26 MAY2020|COMPUTER SHOPPER|ISSUE387
THEPHILIPSBRILLIANCE439P9Hisan
ultrawide displaythat aims to improve
productivity by offering avast amount of
space –handy if you work with loads of
windows or with huge spreadsheets.
Design-wise,itlooks good, with asmart,
minimalist stand andslim bezels. It’s robust
and versatile,too: you get130mm of height
adjustment, tilting and swivellingmovement
and100mm VESA compatibility.The only
concern is making sureyou have room forit,
as it’s agigantic1,058mm wide.
LOST IN SPACE
That’s adiagonal43inworth of screen space,
presented in a32:10 aspectratio with a
conventional 1800R curvature.Both this
size andthe resolution of 3,840x1,200
point to amonitorthat’sintended as a
replacementfor dual 1080p displays.
Thereare more pixel-dense ultrawide
monitors,including Philips’ own Brilliance
499P9H (Shopper377), but the 439P9Hisstill
sharpenoughfor photo and video work,and
there’s always plenty of screenreal estatefor
usingmultiplewindows or wideapplications.
As well as thehuge size and resolution, the
439P9H uses VA technology alongside 10-bit
colour,and it hasAMD FreeSync that peaks at
100Hz. The inclusion of VA technology is
interesting: it lowers cost when compared to
IPS and lends itself to top-notch contrast, but
IPS panels tend to have better colours.
There’salso DisplayHDR 40 0support,
althoughthi
standard.M
the 439P9H
so youcanc
using asing
and the Win
webcam hel
possible tos
recognition
There’sa
portsonoff
include two
ports, botho
deliver powe
the other 1 5
of which can
upstream po
are also fou
USB 3.1port
fast chargin
Gigabit Ethe
DisplayPort1.4inputsandasoleHDMI2.0b
connection.Youalsogettwo5Wspeakers
thatprovideenoughpunchandclarityfor
casualmediauseandvideocalls.
Thisisanextremelywell-roundedselection
of inputs, although it remainsirritating thatall
of this panel’s ports are on the rearand face
downwards, making them trickytoreach.
Thankfully, however,the standard Philips
onscreen displayissensibly organisedand
veryfast, with navigation controlled by
snappybuttons beneath the bottom bezel.
OFF COLOUR
At its defaultsettings, the439P9H deliversa
brightnesslevel of 400cd/m^2 –dead on the
requirement forDisplayHDR 400 certification
–and ablacklevel of 0.18cd/m^2 .Those figures
create acontrast ratio of 2,222:1, an excellent
figurethat squeakspast the larger 499P9H.
Thatsuperb contrastmeans that the 439P9H
has huge vibrancy and punch, along witha
lackofnoticeablebandingand plenty of
pleasing subtlety on show.
Average delta-E is less impressive,at2.27,
but colour performance improves significantly
uponswitching to sRGBmode. Delta-Edrops
to amuch better 1.25,and 97.9% sRGBgamut
coverage will suffice formainstream editing.
Professionals mightneedtolookelsewhere,
e 43 9P9Hcould
ge79.4% of the
mut and86.9%
gamut.
creen modes
ch, either.
hinders contrast,
cemodes don’t
ant colour
ovements, and
makeseverything
heboard.
ayingthat the
nly using the
ess setting of
is up to full and
aks at 529cd/m^2
ing contrast and
However,while
sfiedHDR’s
irements,its
blacklevelcan’treachthedepthsdemanded
byDisplayHDR 400 .ActivatingHDRonthis
screen will deliver only atiny improvement,
so no-one should buy this screen on the
strength of its HDR options.
Uniformity is an issue,too.Ultrawides
often struggle with this,but the 439P9H has
it particularly tough, losing up to 35%ofits
backlight strength on the leftedge and up to
28% on theright edge.
BIGGER FISH
TheBrilliance 439P9H has several big
advantages.The design, forstarters: this
screen’s widthisahuge boonfor lots of
situations, and the displayhas great features,
from itsUSB and Ethernet connectivity to
itsKVM switchand pop-upwebcam.The
439P9H serves up impressivecontrast and
good colour in its sRGB mode,too.
It does have itsdownsides, however.The
499P9H is biggerand sharper (thanks to its
higherresolution), and has better colour
performance. The 439P9H’s coloursand
contrastare generally good, butthe
uniformity issues mean that this screen won’t
always cope with colour-sensitive tasks in the
sRGB colourspace, andit’s not able to handle
Adobe RGB or DCI-P3 work, either.
The Philips Brilliance 439P9H is goodif
you need lots of horizontal space and if you
don’tdotoo much colour-sensitive work.
However,keepthe larger 499P9H on your
radar –it’s only alittle more expensive,
despitethe highersize and resolution.
MikeJennings
PHILIPS Brilliance
439P9H
★★★★★
£800•From http://www.amazon.co.uk
VERDICT
Greatquality,featuresandsize,butit’snot
necessarilythebiggestorthebestoption
WFHDVAMONITOR
SCREEN SIZE43in•RESOLUTION3,840x1,200•SCREEN
TECHNOLOGYVA•REFRESH RATE100Hz•VIDEO
INPUTSDisplayPort,HDMI•WARRANTYThreeyearsRTB
- DETAILSwww.philips.co.uk•PART CODE439P9H
SPECIFICATIONS
CONNECTION PORTS
HDMI DisplayPortx2 USB3.1x4
p y pp ,
isisonlyanentry-level HDR
More helpful are theside features:
has an integrated KVM switch,
control two PCs or laptops
le keyboard andmouse,
ndows Hello-compatible
pfully makesit
set up facial
authentication.
alsoaslew of
ffer.These
USBType-C
ofwhich can
er(one75W,
5 W), andone
nactasan
ort. There
rfull-size
ts, onewith
g, as well as
ernet, two
g
however,asthe
also only manag
Adobe RGB gam
of the DCI-P3g
Theothersc
don’t offer muc
Gaming modeh
Photoand Offic
deliver significa
accuracy impro
Movie modem
worse acrossth
It’s worthsa
400cd/m^2 is on
default brightn
60%; whackth
the 439P9H pea
while maintaini
colour levels.H
Philips has satis
brightnessrequi
USB Type-C x2 Ethernet
