Philips Brilliance 499P9H 49in 32:9 SuperWide Monitor Review

1. Introduction2. Philips Brilliance 499P9H3. Philips Brilliance 499P9H OSD Menu System4. Philips Brilliance 499P9H Analysis5. Closing Thoughts6. View All Pages

The Philips Brilliance 499P9H is a whopper of a screen, and as our first look at this 32:9 format it gains from the wow factor of its incredible width. However, it won't be alone as other manufacturers have monitors this size on the roadmap or released already. The width and resolution is definitely a winner if you have the desk space and a graphics card able to drive those pixels with adequate 3D acceleration, so we expect this to be a format with growing interest.

This truly is a dual-monitor setup in one screen, and with Picture-By-Picture you can actually have two separate inputs comfortably adjacent on one screen, where other screens make this feature more of a kludge. However, colour accuracy is only reasonable, and in other respects the performance is average as well. So we expect there will be more accomplished 32:9 screens arriving in the near future.

However, the 499P9H wins back again on features. The four video inputs are all the latest versions, and include USB C, which even allows KVM functionality. There's a three-port USB 3.1 hub and 2Mpixel pop-up webcam on the top, with modest but useful built-in speakers. Whilst we might have preferred to have some of those USB ports on the side for easier access, there really isn't anything major missing.

Although the near-£900 price sounds steep, if you consider this screen is like having two curved 24in screens with 2,560 x 1,440 resolution stitched together, it doesn't sound quite so much. You are still paying a premium for that wow factor, and there will likely be models in the near future that outperform it, but right now the only alternatives with this width are £300 more expensive for the same resolution, or a little more expensive for a lower resolution.

So this screen is actually good value in its class. So if you're after that bigger picture, the Philips Brilliance 499P9H is a screen with plenty to envy.

The Philips Brilliance 499P9H is available from Amazon here:

Pros:

• It's really, really wide.
• Makes running two inputs side-by-side very possible.
• Highly immersive, with edges beyond your peripheral vision.
• Alternatives with same 32:9 aspect more expensive.
• Decent level of brightness.
• Comprehensive, cutting-edge selection of video inputs including USB C.
• Built-in webcam.
• Three-port USB 3.1 hub.
• Reasonable range of OSD configuration options.

Cons:

• Colour not as accurate as you would want in a screen this price.
• 60Hz refresh and 5ms pixel response aren't ideal for gaming.

KitGuru says: The Philips Brilliance 499P9H will keep you wide-eyed with wonder at its immense 32:9 aspect. It's not perfect, but you do get a lot of curved screen for your money, and major bragging rights.

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