32" 2K: BenQ BL3200PT vs. Samsung S32D850T

Hallo

Leider ist Deutsch nicht meine Muttersprache also ich muss weiter auf Englisch... (sorry )

I'm looking to replace my outdated 24" BenQ FP241W 1920x1200 P-MVA. It has served me well as my Multimedia monitor. It had two main functions - Video and [single-player] gaming via DVI (Nvidia GTX 660) and as output via HDMI for my HD cable box (1080i). Because I want to take advantage of 2K (2560x1440) resolution when I occasionally work with Office / Browsers but to avoid eye strain, I prefer to go with 32" over the 27" standard for 2K.

Given the above, there are only a few serious candidates, two of which were reviewed here @PRAD:

BenQ BL3200PT

Samsung S32D850T

I'm leaning towards the BL3200PT mainly because of

• the AU Optronics AMVA* 10-bit panel
• Flicker-free backlight
• the matt-black frame
• Color temperature & gamma options (albeit no classic 6500K / 2.2)
• Flexibility with display output (ratio, HDMI signal level, ...)
• Because I have a HW calibration tool (Spyder3Express) I am less concerned about the poor stock non-calibrated results

HOWEVER...
What mostly concerns me about the BL3200PT is the following comment in the review:
"Einen Deinterlacer scheint der Monitor nicht zu besitzen. 50 Hz konnten zwar eingestellt und auch wiedergegeben werden, aber bereits im Menü des Players konnte ein recht starkes Zittern des Bildes festgestellt werden"

Because my (UPC) HD Cable-box delivers 1080i via HDMI only I am concerned that the BL3200PT cannot properly process it... can anyone confirm that I understood the review correctly please?

Now regarding Samsung's S32D850T, although the review was quite favorable ("Sehr Gut", sogar...) there's a few areas of serious concern imho:

"Lediglich unterhalb von 135 cd/m² setzt das PWM-Verfahren (Pulsweitenmodulation) ein und das Hintergrundlicht wird gepulst."
I am not sure if I am affected by PWM but I'd just assume avoid it, particularly since PWM is on it's way out anyway... so I was quite surprised to read this about the monitor's outdated backlighting technology...

"Grafiker werden eine verbindliche Einstellung der Farbtemperatur und des Gammawerts vermissen. Mit einer Kalibration ist der S32D850T aber auch gut für farbverbindliches Arbeiten geeignet. Dabei deckt er den sRGB-Farbraum vollständig zu 100 % ab."
Yes, good to know it can be corrected with HQ profiling, but a real shame that a "Sehr Gut" monitor cannot be adjusted by hand... .

Einen klassischen sRGB-Modus besitzt der Monitor nicht. Aus diesem Grund wurde die Werkseinstellung auch zur Beurteilung der Farbwerte herangezogen. Die vordefinierten Modi, welche den Weißpunktbestimmen, sind nicht sonderlich gelungen: Warm 1 (5328K), Normal (7244K) und Kalt 1 (9302K)."
Again, quite upsetting for a "Sehr Gut" monitor... .

(M)VA Panel... tried and true technology, but a bit vanilla by today's standards... .

~~~

Despite all of the above, I'd have to go with the S32D850T should my fears be realized - that the BL3200PT cannot properly render 1080i (interlaced) media. So I would be most grateful if anyone could help me determine if the statement from the PRAD review is going to be a show-stopper in terms of 1080i rendering, thanks kindly

p.s. By default, I do care somewhat about color and grey-scale accuracy as my hobby is photography. However, I do that kind of work with my Eizo S2231W on another machine.

Quote from traveller

... What mostly concerns me about the BL3200PT is the following comment in the review:
"Einen Deinterlacer scheint der Monitor nicht zu besitzen. 50 Hz konnten zwar eingestellt und auch wiedergegeben werden, aber bereits im Menü des Players konnte ein recht starkes Zittern des Bildes festgestellt werden"
Because my (UPC) HD Cable-box delivers 1080i via HDMI only I am concerned that the BL3200PT cannot properly process it... can anyone confirm that I understood the review correctly please?

Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet...
...so I did, picked up the BL3200 and everything works perfectly, even the 1080i/50Hz source is properly reproduced
Set Brightness to 50%, Gamma 1, Red 100 / Green 97 / Blue 97 and from that point, calibrated with my Spyder3Express. The results are quite satisfying.
The matt panel coating is ok imho, perhaps a bit more transparent than my Eizo S2231W. Of course, the colors don't pop like they do on my HP x360 ultrabook's QHD glossy panel, but in return, no reflections to speak of.
I find the ratio of QHD and 32" to be a good balance and at 0.277" dot-pitch, slightly less than the Eizo's 0.282", slight more than the outgoing BenQ FP241W @0.269".

A nice bonus is the built-in SDXC card reader which I will be using quite often (both my Sony RX100M3 and Canon 70D use the format) and a USB3.0 hub never hurts. The only downside to the monitor are the video-ports location (right side) which hardly make sense imho. The odds of working at 90° with a 32" panel is very low. Lastly, the lack of a PIP option. With that much panel real estate I could be surfing (DVI) while viewing a game on cable (HDMI). Neither of these are show-stoppers and for the price, the BL3200 is a great monitor

I was planning to now replace my 22" 1680x1050 Eizo with a 27" QHD monitor but I don't think I'd manage to effectively work with a 0.234" dot-pitch and I'll most likely replace it with a 0.27" 24" 1920x1200 monitor instead.