CROSSOVER BLACK TUNE 30X-P DRIVER PIVOT LED Slim Design 30" S-IPS 2560x1600 WQHD Display Port, HDMI, DVI-D, PC Monitor

I ordered this monitor as a replacement for Dell U3014. The later had unbearable backlight bleeding that is a problem with the model rather than that particular monitor. After checking online I discovered that many people experienced that problem with Dell U3014, and ended up returning it back. Though this Crossover monitor also exhibits some backlight bleeding, but it's not as bad as the Dell model, and it can be better controled with the brightness/contrast settings, which is the reason I am giving it four stars rather than five. Don't mind the fact that the monitor is shipped from Korea - the speed of delivery to US is exceptional - second day delivery from the time of the order.

Purchase on a Friday, got it Monday morning, from Korea, $12.99 for shipping!I requested a perfect pixel version of this monitor, it was worth it completely. I don't know what people are complaining about when it comes to gaming on IPS monitors, but Starcraft II and Diablo 3 are perfect, no lag at 60Hz and 2560x1600 resolution. If you want an awesome monitor, get this one.Pros: Comes with all cables needed, including the Asian to American adapter for the plug. : Stand is good, but I mounted mine to my existing Ergo Arm. : Never had any issues of overheating. I've pushed it to it's limits and never had it get hot to the touch. : Great customer service. Responded immediately, shipped promptly.Cons: NONE

Seeing that Crossover is no worldwide market leader, I was expecting this purchase to be disappointing on at least some level. I was pleasantly surprised to receive it in perfect condition and having perfect pixels. The monitor is very well built in every aspect (stand, frame, screen etc.) and I would recommend it to any gaming enthusiast who wants to take their experience to the next level.

I got this monitor 1 month ago. Have no issues with it. It is very bright, colors are great, contrast ratio is very high and the image is amazing. I bought it as a replacement for my 27 inch AOC IPS monitor, I found it to be a huge improvement. I have read many reviews about 30 inch monitors and decided to go with this one. I got it for gaming purposes mostly, even that some will argue about 30 inch monitor is not good for games. But I like to have a huge 16:10 picture on a high resolution with amazing colors on IPS matrix, for me personally, this is more important than faster response time and higher refresh rate. The specs that this monitor have are very good, for what you are paying and the service from the buyer is amazing. I recommend this monitor to everyone. But I do have to say it has some minor backlight bleed from the bottom right corner, but what kind of 30 inch monitor, hasn't?

I was a bit apprehensive about buying such a monstrously huge monitor with so many pixels increasing the chances that some might arrive dead, and claims of slow performance and muddy colors concerned me as well. I'm pleased to report all those fears were unfounded. I wanted another 27" 16:10 ratio monitor after my 27" 16:10 Asus went dead, but they are no longer made. So 30" became my only option. Not only do I greatly prefer the taller format, but "smaller" is just no longer an option with my aging eyes. :)With a 6ms (gray-to-gray) response time, the Crossover is one of the fastest 30" displays around, so "ghosting" due to fast movement is virtually nonexistent (you'd have to look *really* hard to spot any "overshoot ghosting" that some obsessive/compulsive monitor critics rant about (if it exists at all, I have to try really hard to see it. "Ghosting" is an effect you'll see on ALL lcd's if you try hard enough.) All (or nearly all) Korean-made 30" monitors were originally made for big name manufacturers like Apple & Dell, but a sampling of screens turned up a "higher-than-acceptable" number of screens with defects or dead pixels and therefore rejected only to be resold by low-end brands. In truth, dead-pixels are actually quite rare (and often fixable via software and "messaging" the affected area with your finger until the pixel becomes unstuck.) Fortunately, my monitor arrived with zero dead pixels and NO backlight bleed whatsoever (my family & I have gone through 6 LCD's and have never once encountered any dead pixels or backlight bleed. That can't just be luck.)The screen has a "matte" black finish. A few people prefer a glass face over their monitor because they say it "makes the colors pop", but most people (like myself) despise glossy glass screens because of the glare... ESPECIALLY if you're anywhere near a window. No glare with this screen (and claims of a "sparkly" black matte are wildly overblown if not totally wrong.) And as noted above, if you're unlucky enough to end up with a dead pixel, the "screen massage" fix is not available to you if your screen is covered with glass.While there is a blue front power LED, it's behind an oblong "window" on the bottom right that I actually have to lean over and stare directly into to see. Some monitor power lights can be blinding distractions. On the back of the monitor is an illuminated "C" (for "Crossover") that changes color depending if the monitor is on or off. But it's *nowhere near* as vibrant as you see in the product photos. Two pale led's provide either a pale blue tint ("on") or pale pink tint ("off") that is more white than the product photos suggest.This monitor comes with a tiny IR remote.1-1/2" wide, 3-1/2" long and 1/4" thick. "Power", "Menu", four arrows & Select buttons. Point it at the same window as the power LED to use. While the monitor has a row of settings buttons hidden along the bottom edge (facing down), they can be confusing to use. "Plus" (+) comes before Minus (-) and Up before Down. I found it FAR easier to adjust the monitor using the remote than the monitors' own buttons. Beyond controlling the monitor's OSD, the remote can turn the monitor on/off and raise/lower the volume (on-screen volume bar appears when adjusting the volume.) I haven't tried out the built-in speakers to report if they are any good, but they are reportedly only 2.5watts each, which would almost certainly sound a bit tinny.Another great concern for me was "heat". My old CCFL backlit monitor could heat my apartment in the Winter. One of the reasons I scouted an LED monitor was for the lower heat output. The 30X-P has an all-metal back that acts like a heatspreader... not that it needs it b/c it gives off very little heat. The monitor uses an external power-pack that accepts a standard generic PC power cord (if you're like me, you already have a half-dozen of these cords lying around and won't need the free "Korean to US plug adapter" they give you.) The 5amp power "brick" can get a little hot to the touch but not to the point it'll burn you (some have reported overheating. No sign of that here, probably because the provided Korean power-cord... which I *didn't* use... lacks the third "ground" pin.) LED backlit monitors are also half the weight of the equivalent CCFL (florescent) backlit monitors, and with a monitor this huge, a lighter monitor is much easier to position.The second big reason I bought the 30X-P is the pivoting stand. I do a lot of writing, document work and reading webpages. If you've never had a monitor you can rotate into "portrait mode", you're missing out. Nothing like reading/writing a whole page without scrolling. The Crossover "30X" and "30X-P" are (AFAICT) identical other than the stand. But even if you don't plan to "pivot", you may prefer the beefier/heavier stand that comes with the "30X-P" for added stability. Upon removing the locking-screw that keeps the stand compressed during shipping (and can't be put back after removal), you can raise/lower the stand. The monitor stand is spring-loaded and stiff enough to where the monitor won't sink during use.Here is the 30X-P's biggest problem. First, the stand does not raise high enough to clear the desk when pivoting. I had to tilt the screen as far back as possible in order to clear the desk when pivoting. Totally unacceptable. Second, the monitor ONLY pivots "clockwise", which to me, is incredibly dumb and should be regarded a "design flaw" by the entire industry (I could not find a pivoting monitor that comes with a stand that pivots COUNTER-clockwise.) "What's the big deal?" EVERY PC with a side-window sits to the *right* of your monitor. If the monitor pivots "clockwise", the cables plugged into the bottom are drawn AWAY from your PC, tugging on the cables, preventing the monitor from turning a full 90' as the tugging pulls it back. The monitor does not "lock" in the 90' position, so unless you have extra long cables, this is an annoying problem (but not enough to cost it a star.) The stand needs to raise about another inch to clear the desk when pivoting without leaning it all the way back (about 20deg) first. And once you do pivot, it only clears the desk by about a 1/4 inch. I'm likely to purchase a "VESA" compliant after-market pivoting stand to replace the provided one due to these issues (so if pivoting is important to you, maybe the "30X" is a better deal than the "30X-P".) The included stand is screwed into a 100x100 VESA compliant mount on back.The picture quality is really nice, through the guy in your office that demands "perfection" from an LED may be quick to criticize the color reproduction of the 30X-P. The monitor ships with all the settings cranked to max-brightness and max-contrast. Many casual users don't know enough to adjust their color settings and criticize the monitor while still at its default settings. After lots of tweaking using a few "color calibration" websites, adjusting the image both through the monitor and my video card settings, I was able to greatly improve the picture to near photographic quality:Contrast: 61Brightness: 65Red/Blue/Green all set to 90 (the fact all three numbers are the same means the color balance is perfect. My old 27" Asus had a strong blue tint that had to be dialed WAY down.)They say you need a pretty beefy video card to drive this monitor at full 2560x1600 resolution. I have a GTX670 and one YouTube reviewer reports using a GTX650. I suspect you can get away with significantly less (Crossover claims a minimum of GTX480 or ATI 5450.) To use the DVI connection, you need a full DVI-D connection (ie: no gap in the block of pins on the cable plug.) Crossover provides a full DVI-D cable. VGA can't do 2560x1600. HDMI is a dying format. I expect to switch to the DP ("DisplayPort") connector at some point (a lighter more flexible cord that also carries sound). Fewer/lighter cords makes pivoting the screen easier.The extra *physical* real-estate provided by a 16:10 monitor over a 16:9 monitor is so liberating you'll never go back. I watch a lot of video on my PC, so when full-screen, the pop-up controls don't overlap the video the way it can on a 16:9 proportioned screen. A taller screen is also more immersive, filling your field of view. More pixels also means more room to move your icons out of the way.So in the end, I'm extremely pleased with my new 30" monitor and glad I didn't listen to the naysayers.PS: I did not purchase by monitor via Amazon, so I can't vouch for the retailers, but I have no reason not to trust them.