Eyeer:

What about Display Stream Compression (DSC)?

From a reddit thread where a guy explained it - I don't know enough about it to know whether he is right or not:

You're forgetting the blanking intervals which even digital displays need to sync to the signal. A common 4K timing is 4000x2200 'total pixels' with an active window of 3840x2160, which at 10 bpc ends up 45.62 Gbps. Even at 8 bpc it ends up 38.02 Gbps. Also those blanking intervals are where audio is packed into, so even those monitors that can run on the ragged edge of ultra-tight timings can't provide audio at the same time then. That 4000x2200 timing at 98Hz would need 25.87 Gbps @ 8bpc, which is EXTREMELY close to the DisplayPort 1.3/1.4 cable limit of 25.92 Gbps (because while the raw interface is 32.40 Gbps there's encoding and protocol overhead to consider), so these monitors are likely using that common 4000x2200 timing. Regarding DSC latency, DSC only uses a single pixel line buffer (so at 4K you're talking ~4000 pixels total, 3840 to be precise) which is trivial and basically zero latency. DSC operates entirely in YCbCr, not RGB, and it's more akin to a chroma downscaling technique that spreads it's noise along a linear pixel stream instead of a fixed color plane downscale, so the artifacts are better hidden visually. So there's no such thing as "4:4:4 DSC" for example. There's 4:4:4, 4:2:2, 4:2:0, and DSC, so to speak. And that's why nobody is discussing the new 4K@144 monitors still supporting 144Hz w/ DSC, because anyone that cares about 4:4:4 precision won't enable DSC because it can still cause artifacting in high detail areas, so the 98Hz limit will most likely still apply. This is also why you need a dual-cable monitor to do true 4:4:4 4K@120 w/ 10 bpc, because that's the only way to feed enough bits for that many pixels still, even DisplayPort 1.3/1.4 can't do that on a single cable yet.

let's see, 144 Hz with *, 120 Hz with *. They should've advertised it as 98 Hz monitor and price it alot lower. As always, overpriced gimmick from asus.

The only thing keeping me from buying it, is the fan... i won't ever buy a product with a noisy fan, a monitor least of all.

Is it possible to turn local dimming on while in SDR mode?

Thanks for the review. I'm waiting for MiniLED backlit monitors to be a real thing before I upgrade. A really nice IPS / AVHA with a MiniLED backlight would be nice. https://www.guru3d.com/news-story/mini-led-based-gaming-monitors-may-reach-market-at-the-end-of-this-year.html

I'll bet in a couple years we'll see better monitors than this with full spec performance (HDMI 2.1) at less than a $1000.

Prices pretty gangsta, im happy with my 1440p monitor just fine. I think 1440p is a sweet spot for gaming anno 2018.

So, the most technologically advanced display that exists, and they put that ugly thick bezel on it. WHY ? It's a direct-lit LED, with no need to house LED's on the side of the panel, requiring a bezel. Also the price is insane, it's more expensive than 55"-65" OLED UHD HDR TV's ... (yes, missing 144Hz, but still ... damn !)

When you are first to the party of course your gonna charge an arm and a leg but having to sell a kidney also is one organ too far. If it was a 30/32" then maybe 1500 squid would be reasonable but 2k for 27" even with all that good stats stuff. nah thanks.

vazup:

Is it possible to turn local dimming on while in SDR mode?

It is possible ONLY in SDR mode. EDIT: to be exact - you can turn off FALD in SDR but not in HDR. It is always on in HDR.

vazup:

Is it possible to turn local dimming on while in SDR mode?

AFAIK it's always used. Local dimming is not actually controlled by HDR. If a bunch of pixels are supposed to be black somewhere, the LEDs on that location are turned off. But it's better to get some verification on that first.

So it´s only a 27 screen? It uses color compression?? And it has a fan that you can hear?? And it costs how much??? This is insane from Asus and Nvidia... This thing makes my screen look like a super bargain despite the fact that i i almost cried paying 500€ for it... P.S. Hilbert can you tell Asus that those illuminated logos are silly... Great review as always!

They got the resolutions all backwards with this display. The LCD res is way too high and the FALD res is way too low. 3440x1440 LCD res with something like 2500 zones might be better for small, detailed highlights in dark scenes. Even then it won't be enough IMO. You need as close to per pixel light control as you can get. Even 10,000 zones would be lacking for fine HDR detail. As it is, I don't see how you can have bright, fine details surrounded by deep black with those huge 1 inch gaps between backlights. 300-1000 nits will bleed through the LCD's surrounding areas, right? I'm sure this looks great for what it is, but this isn't the HDR I'm hoping for. Needs a LOT more zones or OLED or something similar. Also, $2000 is absolutely hilarious for this, lol.

Moonbogg:

They got the resolutions all backwards with this display. The LCD res is way too high and the FALD res is way too low. 3440x1440 LCD res with something like 2500 zones might be better for small, detailed highlights in dark scenes. Even then it won't be enough IMO. You need as close to per pixel light control as you can get. Even 10,000 zones would be lacking for fine HDR detail. As it is, I don't see how you can have bright, fine details surrounded by deep black with those huge 1 inch gaps between backlights. 300-1000 nits will bleed through the LCD's surrounding areas, right? I'm sure this looks great for what it is, but this isn't the HDR I'm hoping for. Needs a LOT more zones or OLED or something similar. Also, $2000 is absolutely hilarious for this, lol.

We already covered this in the last thread, it's not happening without MicroLED or OLED. You're saying the price is too high but then you're asking for them to increase the manufacturing complexity by 600%. There is a trade-off between quality and price and I'm sure some engineer sat there and said 384 zones is going to get us good enough brightness control without making the thing unmanufacturable. It's FALD density is already higher than most 4K TV's on the market @ ~1 zone per SQ Inch, the only TV i know of that's better is the ZD9. Having some zones is better than nothing - it's just not what you're looking for - doesn't make the design bad.

Thanks for the review really nice, but i must agree the price is crazy even for 4k HDR 😱

Wow that price.. And I thought my Rog1440p gsync screen was expensive

Denial:

... Edit: I also want to use this thread as a soapbox and say it's time for Nvidia to end G-Sync. There are currently no QHD HDR G-Sync monitors on the market but plenty of FreeSync/Adaptive ones and now even TV's. At this point G-Sync offers no features over Adaptive Sync aside from arguably making this monitor possible.. a monitor almost no one can afford. The only thing it does is limit my choice in monitor selection and increase the overall costs of monitors it's featured in. When G-Sync offered noticeable advantages I was fine with it but now it's just pointless vendor lock in. I always assumed Nvidia would add features and make G-Sync a premium option while using AdaptiveSync for budget, but thus far they've done nothing to differentiate it. I'm not happy about it.

I agree. This whole proprietary G-sync thing has begun to irk me as a consumer. There are a few things keeping me from going back to AMD: 1)The piss-poor drivers in the late 2000s and early 2010s 2) Frame time issues in the late 2000s and early 2010s and the scars they left on my pocketbook. 3) AMD mods banned me from seeking answers on their forum for what was later revealed as the frame time issues that plagued their entire lineup FOR YEARS!!! (Pisses me off just thinking about it!!! They said I was doing nothing but trolling and closed every thread I'd open prior to banning me?!). 4) Can AMD really even come close to a 1080 ti performance with anything??? It's hard for me to want to invest in AMD again (can they really even come close to a 1080 ti with anything???), but I can't say I haven't begun to think about it again because of the premium on these G-sync monitors. I wonder how little it would take on the part of Nvidia (and what a grand gesture it would be by Nvidia!?!) to update current hardware to use freesync? Simply a firmware update on the monitor and a driver update? Is this possible? Or would it take new hardware altogether? That said, I have had minimal issues when I switched to my GTX 580s and continued with Nvidia cards ever since. The only issues I had were when I ran SLI setups and the drivers weren't updated on a particular title's release date. Within two weeks the problem was solved. These days, with a 1080 ti and a 1440p setup, I only need one video card to tap out my 144Hz monitor with everything cranked in BF1.

I really appreciate your work here HH--great review, and thank you!--comments are all mostly ones I surely agree with...;) Reminds me of the teeth-pulling I was doing a couple weeks back when trying to decide which monitor to go with, myself. Some thoughts... You mentioned, I thought, that this ROG monitor uses an AOC panel...? Don't know if it is of interest, but this is the panel my AOC U3277PWQU uses: http://panelone.net/en/31-5-inch/INNOLUX_M315DJJ-K30_31.5_inch-datasheet I thought that was an interesting comment in the review...! Agree completely about the size--my ~32" 4k (3840x2160) monitor rings the dot pitch bell @ ~.18, but my former 27" monitor (now gracing the wife's desk) has a gorgeous display even @ its ~.27 dot pitch--hers I think sometimes is superior to mine in terms of the Windows display(!)--sort of *cough*--but she maxes out @ QHD 2560x1440--imo, the *perfect* res for 27." My own preference is as yours--for 4k ~32" is just about ideal--27" is not not enough screen real estate for anything > QHD. Totally subjective opinion--as you say. As are all monitor reviews, imo...! But really none of that gets in front of the huge negative of the price of this thing-- ~$2700? Not a chance, Lance--not my new toy, Roy, not a--er, yeah! With a *power brick*? Gaaa! *and* a fan? double-gaa-googoo... 😱 I guess the 180W TDP is not mind bending until maybe it's compared with the 50W of the U3277PWQU--that doesn't require the brick, or the fan. *cough* And about the bat-cave signal projection...in the clever form of the coded ROG dragon logos...yesss-s-s-s-sss... This (below) might have happened to me had I bought one of the few of these that will ever be made available... ______________ Guest: "Thanks for letting me look at this $2700 monitor you've been bragging about all week, Walt, bragging so much, in fact, that I wanted to pop you from here to the Tower of London with my thumb! Finished, yet? Ah-ha...so, uh, tell me, did you pay extra for the secret ROG bat-signal amplifiers I see here?....:p Oh, I see it on your wall--how, uh, nice--! And, oooo--a coded, ultra dragon-like bat-signal on your desk, too? *cough* Visible from miles away, is it?" My reply: "Please don't laugh at me-yeah, I know...please, I can't take anymore....just stop--kay?" _________________ In all seriousness, I did have a thought as to the HDMI input being the only available sound input for the speakers--no extra audio input anywhere around, I guess? Well...shucks...who pays $2700 for a monitor and expects to use the speakers, right? Naaaah....;) Really really fine review, HH. I just get a bit tickled whenever I think about that price....

your way of reviewing how black uniformity make it hard to tell how bad it can be Picture of the black uniformity would be appreciated

Was so ready to buy this monitor when i first saw the specs. Then i saw the price and said to myself 'Asus you are taking the f***ing piss...' I simply refuse to pay more than 1200 bucks for a 27" monitor and even that is being generous. For 2000 bucks i'd expect it to be at least 32-40"