For many workloads that require a lot of on-screen space, big displays are hugely beneficial — the bigger the better. TPV Technology, the company that produces monitors under Philips brand, recently decided to go very big and introduced a new 43" display with a 3840 x 2160 resolution. While the monitor is intended mostly for prosumer workloads, its price is not too high.

Extremely large displays are generally overkill for everyday workloads, but there are industries where the workloads require more on-screen space than a single monitor can provide. For example, many engineers and financial brokers use multi-display setups to maximize their productivity and view far more info than they could on a single display. While it is impractical to substitute four, six or eight displays in control rooms or in traders’ offices with fewer physical screens, engineers and designers could use one big monitor instead of two smaller ones. Philips is targeting this group of users with its Brilliance UltraClear 43” display, which is more like a television than a monitor.

The Philips UltraClear 43” (BDM4350UC) display uses an IPS panel with a 3840 × 2160 resolution and W-LED backlighting. It has a 300 nit brightness, a 1200:1 contrast ratio, and a 60 Hz refresh rate. According to Philips, the brightness uniformity is 96~105%, which is quite good for a display of this size. Philips also includes a uniformity feature called Smart Uniformity to correct inconsistencies in the backlighting, but it's not clear how well it works in the real world or what limitations it imposes on the display modes that can be used.

Philips BDM4350UC
Panel 43" IPS
Resolution 3840 × 2160
Refresh Rate 60 Hz
Response Time 5 ms gray-to-gray
Brightness 300 cd/m²
Contrast 1200:1
Viewing Angles 178°/178° horizontal/vertical
Color Saturation 1.07 billion colours, 100% sRGB
Pixel Pitch 0.2451 mm
Pixel Density 102 ppi
Brightness Uniformity 96 - 105%
Picture-in-Picture Up to four 1080p PiP images supported
Inputs 1 × D-Sub
2 × HDMI 2.0
2 × MHL
1 × DP 1.2
USB Hub 4-port USB 3.0 hub,
one port supports fast charging
Audio 7W × 2
Launch Price $799.99

The UltraClear 43” comes with two HDMI 2.0 ports with MHL support, two DisplayPort 1.2 ports, and a D-Sub connector. The monitor can be connected to up to four video sources and display images from them in picture-by-picture mode. The display is also equipped with a quad-port USB 3.0 hub as well as two 7W speakers.

Just like TVs, the Philips UltraClear 43” comes with a stand that does not allow adjustment of tilt or height, which is a drawback. Fortunately, the monitor has a VESA mount, so, it should be possible to get an appropriate arm or aftermarket stand that does support this, although it will need to be able to support the display's mass and size.

It remains to be seen whether there's a sizable market for the UltraClear 43”, but for tasks like editing spreadsheets and CAD work it could be quite useful. Right now the Philips UltraClear 43” is available on Amazon for $799.99.

Source: Philips

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  • inighthawki - Friday, May 13, 2016 - link

    No, he's talking about the size AND resolution - the ratio of which forms PPI.

    "8K resolution is the minimum for proper 43" display"
  • smilingcrow - Saturday, May 14, 2016 - link

    I replied to Bill who focussed on size. :)
  • CaedenV - Friday, May 13, 2016 - link

    Been reading lots of reviews by early adopters and it seems to be hit and miss. Lots of people have no issues, but when they do burn in it looks pretty awful. I assume it is a batch issue.

    I am really hot for this monitor... but I'll give it a few months for them to get QC under control on the screen burn problems. I could always return and try again... but I'd rather wait.
  • kpxgq - Friday, May 13, 2016 - link

    150+ ppi or bust!
  • D. Lister - Friday, May 13, 2016 - link

    43" 5ms 4K@60Hz IPS, for $800? What's the catch? C'mon there has to be one.
  • DanNeely - Friday, May 13, 2016 - link

    It's a TV size panel, the lower price reflects economies of scale from that.
  • smilingcrow - Friday, May 13, 2016 - link

    Which is not a catch. ;)
  • emn13 - Sunday, May 15, 2016 - link

    These kind of displays aren't all that new - I've bought the slightly smaller 40" BDM4065UC philips for work, and iiyama has the X4071UHSU-B1.

    So, there *are* a few catches, but you may be able to live with them. First of all - there's no adjustable stand. This may make sense, but in the workplace (as opposed to as a TV) that's a bit of a pain. You can use the vesa-mount, but that increases price and reduces flexibility. I expected this downside.

    The second downside (which I didn't expect) is that the 300cd/m2 brightness is surprisingly dark. That may be due to the fact that the smaller 40" variant uses MVA instead of IPS: though both have identical viewing angles, MVA tends to lose more brightness at angled viewing whereas IPS loses saturation and contrast - and at 40+ inches that means dark corners. But in a brightly lit office such as anything with any nearby sunshine (even if indirect or partially obstructed) the BDM4065UC becomes slighly hard to read - it's not unworkable, but being able to read a display is kind of the point (for us anyhow), so it's a major issue. We now try to only use them in workplaces that aren't near windows.
  • emn13 - Sunday, May 15, 2016 - link

    Incidentally, both BDM4065UC and X4071UHSU-B1 use the same panel; but iiyama chose to go with a 350cd/m2 backlight. Unless you've seen this display in person and know it's OK, I'd pick the better backlight over the extra 3 inches.
  • Trefugl - Friday, May 13, 2016 - link

    Give it FreeSync and I'd buy it. Seems like a limited number of Korean monitors are my only choice for large form factor 4k monitors with FreeSync...

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