We tested this behemoth and see if this 4K Monitor is a good choice for gamers and video editors.

With high-end PC rigs able to play games in 4K resolution, it’s a no brainer for consumers to invest on a 4K monitor, whether it is for their gaming or editing photos and videos. But some 4K monitors offer a smaller screen size which couldn’t optimize the full strength of experiencing 4K resolution. Enter Philip’s BDM4350UC 43-inch 4K IPS Monitor, which has the large screen for its 4K capability, but can this 4K monitor be a must have for PC enthusiasts especially for those who want to optimize their PC rig’s power?

Before we proceed to our review, let’s take a look at the specs of the BDM4350UC:

• LCD panel type: IPS LCD
• Backlight type: W-LED system
• Panel Size: 42.51 inch (108 cm)
• Effective viewing area: 941.2 (H) x 529.4 (V)
• Aspect ratio: 16:9
• Optimum resolution: 3840 x 2160 @ 60Hz
• Response time (typical): 5 ms (Gray to Gray)*
• Brightness: 300  cd/m²
• Contrast ratio (typical): 1200:1
• SmartContrast: 50,000,000:1
• Pixel pitch: 0.2451 x 0.2451mm
• Viewing angle: 178º (H) / 178º (V)
• USB: USB 3.0×4 (1 w/fast charging)
• Signal Input
  • VGA (Analog )
  • DisplayPort x 2
  • HDMI (2.0) – MHL x 2
• Sync Input
  • Separate Sync
  • Sync on Green
• Audio (In/Out)
  • PC audio-in
  • Headphone out

• Product with stand(max height): 968 x 630 x 259  mm
• Product without stand (mm): 968 x 562 x 82  mm

The Philips BDM4350UC has a thin look for its body and nothing very fancy with its design, stretching at around 3 inches when measured sideways, it also has a thin bezel (which is around 20 mm) that still provides a simplistic look for the monitor. It also features a glossy screen that has an anti-glare coating to lessen any reflections that would obstruct the view on the screen, however the back part of the monitor has a matte finish for its surface which is not much of an issue considering it won’t be visible at all times. The lighting at the bottom of the Philips logo that glows and blinks to alert the status of the monitor if it is powered on or has no display signal. The monitor features two metal legs as its stand, however its lacks any swivel and tilting functions for the body due to the stand’s design. However the monitor can mounted on a wall bracket or TV rack thanks to its VESA mount support for added customization.

The BDM4350UC has a four-way joystick behind the monitor that lets you access the on-screen menu, accessing the joystick may be a bit difficult if you placed your monitor in a cramped space, a wired controller would have been a great alternative to this problem or just place the joystick below the monitor instead. It also lacks any power adaptor from its initial package as it is now installed inside the monitor instead, this allows more ample space for your desktop when plugging it to an outlet. The main power switch is also located behind the monitor that can be handy for conserving electricity, but just like with the OSD joystick, reaching for the switch will be harder if the monitor is in a small space.

As for ports, it has two HDMI 2.0, two DisplayPort and a VGA port. Both the HDMI and DisplayPort supports 4K resolution and the HDMI has MHL support to allow mobile devices to connect to the monitor to feed its display. A couple of USB ports can be found below the display ports (3 USB ports and 1 USB uptsream port), they provide additional power to the source device and supports both USB 3.0 and 2.0 connectivity, however only one port has fast charging support. There are also 3.5mm audio and headphone jacks located beside the display ports if users prefer to use their headsets or speakers instead of the built-in twin 7 watt speakers. In terms of audio, the 7w speakers provide a decent quality of sound even in high volume, though the bass wasn’t that deep that you usually have in high quality speakers, it is still a big step up from other built-in speakers from other monitors.

Some of the main features of the BDM4350UC include the SmartUniformity, SmartImage and MultiView. SmartUniformity improves the brightness of the image to make it more accurate in terms of color accuracy, SmartImage provides different color presets to match certain needs, it ranges from different modes such as Office, Game, Movie, Photo and more. MultiView allows you to have multiple screens on the monitor from different sources. The IPS panel provides better viewing in any direction with up to 178 degrees of optimal angle.

We benchmarked, the BDM4350UC with the PassMark MonitorTest software to determine the color accuracy and quality of the display. There were no problems in terms of color, and the sharpness of the letters are very decent even on close up as shown on the images. It has a refresh rate of 60Hz even on 3840 x 2160 (4K resolution) that is a standard in most monitors, but PC enthusiasts will not be able to optimize much of their gaming rigs with a low refresh rate. When displayed in 4K, the images on-screen are very detailed even when you looked closer to the screen, even the thumbnails are well detailed and there are less signs of pixelation.

Now when testing the monitor in terms of user experience, we tested out the quality of the display when playing games and videos. The presets from the SmartImage provided some nice visual quality in certain videos, but you can manually adjust the settings of the display to your own preferred taste. The biggest attraction for the BDM4350UC was not just the 4K screen, but the MultiView feature, it allows to have multiple displays with up to four sources simultaneously. Any device can be connected to the monitor, whether it may be another PC or laptop or even a gaming console like the PS4, it has two modes; the Picture-by-Picture (PBP) and the Picture-in-Picture (PIP), PBP lets you put multiple displays of the same dimension in one screen while PIP puts a small display inside a larger display. The PBP works well as a multi display setup for PC users or when editing or capturing game footage from a console with a PC. We tried running a gaming PC and a PS4 during our test run on the monitor and so far we did not encounter any issues of slowdowns or screen freezing. Response time is at 5ms which can be a problem for fast paced games or those that require precise timing for its gameplay (ie fighting games) as input lags will become a problem, however this wouldn’t be much of an issue when watching movies.

Navigating on the OSD as the joystick has a four-way direction and a functional button when pressed, each of the four direction has a mapped shortcut to allow easy navigation for certain functions, such as the SmartImage preset and the MultiView option, though it could have been better if there is a dedicated shortcut for volume control for ease of access instead of juggling through the menu just to adjust the volume.

Overall, the Philips BDM4350UC is a massive 4K monitor that is best used for video editing and movie entertainment, thanks to its MultiView feature and larger screen that provide multiple displays in a single monitor. Using this for your daily gaming has its share of pros and cons depending on the types of games that you would play on it, the slow response time may cause some input lags for competitive games while its vivid colors and glossy screen provides a pleasing experience for RPGs and other high graphic performing games to show its full beauty of their worlds, playing on a 43 inch large screen can be difficult when you are very close, this give you some difficulty in keeping track of any moving object on screen especially on competitive games. The BDM4350UC is a good investment if you have a 4K capable machine and want to enjoy the 4K UHD in a bigger screen.

The Good

• MultiView offering different viewing options on multiple displays
• The large screen help flesh out the full 4K UHD experience
• Best for video editing

The Bad

• The OSD Joystick and power switch can be placed in a better position
• High input lag for some games