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For the most part the Philips Brilliance 328P is a very straight forward proposition. You get high fidelity but broadly conventional visuals at a very competitive price given the form factor and resolution. Where it does confound expectations is with its use of VA rather than the IPS panel tech you'd normally expect in this 32-inch 4K ‘pro' orientated segment.
By the numbers, it also confounds expectations with its objective performance. It's accurate out of the box and responds well to calibration. The subjective experience, however, is a little more complicated.
For starters, even post calibration there's a noticeable pink shift to flesh tones. It's by no means a catastrophic shortcoming, but it's not an issue you'd have with an IPS monitor in this format and it also just goes to show the limitations of objective metrics. Ultimately, the subjective experience matters just as much.
Another slight weakness involves viewing angles. Using test images that highlight any off-centre colour shift, it's immediately obvious that the 328P isn't quite up there with the best IPS screens for off-centre colour stability. Again, it's not a major flaw. It's also even less of an issue in real-world usage than in contrived test images. But, once again, it's not something you'd have to absorb with an IPS panel.
Subjectively, the pixel response is merely adequate, too. And if you care about such things, this screen notably lacks gamer-centric features such as high refresh rates and frame syncing. But then it simply isn't pitched at gamers, so those details are tangential to its stated remit.
However, the real caveat to any and all shortcomings is the aggressive price point versus other high fidelity 32-inch 4K monitors. Yes, there are superior 32-inch 4K options available. But they are also a lot more expensive. In that context, the Philips Brilliance 328P is a very appealing proposition for the price.
The Philips Brilliance 328P6VJEB is available from Insight.com for £565.
Pros:
- Aggressively priced
- Expansive 4K native resolution
- Generous 32-inch panel proportions
- Good range of inputs
- 10-bit per channel colour
- Strong measured colour accuracy, particularly post calibration
- Fully adjustable stand
- VA panel tech enables good static contrast
Cons:
- Lacks cutting edge tech like HDR support or quantum dots.
- VA panel tech compromises viewing angles and subjective colours.
- Limited feature set, especially for gamers.
- Contrast and brightness don't quite match the claimed specifications.
Kitguru says: The Philips Brilliance 328P is not the finest 32-inch 4K panel you can purchase. But it is aggressively priced and offers impressive calibrated colour accuracy to go with its expansive 4K native resolution. And that makes for a very compelling value proposition.
