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PCM2Have you not read the responsiveness section of the review or our article on monitor responsiveness? In particular the pixel responsiveness section, which covers overshoot.
sunnymook, i’ll read it, thx again.
mark7I’m in the market right now for a 4K monitor. I’ve read and watched your reviews of all three HDR Philips models (the 328P6VUBREB, the Momentum 326M6 and the 43-inch Momentum model), as well as the reviews of other, much more expensive HDR monitors, and I’m really at a loss as to what to do. Now, the 43-inch Philips is too large for me, so it is out of the question, and 27 inches would probably be too small, so the optimal size I’ve settled on is 32 inches.
Upon first reading your reviews, my most likely choice was the 328P6VUBREB, since it is readily available on the market where I live (unlike the Momentum 326M6) and at first glance it seemed like a good buy considering the relatively reasonable price for an HDR monitor and the overall performance. But, the more I read your review and think about all the details, I’m having doubts due to its shortcomings in the areas that are important for HDR performance (e.g. variations in brightness and color across the panel, gamma shifts, lackluster contrast under HDR and, therefore, less than impressive low light HDR performance, overshoot, etc.). From what I’ve read and seen, the situation is very similar on the Momentum 326M6 (and that model also has relatively poor sRGB emulation mode, so that is another bummer as well). Even the much more expensive 27-inch model you’ve reviewed recently, the Acer XB273K, has a bad HDR level. I’m not gonna spend 2000 or 3000 Euros on a PC monitor (if I were, I’d buy the Asus PA32UC and be done with it), and even many models in that price range have at least one key fallacy in terms of HDR suitability (e.g. no true 10-bit panel, PWM, etc.).
So, even though I would like to get my feet wet with HDR right now, I’m beginning to think the best course of action would be to buy a cheaper 4K SDR monitor and wait a year or two until PC monitors get truly proper HDR implementations at reasonable price points. What is your opinion on that approach? Can you persuade me to pull the trigger on the Philips 328P6VUBREB anyway? 🙂
PCM2Hi mark7 and welcome,
I can appreciate your frustration. I don’t think I can really add anything to what is covered in the reviews or this thread, but I suppose I could add some perspective.
No monitor is perfect. That goes for HDR performance as well as SDR performance. You mentioned the ASUS PA32UC as a model you’d consider if budget weren’t a constraint. Yet the HDR performance of that model is also far from perfect. The ‘halo’ effect from the local dimming and overall depth of black where very bright content is also displayed gave a bit of a flooded look to things. Sort of like the 31.5″ Philips models in a way, but with some situational improvement and ‘patches’ of good darker content as well. Really, the overall HDR performance has a long way to go even on models like that. That’s why panels are under development with vast improvements to the number of dimming zones, which should dramatically bolster HDR performance.
If you take looking at darker content out of the equation, especially in a dark room, then the HDR performance of the Philips 328P6 (and 326M6) actually brings a lot to the table. It creates a more enjoyable experience than SDR in many respects and adds a new dimension to gameplay. The model has its quirks outside of HDR as well, but so do all monitors. It’s all about weighing up what you want from the experience. The truth is that any vastly superior HDR experience is likely going to be quite some time away from materialising on monitors of that kind of size. And it is going to continue to demand a considerable premium for quite some time.
mark7Thank you very much for your response. Just another quick question that might help my decision, given that I very rarely do gaming: have you had a chance to watch some HDR videos and movies on the 328P6, as opposed to gaming? (Sorry if I missed that in your reviews, I really don’t recall you mentioning that scenario in terms in the HDR performance part of your review). If you have, what was the HDR performance in that use case? Was it much better than it would be with a solid SDR monitor or only slightly better (due to all the shortcomings)?
PCM2I mentioned in the review the following: “We observed various game titles (and a range of movie content) using HDR on the monitor. We found that some implementations were certainly better than others, but the monitor itself largely dictated HDR performance on a broader level. We will therefore be focusing on a few titles which put HDR to good use…”
In other words, there’s no reason to give any more specific examples than were given in the review. There’s no difference between an HDR movie and HDR game with well-implemented HDR. Any strengths and weaknesses are exactly the same and it’s down to the monitor. So if you like watching movies in a dark room and are expecting an atmospheric look, forget it. If you set in a room that’s quite well-lit and want to admire bright elements then it could work. You can’t really compare the experience to SDR directly. It’s very different and even with the shortcomings I felt it added a nice dimension – but it’s scene and room lighting dependent really.
mark7OK, thanks again. Another quick question about the 328P6VUBREB. When the monitor is in sRGB emulation mode, can you still make corrections to the image in terms of color temperature, etc., or are those settings locked out in that mode? In other words, what adjustments can you make to the image while the monitor is in “sRGB” emulation mode?
PCM2From the review: “Unlike some sRGB emulation settings, this did not result in a recordable drop in contrast. Although it does lock off manual colour channel adjustments in the OSD. “ For Philips monitors the aptly named ‘Custom Color’ setting is the only setting that allows manual colour channel adjustments. Now clarified – brightness is also locked using the sRGB colour temperature setting.
mark7OK, thanks again. Upon some further research and comparison between possible alternatives, I think I might pull the trigger on that Philips after all. Surely the low light viewing experience is considerably better than on my Full HD laptop screen (VA panels have great static contrast after all, as you mention as well), and hopefully isn’t (much) worse than on a midrange LCD/LED TV.
mark7OK, I bought the monitor but am currently heavily regretting it. First of all, I can’t get HDR to work with my laptop, either via USB-C directly, or via a USB-C to HDMI 2.0 active adapter (which is, just to be noted, officially recommended by Intel for outputting HDR from laptops with Intel HD Graphics). If I try enabling “HDR games and apps” in Windows, the monitor goes black, the fans on the laptop start spinning full speed and I have to unplug the cable and force shut down the laptop to recover from the situation. Tried connecting the laptop to an LG HDR TV at a local electronics store using that same adapter – everything (4K, HDR, 10-bits) worked like a charm, no problem.
Second of all, and I believe you didn’t mention that in your review, is that if you select the sRGB emulation mode, brightness of the display gets automatically set to 100% and you cannot lower it. If you try, you get the message that “sRGB value will change to 6500K” and if you then proceed to lower the brightness from 100%, the display indeed jumps out of the sRGB mode back to the over-saturated 6500K mode for SDR/non-WCG content. So the sRGB mode is essentially unusable – it’s laughable.
Very disappointed and I believe I won’t be able to return it, so I’ll probably sell it or something, I’m not sure.
PCM2I’m sorry to see that you were unhappy with the 328P6VUBREB. I’m not really sure whether HDR ever works properly via USB-C on this model – as a desktop PC user with the GPUs I have I don’t have USB-C ports to use so I can’t test that out. The manual only says that HDR works via HDMI or DP and this was reiterated in the review. It doesn’t specifically list USB-C there, so I can only assume it uses an Alt Mode for the display connection via USB-C that doesn’t support it. It would be helpful if Philips specified that or was more explicit in the manual. And when I decide to upgrade my GPU in the future this is something I can specifically test myself. Not sure why the adaptor didn’t work if that’s using HDMI 2.0 on the monitor, which certainly supports HDR normally. Adaptors can be a pain in the backside at the best of times, mind, and are notoriously unreliable (especially active adaptors).
I didn’t mention locked brightness using the sRGB setting, you’re right – and I’m very sorry about that. I’m not entirely sure if it was locked on my unit, which was an early sample and possibly pre-production as well. It’s pretty common for the brightness setting to be locked on Philips models using this setting actually, I just wish they’d grey out the brightness setting instead so it is more obvious at a glance that it’s locked off. I think this has caught me out before, because I only really test the setting at default brightness usually. I’ll add a note in the review about this because it’s very important – over 400 cd/m² brightness, locked, is not helpful at all.
sudey88I’m from Russia, sorry for my bad English. I noticed that there is a frequent marriage, lights on the monitor Philips 326M6VJRMB 31.5 is it true?? You did two good reviews on Philips 326M6VJRMB and 328P6VUBREB 31.5 which one is better to buy? I play exclusively on PC almost all games on HDR and sometimes I play in a dark room, but right in front of me. I’m not on the left or the right. What do you recommend? Is there a difference between VA and MVA? and finally – can I say that the LG 32UL750 is better among all these monitors. Thank you very much. With love from Russia.
PCM2Hi sudey88,
I’ve moved your post to this thread as it’s a suitable place (and sorry if your earlier account was deleted, forum software was updated and wasn’t handling new registrations properly). I’d like to reinvigorate this thread a bit, but it’s a very good resource for the 328P6VUBREB – so is the review itself, of course. I hope you’re well aware of the points raised about these monitors in a dark room when using HDR and aren’t going to end up disappointed because you’re expecting a deep and atmospheric experience. The main changes to the on the 326M6VJRMB (‘Momentum model’) are:
– Different stand with more modern design, but worse ergonomics. Tilt only rather than fully adjustable.
– Ambiglow LEDs, which I assume your “frequent marriage, lights” may have somehow referred to (something was lost in translation there). As per the review they’re just below the bottom bezel, so hardly the most effective or impressive ambient lighting solution especially by Philips’ standards.
– Different ports. Main thing is the addition of USB-C on the ‘328’.
– Significantly higher input lag on the ‘328’ (~29ms) vs. ‘326’ (~4ms).
– Adaptive-Sync supported on the ‘326’ but not ‘328’.
As for the LG 32UL750, it uses the same CELL (panel minus backlight) as the Philips models. ‘VA’ and ‘MVA’ are one and the same, different manufacturers just specify the panel technology differently. It has a similar backlight design to the Philips in terms of capability, but there’s one crucial difference – it is not flicker-free and uses PWM at a relatively low frequency. Not good for viewing comfort and certainly not good if you’re sensitive to flickering. It doesn’t really offer any advantages over the Philips models, unless you prefer the design. I guess it’s some way between the two Philips models with its design and featureset. Refer to this thread.
sudey88Thank you for your quick response. The first review – small highlights of the corners, but in the light of day it is not noticeable, and in the dark at full brightness it is simply impossible to look at. The second review-when you turn on the HDR or sRGB mode, and just at a high brightness level, very strong lights appear in the corners of the monitor.
PCM2That’s what we refer to in the reviews as a ‘spotlighting effect’, although that highly over-exposed photograph exaggerates it quite a bit (look at the glow around the mouse cursor = overexposure). It’s unavoidable on the panel and is a characteristic of all models that use a variant of it. Certainly not unique to the 326M6VJRMB.
sudey88I ordered Philips 326M6VJRMB. Now we have to wait for 3080ti and new games. I ordered 2 monitors to check each one.
sudey88My monitor arrived. And I will say this – what I was afraid of happened. There are lights in the corners when the screen is dark. When the light screen is all fine.
sudey88I use a philips 326m6vjrmb monitor. Yes, there are lights in the corners when the screen is dark. The monitor leaves a positive feeling. I can’t use it to its full potential yet, since I sold my video card and am waiting for Nvidia Ampere. I will not write much, I will say one thing – I use the gamma 2.6 setting, brightness 100% contrast 58%.
PCM2I’m glad you’re enjoying the monitor, overall. No monitor is perfect, this is no exception – hopefully you continue to enjoy the positive aspects of the experience.
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