Perhaps a trade-off that’s made.

Because brightness levels and more effective light blocking reduces IPS glow, it is reduced with active Mini LED backlights even if they aren’t “low glow” compared to using a normal monitor (or not using local dimming on a given monitor) set to a moderate brightness level. Outside of that ‘IPS Black’ models or similar high contrast IPS panels can have reduced glow, but those models are significantly slower regardless of refresh rate. For example 240Hz models like the LG 27G850A perform slowly for a 60Hz monitor, let alone 240Hz monitor. So certainly not anywhere near “fast IPS” territory – they also have a fair bit of IPS glow off angle, anyway. As a lover of fast pixel responses and strong contrast, this is why I’m personally a big fan of OLED monitors, with my own systems currently using the AW3225QF, XG27UCDMG and XG32UCWG. With IPS models I can simply recommend improving the lighting environment where possible or using bias lighting behind the screen to enhance perceived contrast and draw the eye away from weaknesses, as I suggest in my reviews.

[Reggy]

OLEDs seem to have great visuals, but unfortunately burn-in is a real concern with the way I use my monitor (which is 99% desktop apps and static elements).

Those two mini LEDs you linked do look better than most IPSs, indeed.
I am considering a mini LED IPS, because the variable backlight should at least solve some of the glow. But I noticed that pretty much everyone says that with mini LED IPS it’s better to have the variable backlight disabled during desktop use (to prevent blooming or some other artifacts). Is that something that you still think is preferable?
I’ve also read that some (most?) variable backlight implementations are slow, which could lead to a worse experience with fast paced content.
So with those potential issues in mind, I wonder if it even makes sense to go for a mini LED IPS.

[PCM2]

If your usage is 99% desktop apps with static elements, I wouldn’t bother going for a Mini LED IPS. These areas of individual flat shade make the significant disparity between the pixel count and dimming zone count extremely obvious. You end up with some elements being dimmed and some being brightened more than they should be, with what looks like messy uniformity issues as a result that can be (in my view) far more distracting than IPS glow. And they’re apparent in pretty much any lighting conditions, unlike IPS glow.

[Author]

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