Author Topic: Acer EB321HQ Awi Review: Glossy* 1920x1080 IPS  (Read 4737 times)

NCX

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Playstation 3 & 4
« Reply #15 on: March 28, 2019, 05:42:53 pm »
Playstation 3 & 4

DSC_0779 by Dr NCX, on Flickr

The Acer scales 1280x720 and 1920x1080 without issue.  The Acer automatically and correctly reads both the Limited and Full RGB signals sent out by the PS4 and PS4 Pro, but the PS3's RGB Range setting does need to be set to Full to prevent the monitor from being washed out.

PS3:
Spoiler (hover to show)

PS4 & PS4 Pro:
Spoiler (hover to show)
« Last Edit: May 15, 2019, 09:58:05 pm by NCX »

NCX

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Triumphant Stance
« Reply #16 on: March 28, 2019, 06:13:56 pm »
Xbox 360 & Xbox One

DSC_0869 by Dr NCX, on Flickr

The Acer scales 1280x720 and 1920x1080 without issue, but the Xbox 360 must have its YCbCR709's setting selected to prevent the image from being washed out since the other settings send a 16-235 signal.

Xbox 360

Spoiler (hover to show)

Xbox One & Xbox One X

The Acer automatically reads both the Limited (16-235) and Full (PC RGB 0-255) signals sent out by the Xbox One and Xbox One X, so no settings need to be changed.
« Last Edit: April 21, 2019, 07:49:35 pm by NCX »

NCX

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Re: Acer EB321HQ Awi Review: Glossy* 1920x1080 IPS
« Reply #17 on: April 18, 2019, 01:09:34 am »
Settings & ICC Profile

DSC_0885 by Dr NCX, on Flickr

Brightness: 35
Contrast: 47
Black Level: 3
Red Gain: 44
Green Gain: 46
Blue Gain: 54

An ICC profile is not provided since I was unable to improve the Acer with calibration via DispcalGui.
« Last Edit: April 21, 2019, 07:49:24 pm by NCX »

NCX

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Re: Acer EB321HQ Awi Review: Glossy* 1920x1080 IPS
« Reply #18 on: April 21, 2019, 07:49:02 pm »
Conclusion

DSC_0870 by Dr NCX, on Flickr

+Affordable and excellent
+Stable stand
+Perceived black depth increasing white plastic bezel
+Low Haze or Almost-Glossy coating enhances clarity and color vibrancy
+Nearly perfectly accurate and vibrant color presets
+Outstanding image quality for the price, especially when calibrated
+Very low glow when the brightness is not cranked in a dark room and viewed from the correct height
+Outstanding perceived contrast thanks to the low glow panel, wide viewing angles and white bezel
+Wide viewing angles
+Balanced and fast pixel response times with no overshoot ghosting
+Negligible input lag

-Very obvious back-light bleed in the bottom left corner
-1920x1080 resolution on a 32" panel does not look great when viewed from less than 75cm or 2.5ft away
-Gamma slightly too low and can be improved by changing the Black Level Setting from 5 to 3
-Only 1x HDMI and 1x VGA inputs
-Very minor color under and over-saturation

? No Free-Sync or 75hz

The Acer EB321HQ is a great budget monitor for casual gaming and media viewing since it is very accurate, has balanced overdrive, negligible input lag and a low glow and gamma shift free IPS* panel.  The white bezel and low glow panel vastly improve the perceived black depth and make the Acer far more suitable for use in dimly lit rooms than most monitors^.  The viewing angles aren't as wide as some AHVA/IPS/PLS panels, but it suffers from far less glow than most, including monitors which cost five times as much.  The Acer suffers from the least amount of glow I've seen from AHVA/IPS/PLS aside from the extremely rare and glow free Samsung LTM270DL06 2560x1440 PLS panel in my Qnix QX2710.  One has to spend vastly more on a 32" 4K AHVA panel like the BenQ PD3200U to upgrade image quality wise and not downgrade glow wise.  The Acer is not the fastest 60hz monitor around, but it's fast enough for casual gaming and provides a very immersive viewing experience thanks to the low glow panel and perceived black depth increasing white bezel.

^If viewed correctly or placed at the right height without the brightness cranked in a dark or very dimly lit room.  IPS vs TN: Right & Wrong Ways To Use Or View; How To Vastly Reduce AHVA/IPS/PLS Glow & Vastly Increase The Perceived Black Depth

*Since I did not and could not open it I'm not sure if it uses an AHVA, IPS or PLS panel, but suspect it uses an AHVA panel since their 27" 4K panel and 32" 4K panels suffer from less glow than competing IPS and PLS panels.
« Last Edit: May 02, 2019, 05:39:06 am by NCX »