When buying a new monitor there are 5 sites you should have open at all times:
1. The site selling monitors (eg plattetv.nl)
2. The comparison site Display specifications which allows you to search for models, add them to comparison lists and then view detailed specifications next to each other
3. A google search for the reviews of the model
4. AV Forums to search for good or bad experiences with the model.
5. Your price comparison site (eg Tweakers Pricewatch)
Also useful are sites that tell you what each model means, how the model number is built up. For Samsung you can use This site
The important specifications are:
What type of panel is it? (IPS / VA / PQL / OLED / Quantum Dot / QLED / MicroLED / etc)
Panel bit depth: is it 8 bits, 10 bits native or 10 bits (8 bits + FRC)
Colour bit depth: 30 bits?
Resolution: native UHD 3840×2160 pixels
Pixel density: higher is better
Display area: bigger is better
Static contrast: more is better
Response times (minimum / average) and input lag (for gaming): less is better
3D: if you think that’s important
frequency: most are 60Hz, some are 120Hz or 200Hz (higher is better)
Interpolation value: most are around 1200, higher is better
Power consumption: less is better
Other features:
- connectivity (what kind of USB ports (3.0?), HDMI, Displayport etc fit in)
- sizes
- colour
- stand size at the back
- network (does it do 802.11n 5G and 802.11ac?)
- features
- does it have a good 4k upscaler
- how black is black
- what kind of colour enhancements does it have)
- Does it have filmmaker mode, Dynamic Range Compression etc
- Watch out for the HDMI 2.1 label: Don’t Buy an HDMI 2.1 TV Before You Read the Fine Print – The HDMI 2.1 specification is crazy and as long as any one of the components in the system is 2.1 compatible the rest don’t have to be, but you still get the label.
Good luck!
Robin Edgar
Organisational Structures | Technology and Science | Military, IT and Lifestyle consultancy | Social, Broadcast & Cross Media | Flying aircraft
For gaming: make sure it is labelled FreeSync 2 HDR (for AMD graphics cards) or G-Sync Compatible (NVidia)
https://gizmodo.com/nvidia-and-amds-nerdiest-fight-is-the-one-that-matters-1831784022
Also, if you want text to display sharply on a TV, make sure it is chroma 4:4:4 compatible
There are many different types of HDR – for a gaming experience make sure the monitor supports several types of HDR to hopefully minimise the performance hit when running it
There may be a gaming mode you can activate when in HDR
Also read https://www.linkielist.com/display/dont-buy-an-hdmi-2-1-tv-before-you-read-the-fine-print/ about HDMI 2.1 – make sure the panel can run 4K games at 120Hz
Make sure you have the right cable https://www.linkielist.com/hardware/you-are-probably-using-the-wrong-hdmi-cord/
Also ensure it’s got AMD Freesync (which nvidia cards are compatible with)