[Shopping mountains]I bought a mini LED 4K monitor again. The image quality of “27M2V” was as expected-PC Watch

Innocn’s “27M2V” is a liquid crystal monitor that uses a 27-inch panel, just like the 27M2U introduced in the related article below at the end of last year. The performance of the mini LED has been greatly improved, and it is a new product that eliminates the disappointing parts of the 27M2U, such as support for HDMI 2.1 and USB hub functions.

“Buy it because it’s cheap”, but as a writer who believes in “buy it because I want it”, I came to the conclusion that I have no choice but to buy it, even though it’s been less than half a year since I bought the 27M2U. In the first place, it is assumed that the entire multi-monitor will be replaced in the work environment, so there is no problem in purchasing a second LCD monitor. So this time, let’s verify various things about the purchased 27M2V.

The area division of the mini LED is further subdivided, and the basic specifications are also strengthened.

Like the 27M2U, the 27M2V also uses a mini LED for the backlight. First, let’s briefly explain the characteristics of mini LEDs.

A typical LCD monitor has a light source such as an LED on the back of the panel. And when you’re using your PC, those light sources are always on. Elements embedded in the dots of the LCD monitor act as shutters, and by changing the color of the light source or blocking it, images are displayed on the LCD monitor.

On the other hand, with mini LEDs, the light emitting area of ​​the LED that serves as the light source is divided into small pieces, and controls such as turning on/off or weakening the light according to the conditions of the image to be displayed are performed.

These differences are most apparent in dark scenes. In a typical LCD monitor, the light source of the backlight is always on, so even in a pitch black scene, the light from the backlight leaks out, making the image look faintly gray.

However, in the model with mini LED, the backlight LED itself, which is the light source, is turned off in dark scenes. Therefore, the dark scenes are darker, and the bright parts are easier to brighten, making it easier to increase the contrast ratio. As I introduced in the previous verification, the “black” of the mini LED model is really black.

Due to these characteristics, the greater the number of divided areas of the LED light source, the higher the expressive power. In the 27M2U I purchased last time, this light source was divided into 384 areas, but in the 27M2V it was further subdivided into 1,152 areas. Compared to 27M2U, it is easier to display more detailed and beautiful images.

Amazon’s product introduction explains how mini LEDs, which are equipped with LEDs divided into 1,152 regions, work.

The basic specs have also been significantly enhanced. Despite the 4K resolution, the DisplayPort connection supports a high refresh rate of 160Hz. In addition, along with such a high refresh rate, HDMI now supports HDMI 2.1, and a high refresh rate of 144Hz can now be used even when connected via HDMI.

With the video input function using Type-C and the power supply function compatible with USB PD, the USB hub function can also be used. This is also not on the 27M2U, and I am very happy because it was a wasteful part of having Type-C.

The table below compares the main specifications of the 27M2V and 27M2U, but the compatibility with HDMI 2.1 and high refresh rate is eye-catching.

Prices are still cheap. There are still very few high-performance LCD monitors equipped with mini LEDs, and the actual selling price is mainly 200,000 to 300,000 yen. However, the 27M2V is priced at 125,000 yen on Amazon. When I bought it at the end of December, it was 110,000 yen with a 15,000 yen coupon (plus 12,500 points).

At the end of January, 1,250 points were given in addition to a 16,000 yen discount coupon.

Users who use multiple PCs also pay attention to the KVM function

27M2V USB hub function, but at first I thought it was a simple USB hub that can be used from a PC connected to the upstream port Type-C. However, since it also has a Type-B port, I wondered and checked it, and it seems that it also supports the KVM switch function. KVM is an abbreviation of “Keyboard Video Mouse”, and the KVM switch function is a PC switching function.

You can insert a USB cable into each of the adjacent Type-C and Type-B ports and set which one to use the USB hub function.

There are two types of switches, Type-C and Type-B. If you set the video input to Type-C from the OSD, you can use the keyboard and mouse connected to the USB hub from a notebook PC connected with Type-C. If you change to HDMI or DisplayPort, you can use the keyboard and mouse connected to the USB hub from the PC connected to Type-B.

We confirmed that simply by switching the video input, the connection destination of the keyboard and mouse is automatically switched. The OSD also has a function to select the connection destination of the USB hub. With this function, it is also possible to switch between a DisplayPort-connected PC and an HDMI-connected PC. However, in this case, even if you switch the video input terminal, the connection destination of the USB hub will not be linked, so you will need to operate twice to switch the video input and the USB hub.

When the video input is switched from the OSD, the connection destination of the USB hub is also switched automatically.

Similarly, there is also a function to change only the connection destination of the USB hub from the OSD

Such a KVM switch function is a convenient function when using a sub PC in addition to the main PC. Even if you usually use a desktop PC as the main, if you connect a sub-notebook PC via Type-C, you can use the keyboard and mouse used on the desktop PC on the notebook side.

Dell’s LCD monitor has a model that allows you to freely combine the KVM upstream USB port and the video input terminal, but it is not so multifunctional. That said, it’s definitely convenient if it’s installed, and it was a very happy miscalculation for me personally.

In addition to this detailed usability, when you look at the quality of the video when playing back videos and how the clear video moves smoothly at high refresh rates, the level is different from the LCD monitor I used 5 or 6 years ago. .

Unlike a CPU or video card, an LCD monitor is not a piece of equipment that you think about replacing very often. Therefore, many users tend not to actively check the latest situation and its functionality. I didn’t have such a tendency, but when there was a surprise like this time, I thought again that I had to buy a new LCD monitor at the appropriate time.