VIEWSONIC VP2780-4K

£699 inc VAT • viewsoniceurope.com/uk

The VP2780-4K joins ViewSonic’s range of displays aimed at budgetconscious professionals that need a PC monitor a step above the usual consumer fare. This 27in display is well specified with an IPS technology panel, matt anti-glare hard coating and 3840x2160-pixel resolution. This panel is from LG, an 8-bit type with framerate control (FRC) to synthesise 10-bit colour through dithering. ViewSonic does specify a 14-bit look-up table (LUT) and colour processing.

The monitor has a simple and sober frame made from matt black plastic, with a reasonably narrow 22mm bezel surrounding the LCD panel. The sturdy tripod stand is fully adjustable for height, tilt and swivel; and also allows the screen to be rotated 90 degrees for use in portrait mode. Overall build quality is good, if short of true professional standards. The cap that covers the top of the stand pillar is held on with just a dab of adhesive, for example, and liable to fall off with heavy handling; and the use of an external laptop-style power supply is more in line with cheaper consumer monitors, too.

To reduced eye strain, the ViewSonic offers flicker-free brightness control, regulating the panel DC voltage rather than through rapid on/off PWM switching as we find on the cheapest consumer displays. An optional blue-light filter may lend a slightly yellow cast to the image, but it should reduce the amount of short wavelength blue light that is now believed to be unhealthy in prolonged use.

There is a useful selection of up-to-date connectivity for this ViewSonic, starting with two DisplayPort inputs (one of which is the Mini type devised by Apple) and both follow the v1.2 specification. This means that resolutions up to 3840x2160 pixels at 60Hz are possible. In addition, the VP2780-4K is one of the first wave of PC monitors to support HDMI 2.0, which likewise enables 60Hz refresh rates at UHD and 4K resolutions. There is one regular HDMI 2.0 port, and two designated MHL and using the standard full-size HDMI port.

No speakers are included, although there is a 3.5mm audio socket for headphones, with digital audio piped in through either of the digital video connectors. For desktop peripheral connection, four USB 3.0 ports are available, two on the back and two on the right side.

The control interface follows that of other VP-series ViewSonic monitors, with five touch-sensitive areas on the lower-right edge of the bottom bezel. The first two are labelled 1 and 2; the second pair are down- and upward-pointing triangles; the last is a standby power control. To access the onscreen menus, press 1 to call up the menu, then use 2 like an ‘OK’ button. To go back a level you use 1 again, while the up/down touch buttons allow navigation through menus.

It’s not as intuitive as professional monitors we’ve seen from BenQ, for instance, but the system works reasonably well after some familiarisation. However, we still find touch sensitivity an issue – the button areas do not always respond unless you press firmly, which requires you to support the display with the other hand or pinch the entire frame between thumb and finger; and pressing and holding to accelerate through brightness settings, for example, can be fitful. The all-capital and low-resolution typography used throughout the screen controls has erratic font tracking, lending it the style of a cheap Chinese consumer product.

Performance

Build Features Performance

Value

Overall

ViewSonic explains that each VP2780-4K is individually calibrated in the factory for correct colour, with a guarantee of Delta E2. The monitor is specified to provide 100 percent sRGB and 80 percent AdobeRGB coverage. Additionally, the company offers a zero dead-pixel warranty for the duration of the three-year warranty.

In our tests with a Datacolor Spyder4 colorimeter, we initially measured 89 percent sRGB colour gamut, and 68 percent AdobeRGB. This is well below the 100 percent sRGB specification, and after consulting with ViewSonic we discovered that the full gamut is only available by setting the colour mode to User rather than Standard. Contrast ratio measured by the chequerboard test was 690:1, while Delta E averaged 1.12. Judged subjectively we found the image quality to be excellent, with clean text and no obvious colour gradients.

Power consumption was very low considering the panel technology and high resolution. We saw 39W consumption at the screen’s full brightness (a high 432cd/m2), falling to a very economical 19W when calibrated to 120cd/m2. VERDICT: The ViewSonic VP2780-4K is expensive for a consumer monitor at £699, although relatively cheap when set against professional monitors with full Adobe RGB colour and polished OSD menus, for which you can expect to pay closer to twice the price. The warranty is useful with its zero dead-pixel warranty, making the VP2780-4K an accessible UHD monitor with 100 percent sRGB for professionals on a tighter budget.