14 DAY TRIAL // Monitors haven't been as quick to adopt the 4K image quality as television sets, but they haven't been dragging their feet either. Case in point, Samsung has just revealed a 4K monitor, called UD590.
This new display is somewhat paradoxical, one might say, because it does not, in fact, strive to include all possible quality elements with no regard for the price.
Instead, the company tried to reach a sort of compromise, installing certain things while sticking to a lower-quality screen type, for example.
For one thing, the UD590 28-inch monitor has a Twisted Nematic (TN) panel, whose viewing angles (170-degree/160-degree) and overall image quality are inferior to IPS.
On the other hand, TN does have a better response time than IPS, not that it's so relevant when you're not playing a fast-paced game.
Then again, this is a product made for graphics designers and multitaskers, so the better graphics card – screen communication should help.
For those who want the exact number, the response time is of 1 ms, quite a bit better than the standard 5 ms.
To elaborate, 5 ms is considered fast for IPS but average for TN. And we've run into professional monitors, IPS monitors, that made do with 8ms.
Moving on, when it comes to multitasking, we're not just talking about the implied ability to open two windows and comfortably use them both side by side.
No, Samsung went one step further and installed Picture-in-Picture technology, which allows you to receive video input from two sources at once and have them both on screen simultaneously.
You can even watch full-resolution videos in a second picture while working on a spreadsheet or whatever else (PiP 2.0 technology). Adjusting resolution, position and sound for the second “screen” is easily done as well, or so Samsung promises.
All in all, the Samsung UD590 is pretty balanced for something whose price is of $700 / €507. Consumers, businessmen and everyone else who likes to surf through online stores should be able to find it as early as April 2014.
"Samsung is a worldwide leader in display technology renowned for our UHD 4K TVs. The UD590 brings that UHD 4K technology to our monitor line up, offering unparalleled imagery right at your desk," said Ron Gazzola, vice president of consumer IT marketing at Samsung Electronics America.
"It offers a viewing experience unlike any other, perfect for consumers looking to enjoy premium display quality in their homes. We’re also introducing several other consumer monitors this year to offer a wide range of high performing options to meet the needs of any user."