
Although we’ve reviewed a fair number of gaming-oriented monitors lately, the bulk of our coverage over the past 18 months revolved around 27-inch QHD displays. They represent the majority of new introductions from all major manufacturers, and even some lesser-known ones. Thanks largely to panel parts from LG Display, the 27-inch IPS monitor with QHD resolution is fast becoming a popular choice for those looking to upgrade from their 24-inch FHD screens. Even though prices are still stuck around the $600 mark, there is no question that enthusiasts are buying them.
The only complaint we’ve registered along the way involves font size. With a pixel density of 109 ppi, text in most Windows applications becomes pretty small. And the older the user, the more difficult it becomes to read at normal viewing distances. BenQ now offers a neat and obvious solution to the problem. If Windows' scaling doesn’t satisfy you, then simply increase the screen size. Today we’re looking at the brand-new BL3200PT, a 32-inch monitor with a 16:9 aspect ratio and a density of 92 pixels per inch.
| Brand | BenQ |
|---|---|
| Model | BL3200PT |
| Street Price | $800 |
| Panel Type | AMVA |
| Backlight | W-LED, edge array |
| Screen Size | 32-inch |
| Max Resolution | 2560x1440 |
| Max Refresh Rate | 60 Hz |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:9 |
| Native Color Depth | 10-bit |
| Native Gamut | sRGB |
| Response Time (GTG) | 4 ms |
| Brightness | 300 cd/m2 |
| Speakers | 2 x 5 W |
| VGA | 1 |
| DVI | 1 |
| DisplayPort v1.2 | 1 |
| HDMI v1.4 | 1 |
| Audio In | 1 |
| Headphone | 1 |
| USB | v3.0 - 1 up, 2 down v2.0 - 2 down |
| Media Card Reader | SD |
| Panel Dimensions WxHxD w/base | 29.4 x 19.4-25.4 x 9.2 in 740 x 490-640 x 232 mm |
| Panel Thickness | 2.7 in / 67 mm |
| Bezel Width | .6-.8 in / 14-20 mm |
| Weight | 28.7 lbs / 13 kg |
| Warranty | Three years |
A little over a year ago, we reviewed two screens (HP ZR30w Versus DoubleSight DS-309W, 30-inch Monitors, Tested) that offered a 16:10 aspect ratio in a 30-inch form factor. They were definitely a step in the right direction. The HP has since been discontinued, but you can still find the DoubleSight for around $1000. And no other companies have introduced similar displays since then.
We feel this represents a screen-size sweet spot. That 92 ppi number should look familiar to you because it’s the same pixel density as a 24-inch FHD screen, which is what’s sitting on a majority of desktops right now. So who wouldn’t want the same text and object size they’re accustomed to, but almost double the screen area? We’re going from 246 to 437 square inches. Now that’s significant!
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Peeking under the BL3200PT’s hood, we find a new panel technology, AMVA, which stands for Advanced Multi-domain Vertical Alignment. In simple terms, we’re looking at a slightly different pixel structure than our old friends TN and IPS. Its goal is to maintain the high contrast and fast response time of TN panels, while incorporating IPS’ superior off-axis performance. Early examples had their share of color shift issues, but the latest generation proves to be a huge step forward.
The BL3200PT employs a panel from AU Optronics that is the first of its type we’ve seen in a mainstream product. The backlight is W-LED, which currently limits it to an sRGB color gamut. That backlight, by the way, does not use pulse-width modulation like a majority of today's monitors. It’s part of BenQ’s Zero Flicker initiative, dedicated to reducing eye fatigue. We saw the same thing on the XL2720Z and RL2460HT. Monitors using PWM don’t necessarily have visible flicker, but after a few hours of use, some folks report discomfort. By controlling brightness at the pixel level and running the backlight with constant current, that source of potential eyestrain is eliminated.
Of particular interest is the panel’s native 10-bit color depth. This monitor does not incorporate frame rate conversion and can accept a 10-bit signal through its DisplayPort and DVI inputs. Of course, to take full advantage, you’ll need a 10-bit-capable graphics board and content encoded with the extra color information.
Needless to say, the BL3200PT makes quite a physical statement even before you turn it on. Does its performance live up to the promise? Let’s take a look.
For such a large monitor, the BL3200PT’s carton is smaller than you’d expect. The contents seem well-protected, though we feel BenQ's packaging could be a little deeper to provide a greater buffer against damage. We suggest mail-order buyers check their shipment carefully before signing.
The cable bundle is quite extensive. There’s an IEC power cord for the internal power supply plus HDMI, DVI, DisplayPort, VGA, USB 3.0, and an analog audio cable. A CD contains the user manual, and there’s a printed quick start guide as well.
Assembly consists of attaching the base to the upright and snapping it onto the back of the panel.
Product 360

The first thing that struck me about the BL3200PT was its solid-aluminum upright. It’s a beautifully finished piece that drips with quality. It has a large hole to pass cables through, and attaches to the base with a captive wing-nut.
The screen’s anti-glare layer is mild for better clarity, but still controls reflections very well. Only a light source pointed directly at the BL3200PT is visible. The bezel is narrow, which makes this gargantuan display a great candidate for multi-monitor installations. If you put three of these things on your desk, they'd probably look like a commercial flight simulator.

The base is plastic finished to look like brushed metal. The little disc-shaped controller plugs into a dedicated mini-USB port and has four programmable buttons, plus menu navigation and a selector at the center. It’s well-designed and makes using the OSD quick and easy. The controller sits nicely in a little nest as pictured, or you can put it on your desk. In fact, it reminds me of the S-switch that comes with the XL2720Z.

If you have the room, the BL3200PT can be rotated to an impressive-looking portrait mode. You also have 25 degrees of tilt, 90 degrees of swivel, and almost six inches of height adjustment. Thanks to the most solid base and upright we’ve ever seen, all of the movements are firm and confident. The panel stays put with no slop or wobble whatsoever.

At 2.7 inches thick, the BL3200PT is no deeper than any of the smaller monitors we’ve tested. It won’t quite sit flush on a wall because of the power bulge, but it is slimmer than BenQ's dimensions suggest.

From the back you can see that the vents and speaker grills are located in the bulge, rather than the edges of the panel. The speakers boast a little more power than usual: five watts instead of two. They have a bit more sonic depth, but are still inadequate for serious gaming or movie-watching. Removing the upright reveals a 100 mm VESA mount.

The BL3200PT is fairly unique in that it has a side-facing input panel. You get one DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, and VGA port. The only way to use the monitor’s full resolution at 60 Hz is through DVI or DisplayPort, though. You can also see two of the USB ports, the SD card reader, and the headphone jack. The remaining USB ports, OSD controller connector, and audio input are on a down-facing panel.
OSD Tour
You can control the BL3200PT’s OSD using the front-panel touch-keys or the plug-in controller. Either way, the first thing that pops up is the following menu:
The first three buttons can be mapped to functions other than the ones shown. By default, you see picture mode, input, and volume. The fourth key opens the main menu and the fifth cancels.
The OSD looks just like the one we saw in our previous three BenQ monitor reviews with just a few variations. The Display submenu mainly contains adjustments for analog signals, but also has an auto-pivot option and input selector.
The Picture menu has all of the calibration controls you need except for a color management system. Brightness manipulates the backlight, just as you’d expect. Contrast starts out at 50 and should not be increased, lest you clip detail and create a green cast in the brightest parts of the image. Sharpness introduces edge enhancement at settings above 4.
As you’ll see later in our tests, we encountered gamma issues at the BL3200PT’s default setting of 3. Change it to 1 for best results.
There are three color temp presets plus a user mode. The RGB sliders start at 100 percent. We prefer them to start in the middle of their range for a more balanced adjustment. As you can see, we only needed to make tiny changes to achieve excellent grayscale accuracy.
AMA stands for Advanced Motion Accelerator. It works like Trace Free to reduce ghosting artifacts that sometimes appear behind moving objects on the screen. It’s a definite asset in games and video. On BenQ’s other monitors with the feature, it creates a minor color-fringing artifact. That wasn't the case on its BL3200PT, though. We left the setting at High for the entire review period and saw no issues.
There are 11 picture modes available to tailor the image to your liking. BenQ's factory default is Standard, which measures reasonably well in every discipline except gamma. The best mode to use without calibrating is sRGB. You can’t change the gamma or color temp, but you can adjust brightness and contrast. For those planning an instrumented calibration, User mode provides the best starting point.
Senseye Demo lets you compare two picture modes in a split-screen format.
Dynamic Contrast aggressively alters gamma in the darkest and lightest parts of the image to increase perceived contrast. It also crushes detail. It’s only available in the Photo and Movie modes.
Overscan zooms the image in by three percent to hide its edges. You'll also notice picture quality soften, since scaling is used.
Display Mode refers to the BL3200PT’s many aspect ratio choices. They’re meant to match different image scenarios you might encounter with lower-than-native resolution content. They all employ scaling, and are therefore lower-clarity than simply running the monitor in its native 2560x1440 mode.
Once you’ve selected a preset, you can use the Smart Scaling slider to tweak the image size.
Color Format only works with VGA or DVI inputs. It allows you to choose between the RGB and YUV formats.
We’ve seen the HDMI Range option on every BenQ monitor we’ve reviewed and it’s been set incorrectly each time. If you adjust nothing else, please visit this menu and change the option to 0-255 so you see a correct PC signal. If you connect a Blu-ray player or cable box, use 16-235 for the proper video levels.
The volume and mute controls affect the internal speakers and headphone output. Audio Select lets you choose whether the sound comes from the analog input or one of the digital (HDMI or DP) interfaces.
The OSD always appears at the bottom-right part of the screen, so you can’t change its position. Not that you’d need to. Display Time can be up to 30 seconds. We’d like to see an option to leave the menu up indefinitely. You can choose one of 17 languages for the display. And OSD Lock prevents any use of the menu whatsoever. Hold any key for more than 10 seconds to restore it.
The first three touch-keys on the bezel can be programmed for different monitor functions like picture mode or volume.
DP and HDMI Auto Switch either include or exclude those inputs from the BL3200PT’s auto-sense loop.
Auto Power Off can be set for 10, 20, or 30 minutes of inactivity.
Signal Information covers resolution, refresh rate, and input type. The only thing missing is the firmware version.
The DisplayPort option lets you choose between version 1.1 or 1.2 of the standard. Use the one that matches your graphics card.
The three keys on the plug-in controller can also be customized here.
To reset all adjustments to their factory defaults, choose Reset All. Confirm by selecting Yes.
The Ergonomics menu is all about preventing eye fatigue. You can set a reminder that pops up when it’s time to take a break. BenQ's BL3200PT also has a light sensor on the bezel that can alter the brightness automatically if you wish.
You can also save power with a front-mounted proximity sensor. When activated, specify a range that corresponds to your viewing distance. If you leave your desk, the monitor powers down after 40 seconds.
Calibration
The best fire-and-forget mode is sRGB, where you’ll find decent color, gamma, and grayscale accuracy. You’ll still have access to the brightness (backlight) and contrast controls.
To calibrate the BL3200PT, we turned to the User mode, which unlocks the gamma and color temp adjustments. To achieve correct gamma, change the setting from 3 to 1. After small tweaks to the RGB sliders, we saw very good results in all of our accuracy tests. We also suggest dropping the Sharpness control from 5 to 4. There is just a tiny bit of edge enhancement present at the default setting. If you go lower than 4, obvious softness will result.
| BenQ BL3200PT Calibration Settings | |
|---|---|
| Picture Mode | User |
| Brightness | 88 |
| Contrast | 45 |
| Sharpness | 4 |
| Gamma | 1 |
| Color Temp | User |
| RGB | Red 100, Green 98, Blue 98 |
To measure and calibrate monitors, we use an i1Pro spectrophotometer, a Spectracal C6 colorimeter, and version 5.2.0.1374 of SpectraCal’s CalMAN software.

The i1Pro is accurate and consistent measuring color on all types of displays, regardless of the backlight technology used. When we just need a luminance value, the C6 works better, especially in low light.
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For patterns, we employ AccuPel DVG-5000 and DVDO AVLab TPG video signal generators. This approach removes video cards and drivers from the signal chain, allowing the display to receive true reference patterns. Connections are made via HDMI.

The AccuPel DVG-5000 is capable of generating all types of video signals at any resolution and refresh rate up to 1920x1080 at 60 Hz. It can also display motion patterns to evaluate a monitor's video processing capabilities, with 3D patterns available in every format. This allows us to measure color and grayscale performance, crosstalk, and ghosting in 3D content via the 3D glasses.
The DVDO generator is a new addition to our lab. It supports resolutions up to 4096x2160. We’re using it to verify the proper signal handling of QHD and UHD displays.
The i1Pro or C6 is placed at the center of the screen (unless we’re measuring uniformity) and sealed against it to block out any ambient light. The AccuPel pattern generator (bottom-left) is controlled over USB by CalMAN, which is running on the Dell XPS laptop on the right.
Our version of CalMAN Ultimate allows me to design all of the screens and workflows to best suit the purpose at hand. To that end, I’ve created a display review workflow from scratch. This way, we can be sure and collect all the necessary data with a concise and efficient set of measurements.
The charts show us the RGB levels, gamma response, and Delta E error for every brightness point from zero to 100 percent. The table shows us the raw data for each measurement. And the area in the upper-left tells us luminance, average gamma, Delta E, and contrast ratio. The individual charts can be copied to the Windows clipboard to easily create graphics for our reviews.
Every primary and secondary color is measured at 20-, 40-, 60-, 80-, and 100-percent saturation. The color saturation level is simply the distance from the white point on the CIE chart. You can see the targets moving out from white in a straight line. The further a point is from center, the greater the saturation until you hit 100 percent at the edge of the gamut triangle. This shows us the display’s response at a cross-section of color points. Many monitors score well when only the 100-percent saturations are measured. Hitting the targets at the lower saturations is more difficult, and factors into our average Delta E value (which explains why our Delta E values are sometimes higher than those reported by other publications).
Uncalibrated
Before calibrating any panel, we measure zero and 100-percent signals at both ends of the brightness control range. This shows us how contrast is affected at the extremes of a monitor's luminance capability. We do not increase contrast control past the clipping point. While that'd increase a monitor’s light output, the brightest signal levels would not be visible, resulting in crushed highlight detail. Our numbers show the maximum light level possible with no clipping of the signal.

BenQ specs the BL3200PT at 300 cd/m2 max output. But we could only get to 248.9853 cd/m2 with the Contrast control on 50. Increasing it clips detail and shifts the color of brighter image elements towards green. When a monitor is this large, however, anything over 200 cd/m2 still looks suitably bright.

AMVA technology promises better black levels and contrast than IPS, and this display certainly delivers. With the backlight on maximum, BenQ lays waste to the rest of the group. In fact, a .1046 cd/m2 result is better than many HDTVs.

Despite its lower white level, the BL3200PT offers max contrast that’s almost double the second-place X270OC, putting it far ahead of any IPS screen we’ve tested and almost all of the TN monitors too.
We believe 50 cd/m2 is a practical minimum standard for screen brightness. Any lower and you risk eyestrain and fatigue. The XL2720Z bottoms out right at 50.5889 cd/m2. This is a great light level for playing games or working in a totally darkened room. As you’ll see below, black levels and contrast hold up extremely well, too.

We’ve only seen a couple of other displays measure darker than the BL3200PT, and they had correspondingly lower minimum white levels. Remember that the BenQ is actually practical to use at its minimum backlight setting unlike some other screens.

The resulting contrast is only a little lower than the maximum. That's the sort of consistency we always look for and appreciate from any display. No matter your brightness preference, you’ll always see a contrast ratio of around 2200 to 1.
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After Calibration
Since we consider 200 cd/m2 to be an ideal point for peak output, we calibrate all of our test monitors to that value. In a room with some ambient light (like an office), this brightness level provides a sharp, punchy image with maximum detail and minimum eye fatigue. On many monitors, it’s also the sweet spot for gamma and grayscale tracking, which we'll look at on the next page.
In a darkened room, many professionals prefer a 120 cd/m2 calibration. We have found this makes little to no difference on the calibrated black level and contrast measurements.

The black level doesn’t suffer one bit after calibration. It’s less than half of the second-place AOC G2460PQU. AMVA panel technology seems to surpass the excellent dark-image performance of TN, while offering better off-axis viewing performance. It’s a win-win in our opinion.

The calibrated contrast ratio is solidly over 2000 to 1, which is excellent. We’re still hoping to see HDTV-level contrast in computer monitors someday, and the BL3200PT takes a huge step towards that goal. While AMVA is unlikely to ever match plasma or OLED in the black-level department, it’s emerging as the best LCD tech so far (at least in this discipline).
ANSI Contrast Ratio
Another important measure of contrast is ANSI. To perform this test, a checkerboard pattern of sixteen zero and 100-percent squares is measured, yielding a somewhat more real-world metric than on/off readings because we see a display’s ability to simultaneously maintain both low black and full white levels, factoring in screen uniformity, too. The average of the eight full-white measurements is divided by the average of the eight full-black measurements to arrive at the ANSI result.

We’ve seen feedback on early AMVA panels talking about poor uniformity and light bleed. Obviously, our sample does not suffer from those maladies. In fact, this is the first time we’ve seen a display’s ANSI result exceed its calibrated outcome, demonstrating excellent quality control on the parts of BenQ and AU Optronics.
The majority of monitors, especially newer models, display excellent grayscale tracking (even at stock settings). It’s important that the color of white be consistently neutral at all light levels from darkest to brightest. Grayscale performance impacts color accuracy with regard to the secondary colors: cyan, magenta, and yellow. Since computer monitors typically have no color or tint adjustment, accurate grayscale is key.

The BL3200PT comes out of the box set to the Standard picture mode, which, as you can see, has pretty good grayscale accuracy. None of the errors are visible, even at 100-percent brightness. In fact, reducing the Contrast control a couple of clicks cleans up that level.

BenQ markets this display as a CAD/CAM monitor, and it has a picture preset with a corresponding designation. We’re including it in our results so you can compare the differences. Obviously, the color temperature is a bit cooler than D65, though not significantly so. It gives the impression of a little extra brightness without actually increasing the contrast or backlight levels. In this preset, the color temp and gamma settings cannot be changed. The average error is 3.68 Delta E.

For the most accurate grayscale performance, select the User mode and adjust the RGB sliders. We also lowered the Contrast to 45 to achieve almost perfect results across the board.
Here is our comparison group:

The BL3200PT’s out-of-box grayscale accuracy in Standard mode is comfortably under the visible level of three Delta E. That bodes well for the majority of users who won’t be calibrating their monitor.

If you plan to use this display for color-critical work, an OSD calibration produces professional-quality results. An average error of less than one Delta E puts the BenQ in elite territory.
Gamma Response
Gamma is the measurement of luminance levels at every step in the brightness range from 0 to 100 percent. It's important because poor gamma can either crush detail at various points or wash it out, making the entire picture appear flat and dull. Correct gamma produces a more three-dimensional image, with a greater sense of depth and realism. Meanwhile, incorrect gamma negatively affects image quality, even in monitors with high contrast ratios.
In the gamma charts below, the yellow line represents 2.2, which is the most widely used standard for television, film, and computer graphics production. The closer the white measurement trace comes to 2.2, the better.

Gamma is the only area where the BL3200PT could use improvement. The default Gamma 3 setting results in an average value of over 3.0, which is much too dark for typical content and puts the trace off of our chart. Video and gaming looks flat and dull with poor detail. Changing to Gamma 1 improves image quality significantly. The trace is still a little darker than 2.2, but it’s pretty close.
High gamma values can make a monitor appear to have greater contrast, but this display doesn’t need any help in that department.

If you use the CAD/CAM preset, the gamma control is locked to a very high setting. The graph above shows what you end up with. While this may work fine for industrial design and CAD applications, it is not practical for use with typical computing tasks or entertainment.
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Here is our comparison group again:

Even though the gamma runs a tad dark, it tracks reasonably well. Thanks to a tremendous amount of available contrast, the BL3200PT’s image pops better than the TN or IPS displays we’ve seen run through our labs lately.
We calculate gamma deviation by simply expressing the difference from 2.2 as a percentage.

The average gamma value is 2.34. Obviously, that's a little darker than 2.2. The error is fairly consistent from 10- to 100-percent brightness and runs to a maximum of 5.5 cd/m2. We still love the BL3200PT's image quality, but wish there was one more gamma preset to match the 2.2 standard.
Color gamut is measured using a saturation sweep that samples the six main colors (red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, and yellow) at five saturation levels (20, 40, 60, 80, and 100%). It yields a more realistic view of color accuracy.

The out-of-box chroma results are interesting because they show how incorrect gamma can affect color saturation. If you look at the 100-percent points (the edge of the triangle), they’re pretty close to their targets. But the lower saturations are as much as 20 percent off the mark. For instance, 40-percent red is right on the 60-percent target. The net result is that the image looks oversaturated in most cases, even though gamut volume is essentially correct. There is a little compensation in the form of lower luminance values for red, magenta, and blue. Of course, what we want to see is for all saturation values to hit their respective targets.

Engaging the CAD/CAM preset worsens the saturation issues. Eighty- and 100-percent values are almost the same, meaning detail in the brightest parts of the image is nearly non-existent. Because of the cooler grayscale in this mode, the cyan and magenta secondaries are off in hue as well.

An instrumented calibration is the best way to set things right. The 20 to 80 percent levels in red, magenta, and blue are still a tad over-saturated, but the lowered luminance brings the actual error below three Delta E. The BL3200PT isn’t quite at the accuracy level of a factory-calibrated professional monitor, but it doesn’t cost nearly as much, either. Considering price versus screen size, this remains an excellent performer.
Now we return to the comparison group:

A 2.02 Delta E result may represent a last-place finish, but it’s still an invisible error. All of the monitors in our group offer great color accuracy, and you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference in a side-by-side comparison.
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Gamut Volume: Adobe RGB 1998 And sRGB
There are basically two categories of displays in use today: those that conform to the sRGB/Rec. 709 standard like HDTVs, and wide-gamut panels that show as much as 100 percent of the Adobe RGB 1998 spec. We use Gamutvision to calculate the gamut volume, based on an ICC profile created from our actual measurements.

Before calibration, the BL3200PT’s sRGB gamut volume measured closer to 103 percent. While this isn’t a big deal in productivity or entertainment applications, photo and graphics users will want to calibrate for greater accuracy and a 100-percent volume. The main culprit is the blue primary, which is over-saturated at the Gamma 3 setting.
The more monitors we test, the more we can see that off-axis viewing performance is dependent not only on pixel structure (IPS, PLS, TN, etc.) but the backlight technology as well. And we can see that the anti-glare layer makes a difference too.
Since this is the first AMVA panel we’ve photographed, we have no frame of reference for its off-axis image quality. To us, it looks pretty close to most of the white-LED IPS screens we’ve tested. The light falloff and color shift to green seems consistent whether you view from 45 degrees to the side or from above. Head-on there are no issues, and considering the enormous screen area, that’s a good thing. As I sit writing this, I’m exactly 28 inches away and I can’t see any issues at the edges or corners. If three people sat close to each other, they’d all enjoy a consistent picture.
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Screen Uniformity: Luminance
To measure screen uniformity, zero and 100-percent full-field patterns are used, and nine points are sampled. First, we establish a baseline measurement at the center of each monitor. Then the surrounding eight points are measured. Their values get expressed as a percentage of the baseline, either above or below. This number gets averaged. It is important to remember that we only test the review sample each vendor sends us. Other examples of the same monitor can measure differently in this metric.
First up is black field uniformity.

We mentioned earlier that AMVA technology has a reputation for poor uniformity. Obviously, BenQ and AU Optronics overcame whatever was plaguing previous designs. Our press sample turns in one of the best results we’ve seen. Even if it were higher, the BL3200PT’s low black levels would hide those flaws. To our eyes, it looks perfect.
Here’s the white field measurement:

BenQ's PG2401PT wins this test by virtue of its uniformity compensation look-up table. It’s impressive to see the Overlord screen is only a little behind it. The BL3200PT scores a mid-pack result. However, compared to our entire database, it’s well above-average. Again, our eyes cannot discern any variations in brightness across the screen. For a monitor this large, that’s beyond excellent.
Screen Uniformity: Color
To evaluate color uniformity, we display an 80-percent white field and measure the Delta E error of the same nine points on the screen. Then we simply subtract the lowest value from the highest to arrive at a result. Smaller numbers mean a display is more uniform. Any value below three translates to a variation that is invisible to the naked eye.

Color uniformity is equally solid at a low error of 1.74 Delta E. That’s nowhere near visible and represents one of the better results we’ve measured overall.
To perform these tests, we use a high-speed camera that shoots at 1000 frames per second. Analyzing the video frame-by-frame allows us to observe the exact time it takes to go from a zero-percent signal to a 100% white field.
The pattern generator is placed at the base of the monitor so our camera can capture the precise moment its front-panel LED lights up, indicating that a video signal is being received by the monitor. With this camera placement, we can easily see how long it takes to fully display a pattern after pressing the button on the generator’s remote. This testing methodology allows for accurate and repeatable results when comparing panels.
Here’s a shot of our test setup:
The brighter section of the camera’s screen is what appears in the video. You can see the pattern generator's lights in the bottom of the viewfinder. We flash the pattern on and off five times and average the results.

Whenever we test a new LCD technology, we look forward to seeing the response and lag results. BenQ's BL3200PT beats out the 60 Hz IPS and TN screens, but not the 120 and 144 Hz monitors, which is no surprise. A 17 ms response means motion blur will be present, but not quite as much as on a typical IPS display. Gamers looking for a jumbo screen will do well to consider this one.
Here are the lag results:

Obviously, there’s only so much speed to be had at 60 Hz. The BL3200PT is a little quicker than most IPS displays, but not much. Most gamers will be satisfied with this monitor. And those with super-human reflexes should consider a higher-refresh model.
Every few years, it seems like the typical screen size increases a couple of clicks. Rather than progressing slowly, the jump hits all at once. Not long ago, 19-inch displays were the norm, sporting 4:3 aspect ratios. With the advent of widescreen configurations, 22- and 24-inch 16:9 monitors took over as the market leaders. Now 27 inches is the go-to measurement for enthusiasts. But that extra area is accompanied by a problem. A resolution of 1920x1080 is just too coarse to render text and images smoothly without visible pixilation.
Remember that 92 ppi number we mentioned at the beginning of today's story? That seems to be a sweet spot. It works fine at 24 inches if your screen is FHD. You won’t discern individual pixels, but you’ll be quickly wishing for more screen real estate. Moving up to 2560x1440 at 27 inches increases density to 109 ppi. That’s great for gaming and photo work. However, text and small objects become difficult to see for many users.
Getting back to 92 ppi without giving up a large Windows desktop means a 32-inch diagonal size. BenQ is the first to acknowledge this with an actual product. In our opinion, the BL3200PT should be a trend-setter, and we hope it will be. Using the monitor is an absolute pleasure. It allows you to sit at a comfortable distance away and read text on-screen without straining (or relying on Windows' blurry scaling).

AMVA is a fairly new panel technology and it really impresses with a high native contrast ratio. Measurements of over 2000 to 1 are rare in the world of desktop computer monitors. Prior to this review, we praised any screen that could top 1000 to 1. The BL3200PT just raised our bar.
The only flaw we encountered was weak gamma performance. Extra contrast obviously presents a challenge to engineers using AMVA in their products. We were able to get to 2.3 on the lightest possible preset, but there’s definitely room for improvement. Plus, we discovered it has an effect on color saturations below 100 percent. The gamut measurements can certainly be made better, we think.
On the good side, light bleed and color shift issues plaguing past VA panels have been eliminated in the BL3200PT. We obtained some of our best results in the field tests, both for luminance and color uniformity. And our photos show that BenQ comes pretty close to IPS in off-axis image quality. After a quick and easy calibration, the grayscale results were close to pro-level, and most of the color saturation flaws were repaired.
Thanks to its fantastic contrast, image quality easily merits a rating of stunning. Not only does this monitor's sheer size inspire awe, but the depth and detail must be seen to be fully appreciated. LCD panels have a long way to go to match the contrast performance of plasma and OLED screens, but the BL3200PT takes a large step forward in the computer monitor category.
We’ll wrap up by mentioning this monitor’s terrific value. At a street price of around $800, it isn’t that much more expensive than rank-and-file 27-inch models. Its performance is equal to or better than all but the most expensive professional products, and the BL3200PT completely outclasses everything in the contrast department. Gamers even get slightly better response and lag than most 60 Hz IPS screens.
If you have the space and the budget, BenQ's BL3200PT is the only monitor of its kind available now. We certainly enjoyed using and testing this monitor, and we think it merits serious consideration if you're shopping for a big screen.




