Looking for monitor recommendation: 27" vs 32"? 1440p vs 4K? AMVAvs IPS ?

[Anshur]

Hi everybody,

I apologize in advance if there is so quirky syntax or grammar, I'm writing from France .

So, a few days ago, my old 24" (Dell S2440L) gave up after 3 years of good and loyal service (sadly 3 weak after the end of warranty ), and I thus find myself in the market for a new screen.

As I don't upgrade often, I tend to put a lot of consideration into my purchase. So naturally I've perused the internet and found myself quickly lost in the vastness of choices therein.

I therefore find myself in need of help to find my perfect screen, and I would greatly appreciate any assistance you could provide

I've naturally come with some questions as the title indicates, but first a little information on my use cases.

I mainly plan on using the monitor (as my main and unique screen) for tv series (and occasional movie) watching (~50%), for light AAA gaming (~20%) and web surfing (~20%).

Knowing this I've looked over the internet for a "perfect" screen having the following characteristics:

• Size : ≥ 27" (preferably 32" )
• Coating: preferably glossy
• Resolution: ≥ 1440p (preferably 4K)
• Contrast: ≥ 2500:1 (around 3000:1 would be perfect)
• Refresh rate: ≥ 60Hz
• Acceptable Input Lag & Response time
• Input: at least 1 HDMI & 1 Displayport
• Output: Audio out if possible
• Design: edge-to-edge would be a plus
• Budget: ≤ 500€ ~600$

But obviously the perfect screen would be very unlikely to exist (especially under 600$) so I've found some interesting compromises:

• BenQ BL3200PT: +32" +1440p - Banding and input lag issues - matte display - 92 PPI
• BenQ BL3201PH: +32" +4K - Banding and input lag issues - matte display - IPS
• BDM4065UC: +/-40" +4K +glossy - pixel stretching

So here comes the questions

1. Are IPS pannels with < 1000:1 contrast ration any good for video or I should better stick with MVA panels ?
2. I saw that there is a 32" MVA 4K Seiki's monitor coming out Q2 (sadly a brand difficult to obtain in Europe), should I soldier on and try to live 3 month without a desktop ? (if that's possible...)
3. Are the affordable 4K IPS monitor worth it or should I stick with a 1440p ?
4. Is there a real price difference between 4k and 1440p nowadays ? (the P2715Q 4k ans U2715H 2k are at the same price)
   
   And finally:
   
   
5. Could you recommend any 27+ monitor fitting my use cases/ parameters out there ? Or comment on why I've found yet.

Thanks for any help you could provide guys

Edit: Topic edited to reflect change in questions.

 

[falkonIndian]

The Dell isn't exactly as matte as the rog swift or even it's older version the u2713hm. While it's not glossy, it's as good as it gets with the llightness of the ag coating.

 

[geok1ng]

I understand that you may not have the budget for it, but your usage scenario practically begs for the Philips BDM4065UC.

Considering you live in Europe, where its price and availability are better, it should be a non-issue to go BIG.

Between the Benq BL3200PT and the HP Envy 32....they are more or less the same panel but the HP is priced $200 lower in some countries.i would not consider the giant speakers "useless" if over half of time is watching videos on it.

 

[NCX]

The Philips is a 900$+ joke since it uses 240hz PWM when the brightness is not maxed, and stretches images too. The extra sharpness 4K provides is lost to PWM blur when gaming.

The 32" 4K panels and BenQ BL3200PT have 15-30ms delays; it's unlikely that the HP 32 Envy is different, and it uses PWM.

The Asus PB279Q 4k monitor has been confirmed to be delay free by both =DEAD= and PRAD. The BenQ BL3201PH PRAD reviewed had low lag, but I'd wait for other tests since many of the delay free monitors they test have 20ms delays when tested by others. Review links here.

 

[doug_7506]

Pretty much what NCX said.

I had pretty much the same req that you did. Fortunately PWM doesn't bother me much and I don't play twitch shooters so I can deal with high input lag than most.

While there are plenty of great 27" 1440p monitors out there, once you go above 27", it gets really tough.


I tried the 32" 1440p monitors and the size is great. If you are going to be watching movies/tv half the time, then the BenQ BL3200PT/HP Envy 32 seems like the clear choice IMO. The size is great and the blacks are really nice. The newer revisions of the BenQ are PWM free also.

I feel like my eyes would melt with anything smaller than 32" @ 4k. But that is just me.

While the HP Envy doesn't have many reviews out, the reviews on retailers sites are positive.
Amazon 4.5/5 89 reviews
BestBuy 4.8/5 17 reviews

 

[Anshur]

i would not consider the giant speakers "useless"

In theory I would agree, but I've just recently splurged on a nice set of 400$ speakers (ruark audio mr1) so the integrated speaker don't seem all that appealing. They do take a lot of space and are said to not sound all that good. But I guess a 100&#8364; (where I live) reduction might just be worth it.

I feel like my eyes would melt with anything smaller than 32" @ 4k. But that is just me.

I have to admit this combination would be the sweet spot. I've read that seiki was planing to release a 32" 4k MVA monitor in Q2, so it kind of piss me off that my old S2440L died know and not in 3 month

The newer revisions of the BenQ are PWM free also.

That's good to know, but do you know if they solved the banding issues too ? I've read that it's a wide spread issue with the monitor.

Asus PB279Q 4k monitor has been confirmed to be delay free [...] BL3201PH ...

I've looked at those two, but I'm concern about contrast (I've read that the asus has around 1100:1 and the dells & BenQ around 800:1). As I use my monitor as my tv (i.e. a lot of series & movies) I've always been wary of non-MVA displays.

Are the advantages worth it considering my use case ? (4K, low input lag, PWM flickering free, etc.)

Philips BDM4065UC

I've looked at this one as well as the Seiki SM40UNP, but the sheer size, the stretching issues and the price kind put me off. Is the stretching really a big deal ? (I can't stand to see 4:3 stretched, but granted that's on a much larger scale)

Anyway thanks a lot for the feedback guys, that's a great help

 

[NCX]

The Dell S2440L has grey blacks since it uses edge-to-edge glass (left e2eG vs monitor with the same coating as the 4K AHVA monitors, and yes I have seen the S2440L as well as last years highest end Sony w/e2eG which are marginally better than the Samsung), a perceived black depth ruining glass covered black bezel, is extremely reflective, suffers from obvious overshoot ghosting as well as has washed out colours due to the very low sRGB colour space coverage (76%...a record breaking low)+gamma shift, so I would not be so worried about AHVA/IPS/PLS panels lower contrast.

Specific types of room lighting can make most AHVA/IPS/PLS panels blacks look pitched black as long as the brightness is not kept cranked. A 1600 Lumen Philips 6500k/Daylight CFL (4 for <20$) can do this, as can the 2600 lumen light (<20$) when used as a bias light (light placed in a lamp behind the monitor) if the monitors brightness is set under 160cdm/2.

The BenQ BL3201PH uses a matte grey bezel which vastly increase the perceived black depth (MS Paint Example), and the unit PRAD tested had 1000-1200:1 contrast, plus it will look sharp and not look as grainy/sparkly when viewing whites and light colours since its ppi is lower. I don't know how pronounced the bottom corner glow will be when viewing it from a reasonable distance in ideal lighting conditions (60cm/2ft), but it will likely suffer from more head on glow than the Asus PB279Q.

 

[Anshur]

I understand that you can correct contrast with ambiance lighting, or ruin it, I did a fair bit of reading on the subject, notably on one of your (very interesting by the way) thread on MVA displays.

However, I really dislike distracting light when I watch tv, so I usually watch in almost complete darkness with no reflection (blind close, phone off, etc.) so, as I understand it, it tends to revert back to the native contrast in such conditions (at least it seems to be the consensus, I admit not having much experience beyond the 2-3 monitors I've owned so far).

And yes, although its true that the S2440L had a fairly limited color space, and since I don't do any color sensitive work, I'm not sure if that is much of a concern for me.

But still, I'm very tempted by 4k as I have really slow upgrade cycle (basically until it dies) so I might be stuck with the one I choose for a long time

Is there any advantage of the PB279Q over the BenQ BL3201PH beside PPI and the IPS glow you mentioned ?

Is there any other 4k display out there you would recommend ? Or any 32" 1440p ?


ps: Currently I'm mainly hesitating between the BL3201PH and its little brother the BL3200PT

ps2: Why in hell is the P2715Q and U2715H the same price ? The resolution on one side and the color on the other are the only reason ?

 

[MrMike]

ps: Currently I'm mainly hesitating between the BL3201PH and its little brother the BL3200PT

I had both of these side by side.

The BL3200PT has better contrast and black uniformity, but the BL3201PH is better at everything else. I kept the latter, but if I could have gotten a BL3200PT without the flashing issue I probably would have kept it and had never seen the BL3201PH. The banding on the BL3200PT is visible in actual use though, particularly on grays and other mid tone colors.

The BL3201PH has the best gray, white, red, green, and blue uniformity out of anything I've seen. I brought this up when I first got it and Prad's review seems to agree.

 

[doug_7506]

Just noticed amazon started adding this disclaimer to all IPS panels:

Product Alert: IPS (In-Plane-Switching) is a technology for LCD displays that offers users wider viewing angles and bolder colors by allowing more light to pass through the panel. As a result, IPS panels can exhibit a slight glow around the edges and corners (also known as light bleed), which is entirely normal.

 

[Anshur]

Hi again !

So my situation changed a little: My budget increased, so that I've started seriously considering the Philips BDM4065UC.

Thus I find myself torn between the BL3201PH/BL3200PT and the Philips, and the only questions remaining are then:

• Is the 40" not too big for viewing upclose (I'm usually between 60cm - 1 m of the screen) ?
• Is the screen stretching that noticeable on the Philipps ? The tftcentral's review doesn't seem to even mention it.
• Which could you recommend over the others ?

I admit being a bit lost in the see of specs and available displays out there : )

Anyway I would be grateful for any advice you could give. Thanks again, your help is invaluable !