Today we're looking at a really ridiculous product, the Philips Momentum 43. Also known as the 436M6VBPAB, the Momentum 43 is a 43-inch 4K HDR "monitor." It'southward not a TV according to Philips, only a monitor, then plainly they think some people are interested in such a massive display for their PC.

This thing is pretty large, and I'll talk a bit more well-nigh the size later. But first, a couple of important specs: this 43" 3840 x 2160 panel uses VA technology with a Quantum Dot film and it sports DisplayHDR 1000 certification, plus you lot become adaptive sync a.yard.a. FreeSync, though in a rather narrow 48 to 60 Hz range.

With a 48Hz minimum, we're non getting low framerate compensation (or LFC) and as a result, nosotros're not getting the total benefit of FreeSync. It'south also the reason why the Momentum 43 is not advertised as a FreeSync 2 HDR panel: it fails the certification process for FreeSync 2 as it doesn't support LFC. This is despite the display boasting total DisplayHDR g compliance.

The lack of FreeSync 2 and LFC is a bit of a bummer considering Philips is positioning this display as more of an entertainment or gaming focused unit. You'll be fine watching HDR movies or playing console games, but PC gamers are a scrap left behind compared to the best 4K gaming displays out in that location.

This monitor is better suited to not-PC usage for another reason likewise: it uses a not-standard subpixel construction, which causes a bit of text blurriness in Windows. It'south definitely not the clearest 4K display I've seen, and this doesn't have anything to do with its size, as the pixel density here matches that of a 27-inch 1440p monitor. The BGR instead of RGB subpixel array is a not-issue exterior of viewing text and documents in a PC operating system, so gaming is fine for example.

While Philips does come across this equally a gaming or entertainment display, in that location are some odd design choices that get against this marketing push. The panel only has a single HDMI port, so those with multiple consoles, or perhaps a console and a 4K Blu-ray role player, can't plug in both at the same fourth dimension without a switch or adapters. Simply then in that location are two DisplayPorts, one full sized and ane mini, forth with a USB-C input using DP alt mode. These are features yous'd normally associate with a PC monitor rather than an amusement display.

With a wide, two-pronged stand up, the Momentum 43 looks more similar a mod Television set than a traditional monitor. The brandish is of boilerplate thickness with average bezels, nix amazing for a monitor of this size, though the use of basic plastic on the front and rear keeps everything looking nice and minimal. In choosing this sort of blueprint, the Momentum could exist used for a number of applications without looking out of identify: it could be a Television for console gaming, it could be a big function monitor, or it could be a monstrous PC gaming brandish.

Along the bottom border y'all'll notice Philips Ambiglow lighting, which is basically 2 RGB LED strips and some processing software that gets these strips to mimic the average colors currently on the display. In a dark room with white walls, this provides pleasant ambient lighting in some situations, and it works quite well – it'south both responsive and accurate to what is existence shown.

If you like this sort of ambience lighting information technology's worth experimenting with and it's definitely more useful than just a bones RGB strip. It can too exist fully disabled, and in fact comes disabled by default, if y'all want a more traditional feel.

As for the on-screen display, Philips does include a directional toggle for like shooting fish in a barrel navigation, simply even easier than that is the remote they include. The remote is very basic and is mainly used for irresolute inputs and the volume of the in-built speakers, but it tin can also be used to flick through the on-screen settings, and that certainly helped for calibrating the display. Plus if yous stop upwards using the Momentum 43 every bit a Tv, the remote is an essential inclusion.

Information technology shouldn't come up as a surprise, though, that the stand is very express in that it merely provides tilt adjustment. I would accept been amazed if it included any other adjustments, so if you want to mount the screen college upwardly, or at an angle, you'll need to buy a 200 ten 200 VESA mount which is compatible with a brandish this size and weight.

Plainly i of the large drawcards of the Momentum 43 is its size, and this thing is certainly enormous. For gaming I use a 34-inch Acer Predator X34 ultrawide, which is already pretty wide as it is, but the Momentum 43 is a expert 10cm wider while obviously being significantly taller as it's a 16:9 console.

For productivity use I found the Momentum to be impractical for most tasks. It does have a few things going for information technology: a pixel density equivalent to a 27-inch 1440p display ways you don't have to mess around with brandish scaling to read text at a typical desk viewing altitude. It likewise gives you plenty of screen existent estate, equivalent to four 21.v-inch 1080p monitors in a 2x2 filigree, then yous can snap apps to each corner and view 4 windows at one time while still keeping things dainty and visible, something you lot really tin can't do with a 32-inch 4K monitor or smaller.

But my master problem with this monitor for productivity tasks is that no work style ever feels comfortable to use. If you lot're just viewing i massive 4K window, that's a waste of screen real estate and in many apps like Photoshop, y'all're optics will be darting around the screen to taskbars on the left and right sides. In a divide screen view, because the console is flat, the edges are far away from your eyes and information technology's just not a great experience compared to a standard dual screen setup where y'all'd angle the screens for optimal viewing of each one. And then with ane window in each corner, cipher important is in the center of the screen, and the center is the most easily viewable part.

Where this size really shines is for entertainment, which is exactly what Philips markets the display for. When yous chuck a 43-inch screen at arm's reach on a desk, it's truly enormous, occupying a massive corporeality of your field of view. Compared to a standard 21:nine ultrawide monitor, the major advantage is in its height; the Momentum 43 merely engulfs your vision where an ultrawide doesn't provide the same level of vertical immersion.

That said, in a lot of games you lot'll take to adjust the field of view and the HUD positioning to ensure the main activeness is in the center of the display. I felt the best use of the Momentum 43 as a PC gaming display was in games that permit you to adjust things and then that you're not only viewing a diddled up image, but instead are getting more peripheral vision both horizontally and vertically. Non every game allows you to do that, or can practice so without a fisheye upshot, so information technology tin be a mixed bag.

Would I personally use a 43-inch display for gaming? Probably not, because my existing 21:9 display is actually useful as a productivity monitor and the actress size of the 43-inch Momentum doesn't always lead to better results in games. But I can definitely see the appeal for a massive display like this for some gamers, though information technology'south more of a niche thing.