27-34" GUI monitor recommendations for grading and editing?

Mark Kenfield · January 28, 2017

Hi guys,

I'm moving from a 27" iMac over to a Mac Pro 5,1 and need a GUI monitor to replace what the iMac's screen did for me. The screen on the iMac has been an absolute delight to work with, so I'd like to find a replacement that matches up to the experience if possible.

I'm looking for something between 27-34", and preferably not a 4k screen as I'd rather the processing power of the computer goes into processing, rather than running a higher-res screen.

I'm open to different options (super-wide screens, or curved screens if they're worthwhile having). But the thing I'm most concerned about is having a really nice GUI screen for Resolve (and to a lesser extent FCPX and Premiere).

Any suggestions, or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Mark

Phil Rhodes · January 28, 2017

I had a BenQ PV3200PT on review a while ago, it was great. 32" is still a little small to use a native desktop resolution of 4K (though it won't make any significant difference to performance to run a 4K desktop).

If that's a bit big, there's the SW2700PT, which is a bit more manageable from a dots-per-inch perspective. I'm staring at one as I type.

Bruce Greene · January 28, 2017

For me, I have a high quality display for grading with resolve. It's connected to the deck link card and doesn't show GUI .

Fir GUI I have 2 cheap 24in isp panel displays. The HP one cost about $120 last year and is quite ok for this task. I split the GUI over the two cheap displays for resolve. Save your money for the best hero display you can afford

Peter Welander · January 29, 2017

I went through a similar experience as Mark. I had been running FCP7 on a 27" iMac and things worked pretty well. The iMac died (video card burned out...got too hot due to clogging of the internal air passages over the years) and I ended up replacing it with a slightly newer MacPro, the last version in the big silver case. It came with a 20" Apple cinema display, so I bought a Dell 27 to go with it.

FCP7 looks terrible on both monitors. Footage that looked very nice on the iMac looks dark and very contrasty. Other things look fine. I have tried all the color settings and find SMPTE RP 431-2-2007 DCI (P3) is the least terrible but still not nearly as good as the iMac. Am I missing some sort of color adjustment setting in FCP? (I reinstalled it from a Time Machine restoration when the other one died. The hard drive was also damaged.) If there is, I can't find it.

Is there a monitor that is not terribly expensive that does a nice job? I see Phil's recommendation, are there others?

Mark Kenfield · January 30, 2017

Thanks guys, I read your review on the PV3200PT Phil, and it's defintely high up on my list.

I've been told the Dell Ultrasharp 27" is very nice, and that's about half the price of the more expensive ones I'm looking at (so certainly holds some appeal there!).

Has anyone encountered any of these newer Quantum Dot monitors yet? They sound like the closest thing you can get to OLED levels of quality and contrast, with wider gamuts than you can get with regular IPS panels.

Don't know if it's a too-good-to-be-true scenario though, this one does sound very nice though: http://www.samsung.com/us/computing/monitors/curved/34--cf791-wqhd-monitor-lc34f791wqnxza/

Peter Welander · February 2, 2017

Following Phil's recommendation, I just installed the BenQ SW2700PT. It's not rubbish, in fact it's quite stunning. I've spent 'way too much time with crummy monitors.

Phil Rhodes · February 2, 2017

Now I feel all responsible!

Peter Welander · February 2, 2017

"Responsibility? Don't talk to me about responsibility."

Paraphrasing Marvin.

Mark Dunn · February 2, 2017

Oi!

That's Phil's line.

Mark Kenfield · February 8, 2017

Thanks guys, the BenQ's aren't available here in Australia yet, so I've plonked down for the 32" Asus ProArt PA329Q instead. Pricey bastard, but it seems to tick all the boxes.