Review on BenQ EW3280U Entertainment Connectivity Speakers 3841X2160, High Dynamic Range, by John Murphy

* 1 month update * Well after adjusting the settings in windows I have to admit this monitor is just beautiful! Auto Dimming is "Dynamic Contrast" and I was able to turn it off in the Windows Registry Editor. After that and pairing with 2080 TI. WOW! The monitor was great and gave me no problems. Nice picture, IPS and Nvidia GSync compatibility (although not certified). I can report that it works and works great. Right now, as of June 2020, you won't find a better monitor than this at this price point. I highly recommend this monitor. I love 4K monitors and that's all I've had for the past few years. I actually switched from my AW3418DW (tried 1440P Ultrawide for a year) to this one for 4K and "HDR". I am very happy with this monitor. I set it up and was immediately impressed with the image quality. Set Windows 10 to HDR, set monitor to HDR and start video. The colors are really AMAZING, but I did notice the screen itself getting darker and lighter. There were no settings in the windows for adaptive lighting. So I went into the monitor settings and when HDR is enabled none of the settings can be changed, not the brightness, not the contrast, not the adaptive lighting. You can only adjust the sharpness. With HDR disabled (what's the point of getting an HDR monitor when it's disabled) the colors are very blurry and look awful with Simulated HDR enabled. After spending hours scrolling and reading the entire BENQ manual, this is due to the ambient light sensor built into the bottom of the monitor. There is no option to disable in HDR mode. This also happens in games. So I ran a few games (YES, this monitor is GSYNC COMPATIBLE). AC Odyssey doesn't recognize it as a True HDR* monitor, but Forza 4 does. It looks absolutely beautiful when you first switch on any of the three HDR modes, but after a few seconds the ambient light sensor kicks in and distorts the brightness and darkens the image. He walks back and forth and that is very noticeable. I'll call BENQ and see if there's a solution, but I've spent hours messing with it. Settings are not corrected. In general, the picture is amazing, the colors are bright, the viewing angles are excellent, the montage is excellent. The colors of the monitor are actually very appealing. The speakers actually sound good. Overall very nice, a bit pricey and I wish they had made a cheaper version without speakers. I'll wait and see what BENQ says, but if it keeps getting lighter and darker while watching YouTube or gaming, I'm afraid I'll have to go back and find another 32-inch 4K IPS display.-PROS-Beautiful IPS display . - Has FreeSync and works with Nvidia GSync. - Colors are instantly amazing. - Has built-in speakers that actually sound good. - Supports VESA 100x100 mount. Black - HDR 400 with 3 HDR modes. - CONS - Only 60Hz (doesn't bother me) and unless you're playing competitive FPS shooters it's not noticeable - The stand has no adjustments (but I have mine on my monitor arm) - HDR BENQ modes aren't that good . (HDR display is the best option) - Not curved. That's all. I searched for about a week before deciding on a monitor. I've had 32-inch 4K monitors and this is by far my favorite. If you're even considering this monitor, I highly recommend you buy it. When I had questions about the shadowing, I called BENQ and got a live person to answer. and helped me fix it. When I asked about the warranty I was told I could send it to BENQ and they would send me a new replacement.