Does a "halo" monitor not exist STILL? || Looking for a 4K/120Hz+/HDR10+...HDR1000/Delta E <2 color accurate/wide gamut monitor recommendation
I built my first PC back in 2019, and at the time, settled for a lovely 27" Dell S27DGR. It's 1440p, 144hz, and alright-ish colors. Not anything great though. This decision was partially out of cost, but also because of the lack of different features across different monitors. You had to compromise somewhere. This good ol' Dell was a solid middle ground, so I went with it.
About 3 years ago, I started keeping tabs on newer monitor releases. This is also around the time I got into heavier creative work, and the lack of good color accuracy on the Dell was starting to show. At the time, I didn't spring for any because of the same compromise problem. You had to compromise somewhere. You could find a 4K high refresh rate screen, but poor colors. You'd find a 4K good color accuracy screen but no high refresh rate.
So I waited, and continued to wait for the ideal no compromise monitor.
A week ago I picked up an M5 11" iPad Pro. And man, the screen is absolutely gorgeous. I'm no stranger to OLED, I've had Samsung Galaxy S/Note phones since 2016. But, there was something about that iPad screen that renewed my push to find a new monitor. So I started to look.... and to my dismay... discovered the exact same problem as before. To the best of my research and digging, I was still unable to find a no compromise, "halo" monitor.
So, I've come here to you monitor gurus to see if anyone has either a recommendation or news of a monitor that's soon to be released (within the next few months, confirmed release date).
What exactly am I looking for?
- at least 4K resolution
- I've got a Windows desktop PC, with an RTX 3090 in it for Blender rendering. I'm aware that the DP and HDMI ports on it are limited beyond 4K/120Hz. Seeing the mess of high VRAM graphics cards from Nvidia... doesn't make me excited to upgrade anytime soon but this new monitor will be for long term. Suited for a future GPU upgrade.
- No bigger than 32" ideally
- Ideally no more than 32", because of size. If a monitor is everything else on this list, and is say 34", that's fine. But between 27" and 32" is ideal. Ultrawide is fine as an added bonus, the same for curved. Definitely not a necessity.
- Also the reason I'm looking for one monitor that does the job. 2 monitors is off the table... literally haha. I've got no room for 2 on my desk.
- Ideally no more than 32", because of size. If a monitor is everything else on this list, and is say 34", that's fine. But between 27" and 32" is ideal. Ultrawide is fine as an added bonus, the same for curved. Definitely not a necessity.
- At least 120Hz
- I'm not really a gamer, but I do very much appreciate the high refresh rate smoothness for general use and when I do play games.
- HDR 10+ capability/HDR1000 for the brightness
- Looking for both for the best experience. I'm looking to get into HDR content production and video editing, and would like to have a very capable display for proper mastering and editing. A nice bright screen too with at least 1,000 nits.
- Color Accuracy and Capability
- Oh boy, this is the one it seems most companies ignore. I'm looking for a color accurate and a color capable display. Ideally, Delta E values of less than 2. Color gamut coverage ideally is as wide as possible. Excellent contrast ratio is also desired. Just an all around fantastic color accurate and capable display I can trust to get the job done very well.
- Freesync Pro/G-Sync
- Gaming... I do still game. And with that comes a sensitivity to screen tearing. Definitely a no-compromise with this.
- Budget?
- Honestly... within reason, whatever gets me these features. Kind of like how if you need a certain size house for bedrooms, you need to spend a certain amount. If you can't spend it, you don't get it. I'm looking for these features, and am prepared to lay down low 4 digits for the price (in the USA)
With my use cases, OLED doesn't feel like a good choice. Blender with its static medium gray interface is on screen for many hundreds and hundreds of hours. Same with video editing, internet browser, and the like. I do use dark mode, but I also keep monitors for a long time. I expect this one to last at least 8 years. I've not had a Samsung OLED phone that can do that without some degree of burn in.
However, honestly at this point if no kind of non-OLED display exists yet that has all these features I may just bite the bullet and stomach the inevitable burn in.
That's about it, I'd love to hear if anyone has any recommendations or knows of monitors with a near confirmed release date within the next few months.
Will there ever be a true "halo" monitor?
Thanks for your time and help!