Ever put two different LCDs next to each other? Usually the colors or brightness are different. Most LCDs will very have limited color adjustment, and trying to achieve color accuracy can be impossible. For this problem, LaCie produces color correct monitors with a calibrator to get just the look needed.

What Makes It So Special?

The LaCie 724 is a 24" LCD with a wider range of displayable colors than a standard LCD. The color range is achieved by using an S-PVA LCD with an RGB-LED backlight. S-PVA LCDs are more expensive and have a slower refresh rate than standard LCDs but have the bonus of a higher contrast ratio. A higher contrast ratio means darker and lighter colors can be displayed at one time. For instance, if there is a shadow in an image, but the rest of the image is bright, a low-contrast LCD would show a brighter shadow than a high-contrast LCD. To help increase the image quality, the RGB LED comes into play. Most LCDs with LED backlights are just a white color source. RGB LEDs help increase the contrast ratio, since the color of the background can be changed in gradients of red/green/blue, instead of just turning the white LED on and off. The end result is a high-contrast LCD with a variable backlight that can display a wider color range than standard LCDs.

Design

The LCD has two DVI inputs. One DVI is DVI-I (analog/digital) and the other is DVI-D (digital). This lets the monitor utilize higher-quality graphics cards with only DVI output while still supporting older graphics cards with VGA output. The LCD stand is very adjustable. The bottom of the base can spin, making it easy to turn the LCD around to show the screen to others. The LCD can be tilted forward, backward, left and right on the stand, while the stand can raise and lower the LCD. The side of the LCD has a 4-port USB hub with USB input in the back of the screen. The overall design is very sturdy, but it is much thicker than a standard LCD. Considering that the LCD's primary function is image quality, the thicker frame is easy to overlook.

Color Features

At first glance, the differences between the LaCie 724 and a regular LCD are apparent: the colors are very vibrant and there are many configuration options available. There are five color presets available on the LCD: emulation, Adobe sRGB, sRGB, calibration and custom. Calibration and emulation modes are for use with the Colorimeter to automatically adjust the display settings. Emulation mode, by default, displays more vibrant colors, while calibration mode displays very even colors. The AdobeRGB preset is made specifically for the Adobe RGB colorspace and allows quick adjustment with the click of a button. The sRGB preset is the generic mode and makes the picture look more like other LCDs. The custom mode needs to be used to allow access to the manual fine-tuning display features. These features include brightness, contrast, color tone (warm to cool), color control (RGB balance) and gamma. These presets make it quick and easy to change the image quality to see how it would look on other displays.