Review on BenQ EW3270U 31.5-Inch Monitor with FreeSync – 3840X2160P, USB Hub, High Dynamic Range, Blue Light Filter, Flicker-Free by Anthony Sessoms

With each spec looking for a relatively good price and most importantly great reviews for the Revain, I had high hopes for this display. However, the lousy viewing angles quickly blew me away. Advertised as a 178-degree viewing angle, I was surprised to find that the flickering glow blurred black when not viewed directly. A contrast ratio of 3000:1 promised excellent black levels, but unfortunately didn't look like it in my opinion. With such a big screen. The sides of the display are at a noticeable angle from my eyes when looking straight ahead from a normal desktop viewing distance. Even when I got up from my chair, the screen looked bloated due to the slight vertical angle. Basically the whole picture looked shiny and weird, blacks looked silvery at modest angles and whites looked washed out. Full screen video playback looked pretty good, as did the PS4 gameplay. But for my main purpose of using it as a monitor for my Mac mini, the user interface - windows and menus - felt bad to me. Dark mode windows suffered from glossy VA corners. After being spoiled by plenty of pristine images from an iMac at work or an iPad where the images almost look like they're printed on glass, the BenQ just looked wrong because it didn't have a solid image. After a lot of tweaking and getting used to the corners, it looked decent but not satisfying, certainly not stunning. I saw a discounted LG 32MU99 ips panel that had everything I was looking for but didn't have true 10-bit color and a lower 1200:1 contrast ratio and was $150 more expensive. I got it and the moment I switched I was amazed at the improvement. My Mac felt like a Mac again, with a solid, stable, lifelike image that looked the same from side to side, top and bottom. I didn't try to please it and remember the great specs, it just looked spectacular, and while it didn't quite live up to the iMac 5k's display, it's damn close. And the thinner bezels and design look a lot better in space than BenQ's more industrial, if understated, matte black plastic, which felt bulky and tough. So BenQ is back. I don't disagree with the many great reviews, again it looked great playing full screen 1080p videos. But I'm glad I raised my price cap and got an LG instead. IPS looks much better in my opinion.