BenQ EL2870U 4K Monitor | 28 inch 1ms HDR | Compatible for PS5 and Xbox Series X, Black

Good folks, I'm coming to this monitor from a higher end IPS Viewsonic monitor, and so can answer the following for you, without getting too technical - "What is the main difference, and why buy this as opposed to an expensive monitor?"Firstly, please bear in mind that I review this monitor, being very mindful of its budget price for a true 4K monitor, and what that means you should get, and then on what this actually delivers?So then, you would buy an expensive IPS monitor (or better) instead of this monitor, if colour, and brightness uniformity on the screen are of paramount importance to you, particularly for professional reasons. A professional, in other words, would have no interest in buying a cheap monitor like this, because it is quite honestly no match for expensive models, when it comes to (1) viewing angles, (2) uniformity of brightness across the entire screen estate and (3) Colour faithfulness across the entire screen estate.Having said that, I am extremely pleased with this monitor, given its very low price for what it is. For someone who is not a graphics or art department creative, there is everything right about the EL2870U, and little worth complaining about really. The monitor I received, in return for my full outlay, was also I should add, in absolutely perfect condition.Anyway, to expand on that prior paragraph - if you look straight at the screen, when sat right in front of it, certain areas of this Benq's screen will not look as bright as others - yet, move your head a fraction, and suddenly then those areas which 'appeared' to be less bright, in but an instant, appear perfectly bright. That's no fault of the monitor, that's TN technology for you - and I very well knew that before buying it. In fact I was a little concerned, being so spoiled with such a quality IPS monitor as my mainstay for so many years, that I may not adjust to the difference, with which I was expecting to be aware. And yet... how wrong I was - within a matter of only a few days, I was already absolutely used to the fact that it truly happens to be a great TN monitor, with all that that means, at an even better price.This is, in other words, the perfect monitor, for the average user, and not just gamers who appreciate the ultra fast refresh rate of 1ms - that is, one who is not a graphics professional, and is most suitable as a great gateway straight into inexpensive, yet still impressively astounding 4K viewing. Indeed, at displaying UHD videos and photos, it renders images superbly - with gorgeous detail and colour reproduction which is as good as TFT gets. Nevermind the fact that it's also being sold at such an impressively inexpensive bracket.The only potential downside left, and I do have to nitpick to even think of any, was that my monitor took quite a bit of adjusting brightness, contrast etc., before I was finally pleased; yet once done - it's 'set and forget' as far as I'm concerned. Nor did the monitor's contents or packaging, say too much about warranty, which I found a bit quaint. Let's hope there is no good reason for that. But if there were, I would be straight back to adjust this review accordingly. Also, I ran the back-light bleed and stuck pixel tests before reviewing here, and unlike the other reviewer above, I can confirm that mine has no problems of any kind with back-light bleed and the other evils of inferiorly made, and/or quality control evading monitors. Besides which, should you be so unfortunate to receive a monitor which is so obviously sub-par, then without question you must return it straight away. Just be mindful when reading the many reviews of this monitor to date that no matter how much or how little you pay, you're almost never guaranteed, especially every single time, to receive a 'perfect' monitor - one which is perfect in all respects. Having said that, I usually have little trouble in identifying failings, niggles or other quibbles, but this time, I'm truly stuck for something substantially negative to say.To conclude, if budget concerns are at the top of your list, yet you still want value for your money, while still hoping to either view 4K in all its glory, or play the latest PC games, then this is the one to buy. I'd buy it again in a heartbeat.

When I was looking for a new monitor I did write a lot of research on what was on over around the £200/£300 price mark and I always kept coming back to this one. I was a little unsure as I wasn't familiar with the brand but decided if I hated it, I could always return it and get a different one.I'm so pleased that I took the "risk" and went with this BenQ one. The image quality is great, really sharp and with a decent colour depth when you've played around with the settings, out of the box out can look a bit washed out but once you play around with the settings out can look really good.I noticed in some reviews that some people don't like the emulated HDR but for me it's one of the best features here, when I use it with my switch, everything looks so much sharper with a much better image quality to it and it's really handy for older games that don't have HDR.The fact there are 2 HDMI ports and a display port is brilliant, I have my pc, xbox series x and my switch all plugged into the screen at the same time and can switch to them with the press of a button.The internal speakers are a bit meh but I gave a sound bar so it's not a problem.Overall, for the price of just £200, you can't go wrong with this brilliant monitor. I'm very impressed and will likely get a second one to replace my older second 1080p monitor

Before giving my review, note that the auto detection of RGB of this monitor is not always correct! Remember to match the source (0-255 or 16-235) manually if you see the picture lacks contrast in a weird way or oversaturates a lot. I almost thought this was a pretty bad monitor and almost returned it before finding out the correct settings.Pretty decent for its price. Certainly not the best picture quality but at this price I am not asking much. Crisp and sharp at 4k, good for text and gaming. Supports almost all formats (RGB, YUV444/422/420) and is not picky about the source signal. The previous monitor I returned only supported certain 4k formats, which sadly did not work with some of my machines and single board computers at 4k (like Raspberry Pi 4). This one you just plug in your TV/gaming console/microwave oven/toaster, it will just work.HDR is just meh. If the source enables HDR, the monitor settings are fixed and you cannot change brightness, contrast, etc., so if you don't like the pre-configured setup for HDR, you are out of luck. I just turn it off every time because the HDR mode of this monitor feels weird to my eyes.The speakers are hopeless. I had a monitor before which set the low bar for bad internal speaks but this one is even worse. Even at full volume it might not be as loud as you want. Fortunately there is a 3.5mm jack for headphones and external speakers.Anyway I am pretty satisfied with it overall.

The image quality is very good, I use it with my work PC that can output 4k and it looks really good. I also have my PS5 hooked up to it and again the image quality is really good except during in game cut scenes. For some reason blacks are all pixelated and blocky. I don't know why. I have messed with the setting but when the monitor is in HDR mode you are very limited to adjustments you can make. The HDR is decent but nowhere near the same as I get from my 4K TV. The speakers are pretty bad but I expected that from a monitor, they are never the best. Overall I am happy with it, in game the 1ms response time is noticeable and games feel a lot better. For the price it still warrant 5 stars in my opinion even with the few minor issues I have with it.