Author Topic: Qnix UHD32R Review: 4K Glossy* AUO AHVA Panel with AMD Free-Sync  (Read 2761 times)

NCX

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The Qnix UHD32R uses a glossy 3840x2160 or 4K resolution AHVA panel (AUO's version of IPS) with a glossy coating, and 40-60hz AMD Free-Sync (not tested since I have a Nvidia graphics card).  Check out my Qnix UHD32R Photo Album with over 100 photos.


Review Information and Methodology:
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« Last Edit: March 28, 2019, 06:32:48 pm by NCX »

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NCX

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Build, Features & Stand

Qnix UHD32R Front View by Deepinthesky Teslastorm, on Flickr

The Qnix UHD32R is a very simple monitor in terms of the features and stand it comes with.  The white plastic stand only allows for the monitor to be tilted, but it is quite sturdy, and the stand base has a round indentation for the included round wired remote which has four preset keys, including one to bring up the Input switching menu, four arrow keys and an Ok button the center which acts as an enter key.  The quality of the casing is very poor since it is quite flimsy and thin.  The casing is flimsy enough that it seems like one could easily snap the panel in half, and the silver metal front top and side bezel, and the bottom plastic front bezel piece put pressure on the LCD and cause back-light bleed.  I was able to reduce the back-light bleed by removing the front bezels and loosening some of the screws while viewing a black screen in the dark.

The UHD32R has 1x 3.5mm Audio Out (untested), 1x Displayport (4K @60hz), 1x HDMI 2.0 (4K @60hz) and 3x HDMI 1.4a which do not support 3840x2160 at 60hz.  The video outputs are on the back right side and are face out horizontally.

« Last Edit: August 09, 2018, 09:37:23 pm by NCX »

NCX

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Fire But No Flicker
« Reply #3 on: July 27, 2018, 01:06:05 am »
Flicker/PWM Dimming

DSC_0069 by Deepinthesky Teslastorm, on Flickr

I use the Test UFO Blu/PWM Trail test to check for PWM from 0-100% brightness.  The Qnix UHD32R is indeed LED PWM Dimming or Flicker Free as advertised.
« Last Edit: August 02, 2018, 09:54:16 pm by NCX »

NCX

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Brightness & Contrast

Qnix UHD32R B & C by Deepinthesky Teslastorm, on Flickr

The contrast ratio of 700:1 is below average and quite poor for a modern AHVA/IPS/PLS panel since they tend to offer at least 1000:1.  The measured contrast is in line with the other glossy* 32" 4K AUO AHVA panel I tested, the HP Spectre 32 which offered 800:1 before calibration and 700:1 after calibration, but has a white casing which vastly increases the perceived black depth.

The maximum brightness reaches 297cdm/2 which is suitable for very brightly lit environments, but not direct sunlight on the brightest days.  The lowest brightness of 79.6cdm/2 at 0/100 or 0% in the menu should be low enough for light-less room use, though the contrast is far to low for use in darkness.

I recommend using a bright 2600 lumen Daylight/6500k CFL (Philips example) behind the display while keeping the brightness below 100cdm/2 (2600 lumen light) or 140cdm/2 (5000 lumen light) in order to make black and dark content indistinguishable from the inner black bezel. A bias light can hide IPS glow as well as make an AHVA/IPS/PLS panels black depth equally as dark as a VA panel.
« Last Edit: July 31, 2018, 01:11:42 am by NCX »

NCX

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Compare glare/reflections of 15+ monitors in my The Order 1886 Statue Comparison Album.  Check out my Qnix UHD32R Photo Album with over 100 photos.

The UHD32R uses a modified almost-glossy or low haze coating very similar to the coating the HP Spectre 32 and HP 25-27 CW, er, es and XW monitors use.  The coating is equally as clear and vibrant as a normal glossy coating, but less reflective, and a bit of haze can been seen when viewing light colors and shades off angle on the UHD32R.  By off angle I mean when leaning off to the right or left.



« Last Edit: August 09, 2018, 09:41:35 pm by NCX »

NCX

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The UHD32R's overdrive is controlled by the Response Time setting in the Picture Quality Settings menu, and is preset to off.  The Response Time Off setting provides slightly slower than average pixel response times for a 60hz AHVA/IPS/PLS panel.  The long pixel transition time results in some obvious color streaking, especially with fast camera pans in a first person shooter when viewing clouds in a blue sky or white lights.  The Response Time On setting gets rid of most of the color streaking, but causes some obvious bright and dark transparent overshoot ghosting on color and shade transitions which the Response Time Off setting struggles with.  UHD32R's matte predecessor, the UHD3216R, offers much better overdrive performance which is far more competitive with the fastest 60hz TN panels like the BenQ Zowie RL2460.

The UHD32R's overdrive flaws will not bother a casual PC gamer, or most console gamers since it still beats most low-mid range TV's which also use LED PWM Dimming or flicker which increase motion blur.  Though noticeably slower than many other 60hz monitors I've tested, I still find the UHD32R to be acceptable for console gaming, and its overdrive flaws do not cause obvious issues with movies and TV shows.  The HP Spectre 32 offers better overdrive performance which is more competitive with 60hz TN panels, but it has a 20ms delay, is less accurate and can't play back blu-ray discs properly when connected to the PS4.
« Last Edit: August 02, 2018, 09:34:12 pm by NCX »

NCX

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Speed Through The Lasers
« Reply #7 on: July 27, 2018, 01:08:06 am »
Input Lag

DSC_0107 by Deepinthesky Teslastorm, on Flickr

Unlike its predecessor the UHD3216R, the UHD32R can be considered delay free or to have negligible input lag since it has a 2.5ms (top screen Leo Bodnar measurement) delay versus the UHD3216R's 30ms.
« Last Edit: August 02, 2018, 09:26:59 pm by NCX »

NCX

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Too Green
« Reply #8 on: July 27, 2018, 01:08:21 am »
Preset Color Accuracy

DSC_0110 by Deepinthesky Teslastorm, on Flickr

Qnix UHD32R Preset Chart by Dr NCX, on Flickr

Aside from being to green and yellow, the UHD32R offers great preset color accuracy suitable for all but professional color accuracy related work.  The UHD32R can fully cover the REC 709 & sRGB color space, has quite accurate preset *gamma, and is free from color dulling horizontal (VA) and vertical (TN) gamma shift.  Since I'm used to calibrated monitors I do not find the UHD32R to be beautiful since it's too green and yellow, and because I have encountered cheaper monitors which are more accurate out of the box, however, the Qnix comes in 2nd place out of the six 32" 4K AHVA panels I tested which are the Acer XB321HK, BenQ BL3201PH (1st), HP Spectre 32 and Qnix UHD3216R.  The BenQ BL3201PH has excellent preset color accuracy superior to the rest, and both Qnix monitors best the Acer and HP despite costing significantly less, though the Acer and HP do come with a 3 year warranty and can be easily returned and exchanged in most countries.   

*The gamma curve is a bet skewed and less linear than that of the BenQ, Prism and Qnix UHD3216R, but 0-30% white tracks close enough to 2.2 to prevent the UHD32R from looking washed out (sub 2.1 gamma), and prevent black crush (2.3+ gamma).  The preset gamma is closer to linear 2.2 for REC 709/HDTV than it is to an sRGB curve.  The Acer XB321HK's gamma causes some dark shades and colors to be washed out, and brighter colors and shades to be too dark.

HCFR Spectracal C6 HDR 2000 colorimeter measurements:

HCFR Grey Scale
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HCFR Gamma
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HCFR RGB Levels
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Unlocking the color controls by switching the Color Temperature setting to User in the color menu decreases the color accuracy a bit since doing so results in Blue being de-saturated and the green tint becoming slightly more pronounced.

HCFR CIE Diagram
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« Last Edit: February 14, 2019, 05:13:45 pm by NCX »

NCX

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Calibrated Image Quality

DSC_0149 by Deepinthesky Teslastorm, on Flickr

Qnix UHD32R Calibrated Chart by Dr NCX, on Flickr

Once calibrated the UHD32R is one of the best looking monitors I've seen thanks to the low glow AHVA panel and glossy* coating, accuracy and white purity.  The UHD32R dies gave lower contrast than the BenQ BL3201PH and Qnid UHD3216R, but the UHD32R still looks better since it has a color vibrancy and clarity enhancing glossy* coating, and a perceived black depth increasing silver bezel.  The calibrated color accuracy is also excellent and without issue since the UHD32R can cover over 99% of the sRGB and REC 709 color spaces, and is free from gamma shift.

*Almost-Glossy or Low Haze coating.


Un-Calibrated Versus Calibrated Menu Correction Galler
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ICC Profile not activated in the calibrated photos since the UHD32R was connected to a PS4.  The ICC profile further improves the monitor, but only slightly.  The biggest difference comes from adjusting the blue and green controls

Qnix UHD32R D2 Un-Calibrated 1
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Qnix UHD32R D2 Calibrated 1
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Qnix UHD32R Un-Calibrated 2
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Qnix UHD32R Calibrated 2
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« Last Edit: February 25, 2019, 02:15:49 am by NCX »

NCX

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Perceived Anger
« Reply #10 on: July 27, 2018, 01:09:12 am »
Perceived Black Depth & Back-Light Bleed

DSC_1063-2 by Deepinthesky Teslastorm, on Flickr

Some of the pictures look a bit different since I took the monitor apart and put silver tape under the main bezel to cover the inner black bezel.  Without the tape mod the perceived black depth and contrast of the UHD32R is excellent (when viewed correctly*), despite the low 700:1 contrast ratio.  The dark perceived black depth is a result of the glossy coating and silver bezel.  Even in the dark the silver bezel helps increase the perceived black depth and negate the need for very bright bias lighting, even though my unit suffers from obvious back-light bleed. 

*The top of AHVA/IPS/PLS panels need to line up or be higher than the top of the viewers eyes to avoid seeing glow, and sitting to close can also result in obvious glow in the bottom corners.  I sit around 2.5-30ft or 75-90cm away from the Qnix which sits on a box on my desk.  When on top of the box the top of the Qnix sits around 10cm above my head.  The photos are from my Back Light 25s Exposure album which contains photos of many more monitors.

Acer XB321HK AHVA Panel with 800:1 Contrast
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HP Spectre 32 AHVA Panel with 800:1 Contrast
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The HP Spectre 32 has low gamma averaging under 2.1 resulting in washed out colors.


Qnix UHD32R AHVA panel with 700:1 Contrast
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Qnix UHD32R Review: 4K Glossy* AUO AHVA Panel with AMD Free-Sync


Samsung 43NU7100 VA Panel with 3,700:1 Contrast
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Samsung UN43NU7100FXZC & Sony 43X750F Review x2: Semi-Glossy 4K VA & IPS

The Samsung reduces the brightness when displaying very dark content including this screen shot from the PS4 exclusive The Order 1886.  The sides of the Samsung look blue-ish, lighter and washed out since VA panels suffer from horizontal gamma shift which causes their gamma to decrease the further away from the center the image is.


Back-Light Bleed

Acer EB321HQ IPS (?) Panel with 900:1 Contrast
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Acer XB321HK AHVA Panel with 800:1 Contrast
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HP Spectre 32 AHVA Panel with 700:1 Contrast
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Qnix UHD32R AHVA Panel with 700:1 Contrast
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« Last Edit: May 02, 2019, 02:22:31 am by NCX »

NCX

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Rare Glossy View
« Reply #11 on: July 27, 2018, 01:09:27 am »

The viewing angles are essentially as wide as an AHVA/IPS/PLS panel without an A-TW polarizer can be, and pose no issue for normal monitor use while slight horizontal and vertical head movements result in obvious discoloration on TN panels.  The vertical viewing angles for AHVA/IPS/PLS are very poor if looking down at  them or viewed from above like one must view a TN panel.  AHVA/IPS/PLS can be placed up high or looked up at which allows one to raise their monitor or recline in a chair or on a bed or couch while TN panels look extremely dark and un-viewable if viewed from the same position.  I sit around 2.5-30ft or 75-90cm away from the Qnix which sits on a box on my desk.  When on top of the box the top of the Qnix sits around 10cm above my head.
« Last Edit: August 03, 2018, 12:28:40 am by NCX »

NCX

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Neither Osiris Nor I See Glow
« Reply #12 on: July 27, 2018, 01:09:43 am »

When set at the right height (top lines up with the top of the viewers head or is higher) no white glow can be seen* when viewing dark content, which is a rarity for AHVA/IPS/PLS panels since even the slightest off angle head movements result in white glow in the bottom corners being obvious.  All five of the 32" 4K AHVA panels I tested suffered from far less glow than 99% of AHVA/IPS/PLS panels aside from high end professional oriented monitors (Eizo) with A-TW polarizers and the glow free 2560x1440 Samsung LTM270DL06 PLS panel in my Qnix QX2710.   

Low glow 32" AHVA panels are the best all around monitors for watching content since VA panels suffer from horizontal gamma shift and black crush in the center which is obvious when viewing them slightly off center.  The UHD32R's silver bezel further helps reducing glow and low contrast perception LCD black looks darker compared to silver and grey than it does versus pure black bezels.

*Seen with my monitor brightness (140cdm/2 display brightness) and room lighting (2600 lumen 6500k ceiling light).
« Last Edit: August 03, 2018, 12:48:36 am by NCX »

NCX

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Playstation 3 & 4

DSC_0166 by Deepinthesky Teslastorm, on Flickr

The Qnix scales 1280x720 and 1920x1080 without issue, but it does lack an HDMI Black Level setting.  The Qnix 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:
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PS4 & PS4 Pro:
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« Last Edit: April 19, 2019, 02:51:41 am by NCX »

NCX

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Xbox 360 & Xbox One

DSC_0108 by Deepinthesky Teslastorm, on Flickr

The Qnix scales 1280x720 and 1920x1080 without issue, and it does lack an HDMI Black Level setting which requires one to change the Xbox 360's Color Space setting to YCbCr709 to prevent the monitor from being washed out.

Xbox 360:
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Xbox One & Xbox One X

Not tested.
« Last Edit: February 14, 2019, 05:33:27 pm by NCX »