IF THERE’S A SINGLE metric by which PC
display technology disappoints in 2020, it
has to be pixel density. A decade ago, it
seemed inevitable that high-DPI displays
would be the norm on the PC by now. The
realit y? DPI level s on most displ ays barely
breach 100. In other words, there has
been lit tle or no change from 10 year s ago.
DPI refers to dots per inch, a measure
of how densely pixels are packed into a
given area of screen. The denser or more
numerous the pixels, the sharper and
clearer the image. Fonts are particularly
sensitive to pixel density, but it’s important
for screen clarity and image detail, period.
Take the new HP Z38c, a desirable new
38-inch ultrawide monitor, with a $1,200
price tag. At first glance, the Z38c’s
native resolution of 3840x1600 pixels
sounds like plenty to justify its premium
positioning. But do the pixel density math,
and the result is a DPI of just 109 pixels
per inch. That’s actually slightly worse
than a bargain basement 1080p 20-inch
monitor that you might pick up for $75.
Compared to smartphones, that kind
of pixel density is pathetic. Even budget
smartphones typically deliver upward of
300 dpi. Of course, smartphones and PC
monitors are not directly comparable.
The practical impact of pixel density in
terms of image quality depends upon
viewing distance. The shorter the viewing
distance, the more pixels are required for
a given level of detail or clarity.
Obviously, phone screens held in the
hand are viewed at shorter distances than
PC monitors. Apple’s “Retina” display
standard provides a useful metric. The
idea behind it is the human eye’s ability
to resolve individual pixels. The point at
which the pixels are so small they can’t
be individually discerned is the point at
which adding further pixels does nothing
to improve sharpness and detail. You can
achieve the “Retina” point by moving a
display further away or by adding pixels.
Apple puts that point at around 300 dpi
for smartphones and 200 dpi for desktop
and laptop displays. It’s not an exactIN SEARCH
OF HDR
HDR, or high dynamic range, has always
been a tricky concept, but in the recent
context of PC displays, it’s been more
problematic than ever. What with
numerous competing standards and no
unifying definition of what it takes to be an
HDR display, it’s a minefield for buyers.
Arguably, the problem is even more
fundamental than that. The ability to
support or decode HDR content is one
thing, the ability to render an HDR image
is another. To the discredit of many
monitor companies, they’ve conflated the
two. But not all manufacturers are guilty.
By way of example, in our review
of the new BenQ DesignVue PD3220U,
we noted that BenQ says the display
“supports HDR10 content.” Arguably,
BenQ could be even more explicit, but it’s
welcome that the company doesn’t pitch
the PD3220U as an HDR monitor. A quick
perusal of its specs, for instance, revealsscience and one can debate the distances,
required DPI levels, and the acuity of
the human eye. But Apple’s approach
provides a tolerable rule of thumb and a
context in which a mere 109 dpi obviously
isn’t even close. That’s an observation
confirmed when you compare the quality
of fonts on a display with a DPI of around
100 with another good for 200 dpi. The
latter has much cleaner, sharper fonts.PIXEL PORTENT
Consider the broader PC monitor market
and you’ll quickly find that vanishingly few
products offer a true high-DPI experience.
Take something like a 27-inch 4K monitor
with fully 3840x2160 pixels. Impressive?
Yes. But spread over that 27-inch diagonal,
the result is 163 dpi. Not bad, but still well
short of the Retina standard. Even a 24-
inch 4K display only clocks in at 184 dpi.
What if you up the ante to 5K? LG’s 5K2K
monitor, the UltraWide 34WK95U, is a
34-incher and delivers 163 dpi. Speaking of
LG, it also offers the 27MD5K A UltraFine,
a 27-inch model with 5120x2880 pixels.
Finally, we have a monitor that can top
200 dpi—the UltraFine is good for 218 dpi.
Still, what that monitor shows is that you
need a heck of a lot of pixels to achieve
truly high DPI on larger displays.
Apple’s new $6,000 32-inch Pro Display
XDR, for instance, needs a 6K resolution
of 6018x3384 to achieve the same 218 dpi
as the LG UltraFine. And it’s not really PC
compatible. Another example is Dell’s 8K
monitor, the UP3218K. With 7680x4320
pixels and a 32-inch diagonal, it’s good for
275 dpi. It’s a proper high-DPI display, for
sure, but it’s very much the exception. And
a $3,500 exception at that.
Speaking of exceptions, portable PCs
are the cheapest and easiest way to get
a high-DPI experience. Many notebook,
tablet, and convertible PCs are at least
optionally available with screen DPIs of
200 or more. But unless you prefer using
a laptop screen, that’s not much help.
Sadly, there is little near-term prospect
of things improving. Actual LCD panels, asopposed to entire monitors, are only made
by a very small number of companies. If
said companies aren’t offering large
format high-DPI panels suitable for
PC monitors, there’s nothing display
manufacturers can do about that. Among
the big players in LCD manufacturing
are LG, Samsung, and AU Optronics. As
a rule, they’re pretty open about their
forward planning for upcoming LCD
panels. For 2020, there’s no sign of any
new panels that will bring high DPI into
the mainstream PC monitor market.
Indeed, our research couldn’t uncover
any new panels due out in 2020 with a
resolution beyond 4K. As we’ve seen, you
need more than 4K to achieve a high-DPI
experience on larger monitors. We’re not
even sure if the new 6K panel in the Apple
Pro Display XDR will be available for4K remains state of the art in 2020. HP’s Z38c is a stunner, but it’s not high DPI. Will Apple’s 6K panel turn up in a PC screen?2020 vision
46 MAXIMUMPC MAR 2020 maximumpc.com