For many workloads that require a lot of on-screen space, big displays are hugely beneficial — the bigger the better. TPV Technology, the company that produces monitors under Philips brand, recently decided to go very big and introduced a new 43" display with a 3840 x 2160 resolution. While the monitor is intended mostly for prosumer workloads, its price is not too high.

Extremely large displays are generally overkill for everyday workloads, but there are industries where the workloads require more on-screen space than a single monitor can provide. For example, many engineers and financial brokers use multi-display setups to maximize their productivity and view far more info than they could on a single display. While it is impractical to substitute four, six or eight displays in control rooms or in traders’ offices with fewer physical screens, engineers and designers could use one big monitor instead of two smaller ones. Philips is targeting this group of users with its Brilliance UltraClear 43” display, which is more like a television than a monitor.

The Philips UltraClear 43” (BDM4350UC) display uses an IPS panel with a 3840 × 2160 resolution and W-LED backlighting. It has a 300 nit brightness, a 1200:1 contrast ratio, and a 60 Hz refresh rate. According to Philips, the brightness uniformity is 96~105%, which is quite good for a display of this size. Philips also includes a uniformity feature called Smart Uniformity to correct inconsistencies in the backlighting, but it's not clear how well it works in the real world or what limitations it imposes on the display modes that can be used.

Philips BDM4350UC
Panel 43" IPS
Resolution 3840 × 2160
Refresh Rate 60 Hz
Response Time 5 ms gray-to-gray
Brightness 300 cd/m²
Contrast 1200:1
Viewing Angles 178°/178° horizontal/vertical
Color Saturation 1.07 billion colours, 100% sRGB
Pixel Pitch 0.2451 mm
Pixel Density 102 ppi
Brightness Uniformity 96 - 105%
Picture-in-Picture Up to four 1080p PiP images supported
Inputs 1 × D-Sub
2 × HDMI 2.0
2 × MHL
1 × DP 1.2
USB Hub 4-port USB 3.0 hub,
one port supports fast charging
Audio 7W × 2
Launch Price $799.99

The UltraClear 43” comes with two HDMI 2.0 ports with MHL support, two DisplayPort 1.2 ports, and a D-Sub connector. The monitor can be connected to up to four video sources and display images from them in picture-by-picture mode. The display is also equipped with a quad-port USB 3.0 hub as well as two 7W speakers.

Just like TVs, the Philips UltraClear 43” comes with a stand that does not allow adjustment of tilt or height, which is a drawback. Fortunately, the monitor has a VESA mount, so, it should be possible to get an appropriate arm or aftermarket stand that does support this, although it will need to be able to support the display's mass and size.

It remains to be seen whether there's a sizable market for the UltraClear 43”, but for tasks like editing spreadsheets and CAD work it could be quite useful. Right now the Philips UltraClear 43” is available on Amazon for $799.99.

Source: Philips

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  • bug77 - Monday, May 16, 2016 - link

    This is actually a TV. They even kept the speakers...
  • BurntMyBacon - Monday, May 16, 2016 - link

    @bug77: "This is actually a TV. They even kept the speakers..."

    Well, ... , there are the display port(s). We don't really know how many as the text and table disagree, but you don't usually see those on TVs. That makes it a monitor, ... , right???
  • Flunk - Wednesday, May 18, 2016 - link

    I might buy something like this instead of a TV, 4:4:4 and better latency than most TVs would make this good to play games on. It's not like I use the tuner in my current TV anyway.
  • DanNeely - Friday, May 13, 2016 - link

    1 or 2 display ports? The table and text disagree.
  • paffinity - Friday, May 13, 2016 - link

    2 x MHL-HDMI and 2 x Display Port
  • zepi - Friday, May 13, 2016 - link

    There were some rumours that this suffers from severe burn-in. Personally I think 8K resolution is the minimum for proper 43" display, but I guess that anyone dreaming of 4x4-grid of full-hd screens, this is godsend.

    DELL has one as well i think.
  • bill.rookard - Friday, May 13, 2016 - link

    Jeez. I just bought a nice HP 27xi (1920x1080, 27" (on sale for $200!)) for my rig and it seems huge compared to what I had (19" 1440x900 x 2 side by side). I can't even imagine having something this big.
  • bernstein - Friday, May 13, 2016 - link

    had the same reaction when switching from a 24" to a 30" 2560x1600 HP ZR30w a few years ago... now i'm on a 48" Samsung curved TV (at a distance of 60cm)... it's all habit.
  • Sttm - Friday, May 13, 2016 - link

    Its really not that bad. A 27inch 1440p display is 109 ppi, this is only 102 ppi, but not a huge difference. Especially since you probably will have it sitting farther back on a desk or wall mounted.
  • smilingcrow - Friday, May 13, 2016 - link

    He's talking about the physical size not the PPI.

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