P
hilips’ Brilliance 328P is a little
more expensive than many 4K
panels – but it offers plenty of
features to try and justify that cost.
It has its 4K resolution, of course,
and it also serves up HDR, a 10-bit
screen and lashings of versatility.Price and availability
The Brilliance 328P costs around
£499 ($655). That’s lower by around
£100 ($100) than when the 328P
made its debut, but it’s still around
£100 ($100) more than you’ll pay for
a more affordable 4K display,
although those probably won’t
have 10-bit colour or HDR.Design and features
The 328P’s 10-bit screen is a solid
starter when it comes to tasks
where colour accuracy is key, and it
can display 1.07 billion colours.
That’s vital for high-end design
work – the extra colours mean
better individual tones, more
depth and subtler gradations.The 3,840x2,160 resolution
delivers a density level of 140 pixels
per inch (ppi), which is great – text,
images and applications will be
pleasingly crisp. You’ll also have
loads of real estate for multiple
windows and applications.
The Philips stacks up against the
LG 27UD88, which costs £600
($630), and that we reviewed last
issue. That’s also a 4K display, but
its 27-inch diagonal delivers 163ppi,
so its images will be a little crisper.
When it comes to HDR, the
Brilliance 328P meets VESA
DisplayHDR 600 spec, which is
higher than the DisplayHDR 400
and 500 protocols; but lower
than DisplayHDR 1000.
DisplayHDR 600 demands that
a screen achieves a 600cd/m^2
backlight level for short periods
and a 350cd/m^2 backlight for
prolonged periods in order to give
high dynamic range content the
requisite boost to colour and
contrast. DisplayHDR 600 alsorequires a 0.1cd/m^2 black level,
and 90 percent coverage of the
DCI-P3 colour gamut.
The Brilliance 328P doesn’t have
a clean bill of health when it comes
to its headline feature, and in other
areas its toes the line between
impressive and ordinary.
Take its vertical alignment (VA)
panel. VA technology generally
delivers great contrast that beats
IPS panels, but usually falls behind
when it comes to colour accuracy.
The 60Hz refresh rate is ordinary,
and isn’t accompanied by any
syncing technology. That’s fine for
work, but it does mean the 328P
won’t be noticeably fluid when
compared to panels that do have
syncing or higher refresh rates.
The 328P’s response time is also
middling at 4ms – fine for work, but
not good for fast-paced movement.
Looks-wise, the 328P is business-
like, rather than eye-catching. It has
a chunky bezel, dark plastic and
metal, with a subtle stand.Philips Brilliance 328P
£499 | $655 http://www.philips.com
Brilliance by name, brilliant by nature?
78 |^ |^ May 2019