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Author Topic: LG 5K and MacBook Pro 2016 15"  (Read 15178 times)

budjames

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Re: LG 5K and MacBook Pro 2016 15"
« Reply #20 on: March 28, 2017, 10:08:14 am »

I've had mine for about 2 months. I have it installed in my office along with an Apple 27" Thunderbolt display. I use my new i7 MacBook Pro 13" to drive both monitors. I close the laptop after booting so that I can use the two 27" displays side by side. The resolution and clarity of the LG 5k display is noticeably better than the Thunderbolt display. Both displays color calibrate well using a ColorMunki spectrometer.

The only issue that I have had is that when I boot my MBP 13", about 35% of the time only one of the displays power up. This is fixed by rebooting the MBP.

Regards,
Bud James

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Bud James
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ppmax2

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Re: LG 5K and MacBook Pro 2016 15"
« Reply #21 on: March 29, 2017, 10:48:54 pm »

Hello PP,

No, I have not seen the 13" in use with the 5K display. I have seen some say that it is ok in performance. I got my MBP 2016 15" with the highest spec GPU and that was mainly because I use Lightroom for all my photo processing and wanted the best performing GPU since the develop module uses the GPU heavily. It works really well although I would like the performance to be improved. I shoot mostly with the Canon 5DSR so there is a lot of pixels to handle. The 15" is larger but compared to the older 15" it is smaller and lighter. It depends on your needs, of course, but I would recommend to go for the 15" model and especially if this is going to be your only computer.

Thanks for your comments Hans--much appreciated.

I think I will go with the 15" with the upgraded CPU (2.9Ghz), Radeon 460, and 1TB SSD. I've been snooping the refurbished section on the Apple Store and think I'll take the plunge with the 5K LG.

Out of curiosity, have you run CaptureOne on your rig?
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Hans Kruse

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Re: LG 5K and MacBook Pro 2016 15"
« Reply #22 on: March 30, 2017, 12:19:48 pm »

Thanks for your comments Hans--much appreciated.

I think I will go with the 15" with the upgraded CPU (2.9Ghz), Radeon 460, and 1TB SSD. I've been snooping the refurbished section on the Apple Store and think I'll take the plunge with the 5K LG.

Out of curiosity, have you run CaptureOne on your rig?

I went for the 2,7Ghz cpu and the Radeon Pro 460 as I did not think that the difference in CPU speed was worth the price. I also have the 1TB SSD. I have have Capture One 9 and run a few times when I want to check things in C1. I use exclusively Lightroom. So I can't really speak of performance using C1. There are a few things with the LG 5K display that is a bit annoying. The volume is still too loud and you need to use the volume slider to adjust volume. Sometimes when I connect the screen to the MBP when the MBP is running and the lid is open the USB ports where one is connected to my USB keyboard will not connect. Taking the cable in and out of the MBP mostly fixes the problem, but sometimes I need to restart. If you take the cable out when the lid is closed the MBP freezes so I never do that. That's the only issues I have had. They are a bit annoying but I can live with it. I love the combo of the MBP and the 5K display for my use since I travel a lot and only want one computer.

ppmax2

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Re: LG 5K and MacBook Pro 2016 15"
« Reply #23 on: March 31, 2017, 10:12:55 pm »

I got my display and the 15" MBP. BEAUTIFUL displays! Got a good deal on a refurb rather than a new on. Guess I'll buy AppleCare for it to be safe.

Out of curiosity do you use the LG display utility?
I bought this combo for the 10-bit color support but I'm seeing banding on the LG from time to time. Have you seen this as well?
What res do you run the LG at?

Thx
PP
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Hans Kruse

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Re: LG 5K and MacBook Pro 2016 15"
« Reply #24 on: April 01, 2017, 06:41:31 am »

I got my display and the 15" MBP. BEAUTIFUL displays! Got a good deal on a refurb rather than a new on. Guess I'll buy AppleCare for it to be safe.

Out of curiosity do you use the LG display utility?
I bought this combo for the 10-bit color support but I'm seeing banding on the LG from time to time. Have you seen this as well?
What res do you run the LG at?

Thx
PP

Congratulations. A MBP 2016 15" refurbished already?

I'm not aware of an LG display utility and I did a Google search for it and could not find any. The display runs 10 bit out of the box connected to the MBP as shown in the attached screen shot. I use the "looks like" resolution as standard for a 27" screen of 2560x1440. I do not recommend to choose any other since the scaling of the Mac OS will otherwise not fit the physical resolution of the display. 5K is exactly the double in each dimension of 2560x1440.
I would have thought you bought the display for the resolution :) I see no banding on the screen.

ppmax2

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Re: LG 5K and MacBook Pro 2016 15"
« Reply #25 on: April 01, 2017, 03:53:18 pm »

Thanks for the reply again--I appreciate the tips.

>>I use the "looks like" resolution as standard for a 27" screen of 2560x1440. I do not recommend to choose any other since the scaling of the Mac OS will otherwise not fit the physical resolution of the display. 5K is exactly the double in each dimension of 2560x1440.

Interesting; I am running the LG at the "More Space" (looks like 1920x1200) option and the MBP at the "More Space" (looks like 3200x1800) option as well. I don't understand your comment about scaling Mac OS not fitting the physical resolution of the display. Can you explain further?

Regarding the LG Utility
I didn't read the manual, but apparently there is a reference to this in it ;) The link is:
http://www.lg.com/us/support-product/lg-27MD5K#

Also, I thought the LG had an ambient light sensor. I noticed from your screenshot that there is no option to automatically adjust brightness; I don't see that option on my display preference either. Shouldn't that be there?

For what it's worth:
When calibrating my iMac screen with DisplayCal, I use a command line utility that I found called "brightness" that lets you enter numerical values rather than using the slider. It's great for making small incremental adjustments so that you can hit a specific measured brightness target during setup. I have yet to try it with the LG...I'm wondering if it's possible to target a specific display with that control...and will report back.

Lastly...that banding I saw must have been during a reinstall of macOS. I don't see any banding now!








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Hans Kruse

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Re: LG 5K and MacBook Pro 2016 15"
« Reply #26 on: April 01, 2017, 04:52:12 pm »

Thanks for the reply again--I appreciate the tips.

>>I use the "looks like" resolution as standard for a 27" screen of 2560x1440. I do not recommend to choose any other since the scaling of the Mac OS will otherwise not fit the physical resolution of the display. 5K is exactly the double in each dimension of 2560x1440.

Interesting; I am running the LG at the "More Space" (looks like 1920x1200) option and the MBP at the "More Space" (looks like 3200x1800) option as well. I don't understand your comment about scaling Mac OS not fitting the physical resolution of the display. Can you explain further?

Regarding the LG Utility
I didn't read the manual, but apparently there is a reference to this in it ;) The link is:
http://www.lg.com/us/support-product/lg-27MD5K#

Also, I thought the LG had an ambient light sensor. I noticed from your screenshot that there is no option to automatically adjust brightness; I don't see that option on my display preference either. Shouldn't that be there?

For what it's worth:
When calibrating my iMac screen with DisplayCal, I use a command line utility that I found called "brightness" that lets you enter numerical values rather than using the slider. It's great for making small incremental adjustments so that you can hit a specific measured brightness target during setup. I have yet to try it with the LG...I'm wondering if it's possible to target a specific display with that control...and will report back.

Lastly...that banding I saw must have been during a reinstall of macOS. I don't see any banding now!

I have written a number of threads on the scaling as most people don't seem to be aware of this. For the 5K screen you really should choose 2560x1440 since this will scale the visual elements like menu, text, etc. and the double resolution in each dimension is used for the rendering of the fonts, text, and images and this is the virtual display space which then is mapped to the physical screen. Since 5K is 5120x2880 the virtual space and the physical resolution is the same therefore a perfect match and perfectly clear. This means in Photoshop and Lightroom that a 100% or 1:1 view will match perfect and in the right size. If you choose 3200x1800 in the scaling options the Virtual display space will be 6400x3600 which will be mapped to the physical 5120x2880. This means that there is a small amoun of fuzziness due to this mapping and also 100& and 1:1 views will show a smaller size of than what it should be.

You did get the 2016 MBP with the touchbar?

In my opinion you should not use the automatic brightness adjustment ever. Neither on the external screen (I don't have it now) or on the MBP. Also remember to uncheck the brightness adjustment when using the battery if you adjust your images on the MBP.

When I calibrated I dragged the brightness slider to the position I wanted when running the calibration for a certain brightness measured by the calibration unit. I don't change it and make sure to adjust the light in my office accordingly with blinders in the day time.

ppmax2

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Re: LG 5K and MacBook Pro 2016 15"
« Reply #27 on: April 02, 2017, 12:04:45 pm »

Thanks for the explanation below regarding resolution and scaling Hans, I get it now.

>>You did get the 2016 MBP with the touchbar?
Yes; so far this is a great little machine. I've been using a desktop since the dawn of time so the laptop experience is a bit new to me and I'll have to rethink working environment a bit: I have been using a Wacom tablet for years and the number of "things" on my desk that I need to plug in or shuffle around has increased a bit due to the portable + extra monitor. Do you use a dual-screen setup as well?

Also, I profiled both screens last night at 120 cd/m and 6500K with an L* tone curve. The screens appear to match well but the "looked better" out of the box probably due to the lowish white level I chose. What settings do you calibrate/profile with?

FWIW I don't enable auto brightness or screen dimming when on battery...I was just commenting that I thought the LG's had a light sensor which they may indeed have but that control doesn't seem to be exposed in the latest release of macOS.

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Hans Kruse

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Re: LG 5K and MacBook Pro 2016 15"
« Reply #28 on: April 02, 2017, 04:25:25 pm »

Thanks for the explanation below regarding resolution and scaling Hans, I get it now.

>>You did get the 2016 MBP with the touchbar?
Yes; so far this is a great little machine. I've been using a desktop since the dawn of time so the laptop experience is a bit new to me and I'll have to rethink working environment a bit: I have been using a Wacom tablet for years and the number of "things" on my desk that I need to plug in or shuffle around has increased a bit due to the portable + extra monitor. Do you use a dual-screen setup as well?

Also, I profiled both screens last night at 120 cd/m and 6500K with an L* tone curve. The screens appear to match well but the "looked better" out of the box probably due to the lowish white level I chose. What settings do you calibrate/profile with?

FWIW I don't enable auto brightness or screen dimming when on battery...I was just commenting that I thought the LG's had a light sensor which they may indeed have but that control doesn't seem to be exposed in the latest release of macOS.

Without restarting the calibration I think mine was the same using Spyder 4.

My comment on brightness on battery for the MBP display was just a hint. It was not about the LG display where there is no auto dimming. As mentioned if if there were, I would not use it.

Good luck with your new system. 

adias

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Re: LG 5K and MacBook Pro 2016 15"
« Reply #29 on: May 17, 2017, 02:05:20 pm »

Sierra 10.12.5 did NOT fix the Ethernet (cable unplugged) bug. I wonder if Apple or LG are going to bother to fix this annoying bug.
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adias

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Re: LG 5K and MacBook Pro 2016 15"
« Reply #30 on: August 05, 2017, 02:27:04 am »

LG has issued a software update on 7/13/2017 which seems to fix the peripheral detection bug. It is available via LG's Screen Manager, available on their site.

LG Screen Manager on this page - LINK.

« Last Edit: August 09, 2017, 02:36:09 am by adias »
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zobelaudio

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Re: LG 5K and MacBook Pro 2016 15"
« Reply #31 on: August 07, 2017, 05:23:37 am »

Guys,
I did just update to 10.12.6 sierra from el capitan, where I have chosen the largest scaled option ( the numerical options are gone) but the line below the monitor suggests 'looks like 2048x1080'.
So resolution looks ok. Can't really compare to El Capitan...
But what bugs me is the window says " using a scaled resolution may affect preformance", which is exactly my impression.
Display of scrolling and moving of the mouse seems to be less fluid.
Does anybody have that too ???
I am on a Macpro with a Eizo CG318
cheers
Stephan
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kers

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Re: LG 5K and MacBook Pro 2016 15"
« Reply #32 on: September 16, 2017, 11:08:45 am »

Apples system is every year a big surprise- (read  can of worms) ; they are experts in breaking things that have always worked.
You would think after one year of bug repair it would be hassle free, but no they are already thinking ahead again making it compatible with the new APFS filesystem. (and i read it will be the only 'old' system that can read APFS)
I think i will need one old mac that works -professionally and a new one for internet, email etc ;for those things they think @ apple that is all you have to do on a computer.
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