It nailed various tests for color consistency in CNET's DisplayMate-based diagnostic software, which translates to strong, accurate color for graphics, even for challenging material. One photo we viewed, for instance, shows a bronze statue with parts in very bright sunlight and other parts, such as the face, in shadow. The 321 was able to display clear detail in the dim face, while capturing the brilliant look of metal in sunlight. It also beautifully rendered a picture of a child in a stroller. The little girl's fair skin appears nearly translucent, with just a hint of pink in the cheeks, but not the artificially warm cast that some faces take on with lesser monitors. Color and detail benefit from the monitor's brightness, which was quite evenly distributed across the screen. Text was legible at a tiny font size of 6.8 points but started looking crisp at about 9 points, which should suffice for most documents.
The monitor also impressively maintains color and brightness consistency through generous horizontal and vertical viewing angles. Our hands-on tests show that even fine gradations are reliably presented through the normal range of motion for someone spending long hours in front of the screen.
Predictably, the LaCie 321 didn't fare too well in DVD viewing, but again, the display is for working with high-end graphics, not watching video. The company has clearly focused on elements other than fast pixel response time.
One disappointment was a smattering of defective pixels. We counted five that stood out with the wrong hue in various color patterns. All were at the periphery of the screen, in the upper-right quadrant. This level and location of defects falls within the industry-standard ISO 13406-2 guidelines that LaCie follows and is therefore not designated as defective by LaCie, though we don't usually see LCDs with this many. Unfortunately, the perfect LCD panel is still a rare find, especially in this large screen format.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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