LG Announces 32UD99: 4K IPS Display with 95% DCI-P3, HDR and USB-C

LG on Wednesday announced its new flagship display with a UHD 4K resolution, DCI-P3 color gamut, as well as HDR10 support. The LG 32UD99 will be aimed at creative professionals, prosumers and gamers, which suggests more or less reasonable pricing as well as some allowances to handle Microsoft Windows’ quirky color management (through support of sRGB). The monitor will be demonstrated at CES next month and will hit the market some time in 2017.

The LG 32UD99 will a 32” display featuring a 10-bit IPS panel that can reproduce 1.07 billion colors and cover over 95% of the DCI-P3 color space, while LG has said nothing about the sRGB and the Adobe RGB color spaces. The monitor will support 10-bit HDR capabilities, but LG is not disclosing details about its LUTs (look-up-tables) and so on. Finally, LG says that the 32UD99 will be able to connect to computers using a single USB Type-C cable (using DisplayPort Alternate Mode) that will also support charging capabilities. Other notable features that LG mentioned in its press release are thin bezels as well as “slim” stand.

The manufacturer is positioning its 32UD99 for different types of applications. Specifically, the company says that the monitor is “well-equipped” to support HDR-capable game consoles, which suggests that it can at least connect them using an HDMI 2.0a port because Sony’s PlayStation 4 Pro and NVIDIA’s SHIELD ATV (the only HDR-capable game consoles available today) do not have a USB-C header. Moreover, neither game console currently support DCI-P3 color space, which means that the display would need to support sRGB alongside HDR10.

Meanwhile, the support for DCI-P3 and HDR10 means that the display will appeal to professionals from the gaming, digital cinema, home theater and software industries. The consumer standard for DCI is used by a number of consumer electronics devices as well as a variety of Apple devices (and has good prospects to be adopted for televisions as well), and while LG isn’t confirming that they’re going with the consumer version (as opposed to the digital projection version with its different white point and gamma), it’s reasonable to assume that like their other DCI-capable monitors, the 32UD99 will follow the consumer standard as well. Though it may very well be that HDR becomes the most distinctive feature, as HDR support in monitors is currently few and far between. Now, since the LG 32UD99 covers “over 95%” of the DCI-P3 color space (and not 98 – 99% like many professional-grade monitors like LG’s own 31MU97 do), the manufacturer does not straightforward say that the 32UD99 is going to be its new flagship model for creative professionals, but rather points to prosumers and demanding gamers.

Since LG made a preliminary announcement of the monitor this week, it naturally did not disclose all of its specifications leaving many questions unanswered. Nonetheless, it looks like the 32UD99 will be a considerably more universal display than LG’s UltraFine lineup of monitors designed solely with Apple’s macOS and Mac hardware in mind.  

Today, LG only announced plans to demonstrate its 32UD99 display at CES, which is why it did not touch upon its pricing and estimated availability timeframe. While it is logical to expect the LG 32UD99 to hit the market sometimes next year at a price that will be above that of average 32” UHD models, that is all we can share at this point.

Related Reading:

• LG Introduces New UltraFine 4K and 5K Monitors
• BenQ Launches the SW320: a 4K Display with HDR for Professionals
• Dell Introduces UltraSharp UP3017 30-Inch Professional Display with 16:10 Aspect Ratio and DCI-P3 Color Space
• EIZO Launches FlexScan EV2780: 27” 2560×1440 Display with USB Type-C Connector
• EIZO Launches ColorEdge CG2730 and CS2730 2560×1440 Displays for Professionals and Prosumers

BenQ Launches the SW320: a 4K Display with HDR for Professionals

BenQ this week introduced its new SW320 display designed specifically for professional photographers and other people who require 4K/UHD resolution, the sRGB and the Adobe RGB color spaces, and support for HDR10 capability. The monitor is calibrated directly at the factory on a per-unit basis.

The BenQ SW320 is a 31.5-inch display featuring a 10-bit IPS panel, which can reproduce 1.07 billion colors and covers 99% of the Adobe RGB, sRGB, and 87% of the DCI-P3 color spaces. The Adobe RGB color space is important for professional photographers that need to edit their photos for publications, whereas the sRGB and the DCI-P3 color spaces are crucial for video editors and animation designers who do post-production work. One of the interesting features of the SW320 is the ability to display content in different color spaces simultaneously side-by-side in PIP/PBP modes (two inputs are required).

It is worth noting that when it comes to the DCI-P3, the SW320 covers 87% of the color space, which is below 98%-99% covered by numerous displays aimed at video professionals. Meanwhile, the BenQ SW320 supports 10-bit HDR along with a 14-bit 3D LUT (look-up table) and is calibrated to  DeltaE ≤ 2 in both Adobe RGB and sRGB. The support for HDR10 with proper blending accuracy is needed for those that work on adding HDR to various content, including photos and videos. BenQ cite that users involved in post-production for UHD movies (for streaming services or for Ultra HD Blu-ray media) will take advantage of the SW320.

As for the other specifications of the BenQ SW320, they look pretty standard for a high-quality 4K display: a 3840×2160 resolution with a 60 Hz refresh rate, 350 nits typical brightness, 1000:1 static contrast, 5 ms response time in fast mode and 178° viewing angles. The monitor uses a CCFL backlighting with brightness uniformity feature to ensure consistency. As for input/output capabilities, the display is equipped with one HDMI 2.0a, one DisplayPort 1.4 as well as one mDP 1.4 header (all of them support HDCP 2.2 required for various content). In addition, the SW320 is equipped with a dual-port USB 3.0 hub and a card reader that may be useful for photographers.

Just like many other professional displays, the SW320 monitor has an adjustable stand that allows rotating the panel clockwise or counter-clockwise to view the screen in portrait orientation. The BenQ SW320 comes pre-calibrated, just like competing devices, with users able to further calibrate it using the appropriate equipment.

BenQ plans to start selling its SW320 professional display in January 2017. Pricing is unknown, but since we are talking about a high-end monitor that has its own peculiarities (support for HDR and the Adobe RGB), so expect an appropriate price.

Gallery: BenQ Launches SW320: 4K DCI-P3 Display with HDR for Professionals

Related Reading:

• EIZO Launches ColorEdge CG2730 and CS2730 2560×1440 Displays for Professionals and Prosumers
• Dell Introduces UltraSharp UP3017 30-Inch Professional Display with 16:10 Aspect Ratio and DCI-P3 Color Space
• Dell Demonstrates 30-inch 4K OLED Display
• Philips Begins to Sell 43” 4K IPS BDM4350UC Display for $799
• 16:10 Lives On: EIZO Releases 24-inch ColorEdge CG2420 and CS2420 Professional Monitors

AOC P2779VC: 27” PLS Display with Qi Wireless Charging Base for $199

AOC has introduced a new 27” display that features Qi wireless charging for mobile phones in the base. The monitor uses a PLS panel and has standard characteristics for a mainstream device aimed at office environments. Despite this, the P2779VC is one of the first 27” displays with Qi wireless charging and it will make an appealing option for those who need both large screen and Qi, especially given its affordable price.

The AOC P2779VC is a 27” IPS monitor with a 1920×1080 resolution, 300 nits brightness, 178°/178° viewing angles, and a 60 Hz refresh rate (static contrast ratio is unknown). The display is listed as reproducing 16.77 million colors, enough for office workloads, and has a response time of 5 ms gray-to-gray, enough for videos and gaming. AOC does not confirm adherence to any particular color space in its spec sheet.

When it comes to connectivity, the AOC P2779VC is a fairly basic monitor with one D-Sub and two HDMI 1.3 inputs. Unlike some other mainstream displays, this one does not have built-in speakers or a USB hub which may be an advantage for tightly-packed corporate offices that have to deal with noise (minus speakers) and mind corporate security (minus USB). 

Meanwhile, the key selling feature of the P2779VC is its base that features a Qi wireless charging pad in the base. As far as we could find, commercially, only Samsung has released two SE370 displays that support Qi and feature 23.6” and 27” PLS panels. As a result AOC’s monitor is not going to have too many rivals right now. Keep in mind that at present there are tens of smartphones and tablets with integrated Qi wireless charging technology (including those from ASUS, Samsung, Google, HP, Microsoft and other) and there are accessories that enable the tech on devices without integrated support (e.g., on Apple iPhone 6S).

The AOC P2779VC comes with a black or gold base and with the company’s standard three-year warranty. The price of the display is $199.99, which is a bit lower when compared to the price of the Samsung SE370 270 that is available for $213.80.

Gallery: AOC P2779VC: 27” PLS Display with Qi Wireless Charging Base for $199

Related Reading:

• The State of Wireless Charging Standards in Mobile
• AOC Launches the AG352QCX: 35-Inch 200 Hz 2560×1080 Curved Display with Adaptive-Sync
• EIZO Launches FlexScan EV2780: 27” 2560×1440 Display with USB Type-C Connector

Source of Images: Amazon.