Comic Strips

Isn't that just 16x10 instead of 16x9? Been awhile since I've messed with those resolutions

It's obviously called WHKRWXD.

You can't start mixing those up, they're for entirely different market segments!

Why does it need a "name" at all.

I just say "I have the Alienware ultrawide OLED" and if anyone cares, the exact model number gives information and is very distinct and googleable.

You can google for "AW3423DWF" very easily and know youve found the right monitor for reviews etc.

Googling for "Macbook Pro" reviews, for example... a pain in the ass.

But the model number isn't really the "name" either. That would be "Alienware 34-inch Monitor", from that year, etc. That they don't call that their "Mars" line of monitors is maybe a marketing issue, but the thing people want to know first/most about a tv/monitor is how big it is.

Cars and Phones have product numbers that break down the same way but like you say the general public doesn't refer to them that way. Like the Samsung Galaxy S24 instead of "SM-S928U", which is the North American (T-Mobile?) specific model.

Youre right. "Cordless handheld vacuum" is a descriptor and not "the name of a product".

In fact, on the Alienware website, the product is called 'Alienware 34" Curved QD-OLED Gaming Monitor - AW3423DWF'

Alienware 34" curved QD-OLED gaming monitor sounds a LOT like exactly what you described. And then the SKU is tacked on to the end because they sell multiple various models of of 34" curved QD-OLED gaming monitors, and people are going to want to get the right one, so they make it prominent.

Sure but the thing with TVs is a manufacturer will over 15 different SKUs of "a TV" that are all pretty different. Plus, a lot of the times (especially for TVs) they will still have a "normal" name.

Like Alienware sells a few different "Alienware 27 Gaming" monitors. But they only sell on "AW2725DM"

The official product page is an actual monitor name, and postfixed with the encoding to help differentiate similar models. So you're right, but also, "AW3423DWF is a terrible name" is wrong, because AW3423DWF isn't the product name, it's just how people identify it, because there are so many similar monitors out there.

That only works if you assume that there is something consistent to version. Some years it's a 34" ultra wide, some years it's a 32" 4k. Will there ever be another 34" ultra wide from alienware? Who knows! Not every monitor gets a revision. and if you have random names for 100 different monitors every year, that doesn't really help make sense of things either.

Alienware Monitor 7.... Well they release 100 different models a year, and every year thats going to increment, and consumers often conflate "bigger number better" so you better make sure you get the numbering right.

And "Porkchop" means absolutely nothing to anyone. DWF at least means something to some people. Going from 0% usefulness to even 10% usefulness is a good move.

Do monitors keep a stable amount of features from one generation to the next? I mean the only real reason to upgrade a monitor is for new features, not because it has incrementally improved on the features it already offered, or size maybe. What would be the basis for calling something a "porkchop" vs a "lizard milkshake"

I guess you could have like 3 tiers of features, going from Cheapest to most Expensive (i.e, lower end is 60hz, higher end 120+hz) and then each generation you know which monitor is "better"

Sure: that's a SKU and not the product name.

From LG's own website:

The name of the product is:

34" Curved UltraGear™ QHD HDR 10 160Hz Monitor with Tilt/Height Adjustable Stand

But since 34" curved monitors are a dime a dozen and the full name listing all the specs is a freaking mouthful, it winds up being referred to it by the SKU to help differentiate it.

The 34WP60C-B is apparently the same monitor, but without speakers and a different stand.

This isn't Apple where there is only 1 macbook pro each year and you can differentiate with a "M4" or "2024" on it. every year, LG releases 100 different monitors, some of which have VERY similar specs. If they gave them all names, the names would be meaningless except for to differentiate the models. "LG UltraGear Megashark" offers no details, and only serves to make it memorable and google-able.

34GP63A-B isn't memorable, but it is google-able to an even better degree (because theres no chance of getting a Terraria Megashark SEO landmine, I hate products that have names like "Cursor", because how the hell am I going to google that).

34 is size, G is "gaming", no idea on P63A, and -B indicates that this is the second revision (there is also a 34GP63A without the -B).

So this is a LG Ultragear 34" monitor.

So you have

• 34 = the diagonal size, which is 34" in this case.
• G = the line of monitors, so G for Ultragear
• P = the year the monitor was made, which is 2021 in this case
• 63 = the placement in the line, bigger number is better
• A = This I can't actually find. I think it's a feature set or possibly where you bought the monitor from. But it's probably just an internal code LG uses.
• B = The color. So yours is black.

I can answer this one for you. That number is not actually the name of the product, but the vendor code or manufacturer SKU.

I've had some experience in how these SKUs come to be for large brands. In a lot of cases the people developing the new models have like a whole list of monitors they could create. Out of these a selection is made for which they will create, which capabilities are good etc. This is done per region and even if the capabilities are exactly the same, it will get a different SKU for the different region. This is important because the labeling could be different, often different plugs and manuals are included. Sometimes different paperwork needs to be filed, so it's important the SKU matches the region. From this list of product SKUs the manufacturer can create for a region local distributors choose which ones they think are good for their market. This can often be hard and different distributors can choose different SKUs (depending on the manufacturer). Out of this list of available SKUs in the channel the shops can select which ones they want to carry. Some shops just carry them all (especially when dropshipping), other shops carefully select which ones they like.

This leads the shops to have seemingly random SKUs and nonsense numbers. But that's because those SKUs were figured out all the way back in step one. Those lists can be huge and all the numbers need to be unique. Normally there is some sort of internal structure used to generate the SKUs. But the end result is just a confusing mess of numbers.

When looking at for example distributor level at what they carry or what is offered, the numbers make a little more sense.

So it isn't ideal, but there is reason to the madness.

Sigh

Always have been. Or at least since the beginning of the world wide web.
Stores had long used the "low price guarantee" slogan to draw customers. And they had trained the average customer to believe that it meant they had the lowest prices. Back in those days price comparisons were hard. Sales ads changed every week or two but other than what was in the ads you had to go from store to store checking the price yourself. Yes, you could call around to different stores, but that was unreliable. Even just getting stores phone numbers was a hassle. Plus, most stores didn't have their inventory computerized, and the ones that did were only close to correct once a year, right after they did their yearly inventory. So they just had to keep track of a couple of their closest and biggest competitors. If you tried hard enough you could save a few dollars, but it was rare and took a lot of effort. Most people would settle on what they thought was the "best store" and just stick with it. Even when a competitor had a sale at a significantly lower price that was simple enough for them to deal with, they would just pull their stock from the shelves and put a sign on it in the back room that said don't sell until a certain date. If you shopped somewhere like Sears or circuit City where their sales people worked on commission, You could sometimes develop a relationship with one of the veteran sales people as "your guy". And they would be able to have this insane knack for "searching the storeroom" for you and "mysteriously" finding the "last box that had been misplaced".
Then Walmart came on the scene and was a huge pain in the ass by actually having cheaper prices on a lot of things. Enough companies complained that eventually a few suppliers would have a special model number for a few high dollar items that they sold to Walmart and then a different model number for everyone else. But this was only on a few things like computer stuff and car stereos.
And then the internet came along and they were forced to slowly start giving just about every store "unique models".

Higher quality models? No, same for TVs, an LG C3 is an LG C3 no matter where you buy it. But base models? Heck yeah.

Mark my words, they'll regret this when Y2.1K rolls around and they have to rejigger their entire supply chain to add a 1 to all their model numbers.

Next up is Y2.1K actually.