In recent years, tech and gaming enthusiasts have seen 4K monitors make some serious headway and many of such displays becoming far more affordable. Now that the HDR format is becoming increasingly common for games like the PlayStation 4 (PS4), brands are finding ways to work on technology to enhance the gaming experience, taking it to new heights.
The BenQ EW3270U is the perfect 4K HDR monitor for high-quality home entertainment, whether you are looking for a cinematic movie watching experience, an exemplary display for your PS4, or just a great 4K monitor to pair up with your gaming desktop. It's designed to offer excellent visuals through its 32-inch 4K display which comes with BenQ's latest HDR and Brightness Intelligence Plus (BI+) technologies.
Elegant, Simple and Straightforward
The BenQ EW3270U has a very basic design and somewhat similar to the EL2870U model. The key difference is the increase in size, measuring at 657.9×476.27×194.6mm, compared to 522.2X726.4X215mm of the EL2870U. On a side note, the EW3270U has an additional USB-C™ port which is absent on the EL2870U model, giving you the flexibility to connect to your favorite devices.
What is HDR gaming?
4K-TV Gaming
HDR Technology
Credits to: PlayStation 4 Pro
High Dynamic Range (HDR) is one of the latest and best function you may need on video right now. This technology started out as a niche feature, but now it has taken the market by storm. With this feature, you can watch films and TV shows, and even play your favorite games in HDR.
HDR PC gaming is also gaining momentum, and HDR monitors are very slowly making their way into the market. They are mostly branded as either AMD FreeSync or Nvidia G-Sync HDR. In recent years, Sony and Microsoft have even come together to form the HDR Gaming Interest Group (HGIG), inviting TV manufacturers and game developers to participate in improving the HDR gaming experience. This proposed initiatives will also change how a game console and TV inter-operate.
HDR is a far more exciting display tech for games than 4K, whose mammoth pixel counts often don't truly come into their own unless you're using a huge TV. However, as someone who plays and spends an insane amount of time with the screen, gamers demand the sharpest possible image. And at the same time, with an HDR console (PS4, PS4 Pro or XBOX One X) and a supporting HDR TV or monitor (like the EW327U or EL2870U), it boosts the sense of depth and presence to games (and films) in a way that a mere pixel count cannot.
What HDR does is to expand the range of brightness, contrast and color displayed, bringing it closer with what the human eye can perceive. Brighter whites, darker blacks, more shades of color and, you will get a more true-to-life picture.
Hyper-Realistic Video Quality with HDR
Credits to: Wccftech
The BenQ EW3270U features a 32-inch VA panel with a max resolution of 3840×2160, 60Hz refresh rate and 3000:1 contrast ratio. As compared to the EL2870U, other than having a bigger screen size, the EW3270U has a higher native contrast and Dynamic Contrast Ratio (DCR), capable of deeper, more vibrant colors with more visible details in shadows and highlights.
The BenQ EW3270U is nice and crisp as you would expect with a 4K resolution. The addition of AMD FreeSync, an adaptive synchronization technology that is used to reduce screen tearing, gives gamers drastic increased visual performance and ultra-smooth gaming experience.
Credits to: AMD
4 Levels of HDR and BI+ Modes
HDR and BI+ are the prime features on the EW3270U and EL2870U. Given that there are various modes to use, it's relatively simple to set up the monitor to your liking with excellent color accuracy. There's a button with a shiny gold badge situated on the bottom right of the bezel that toggles HDR on and off. This simple hotkey switches between 4 levels of HDR and BI+ modes to balance maximum contrast and vibrancy and fully enjoy the splendid image performance of HDR while maintaining your viewing comfort. After activating it, an on-screen display will pop up to tell you whether the HDR on display is emulated or native (if it's native it just says ‘HDR On'). The hotkey button also can turn on BI+ technology.
The BenQ's BI+ technology gently soften bright areas while keeping dark details crystal clear. It does this via the ambient light sensor that detects the ambient light levels and the color temperature of the environment, while automatically adjusting on-screen brightness and color temperature to fit the surroundings to deliver the most comfortable viewing experience.
VA of EW3270U vs. TN of EL2870U
Most gamers are aware of the fact that monitors come in different resolutions and screen sizes, and that monitors can be either a glossy or matte screen surface. However, an average consumer is clueless on the LCD panel technology used in their monitor. A monitor's panel type is a critical feature that determines how it performs as well as the kind of tasks it is best suited to accomplish.
Comparing TN (EL2870U) and VA (EW3270U), it is not hard to understand that TN panels are the kings when it comes to response time. However, VA panels win in terms of providing a slightly wider and better viewing angle. From a visual standpoint, VA panels also perform much better than TN panels with better black uniformity and high contrast ratios.
Conclusion
The BenQ EW3270U is a great gaming monitor with vivid colors, millions of pixels, all the ports you could ever need. The HDR and BI+ technologies are useful to have, catered for professionals, gamers, or home users.
Watching movies and playing games are great when there is HDR content. Retailing for roughly S$899, (12.12 sale at S$749 at Lazada), the EW3270U represents excellent value for money.
- EW3270U at BenQ Official Website: https://goo.gl/zZuaaE
- EW3270U at BenQ Brand Store: https://goo.gl/BgAWi5
- Eye Care Series at BenQ Brand Store: https://goo.gl/KpRsjS
