LG this week announced that it would demonstrate its next-generation ultra-wide curved displays at CES early next month. LG’s UltraGear 38GL950G will be one of the industry’s first 38-inch monitors with a 144 Hz refresh rate, whereas the UltraWide 49WL95C LCD will be the company’s largest monitor for prosumers and professionals.

One of The First 38-Inch WQHD+ Monitors with a 144 Hz Refresh Rate

The UltraGear 38GL950G is yet another addition to LG’s family of displays tailored for gamers. The LCD is based on a 38-inch curved panel featuring a 3840×1600 resolution (21:9 aspect ratio), 450 nits peak brightness, and a 144 Hz refresh rate. The display features LG’s Nano IPS treatment that fine-tunes the spectral output of the LED backlighting in a bid to absorb excess light wavelengths and improve the intensity, purity, as well as the accuracy of the on-screen colors. The display can reproduce 98% of the DCI-P3 gamut, which is in line with many professional-grade monitors.

Being aimed at gamers, the UltraGear 38GL950G supports NVIDIA’s G-Sync dynamic refresh rate technology, as well as LG’s proprietary gaming features (crosshair overlay, overdrive controls, gamma tuning on dark scenes, etc.). In addition, the new display supports LG’s Sphere Lighting that adds ambient lighting effects akin to Philips’ amBX and AmbiLight. As for connectivity, the display features one DisplayPort, one HDMI input, as well as a dual-port USB 3.0 hub.

LG’s UltraGear 38GL950G will be one of the industry’s first 38-inch curved WQHD+ monitors featuring a 144 Hz refresh rate when it becomes available sometimes next year. At present, LG only offers 34-inch displays with such a high refresh rate. Meanwhile, typical gaming displays use 24 or 27-inch panels.

Another 49-Inch Monitor

LG was among the first to launch ultra-wide 37.5-inch LCDs for entertainment and productivity applications as well as 42.5-inch displays for prosumers. However, the company is a bit behind rivals with ultra-wide 49-inch monitors. This is going to change at CES, where LG intends to show its giant UltraWide 49WL95 LCD.

Specification wise, the UltraWide 49WL95 will be similar to its competitors with its 5120×1440 resolution, 350 nits peak brightness, 99% coverage of the sRGB color space, and so on. LG will position its 49-inch display as a replacement for two 27-inch QHD LCDs (a configuration often used by professionals and prosumers), so expect the product to be priced accordingly.

Among the key selling features of the monitor will be its USB Type-C docking capabilities with 85 W of USB power delivery (enough to feed most 15-inch laptops), an ambient light sensor to regulate brightness depending on the environmental brightness to keep power consumption in check, and two 10 W stereo speakers. As for general connectivity, the monitor will feature one DisplayPort, two HDMI inputs, and a quad-port USB 3.0 hub.

LG's Upcoming UltraGear and UltraWide Displays
  UltraGear 38GL950G UltraWide 49WL95
Panel 38" IPS 49"
Native Resolution 3840 × 1600 5120 × 1440
Maximum Refresh Rate 144 Hz 60 Hz (?)
Dynamic Refresh Rate G-Sync -
Response Time ? ?
Brightness 450 cd/m² 350 cd/m²
Contrast ? ?
Backlighting LED with Nano IPS LED
Viewing Angles 178°/178° horizontal/vertical
Curvature ? ?
Aspect Ratio 21:9 32:9 (3.56:1)
Color Gamut DCI-P3: 98% sRGB: 99%
Pixel Pitch 0.232 mm² 0.234 mm²
Pixel Density 109 PPI 108 PPI
Inputs 1 × DisplayPort 1.2
1 × HDMI 2.0
1 × DisplayPort 1.2
1 × USB Type-C
2 × HDMI 2.0
Audio - 2 × 10 W
USB Hub 2 × USB 3.0 Type-A connectors 4 × USB 3.0 Type-A connectors
MSRP ? ?

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Source: LG

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  • TheWereCat - Friday, December 21, 2018 - link

    The 38" is 21:10 3840x1600
    21:9 would be 3840x1440
  • Diji1 - Friday, December 21, 2018 - link

    Sorry, you seem to be under the impression that moving your eyes will strain them.
  • nevcairiel - Friday, December 21, 2018 - link

    If you ever used a badly setup screen setup, you would know that it actually does.
  • boeush - Friday, December 21, 2018 - link

    When the center of the monitor is much closer to your eye than the edges of the monitor, moving your gaze across the monitor will force your eyes to keep refocusing. This constant bending/unbending of your eye's lens will wear out the respective muscles in your eye, in other words causing excessive eye strain. Avoiding this is the main rationale for curving the monitor around you, so that its surface maintains a more-nearly constant distance from your eyes no matter which part of the screen surface you happen to be looking at.
  • FXi - Sunday, December 23, 2018 - link

    Actually unfocusing and refocusing is good for your eye. Looking at one point and not refocusing leads to vision loss. However you are correct in that the work your eye does is fatiguing. But it is good for you. :)
  • darkchazz - Friday, December 21, 2018 - link

    And here I am, waiting for updated 16:9 1440p 144hz IPS panels that will replace AUOs poor QC AHVA panel...
  • prophet001 - Friday, December 21, 2018 - link

    lol
  • FXi - Sunday, December 23, 2018 - link

    I have been waiting a long time for something like the 38GL950G. I just hope someone makes it with Gsync HDR not the old DP 1.2 based Gsync. It'd be a shame to make such a capable panel, such a capable backlight and then fall short. BUT, Nvidia needs to get smart and bring the Gsync HDR pricing to reasonable levels before VRR takes over and the cat gets away from them (Intel and AMD both moving in this direction). And they need to understand that FALD is pricey enough that not all Gsync HDR screens need it. Also they should update Gsync HDR to include USB C connectors with DP 1.4, because, well they have it on all their 2xxx series cards so they already know it just makes sense. For me, if this panel falls to DP 1.2 (which can't carry 10 bit color at this resolution I don't believe) then it's time to still wait. Someone will do it right. Just takes time. And the panel will be available to all.
    I do like the bias lighting. That's a good idea. HDMI 2.0 is good. 2.1 would be better, but at least it's not 1.4. The 450 brightness is also just fine for something that is 2 feet from your eyes. 1000 nits isn't something I care to witness from that distance without sunglasses :p
    All in all I think these will be great monitors. Polarizing filters to limit IPS glow should make a comeback. I can't imagine they are all that expensive and it's the #1 thing people comment about. Backlight uniformity also needs to be pretty carefully controlled. We'll see how this does in the market. I think people will like them and we'll have a hard time finding them at retail at first just due to demand.
  • a5cent - Tuesday, January 1, 2019 - link

    While Anandtech claims the 38GL950G will be a non-HDR DP1.2 monitor, TFTCentral claims the opposite, namely that it will come with a DisplayHDR 600 certification and support DP1.4. I suspect TFTCentral is correct.

    I also suspect the monitor will be insanely expensive due to nVidia's overpriced G-SYNC HDR module.
  • PloniAlmoni - Monday, December 31, 2018 - link

    Hmm... those are some interesting New Year's Resolutions LG has. (No pun intended.)

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