Philips BDM4065UC

Philips BDM4065UC Review – Sometimes size does count, and no where is that more apparent than PC gaming displays. The bigger the screen, the more immersive the experience. Well, that’s the gist of it, but many big screen displays lack the crisp resolution necessary to deliver a crystal clear experience. And those with ridiculously high numbers of pixels are often priced accordingly. Which is why this whopper from Philips is such a steal – not only is it massive, it’s also got the pixels to back up its size, all with a price point that won’t send your wallet running.

This is a true 4K display, packing in 3840 x 2160 pixels. Here we’ve been very hesitant to jump aboard the 4K hype train, as it usually arrives on displays that are just 27 inches across. The result is a screen that packs too many pixels, as it’s nigh on impossible to spot the difference between 4K and 2560 x 1440 at this size, yet you’ll need a couple of GPUs to handle the higher resolution. There’s also the issue of Windows’ screwy scaling; while some icons and fonts look fine when scaled up, many applications don’t have that ability, making 4K almost unusable for desktop duties on a 27” panel. There’s no such problem with this 40 inch whopper, with icons and font perfectly readable. Pixel structure is also invisible even at the closest ranges, and the overall image is as sharp as it is huge.

The panel used within is neither IPS nor TN; instead Philips has gone with a VA (Vertical Alignment) panel, which offers a compromise between the two. Viewing angles are good, which is an absolute must when sitting close to such a huge screen, as otherwise the edges would look distorted. Colour and contrast performance is also strong, albeit not quite in the same league as the IPS panel used in the ASUS display. If there’s one issue, it’s the slightly higher pixel response time, which Philips claims is 8.5ms. Thankfully this can be lowered considerably down to 3ms when enabling the Smart Response feature, and doing so doesn’t affect the image quality too badly.

The other issue is the absolutely horrible stand. There’s no height, tilt or swivel adjustment, so you’re going to have to fudge up a shelf or something similar to get it to sit at the ideal height for your gaming den.

Despite these niggles, there’s no denying that a 40” 4K panel at this price is an absolute steal. It might not have G-Sync, FreeSync or 144Hz refresh rates, but what it does have is an absolutely retina-stretching size. Just bear in mind that to run it at its native resolution will require some seriously powerful hardware.

Pros

• Huge
• Crisp 4K resolution
• Good colour and contrast

Cons

• Terrible stand
• Slightly slower pixel response

Philips BDM4065UC Specifications

• LCD panel type VA LCD
• Backlight type W-LED system
• Panel Size 39.56 inch / 100.5 cm
• Effective viewing area 878.11 (H) x 485.35 (V)
• Aspect ratio 16:9
• Optimum resolution 3840 x 2160 @ 60Hz
• USB USB 3.0×4 (1 w/fast charging)*
• Signal Input
  • VGA (Analog )
  • DisplayPort
  • mini DisplayPort
  • HDMI (digital, HDCP)
  • MHL-HDMI (digital, HDCP)
• Sync Input
  • Separate Sync
  • Sync on Green
• Audio (In/Out)
  • PC audio-in
  • Headphone out
• RS232 Yes
• Product with stand(max height) 904 x 589 x 213  mm
• Product without stand (mm) 904 x 512 x 88  mm
• Product Page : http://www.philips.com.au/c-p/BDM4065UC_75/brilliance-led-backlit-lcd-display/overview