Asus will this spring launch the 21.6” ProArt PQ22UC, an OLED monitor with 4K resolution and HDR support. The monitor is portable and will be showcased at CES 2018.
Dream monitor?
It looks almost like the perfect PC monitor, perhaps except for the relatively small size. After years of inferior edge-lit LCD monitors, we applaud all initiatives to improve picture quality on PC monitors. OLED technology can do that.
The 21.6-inch monitor is portable, says Asus. This is possible because the OLED panel is made from one layer only and weighs very little. In fact, the entire monitor weighs just 1 kilogram.
PQ22UC offers potentially excellent picture quality with 3840x2160 resolution, 99% DCI-P3 coverage, and support for the HDR10 format. Asus did not specify peak brightness but said that the monitor has a 0.01 ms response time and a professional-grade OLED panel suitable for ”editing and creating on the road”, including photo and video editing.
- ”The stunning ASUS ProArt PQ22UC takes no-compromise content editing and creating on the road with a professional-grade 4K OLED boasting HDR support. And you can leave outlets behind with the battery-powered ZenScreen Go MB16AP, which stashes in a laptop bag and hooks up to computers or phones to provide maximum versatility for anyone who travels,” Asus said in the press announcement.
In short, if you want HDR picture quality on a PC monitor you need a FALD-based LCD panel or better yet; an OLED panel. All those PC monitors marketed as HDR compatible today cannot actually reproduce HDR – not even close. PQ22UC has a native contrast ration of 1,000,000:1. Typical VA LCD monitors tick in at around 2000-4000:1, whereas IPS LCD monitors typically deliver just 800-1500:1.
The monitor offers USB-C and micro HDMI ports. It also has an angled stand that is detachable.
- ”The angled stand provides desktop ergonomics wherever you set up shop, but it detaches and twists flat to easily slip into the included carrying case along with the display and power adapter.”
Dell announced the first PC monitor based on OLED technology at CES 2016 two years ago. It made a brief appeareance on the market in 2017 before it was discontinued.
OLED panel produced by JOLED
Perhaps more significant is that fact that the OLED panel is produced by JOLED, a joint venture between Japan Display, Sony, and Panasonic.
JOLED says that it is ”aiming for printing OLED panels to penetrate the market for medium-sized professional monitors”.
It is a 10-bit ”true RGB stripe OLED panel that produces primary hues natively rather than filtering white light”, Asus added. It has been factory-calibrated to dE less than 2.
Asus PQ22UC will be available this spring. Pricing details will be announced ”closer to the street date”, the company said, adding that the monitor will be showcased for the first time at CES 2018. FlatpanelsHD will take a closer look soon.
- Source: Asus, JOLED
