[PCM2]

To be clear, the VG34VQL1B uses a CSOT panel as reported in the news piece. It was initially assumed to be AUO based on known panels at the time the article was initially written. Other sources will have copied that information over. It is 100% a CSOT panel, I know from the parts information. You haven’t used a CSOT panel and generally find VA fine, so that shouldn’t be an issue. The AOC CU34G2X uses a Samsung CELL (panel without backlight) packaged into a panel from TPV (referenced in the review).

I can’t tell you anything about the screen surface of the ASUS and how it compares with the AOC, but I wouldn’t say the AOC has an overly grainy screen surface either. I described it as a “light misty graininess” in the review and described that quite extensively. It’s the same as other 34″ Samsung SVA based UltraWides in that respect. You can’t judge the curve by photos, as also made clear in the review. You don’t see that pincushion effect in reality and most people find they can adapt to the curve. It’s too much for some people, but always exaggerated in photos and videos of the monitor. The 346CUAE is just a re-packaged 346B1C with more limited USB-C functionality (no data transfer or KVM), so that review will give you an idea of what to expect from it.

The SpyderX Pro is very user friendly and creates good profiles, I think it would serve you well. Its contrast measurements are a bit understated (to the low side), although less so than previous Spyder devices. But that doesn’t seem to affect its ability to create good profiles and it is a useful tool for gamut measurement and colour temperature measurement. Which is why we use the ‘Elite’ version for most measurements in the review – notably excluding contrast.

[brownc]

It appears the screens in these 3 choices are very similar.

Asus VG34VQL1B – 165 Hz, 2w speakers, joystick osd
AOC CU34G2X – 144 Hz, no speakers, button osd
Philips 346E2CUAE – 100 Hz, 5w speakers, button osd, usb-c, proximity and light sensors

Now for the decision, there’s just small things about each one. The Asus is best for gaming with higher contrast and peak brightness but not sure I would notice those until I’m gaming on it. I love the joystick control for OSD. The Philips has usb-c and a proximity sensor which I like along with better speakers. But I’d mostly use my better desk speakers most of the time. The Philips may have the least resale value and perceived quality. If only the new 345M2CRZ with it’s advertised 96% adobe RGB was 1800R……

[PCM2]

I agree with that summary – and I appreciate the kind donation. 🙂 I think the overriding experience for you, with focus on viewing comfort and gamut, will be very similar on each of those models. It’s really those additional features that ’round off’ the experience that will differ. The 345M2CRZ is certainly interesting in general, but the 1000R curve does indeed make it much more of a feature and something that could be trickier to adapt to. I’m also not sure it will be released outside of Asia, which is why I’ve decided not to publish a news piece on it despite finding it ‘interesting’.

[brownc]

So I went to a computer store yesterday and bought the Asus VG34VQL1B monitor. They had that and the Asus and AOC CU34G2X on display. The AOC CU34G2X was much like your review, the screen had some small graininess to it and that made the whole screen look a little whitish and subdued the colors from their full vibrancy. In fact another Samsung VA 34″ was nearby and it had the same haze / grain on it. I was surprised the perceived difference in lack of color vibrancy with this coating, which is also on other AOC monitors I saw in the store. The Asus with the CSOT panel was extremely smooth and very little haze. That helps the colors pop out more. My wife has a mac with glossy screen and so I’m familiar with those. That and the joystick made me decide on the Asus VG34VQL1B. As much as I want a proximity and light sensor, I didn’t want to order and wait for a Philips which also has the samsung cell and likely same coating. Too bad the new Samsung 1800r monitor replacing the 791 model doesn’t have quantum dot to get more color range.

When I got it home and set it up, the initial colors and settings were pretty bad. I turned the brightness up. Then went through the pre-set options. It was on racing mode to start, but all modes seemed to lack the color gamut which came alive on user mode. The sRGB mode was under 100% sRGB, and that was noticeable. On user mode I turned the red and green down a little, then the saturation up a bit. Got it to match my dell U3017 on sRGB mode pretty closely. Only the blue was a little soft and there wasn’t individual saturation or hue on the blue color alone. So in terms of gamut I would say it’s got plenty of red, good green, but small tiny lack of blue which shows up most in the cyan color range more than the blue range. Overall the wide gamut is there is you set it up correctly.

As for the 1500R, it’s usable. I for sure wouldn’t want any more, and would still prefer 1800R as I first thought. The store had a 1000R and a 1200R and both were too much for office use. I can now see how immersive curved screens are for gaming. I also noticed at the store some superwide flat monitors, and even with IPS I really wouldn’t want one of those. For office use having two windows side by side is great, but you’d have to psychically move your body to feel right using the ultrawide flat screens. For me the worse part of the curved screen is when using my CAD programs. Very noticeable when spinning the models, but once stopped my head could usually get around the curved lines when they were suppose to be straight. The curved monitors are best centered on eye level, which left plenty of room for my laptop screen to be up and on below it. So I could compare to that when using CAD to see the lines that were suppose to be straight. So yes for CAD work I’m not a huge fan of curved and would rather have flat. But for office work it seems okay.

On this particular panel, I bet it’s similar to your review of the AOC AG352UCG6 where you mention in the conclusion that it’s color consistency isn’t perfect on the far reaches of the screen, and the Samsung C34F791 was much better. The Asus VG34VQL1B screen color does have the VA effect on the farthest 1″ right and left of the screen, where the color/gamma changes. Moving my head left and right causes this color difference to disappear of course, but moving farther back doesn’t have much affect. When I was testing a 32″ VA panel, I could simply sit farther back and the effect went away and wasn’t noticeable. The larger pixel size meant I could still work effectively, and that was good. But on this curved monitor the pixel size is smaller and sitting back doesn’t get rid of the VA horizontal color change completely. However, it’s not a lot and in general use I don’t notice it much at all. However, if this screen was 2″ narrower, and perhaps a 21:10 instead of a 21:9, then it would be absolutely perfect! How about taking this panel and making it a 21:10 34″ with 3360×1600….. , oh and by the way the Asus VG34VQL1B measures to be 33.5″ not 34″ of screen size.

In the end, I love the wide aspect for putting 2 windows up side by side, but would still rather have a flat panel for CAD work. Only then I wouldn’t want ultrawide so that throws me back into wanting a 27″ VA panel which isn’t available in the states. I have a HP pavilion gaming 32″ monitors coming next week to try. And after that the only thing I haven’t tried is a AUO ips panel. The innolux and LG both caused eye strain, the LG better than the innolux but still there. No strain on any VA monitor I’ve tried yet.

[PCM2]

I appreciate you sharing your impressions on the ASUS VG34VQL1B, brownc. You’ve confirmed some important things which I don’t feel others have really covered about that model. And just some interesting thoughts more generally:

– Screen surface has a nice smooth finish. From viewing some images of the screen when off, I’d classify it as ‘light to very light’ matte anti-glare. It’s difficult to judge that without seeing it in person – would you say it is slightly more reflective or has a somewhat ‘glassy’ quality to it in some lights vs. the Samsung SVA UltraWides?

– Colour consistency at the extreme edges is worse than the Samsung SVA panels. They really do as well as can be expected from such wide VA models, with lower horizontal gamma and colour shift than even some ~32″ models (Innolux ‘4K’ VA panels, I’m looking at you). I did suspect this was an area the CSOT panel would be somewhat weaker in.

– The ‘User’ preset is what you want to use to leverage the full potential of the gamut.

– 1500R is not a problem for general use, geometric inconsistencies for some CAD work are annoying. This is something I’ve seen repeated by others, although for some design work curved screens work nicely. As forum user De Hutch kindly demonstrated in relation to a 32″ 1500R model (Philips 328E1CA).

– It’s 33.5″ but sneakily rounded up to 34″ (see point made by uncia below about accounting for curvature). I guess for most people that’s a non-issue, but interesting that ASUS nonchalantly states 34″ anyway.

It’s also interesting that you’ve reinforced that all VA models you’ve tried have been comfortable. Whilst that doesn’t mean this will apply to everyone (viewing comfort is so subjective) and it doesn’t mean some IPS models won’t work for you, it’s definitely noteworthy. And I’m again sorry about the lack of availability of those flat 27″ VA models, as they would likely fit the bill so well. 🙁

[brownc]

Yes the screen surface on the ASUS VG34VQL1B is very smooth, and the anti glare is light to very light, but I would not say semi-gloss.
Working on it again today, I can’t seem to get over how skinny in height the center of the monitor looks compared to the outer edges looking so wide in height. I hope I get used to it more, but still think 1800R would be ideal.

[uncia]

I wanted to let you know I’d also purchased the Asus VG34VQL1B to try it out. I think it’s going to be a case of your mileage may very, as with most monitors these days. For me, the screen surface is indeed smooth, yet good enough for anti-glare purposes. I do notice the color issues on the edges. It is a case of viewing angle making it look just a bit off from what it should look like straight on. I find sitting a little farther back helps in my case. I usually have a fairly dark room for viewing though. I don’t have brightness set too high either, and left contrast at the default 80.

I wanted to respond mostly to interject that there’s just been a misconception of the 34-inch diagonal measurement. If measured straight, you do indeed lose that half an inch. However, I checked vertical height, and it was as it should be for the screen size. I decided to try measuring the diagonal size a couple of times, and that’s when I realized my oversight. I was measuring it as if it were a straight screen. If you account for the curve, it is actually 34 inches. So that’s one less concern.

I have more feedback to give, including getting color dialed in for my purposes. That might be of particular interest to other creative types who want to try a VA. The contrast definitely makes this worth a look. Color critical work does benefit from IPS in some ways, but the poor contrast is frustrating and gives unrealistic expectations in some cases.

My only current issue is my video card is unhappy running at 144Hz over DP. I think the issues with that LG I tried last fall might’ve damaged it. I’m stuck at 100Hz at the moment and may have to temporarily switch to HDMI to avoid further issues. It’s still surprisingly smooth for 100Hz, and definitely a step up from the 60-75Hz monitors I’m used to. With the PC market being what it is, I might not be able to replace my graphics card for a while. So that’s unfortunate. Watch for more analysis later once I’m done with work.

– Adam, I made the purchase through your affiliate link. I hope it registered for you. I can’t tell you how nice it is to feel good about a monitor purchase. Now, if only my video card weren’t glitching on me.

[PCM2]

Thanks for sharing your initial impressions on the VG34VGL1B, uncia. That’s very helpful and I’m sorry to hear about your GPU issues. The GPU market is indeed a complete pain at the moment. I also appreciate your support – quite a few of these seem to have been sold recently via the links, so I will assume one of those was yours. 🙂

Excellent point you make about accounting for curvature with measurements. You’d need to have a flexible tape measure or similar pressed against the screen to account for the curvature, which would explain the 0.5″ discrepancy. Good to see your thoughts regarding the screen surface and colour reproduction reinforcing the comments made by brownc as well. This model definitely seems to push the main VA strength of contrast in a way that not all modern VA models do, whilst being decent in other areas such as colour reproduction and responsiveness as well. So that’s really good to see.

[brownc]

Yes, you’re correct about the 34″ measuring along the curve. That was my mistake. I did try sitting farther back and it helps the color variation at the far edges, only the text starts getting small with my older eyes that far back. I found the brightness setting very non linear, especially under 50 and over 50 it really shot up. Not an issue because you can still find a setting for any surrounding, but wow it does get bright.

In terms of the update rate, are you plugging directly into a graphics card on a desktop computer? I’ve found that different docking ports on my laptop won’t allow more than 100 Hz because the usb-c is also used for usb over 2.0 speeds. Getting one that’s thunderbolt instead of usb-c or one that limits usb to 2.0 speeds allows 144 Hz. There’s also monitor settings that can affect the max update rate along with having the actual monitor driver installed. So plenty of variables in play that may take time and research to sort out.

[PCM2]

Monitor drivers wouldn’t be an issue unless the monitor shipped with ‘faulty’ firmware, essentially. As the capabilities of the monitor with respect to resolutions and refresh rates is stored on the EDID and the monitor driver doesn’t change that. I’ve not come across any model that wouldn’t read directly from the EDID correctly ‘out the box’ – except the G2460PF pre-production unit I tested which was a very early FreeSync model that had incorrect VRR information in the EDID. That was corrected with the driver. All the monitor driver really does is change the name of the monitor from “Generic PnP Monitor” in Device Manager. But even then, the EDID contains the actual name and the graphics driver can use that.

Interesting observation about the odd brightness control, although as you said just a quirk to be aware of rather than a problem for most people.

[brownc]

I thought there was more than just the name of the monitor. It also load the .icm color profile provided by the manufacturer. Is this file useless? I do know the max update rate is dependent or limited by the connection method of a monitor, cable limitation, port limitation, etc.

Some people have also found that uninstalling the monitor and letting it reinstall upon reboot has fixed issues.

[PCM2]

Yes, monitor drivers usually have a manufacturer-standard ICC profile associated with them. That will usually be there to act as a ‘reset’ and deactivate other profiles or software-calibration from other monitors which people may have active without realising. And often includes gamut mapping for colour-aware applications, but doesn’t offer any correction beyond that (it’s per model rather than per unit). That isn’t strictly part of the monitor driver, though, and can be installed on its own very easily.

Removing a monitor from Device Manager basically forces a reset, similar to power cycling – leaving a monitor connected to the system, turning off the power for a minute or so and then powering it back on. Installing a new GPU driver will often have a similar effect. If somebody is having specific issues they wouldn’t expect then that or indeed installing a new GPU driver is certainly worth trying, so that’s a good suggestion. For uncia it might even be worth re-seating the GPU (removing it then putting it back in the system) as well as I’m aware he’s had issues with DP on multiple screens now over quite a period of time.

[brownc]

The limitation of Display Port v1.2 at wide screen resolution of 3440×1440 is 100 Hz. If you drop down to 2560×1440 then you can get 144 Hz. You would need display port v1.4 to run a ultra wide screen at 144 Hz, or HDMI 2.0.

[PCM2]

Uncia can correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe he has an AMD Radeon RX 560 which has DP 1.4.

[uncia]

I have tried re-seating the GPU in the past. I’d kept noticing it registering as 8x instead of 16x, only to later ready the RX560 is limited to 8x. As far as I can tell, the displayport will suddenly stop sending a signal after a couple days of use at 144Hz. This is different from the garbled image/crashing that was occurring with the LG 34GP83A. I’ve also updated the drivers since then. The latest drivers involved a full uninstall of previous drivers prior to the installation of the new ones. It seems to be an issue with the DP “port” alone. Displayport port sounds wrong. HDMI is limited to 100Hz, so it didn’t happen with the LG monitor. That one is also limited to 85Hz over HDMI because LG is randomly weird. It’s one minor difference between the 34 GP83A and 34GN850. So far so good lowering the refresh rate to 100Hz at 10 bit over DP. I imagine this is an 8-bit panel with dithering done on the GPU side of things as I have yet to see a 10-bit native VA panel.

I see others having issues with ghosting and overshoot on the Asus here. So far I haven’t had major issues involving this. I’ll keep testing, though currently limited to a lower refresh rate. I also upped the OD to 60 at 100Hz as it seems to improve things as refresh rate drops. I may just not have the eye for the issues others have described. I’m not sure if that’s good or not. Yes, there is ghosting. I may be noticing it less coming from 60 and 75Hz monitors. I’ll keep an eye out and report more later.

[PCM2]

I have to say, I’ve noticed something of a correlation between those noticing problematic overshoot on the VG34VQL1B and the GPU vendor. More specifically, it almost seems as if the overdrive is tuned differently when using an AMD vs. Nvidia GPU. I’ve come across only a handful of models in the past that do this and usually the differences would be more subtle. This could all be a coincidence but I’m resigned to the fact I’ll likely be unable to test this for myself as ASUS don’t have samples available.

[uncia]

I’ve wanted to share a quick breakdown of things as I’ve observed so far with the Asus VG34VQL1B. Monitor manufacturers, please improve how you’re naming these things! Who in their right mind thinks these crazy alpha-numeric names make sense?

I’ve discovered something rather surprising about the color production of this monitor in particular, but possibly VA models in general. There is a definite blue bias. People will note that some shades of blue seem dull or missing.

Brownc mentioned this above:

When I got it home and set it up, the initial colors and settings were pretty bad. I turned the brightness up. Then went through the pre-set options. It was on racing mode to start, but all modes seemed to lack the color gamut which came alive on user mode. The sRGB mode was under 100% sRGB, and that was noticeable. On user mode I turned the red and green down a little, then the saturation up a bit. Got it to match my dell U3017 on sRGB mode pretty closely. Only the blue was a little soft and there wasn’t individual saturation or hue on the blue color alone. So in terms of gamut I would say it’s got plenty of red, good green, but small tiny lack of blue which shows up most in the cyan color range more than the blue range. Overall the wide gamut is there is you set it up correctly.

The consensus with users of VA monitors has been that red is overly intense. So people usually dial down red in user mode or whatever mode allows more control of colors on their respective monitor. This is where I was having trouble. I’d do this, but while red would be more subdued, the lack of the range of blues including cyan seemed to remain, while more high-frequency blues closer to the violet end of the spectrum remained. Dialing blue back just a bit, while leaving red dialed back, didn’t fully correct for the overly-intense upper end of the blue spectrum and lack of other varieties that should be present.

The first thing I’d done was to set sRGB emulation via AMD’s driver control panel. This did help restrain the overly intense colors, primarily red, but it did not help with the lack of the full spectrum of blues, nor did the reds that were present seem to be as vibrant as they should be. Everything just seemed “off” no matter what I did. Then I had a thought. I connected a monitor from work that’s rated to produce 98% Adobe RGB. Then with both limited to sRGB from AMD’s drivers, I went about comparing an image on both monitors, trying to see what differences there were. This older monitor is still quite good with color production. Though it has a bias toward greens due to the Adobe RGB color space, verses the modern VA having a more blue bias. We like to think it’s a red bias, but that’s only part of the equation. This gets us to the part where something has been missing in the considerations all along. Why are reds turning almost neon and losing the actual red look when in full-spectrum mode? That is, not clamping them to sRGB.

Then it occurred to me, perhaps there is too much blue. Blue of the upper end of that spectrum, where on the edge of violet, the issue WLEDs have in the first place.

Elsewhere on the site I read:

Looking at the colour reproduction in greater detail you will also find that the ‘pure blue’ component can become overpowering. When you mix this with the relatively diminutive yellow component (greens and reds) there will be some weaknesses evident. This is particularly true for shades that are mostly blue but contain a slight mixture of the other colours; it may seem counter-intuitive but most WLED-backlit monitors are not very good at displaying certain shades of blue!

That is taken from: https://pcmonitors.info/articles/the-evolution-of-led-backlights/

Enhanced phosphors, such as Quantum Dots as trademarked by Samsung, should help with this. Yet imagine that for whatever reason they do not fully correct the blue bias for VA panels. Perhaps it’s due to the orientation of the crystals themselves. If they are oriented vertically when active, I wonder if they have some sort of polarizing affect that limits the output to more blue over other colors. All VA monitors that I’ve tried have had the same strange color issues. It’s just taken me this long to correlate all the information. It’s entirely possible I’m wrong on this part, and the cause of the blue bias is something else. Whatever it may be, here is the final conclusion I came to.

With AMD’s control panel, set the color control to limit the signal output to sRGB. This allows for more control on the monitor side of things when compared to the OSD’s sRGB setting. That works alright, but it still has some issues and doesn’t include the option to adjust much at all.

Now, it may seem counterintuitive to do so, but to improve blue hues you need to reduce blue output. I dialed that color channel back to 94. This seemed to offer a good comparison to the same image on the Adobe RGB monitor, while not as biased toward green, which is likely more accurate for the display of sRGB content anyway. Leaving red and green channels at 100, this resulted in a very good image overall. Reds suddenly are more vibrant without having a dullness to them. Greens are more green without seeming a sort of ugly, over-saturated shade in some instances, or overly dull in others. Check DeviantArt for their logo to see what I mean about a vibrant green. That is dependent on blue hues that were missing with previous settings. This was instead dull and lacked life. Now, it looks how it should look.

Remember, this is all while in sRGB mode via the AMD control panel. There are still some issues when displaying the full gamut of this monitor. The overly-intense reds remain, though somewhat subdued, while using the full color gamut. Reducing the blue channel via the OSD a few more points helps with this, but then you begin to see a loss of some blue hues or vibrancy there of anyway. As the red is far improved at 92-94, I’d recommend not dropping it much below 90 at the very least. For wide-gamut viewing such as HDR, the extra intensity to red won’t be readily apparent. In daily use, I prefer to leave things set to sRGB with the settings as I have described. It appears very accurate and comparable to my previous monitors. I can’t say if this strictly adheres to sRGB, as that would require a colorimeter. I’m hoping I can test this more accurately using one in the near future.

A lot comes down to experience with graphic design. I’ve worked in the field for years and have an eye for what does and what does not look right, and what things will print like. So far things match fairly well from what I’m seeing on the monitor. I’ll update further later as more time passes and I get a better feel for things.

I will also note that I’ve corrected for the gamma in Windows, since the OSD does not include this option. I’ve put in a question with Asus asking if they might include this in a future firmware update, but have not heard back. I will try a different channel to inquire again in the future. I think I’d asked via Amazon, which isn’t always the best method for getting in touch with a manufacturer. With that said, it’s not difficult to correct for the gamma being too high on my individual unit. Where it was, as per checking Eizo’s monitor test, around 2.4, it now appears to be exactly at 2.2. Everything appears as it should, including the very helpful header and footer images on this website. Those are always a good way to gauge gamma. Thanks to Adam for including them!

I’ll again amend this by stating I have not done a proper calibration with a colorimeter. I suggest anyone doing color critical work do so, and I intend to in the near future.

As for black crush or white shade variety, just checking Lagom, I am able to pick out all varieties of white, and black appears to be rather good as well. At worse, I’d say the darkest blocks are almost indistinguishable from one another. That’s at worst. I would have to check again to verify this. Also, note the usual VA gamma shift when changing viewing angle occurs. This is not as bad as I recall from previous VA monitors I’ve tried, though color shift is definitely noticeable on the last few inches of each side, when viewed from the center. This is at a distance of about 2 1/2 ft, or my usual viewing distance. This is not a huge deal and only noticed when handling solid colors for the most part. When doing color critical work. I’d suggest centering your work on the monitor if possible. Though I haven’t found it to be a problem either way so far. There is only a minor drop off in vibrancy of color, not so much a change in color to significantly alter the hue. It’s more dulled from what it should look like. That’s about it. Viewing angles actually seem quite good, for a VA panel. VA bloom isn’t terrible either. It’s there, but hardly as easily seen as IPS would be from a normal viewing distance, and normal changes in viewing angle, as a person sitting in front would experience. The backlight bleed is more easily noticed when standing or walking around and glancing at the monitor. This is brought out with the bloom, so they act in tandem.

All in all, the black levels are great, viewing in a dark room is fine, and even sharing things with another in the room won’t offer a strange viewing experience for others. The color shift and VA bloom are not bad enough to ruin the viewing experience for people positioned in less ideal angles to the screen. It’s still best when viewed as intended, by the user directly in front and centered before the monitor, but it will not too adversely affect the image by standing to the side or behind and above the primary user. Blacks are also good enough to truly show how good the contrast is on this model. The high maximum brightness paired with the 4500:1 contrast are a sight to behold. I haven’t even tried HDR content. A fully black screen will not be overly impeded by BLB or bloom. At least that is the case for my particular unit. The small areas of BLB are not significant enough to be noticed in normal use, only when searching for them.

I’m particularly impressed by how well blacks are handled. It’s not OLED quality black, but it is as close as you can get with a computer monitor that I’ve seen so far.

Pixel transitions are also quite good for a VA panel. There is ghosting even when set to 144Hz. I’m currently at 100Hz due to previously stated GPU reasons. For normal, everyday use this is not a problem though. Everything still feels fairly responsive with basic web viewing and work in software such as Adobe products quite comfortable. I wouldn’t want to go back to a slower monitor. I can see where gamers might want something faster like a Nano IPS model. LG has ultrawides that offer faster pixel responses with virtually no ghosting or overshoot. They also don’t appear to have issues with Nvidia graphics cards. So these are all considerations. For those with AMD graphics cards, I’d say weigh how much fast pixel transitions are worth to you. Having a monitor that’s 80-85% as good in overall use and enjoyment for $300 USD less than the cheapest LG alternative, the 34GP83A, might be worth it. I know I’m enjoying using mine so far. Asus also offer a 3-year warranty verses the 1-year warranty from LG. While looking at UFO tests and various other technical comparisons could dissuade you, I don’t think these should be major deciding factors. In real-world use, I don’t notice the slower pixel transitions that much. I do notice them, but they are not a huge problem I notice to the point where they ruin my experience. YMMV, of course.

Good luck to everyone out there on your monitor search. I hope this quick overview helps!

[PCM2]

Thanks for sharing your extended and insightful impressions on the VG34VQL1B, uncia. Your thoughts regarding issues displaying pure blue shades and calibrating by using an Adobe RGB screen as reference really reinforces some of my own thoughts and feelings. I’ve never felt that colorimetric measurements adequately reflect what the eye sees when observing a monitor. The eye’s colour perception is quite different to how a colorimeter views things and isn’t as sensitive to some of the spectral imbalances you might observe. Some of these are indicated by gamut coverage, but that really gives you a broad overarching idea of what to expect – in a less nuanced way than you’re able to pick up to the eye. Nor are such devices sensitive to the perceived effects of gamma behaviour, shifts and simple ‘inconsistencies’ that you can observe from a normal viewing distance. That’s why I’ve always been reluctant to do the traditional and in my view lazy thing that most reviewers do and spew out certain measurements from such a device and call it a day. I much prefer subjective assessment coupled with some visual examples – I don’t think some users appreciate how useful the visual assessment we provide with the ‘SpyderCHECKR 24’ system can be. It’s never going to show you exactly how a monitor looks in person, but the comparative reference it provides is far more valuable in my view than any DeltaE measurement. And why I edge more towards such qualitative rather than quantitative data.

I’m glad you appreciate that subtle grey pattern on the site footer. It provides a wonderful visual guide to gamma and can also help pinpoint perceived gamma shifts which a colorimeter wouldn’t tell you about. I’ve found it frustratingly difficult to pick this up using a camera in video reviews, but by eye at least it’s a great guide. I’m pleased to see you’re very happy with the contrast performance of the ASUS as well. As you say, it won’t give you that OLED-like inkiness. That would be unrealistic to expect. But it does very well for an LCD. And if ASUS can nail these seemingly Nvidia-specific responsiveness issues this would be a really nice screen to recommend to people. It also shows that the CSOT panel used here has good potential and I do hope to see it in other products. Given Samsung’s winding down of their own LCD panels, it’s natural to expect we might see such things as well.

[romanes]

Hello guys!

I am also looking for a new monitor and would be grateful for any recommendations. My current setup is is a Dell P2415Q connected through a Displayport cable with my Macbook. The thing is with the P2415Q monitor, I have difficulty reading large amounts of text. Obviously, because it is a 4K monitor the text is sharp but it is still somehow not pleasing to read text on it for me. I would like to have something that is more geared towards a “paper-like text representation” as I have no issues reading from paper or my Kindle. I would assume a VA panel is better for that than an IPS panel? Moreover, I was thinking about looking for eye-safe TUV certified monitors, to reduce eye fatigue as much as possible. Probably, it also makes sense to have a 4K monitor again as I have noticed on the lower resolution monitors the text is not sharp enough on Mac OS.

[PCM2]

Hi romanes,

I would stress again that viewing comfort is a very individual thing with many factors to consider. The P2415Q has a particularly grainy screen surface, which is something you might find problematic. I’d recommend seeing how you get on with one of our productivity recommendations. The Philips 288E2UAE (288E2E) being a key one to consider or if you have a higher budget or are open to larger screens then one of the 32″ models listed there. The screen surface isn’t perfect by any means, but it’s significantly less grainy than the P2415Q. Furthermore it has a more generous colour gamut and more balanced spectral output, which you may find more comfortable. As with any monitor you might try, there are no guarantees.

[Author]

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