Micro Mart - 10 March 2016_

46 Issue 1404

Philips 34-inch Curved

UltraWide LCD monitor

L

ast year, I had the

privilege of testing the

BenQ XR3501 before it

hit the shelves, andI

was extremely impressed with

its curbed screen, high

resolutions and exceptional

features.

Ihaven’t had any curbed

monitors toreview since then,

so I was pretty pleased to

finally get my mitts on this

latest offering from Philips.

The Philips Curved UltraWide

LCD is one of the Brilliance

range of high-performance

screens, with a wonderful 34.1

inches of AH-IPS LCD screen,

with a 3800mm curvature and

an aspect ratio of 21:9.

The resolution offered here

is 3440 x 1440 at 60Hz, witha

Smart Response time of just

5ms, a standard contrast ratio

of 1000:1 and a smart/

dynamic contrast ratio of

50,000,000:1. Since it’s an IPS

panel, you get good viewing

angles, with 172 degrees on

the horizontal and 178

degrees on the vertical.

Connectivity consists of

three HDMI ports, two of

which are 1.4 (with one being

MHL capable) and the third

supporting HDMI 2.0. There’s

also a DisplayPort, audio in,a

headphone socket and a four-

port USB 3.0 hub.

The design of the monitor is

excellent, with a white, almost

Apple-likerear panel on the

screen and an impossibly thin

3mm bezel surrounding the

viewable panel. This alone

makes the screen size feel

bigger than it already is and is

a feature we’d wish other

monitor manufactures would

employ moreregularly.

Curved screens have divided

opinion among users. On a big

TV, a curved screen can often

become an annoyance if you’re

the family member who sits

toward the outer edges, making

sections of the screen appear

darker. However, with a

monitor, you’re sitting

considerably closer and usually

head on, without other people

trying to view your content at

an angle. This is where a curbed

screen works well and, indeed,

the Philips model is excellent.

The image quality is superb,

with some of the best colour

reproduction and depth we’ve

ever seen. The brightness

levels are a little high for our

personal tastes out of the box,

David Hayward is a sucker for curves

but it’s an issue easilyrectified,

and when done, the screen

doesn’t blind you quite as

much. A low-blue-light option

wouldn’t go amiss.

Nevertheless the image

quality is perfect, and the

gradual curve draws your eyes

towards the centre of the

screen, with the visible

curvature creating a surround

effect. There’s more than

enough screen space to split

the screen in two or even

three if you want, witha

couple of decent 1720 x 1440

monitors in a single unit.

As you would expect, the

Philips 34-inch Curved

UltraWide monitor comes ata

higher than average price–

somewhere between £650 and

£690.You could argue that

three lesser individual monitors

are cheaper, but then you

wouldn’t get the glorious

image quality that comes with

this curved beauty.

In short, it’s an excellent

monitor and one that will

perform magnificently no

matter what you display on it.

mmDavid Hayward

Expensive, but well

worth it

9

7

Quality

Value

99

Overall

iThe Philips 34" curved monitor looks amazing

iThe connectivity is excellent

DETAILS

• Price: Up to £690


• Manufacturer: Philips


• Website:
  goo.gl/wyt0rV


• Requirements: HDMI
  2.0 output for 4K
  viewing, spare USB
  port for powered hub