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Should you buy a 4K 16:9 display or a ultra-widescreen 21:9 display? We can’t answer that, as it’s a matter of personal taste, but we can report that the Philips Brilliance BDM3490UC is a top of the line screen for both entertainment and productivity.
4K still had a greater overall pixel density, but a 21:9 display offers a lot more desktop space, and movies look absolutely phenomenal on it.
The colours, brightness and deep contrast are all striking, and the build quality and swish design look great too. Full marks to Philips here. It would have been nice if the stand allowed for height adjustment or rotation, but it seems you can’t have everything in life.
The OSD is excellent too, with plenty of colour presets and settings. The joystick used to control it is also very handy. It’s hard to fathom why all displays haven’t yet adopted this control method.
The PIP mode stretches content slightly, creating a 21:9 picture in the corner. There is probably a good technical reason for this, but it would still have been nice to keep a PS4 (or any HDMI device) as 16:9 in the corner, so it looked just right.
In games and movies the screen worked very well. The sound in particular is the best we’ve heard from any display yet. Sure, it still lacks the thumping bass offered by separate speakers with a subwoofer or larger cones, but the clarity here is second to none.
Unfortunately, no 21:9 screen currently on the market is particularly affordable. Some can cost as much as £900, but with the BDM3490U currently hovering around £700, so relative to the competition, it is quite reasonable value for money.
In conclusion, this type of display is a serious investment, but Philips has pulled out all the stops to deliver a great screen here. It has excellent colour accuracy, brilliant sound and is very well built.
Buy from Amazon UK for £697.89 inc vat HERE
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Pros:
- Masses of desktop space.
- Great for movie watching.
Cons:
- Stand lacks height adjustment and rotation.
- 21:9 displays in general carry a hefty premium.
Kitguru Says: Great for entertainment and desktop use, the Philips Brilliance BDM3490UC has a gorgeous design, great picture quality and fantastic sound.
