New TCL QD Mini LED monitors 27" QHD and UHD

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D-EJ915

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Looks like TCL released a bunch of new QD Mini LED monitors on their global site. Glad they ditched the enormous V shaped stand from my previous gen model.

QHD 27"
https://www.tcl.com/global/en/monitors/27p3a
1196 zones, 1200 nits, 260Hz, Fast IPS, DisplayHDR1000

https://www.tcl.com/global/en/monitors/27p3a-pro
1196 zones, 1200 nits, 320Hz, HFS, DisplayHDR1000

UDH 27" dual mode
https://www.tcl.com/global/en/monitors/27c2a-pro
2304 zones, 2000 nits, 160Hz, HFS, DisplayHDR1400

https://www.tcl.com/global/en/monitors/27c2a
1196 zones, 1200 nits, 160Hz, HFS, DisplayHDR1000

Curious what HFS panel is like and if these will get an NA release.

Looks like the C2A Pro is listed on the US site already: https://us.tcl.com/products/tcl-27-...z-refresh-rate-0-2ms-mprt-plus-gaming-monitor
 
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From TFTC:

1780686822909.png


It most likely will release in NA since the previous monitors did. I have the 27R94 and it's very good for what it is.
 
El_Capitan said:
Ouch. Guess I'll wait for a sale. Seen some 32" 4K mini-LED monitors going for $499, not as good specs, but an extra $200 premium for new liquid crystal tech we don't know how well it will last is something I'll wait for.
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It's just a normal LCD man this isn't some new breakthrough
 
That 32" is an existing model not a new one, don't think there's a new 32" coming out? I didn't see it listed anyway if there is one.
 
There is a new 32 that's been available in Asia for a while now. It will also get a global release
 
Backlight array control / controller logic and overall color is make or break in mini led like this but the potential 2000:1 native contrast and higher refresh rates should give these monitors a chance to offer value in this space. Look forward to the reviews and measurements and comparisons to prior SOTA mini leds.
 
All of these need more HRZ.

4k 165hz.... thats been around for 100 years now. My 27" Innocn 4k160 been doing that since 1974.

240hz is the minimum for 4k and 360hz for 1440peee.
 
27C2A is on sale for $450 direct from TCL right now. 27R94 is $700. Been looking for a good 27" 4K monitor ever since my PG27UQ died. Read that contrast is poor on the C2A, though. Can't find a lot of good information or reviews on them. Would like to try the dual mode C2A, but the R94 sounds more promising. The Tom's review sounds promising. And MistaSparkul likes it.

https://www.tomshardware.com/monito...r94-27-inch-4k-165-hz-gaming-monitor-review/3
l88bastard said:
All of these need more HRZ.

4k 165hz.... thats been around for 100 years now. My 27" Innocn 4k160 been doing that since 1974.

240hz is the minimum for 4k and 360hz for 1440peee.
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160 Hz is fine. It's the standard now after 144 Hz. Not like you'll be hitting 240 FPS in games that show off this monitor anyway. Besides, there are no video cards with HDMI 2.2 yet.
 
Armenius said:
27C2A is on sale for $450 direct from TCL right now. 27R94 is $700. Been looking for a good 27" 4K monitor ever since my PG27UQ died. Read that contrast is poor on the C2A, though. Can't find a lot of good information or reviews on them. Would like to try the dual mode C2A, but the R94 sounds more promising. The Tom's review sounds promising. And MistaSparkul likes it.

https://www.tomshardware.com/monito...r94-27-inch-4k-165-hz-gaming-monitor-review/3

160 Hz is fine. It's the standard now after 144 Hz. Not like you'll be hitting 240 FPS in games that show off this monitor anyway. Besides, there are no video cards with HDMI 2.2 yet.
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I haven't used those new IPS / HFS shoot or whatever TCL panels but I do like my 27r94 a lot it was the best of the 27" 4k monitors I've had after my original Acer X27 gsync ultimate HDR 1000 panel. The near-black performance and HDR bright-area performance both put it above all the others where it was obvious you could see detail the others were missing in scenes. I don't play shooters really at all so no idea performance there, games I play are like tower of fantasy, wuthering waves, where winds meet, etc. with the last 2 HDR which looks fantastic. Also reading, I do a lot of reading and have it calibrated with a calibrite tool.

I'm not sure if I posted my notes on here but after using it for a few months I've noticed 1 web forum which uses this awful font does flash slightly when scrolling but that's still not really an issue because I don't read when I'm scrolling I read when I am reading lol.

said font/text

1789577162529.png


To go along with the notes, the matte doesn't bother me whatsoever after using it for months fwiw I don't notice any glistening or anything. Also the dual-mode IPS equivalent panels have a pretty bad brightness shift when you move your head side to side which is more noticeable and more annoying than the slight colour shift on the TCL. The worst part of the TCL is still the stupid stand lol. TBH I have been thinking about picking up a 2nd one just to keep in the box in case we run into the issue again where the original 27" gsync ultimate ones were pretty fantastic even with only 384 zones and the rest kind of sucked even to now.



Anyway here's my notes it doesn't seem I ever posted:

So now I've gone deep into the 27" 4k monitor segment well I guess I could get more but either way I currently have:

Acer X27 pbmiphzx w/gsync ultimate IPS FALD LED
KTC m27p6 IPS mini-LED
MSI MAG 274UPDF E16M IPS mini-LED
Asus XG27UCDMG QD-OLED
TCL 27R94 HVA mini-LED


TLDR: the TCL is the best for me, I'll be returning the Asus.







Acer thoughts and why I need to replace it:

I never had any issues with this monitor besides the buttons which basically don't work anymore, I should contact them to see if they can fix them or not. First the power button stopped working but now I can't switch inputs or any settings and as I use it with my PC and consoles it's a dealbreaker now. HDR was great, the 384 zones never really bothered me, the panel was really even and the noise from the fan wasn't loud over a computer I could only hear it after I shut off the computer.


Thus starts my replacement saga...keep in mind my original 4k monitor was a 32" which I feel is too big for my setup so I'm not super keen on them and why I didn't just go and buy the PG32UQX. Since they were reasonably priced and somewhat similar being IPS I figured okay the KTC had decent reviews I'll pick that up but...

The IPS mini-LED monitors have a darkened 1cm fringe all around the edge of the screen which bothers me a bit and since I haven't really been able to get over it I decided to try some other things. Initially I thought it may just be KTC's supposedly awful QC but it in fact had nothing to do with that and the MSI has the same issue.

Differences between the KTC and MSI:

MSI stand is more stable, less screen wobble
KTC modes are easier to switch but there are fewer, MSI has them separated into Game and Professional menus which is kind of annoying. You can assign mode switcher menu to the joystick on KTC, not on MSI.
KTC is brighter, also it ramps up very quickly.
MSI brightness adjustment skips steps sometimes so it only changes on even numbers which is weird but ok...
KTC labels automatic input switching as auto-detect input.
MSI joystick is at the bottom in the center, KTC has it on the right side on the back like my old Acer.
MSI white balance is much more accurate, normal is 6450k. KTC normal is 8000k and warm is 7000k, P3 is 6800k.


Nice things about KTC and MSI:
anti-glare coating is pretty nice, it's more of a semi-gloss than an old matte but still more matte than the asus qd-oled as an example.
HDR is awesome and extremely bright (KTC is brighter)

Meh things about KTC and MSI:
Local dimming is pretty useless in SDR mode and looks bad
Dual mode sucks and can cause the monitor to no longer be detected by the computer, worthless imo.
There is brightness/gamma shift from side to side when you move your head the screen gets light and darker.

MSI has firmware updates and KTC has no firmware updates, whether this matters I'm not so sure. (I saw somebody point out that a reviewer has recently uploaded some firmware files but I have not tried them)


Nice things about Asus:
Being a gloss panel the contrast and clarity are really good.
Colour, brightness, etc. is consistent depending on how you look at the screen.
The automatic shut-off sensor works very well and is really cool I wish every monitor had it.
Has 2 separate buttons in addition to the joystick so just more customizability here.


Meh things about Asus:
6500k setting is 6600k, could be better.

Variable brightness (ABL) is weird.

The improved black levels don't really mean anything if your room is even somewhat bright, you can't even tell the difference. Also due to how eyes work you still see glow around bright stuff on dark backgrounds.
HDR is extremely mediocre, the brightness is so low I don't even think you can really call it HDR. I tried the various modes with the boost on and off, the trueblack is darker but the other modes have raised black levels so they don't look as nice. Also, there is black detail loss which I mention below.
Asus USB Firmware update doesn't work, I tried several USB drives from 2 to 32GB and none worked, had to use windows utility. Mine came with the 101 firmware which is pretty old.

Things I would classify as a deal-breaker depending on use case:
Uniform brightness cuts down maximum brightness by quite a lot.

Every mode but sRGB Cal Mode crushes blacks so you lose a lot of black detail, even in HDR where you can't configure it you are not seeing detail that is there.
The semi-gloss coating really does show direct light and it is very distracting.
The stand is horrible, it is so stiff to adjust the tilt side to side it takes forever to get it even. You have to get it to a position where when the tension breaks it snaps into the correct level.
VESA mount is an adapter, it's included but kind of annoying.

Only has a gaming and an sRGB mode no other pro modes.
Some things have banding in games.
If you take pictures of the screen for whatever reason this has the worst artifacting I've ever seen but really just take a screenshot lol.

Other Notes about the Asus:
Regarding the blacks turning purple, I didn't really notice that so much, it just looks like an IPS monitor to be honest.
Text clarity was pretty much fine, yeah it is worse than the IPS or VA but it's still pretty good it just looks like an AG coating. You can see fringing on white text on dark backgrounds, not so much on black on white.
Gloss coating can reflect RGB keyboards and stuff




Nice things about TCL:
HDR is great, same as the KTC and MSI models but make sure to adjust the black level boost otherwise it'll look washed out, I found -3 or -4 looked best.
You can adjust settings in HDR mode.
Standard colour mode is 7500k if you like that it is bang on.



Meh things about TCL:
Warm mode is 6600k so a bit off.

It's more matte than the KTC and MSI, it's not BAD I would just say it's fine. Compared to my old Dell U2711 it is light years better.
Only 2 customizable settings on the joystick.
The stand is enormous and stupid.
Bottom bezel is gloss, can reflect RGB keyboards and stuff.
1 year warranty


Things I would classify as a deal-breaker depending on use case:
There is colour change when you move your head from side to side but if you are in the center like 2/3 of the screen it's not really an issue.
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Armenius said:
27C2A is on sale for $450 direct from TCL right now. 27R94 is $700. Been looking for a good 27" 4K monitor ever since my PG27UQ died. Read that contrast is poor on the C2A, though. Can't find a lot of good information or reviews on them. Would like to try the dual mode C2A, but the R94 sounds more promising. The Tom's review sounds promising. And MistaSparkul likes it.

https://www.tomshardware.com/monito...r94-27-inch-4k-165-hz-gaming-monitor-review/3

160 Hz is fine. It's the standard now after 144 Hz. Not like you'll be hitting 240 FPS in games that show off this monitor anyway. Besides, there are no video cards with HDMI 2.2 yet.
Click to expand...

Here's a review of the C2A Pro: https://chimolog-co.translate.goog/tcl-27c2a-pro/?_x_tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc
 
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