[PCM2]

It will be a production-level sample, not a prototype.

[sunnymo]

oh, yes, could u get any information about the most probably release date?

[PCM2]

The most up to date information we have will be found on our news piece on the monitor. That will be redirected to the review when published. It has been released to select retailers in some countries, several within the EU (including Amazon Germany). The last I heard a broader release was expected “from May”. But we don’t have any contacts for Philips within America so I’m not sure when/if it is being released there. I suspect it will, but maybe in a few months time.

[amf78]

I very much agree with most of what’s been said here, and I’m in the same boat. My target size is 32″ (actually 31.5-34), UHD, HDR. I’m no longer gaming so insane frame rates/refresh rates are not a must. Initially I was aiming for under 1000 EUR but I’d consider even up to 1500, but there’s simply nothing.

Thanks to Adam and to the time spent testing the Philips 326M6VJRMB (which I eventually returned) I came to understand and appreciate the importance of dimming zones. Most people seem to focus almost exclusively on the peak brightness when they talk about HDR. Important metric no doubt, but local dimming is just as important I think. Most HDR capable monitors available today seem to be high brightness rather than high dynamic range capable. To all the manufacturers out there: the clue is in the name!

As far as dimming zones go, there doesn’t seem to be a happy medium. You either get 16 dimming zones if you buy the likes of Philips (and they’re not exactly super cheap), or you get +1000 dimming zones for a display that doesn’t even exist yet outside showrooms. The only exception I’m aware of is Asus PA32UC-K which offers 384 dimming zones, but even that costs an arm and a leg, and suffers from atrocious input lag. It’s not my area of expertise, but based on everything I have read and seen even going from 16 to 128 dimming zones would be a big improvement. We’re not talking about OLED, uLED or FALD but still noticeable.

Incidentally, do you plan to review the Asus ProArt PA329C or do you have an idea about the number of dimming zones?

[PCM2]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and I’m sorry that the dark-scene HDR performance of the Philips was bothersome to you. Which I entirely sympathise with.

The ASUS PA329C offers 32 dimming zones, which is a small number given the panel type used. It really (just vaguely) ticks the boxes needed to pass the VESA DisplayHDR 600 certification, it doesn’t offer anything above and beyond I’m afraid and won’t give a convincing dark scene performance. The pricing is always a dead giveaway with respect to the number of dimming zones, you’re right about that. And there is indeed an annoying gulf between the higher end models with many dimming zones and the lower end models with relatively few.

[amf78]

Thank you for clarifying that.
A somewhat related question: do you know how HDR TVs deal with the local dimming problem? I wonder if it’s the same gulf as far as dimming algorithm (and price) as in the case of monitors.

[PCM2]

TVs with effective local dimming tend to be very large. They tend to have high contrast VA panels as well. They’d be most comparable to something like the Philips 436M6VBPAB. I’m not aware of any smaller TV models (~32″) with particularly impressive local dimming capabilities. But it’s not really my area so I might’ve missed something.

[amf78]

Another related question if I may: is there a list or database somewhere of all commercially available HDR monitors that use FALD or mini LED?
Somebody suggested all VESA 1000 monitors use one of these 2 local dimming methods, and all VESA 400/500/600 use edge-lit dimming or no local dimming.
Is that the case in your experience? Speaking of Asus PA32UC-K, it doesn’t seem to have any of the above certifications yet employs FALD, so there might be other exceptions as well…

[PCM2]

There’s no database I’m aware of. It would be too difficult and impractical to maintain, at least for the non-FALD local dimming solutions as it’s not typcially something that a manufacturer directly specifies.

VESA DisplayHDR 600 and above mandates local dimming. Without it, a monitor couldn’t pass the performance criteria (contrast when comparing corner to central values). Very few VESA DisplayHDR 400 level displays offer local dimming, or if they do it’s a very basic solution with a few dimming zones (e.g. Acer XB273K). VESA DisplayHDR 600 and VESA DisplayHDR 1000 displays all use local dimming (DisplayHDR 500 hasn’t been used for monitors yet and most would just skip to VESA DisplayHDR 600 anyway). VESA DisplayHDR 1000 is the only level where FALD is currently used, yes.

The ASUS PA32UC (‘K’ suffix just means bundled with a colorimeter) was an odd one, perhaps because it was released before VESA Certification for HDR was commonplace. So they simply never bothered going through the process. You wouldn’t find more recently released monitors with an FALD solution and HDR10 support without an accompanying VESA DisplayHDR certification.

[pavtoj]

Hi, I went through your recommendation and I didn’t find any good recommendation for a good HDR screen.
The main thing I want is as much contrast as possible. Color accuracy is not really imporant to me, the same as refresh rate, but good implementation of Freesync would be nice.
I am looking for 1440p+ 27 inch screen.
Ideally with proper full array local dimming with decent amount of zones (where are you microled and oled screens :-(…)
The mini-led tech technology looks really good, but i wasnt able to find any monitor in normal price range using it.

[PCM2]

Hi pavtoj,

Take a look through this thread, which I’ve merged yours with. The reason no recommendations are specifically given for screens with “good HDR” (subjective term) or that none appear in the recommendations section, specifically, is because there are a very slim number of models that provide that. And they have other issues (including high price, issues with responsiveness, Adaptive-Sync implementation etc.) that would prevent me from recommending them. It sounds like you’re after something that’s rather expensive or doesn’t exist yet (possibly both). Your current choices are very limited – there are no 27″ 2560 x 1440 models that use FALD and really you’d be considering something like the ASUS PG27UQ or Acer X27 as your only current 27″ choices.

[JdeFalconr]

For myself, at least, my ideal monitor sports 1440p+, variable-refresh, and quality HDR (ideally something with FALD but not necessarily). However at this time it seems that set of specs is out of reach unless I want to spend around $2,000. I fully appreciate that combination of specs is a bit out of reach at the moment without very expensive components.

My question is: when can we expect monitors with those kind of specs to show up in the sub-$1,000 price range?

It would seem that perhaps we’re getting closer with monitors like the FI27Q-P and LG’s 27GL850 although from what I’ve read what’s still missing is an affordable HDR implementation that’s really good. Should we expect to see monitors with that aforementioned combination of specs in the sub-$1,000 price range to begin showing up, maybe within the next year? Or is that kind of technology just going to be too difficult to produce for something high-fidelity like a PC monitor for a much longer time?

Thanks for the help.

[PCM2]

Hi JdeFalconr,

That is indeed a good question. A compelling HDR experience requires an advanced backlight solution. Ideally per-pixel illumination, a complex FALD solution, or failing that a decent number of dimming zones. Implementing such a backlight design significantly increases the cost of a product, especially the sort of solution that would be required to turn an IPS-type model into a good HDR performer. I don’t see that changing any time soon, perhaps until technologies like Mini LED, MicroLED, backlightless alternatives etc. mature.

I’d like to see more solutions with a simpler backlight arrangement as well. Even solutions with 32 – 100 dimming zones can work well to offer a decent HDR experience, if implemented well and usually if a VA panel is used. The Philips 436M6VBPAB, for example, offers an excellent performance at the VESA DisplayHDR 600 level (although its DisplayHDR 1000 performance leaves a lot to be desired). The Philips 328M1R is therefore a screen to keep your eyes on. It’s VA and offers VESA DisplayHDR 600, although it remains to be seen how well-implemented that is.

[JdeFalconr]

Thanks for the reply! That Philips display looks like it ticks just about all the boxes. Too bad it’s so huge (32″). I wouldn’t mind paying what’s probably a $1k asking price for technology like that if it works just as well for PC gaming as it probably will for a console.

[PCM2]

Modern games consoles are just mid-range PCs. There’s no specific reason why a monitor would offer a good performance on a games console but not a PC. Any weaknesses would apply in both cases. Console gaming monitors are purely a marketing term edging them towards a particularly large market.

Obviously there are limitations on games consoles in terms of refresh rate support (on some titles), or refresh rate support alongside resolution. And you don’t get UltraWide support or necessarily get the sort of frame rates you need to take advantage of high refresh rate displays. But the core performance, including HDR capability, is much the same on PC titles that put the technology to good use and games console titles that put the technology to good use.

[amon.akira]

someone have this info?
the Philips 328M1R have local dimming zone like the 55″? i know the 55″ version have 144zone, maybe the 32″ have few zones too i guess

because i want buy the old 43momentum with 32zone for a “good” hdr 600 (hdr1000 with only 32zone have halo/black problems), but if this new 32″ can do the same, maybe is better for me, because 43″ is a really big screen for desktop use :/

I read that it should have the same bgr layout pixel as the momentum 43 “, but I haven’t read anything about a possible Local Dimming…someone had see it from live at IFA?

[PCM2]

As far as I’m aware nobody has actually provided any hands-on observations with this model, except ourselves. All currently confirmed information can be found in our news piece. It does have local dimming, because otherwise it isn’t VESA DisplayHDR 600 compliant. Most likely it uses a 16 dimming zone solution like the 326M6VJRMB. With respect to the subpixel layout, the fact the Momentum 43″ had a BGR layout was really neither here nor there. There were static dithering issues that were entirely separate from that which caused issues that couldn’t be compensated for in the OS (ClearType etc.) The 328M1R I observed seemed to exhibit this to a degree, but it was nowhere near as noticeable as on the larger model – refer to the news piece.

[amon.akira]

Thanks for reply PCM, if you should choose between the momentum 43″ (review) vs this new one 32″ philips (only first impressions) from a quality point (pixel layout for text reading, effective hdr 600 etc..) without give importance to size, what you would to choose?

i know already the PRO of the Momentum 43″
nice response time
good input lag
nice contrast and color
semi-glossy (i hate matte display)

bad
unusable hdr1000 for low Local Dimming Zones and BGR pixel layout from short distant for desktop use.

price are almost the same, but i can buy the 43 Momentum now if i want.

a suggest? ^^

[PCM2]

Size and pixel density is a very individual thing and a personal preference. Also fundamental to the experience, so impossible to ignore. I should leave people under no illusion in my reviews of ~32″ models that I feel that’s the optimal size for the ‘4K’ UHD resolution. Size aside there’s nothing more I can add to my impressions on the ~32″ Philips that hasn’t already been shared in the news piece. The hands-on time was far too brief and conscripted to formulate a proper view, you’ll need to wait for a review.

I feel that the subpixel issues being less noticeable on the ~32″ model plus higher refresh rate are key differentiators, size and pixel density aside. As I said, it isn’t the supixel layout being BGR that’s the issue here. In terms of HDR performance, also note that the 43″ model provided a nice experience if set to its ‘Normal’ operating mode, which in terms of luminance puts it at VESA DisplayHDR 600 level. It remains to be seen how the ~32″ model compares to that, but it’s limited to VESA DisplayHDR 600 anyway. Given what I’ve seen on the 43″ Momentum that’s probably a good thing as it will stop people focusing on the poor VESA DisplayHDR 1000 performance it may have otherwise had. 😉

[amf78]

The ASUS PA32UC was an odd one, perhaps because it was released before VESA Certification for HDR was commonplace. So they simply never bothered going through the process. You wouldn’t find more recently released monitors with an FALD solution and HDR10 support without an accompanying VESA DisplayHDR certification.

Is UP2718Q another exception perhaps? It seems to tick all the boxes for VESA HDR1000 unless I missed something (or this too was released before the certification became standard). The only downside is that it’s 27″, no 32″ version.

[Author]

Posts