New version of LG Display Manager available for macOS High Sierra with USB, camera tweaks

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in General Discussion
LG has released a new version of its utility for owners of the company's UltraFine displays for High Sierra, bringing improvements to USB connectivity, the built-in web camera, and the integrated speakers.




According to LG, the new version 2.08 of the utility released on Sept. 22 is now High Sierra-compatible, and improves connectivity quality on the USB-C ports on any of the LG UltraFine displays. Additionally, the company has made fixes in software to the integrated camera assisting with performance in low-light conditions.

LG also notes that the speakers on the device are now more precisely controlled with the volume controls from the Mac itself, or attached keyboards.

Updates to a connected display's firmware are now handled through the utility as well. Apple recommends use of the utility on its own support page for the display.

Brief AppleInsider testing over the weekend on the utility gave mixed results. While connectivity of the rear-mounted USB-C ports with USB 2.0 speeds is better, the actual delivered speed is noticeably lower -- but as the ports are intended for keyboards and mice, this may not be of significance to most users.

Volume control increments have in fact increased, but it is unclear given the relatively low wattage of the speakers in the display how much that matters, with a large jump in volume one button-press after 50 percent.

The LG Screen Manager for Mac is a 26-megabyte download from the LG support website for the Ultrafine displays.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    if one cable thunderbolt can't even reach USB 2 speeds what's the point?

    And I wouldn't trust a company that doesn't know how to do version numbering correctly.
    edited October 2017
  • Reply 2 of 10
    if one cable thunderbolt can't even reach USB 2 speeds what's the point?

    And I wouldn't trust a company that doesn't know how to do version numbering correctly.
    I thought the 21 inch supported USB 2 and the 27 inch supported USB 3 speeds, was I wrong on that?
  • Reply 3 of 10
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,808member
    if one cable thunderbolt can't even reach USB 2 speeds what's the point?

    And I wouldn't trust a company that doesn't know how to do version numbering correctly.
    I thought the 21 inch supported USB 2 and the 27 inch supported USB 3 speeds, was I wrong on that?
    This is correct...
  • Reply 4 of 10
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,861administrator
    macxpress said:
    if one cable thunderbolt can't even reach USB 2 speeds what's the point?

    And I wouldn't trust a company that doesn't know how to do version numbering correctly.
    I thought the 21 inch supported USB 2 and the 27 inch supported USB 3 speeds, was I wrong on that?
    This is correct...
    You're correct. The utility works on both the 4K and 5K displays, and we tested it on the 4K. I don't have a 5K to test it on.

    Fun fact? Don't get into tech journalism for free stuff. Nearly all of it goes back to the vendor.
    edited October 2017 Kenster999
  • Reply 5 of 10
    ..any device or device-driver/kext that can randomly reboot your MacBookPro can cost you dearly: If the MacBookPro models came with ECC memory (like the upcoming iMacPro) and noasync set on its filesystems, crashes/lockups might be a simple annoyance that one would tolerate to enjoy that gorgeous 5K panel.

    I'd like to see a review-site call out every manufacturer shipping stuff that causes crashes, as well as all of the RAID units out there that lack ECC memory and capacitors (capacitors delay shutdown after a power loss just long enough for the drive to flush its memory to disk so no data loss occurs)...wouldn't hurt to publish some of the real horror stories once a month too --like the lady who was backing up her novel every day only to eventually discover that the backups were all corrupted because of a bad RAM chip that only wigged out under the stress of doing backups...and the lost contract and book advance worth many times more than the extra bucks she should have spent on a MacPro.
    edited October 2017
  • Reply 6 of 10
    Looks like there is still no firmware update for the 5K display. My clients still have random kernel panics all the time using this monitor, still not recommending it to anyone.
  • Reply 7 of 10
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,727member
    Ever since the public release of 10.13 my Mac Pro fires up with its three monitors, one Apple TB two non Apple, a Dell and a Sony with TB adapters.  Once at the log in screen all three go off and show the nothing is connected message on screen (power saving mode), then they switch back on (just the monitors not the Mac), the second times a charm.  This didn't happen under the developer versions.  No change with 10.13.1.  Has anyone else seen similar oddities?
    edited October 2017
  • Reply 8 of 10
    There is a new version of the LG Screen Manager from. Jan 4th 2018, any Idea on the change-log? My 5K was updated from version (3.04, 1.13, 5235, 3.04, 0.1e) to (3.04, 1.13, 5237, 3.04, 0.1e)
    edited February 2018
  • Reply 9 of 10
    mshollermsholler Posts: 1member
    What is the precise URL to download the LG Screen Manager for Mac? I searched across the LG product page below but there is nothing available. Nor does "LG Screen Manager" yield any download links when used as a search term on the LG site. Could it be that the utility has been pulled? I'm having difficulty with the performance of my new LG 21-inch Ultrafine 4K display with my 2017 MacBook Pro and I'm hoping the Screen Manager can help. Thank you. https://www.lg.com/us/support-product/lg-27MD5KA-B#softwareFirmware
  • Reply 10 of 10
    MaflagulatorMaflagulator Posts: 1unconfirmed, member
    @Msholler It appears that LG has in fact removed the Screen Manager app from their website, as it is now available from the Mac App Store as version 2.20 as of today, 8/21/2018.
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