{"id":121256,"date":"2021-02-10T03:10:13","date_gmt":"2021-02-10T03:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techweekmag.com\/?p=121256"},"modified":"2021-04-08T08:00:18","modified_gmt":"2021-04-08T07:00:18","slug":"philips-328e1ca-review-curved-beauty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/gadgets\/philips-328e1ca-review-curved-beauty\/","title":{"rendered":"Philips 328E1CA : Curved beauty"},"content":{"rendered":"

Returning to 32-inch monitors with real 4K UHD resolution, we note that there is a fairly wide range of models available at the moment that are too expensive.\u00a0But there are also more affordable models with VA matrices, where the set of functions is slightly limited.<\/p>\n

Flat VA panels are used in a variety of Philips models.\u00a0This time we will review the Philips 328E1CA review, which uses a curved VA matrix with a relatively low price.\u00a0We won’t argue that a curved monitor is good or bad, but let’s try to understand the main characteristics of Philips 328E1CA.<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Let’s turn to the main points.\u00a0The Philips 328E1CA monitor uses a TPV panel from TP Vision based on SVA CELL.\u00a0Maximum matrix frequency 60 Hz with W-LED backlight.\u00a0The screen has a standard 4K UHD resolution of 3840 \u00d7 2160 pixels.\u00a0The radius of curvature of the screen is 1500R.\u00a0Some sources have information that the 328E1CA’s color depth is 10 bits (8 bits + FRC), but this is not so – the real color is only 8 bits.\u00a0Pixel response time is stated at 4ms, although this parameter should be approached with caution due to the panel used.<\/p>\n

Design<\/h3>\n

The Philips 328E1CA monitor has a minimalist look.\u00a0The base of the stand is made in a square-ring style.\u00a0The leg of the stand is metal, powder coated in silver color.\u00a0The monitor has a small bezel.\u00a0A thin bezel around the bezel on the sides and top of the screen is flush with the matrix plane.<\/p>\n

The lower part of the frame protrudes slightly.\u00a0The frame is made of hard black plastic on three sides.\u00a0Top and sides frame size about 8 mm, bottom panel 24 mm.\u00a0The bottom is made of matte black plastic with the Philips logo.\u00a0The large curved screen is covered with a matte anti-reflective layer.<\/p>\n

The OSD menu is controlled by buttons on the bottom right panel.\u00a0The monitor is indicated by a white LED.\u00a0A flashing light indicates a transition to a low power state.\u00a0On the side, the 328E1CA is quite thin at only 12mm (at its thinnest point).\u00a0The included stand allows you to tilt the screen 5 degrees forward and 20 degrees back.<\/p>\n

The lower edge of the monitor from the table is at a height of 100 mm, the top clearance is 525 mm.\u00a0To install the monitor, a niche depth of about 250 mm is required.\u00a0This model is “economical” in terms of the occupied space.<\/p>\n

The back housing of the monitor is finished in matte black plastic with texture.\u00a0In the center there is a VESA mount 100 \u00d7 100 mm for alternative mounting.\u00a0Wall mount not included.\u00a0There is a K-slot in the lower right corner.\u00a0The I \/ O ports are directed towards the back and are located in a recess above the stand.<\/p>\n

\"Philips<\/a><\/p>\n

Connections<\/h3>\n

Interfaces include: two HDMI 2.0 ports, DP 1.2a, 3.5mm audio input, 3.5mm headphone jack, and power input.\u00a0The built-in power supply is used.\u00a0The monitor is equipped with a pair of speakers with a total sound power of 3 W.\u00a0They are directed downward.\u00a0The sound with this arrangement of drivers is above average when compared to some other models.<\/p>\n

3840×2160 @ 60Hz resolution and Adaptive-Sync are supported on DP 1.2a and HDMI 2.0 ports.\u00a0DP cable, HDMI cable, audio cable and power cable are included in the package.<\/p>\n

Of course, you shouldn’t expect \u201coversound\u201d from such a sound scheme.\u00a0Better to use a separate sound system or headphones.\u00a0On the other hand, a pair of monitor speakers provide decent volume.\u00a0Some frequencies may be lost at high volume.\u00a0In short, up to a volume level of 50%, the quality corresponds to the expected quality without severe distortion.<\/p>\n

Picture<\/h3>\n

The Philips 328E1CA monitor supports a variety of presets.\u00a0These are \u201cSmartImage Game\u201d, \u201cFPS\u201d, \u201cRacing\u201d, \u201cRTS\u201d, \u201cGamer 1\u201d, \u201cGamer 2\u201d, \u201cLowBlue Mode\u201d and \u201cSmartUniformity\u201d.\u00a0Most of these factory presets other than \u201cSmartUniformity\u201d simply adjust various settings in the main OSD menu.\u00a0But manual tuning is preferred.<\/p>\n

The “Gamer 1” and “Gamer 2” presets provide complete flexibility in fine-tuning various monitor settings.\u00a0Here are some parameters in the “SmartUniformity” mode.\u00a0The maximum temperature in SmartUniformity mode reaches 6817K, although with Gamma = 2.6 this figure is 7399K.<\/p>\n

\"Philips<\/a><\/p>\n

Contrast and brightness<\/h3>\n

After image calibration, you can achieve the highest white brightness, lowest black brightness, and highest contrast ratio.\u00a0So, at the factory settings and setting 100% brightness, we get an indicator of 319 nits (white), 0.13 nits (black), contrast ratio of 2446: 1.\u00a0If everything is adjusted correctly in the custom mode, then the indicators will be as follows: maximum brightness 382 nits (white), 0.12 nits (black), contrast level 2938: 1.<\/p>\n

The 328E1CA monitor does not use PWM to dim the backlight, but instead regulates the current to the backlight LEDs.\u00a0This monitor model is considered “flicker-free”.\u00a0Sometimes advanced users pay attention to this information in the characteristics of monitors.<\/p>\n

Color rendering<\/h3>\n

The Philips 328E1CA color gamut was compared with the sRGB and Adobe RGB reference color spaces.\u00a0The color gamut completely covers the sRGB color space (100%) with a small expansion.\u00a0The palette covers 85% Adobe RGB.\u00a0These values \u200b\u200benable the monitor to display all hues in the sRGB color space with some additional saturation.<\/p>\n

Intlag<\/h3>\n

It makes no sense to describe in detail the procedure for measuring the time delay.\u00a0Let’s just say the result.\u00a0The Philips 328E1CA monitor “received” the input lag at 3.96 ms, which is a little less than a quarter of a frame at 60 Hz.\u00a0Note that input lag depends both on the element you \u201csee\u201d (pixel sensitivity) and on the element you \u201cfeel\u201d visually (signal lag).<\/p>\n

This parameter corresponds to the one declared by the manufacturer – 4 ms.\u00a0No measurement was taken with Adaptive-Sync (variable refresh rate) active.\u00a0We add that AMD FreeSync technology (48 – 60 Hz) and\u00a0G-SYNC are\u00a0also present in this monitor.<\/p>\n

Scaling<\/h3>\n

4K UHD resolution is comparatively demanding due to the significant amount of GPU power to provide a quality picture.\u00a0Often, a lower input resolution is used, such as older game consoles.\u00a0They don’t have native support for 4K output, so the monitor uses an interpolation process in this case.<\/p>\n

The PC user must ensure that the graphics processor of the video adapter is not trying to take over the scaling functions.\u00a0When using AMD GPUs, the monitor will handle scaling by default when playing games at non-standard resolutions.\u00a0Those who use Nvidia adapters should go to the “Display – Adjust Desktop size and position” menu in the Nvidia control panel and select “no scaling” there.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n

The Philips 328E1CA’s curved 31.5-inch screen delivers an immersive experience with ample screen curvature.\u00a0The image immerses the user in the visual process.\u00a0The 3840 \u00d7 2160 4K UHD resolution blends beautifully with the large screen, delivering good UHD picture.<\/p>\n

This is a large usable desktop space.\u00a0The monitor’s appearance is not as inspiring as the more expensive models.\u00a0But according to most users, it’s a sensible design.\u00a0Lack of ergonomics (tilt-only stand) can be a bit of a drawback.\u00a0VESA mount is provided for alternative mounting.<\/p>\n

As you would expect, current Philips models offer good flexibility with different settings thanks to a good menu.\u00a0Here we can note the presence of the mode “compensation for uniformity of the image”, in which the displayed picture is very accurate.\u00a0In short, if you like a curved monitor, then the Philips 328E1CA is a must-have.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Returning to 32-inch monitors with real 4K UHD resolution, we note that there is a fairly wide range of models available at the moment that are too expensive.\u00a0But there are also more affordable models with VA matrices, where the set of functions is slightly limited. Flat VA panels are used in a variety of Philips […] More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10404,"featured_media":121267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[644],"tags":[778],"class_list":{"0":"post-121256","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gadgets","8":"tag-reviews"},"acf":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10404"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}