Asus ProArt PA32UCXR Mini LED review: A precision instrument with reference-level color accuracy

Monitors are tools suited to specific tasks, whether for gaming or another purpose. Gaming screens need to deliver a colorful and detailed image with precise video processing to ensure smooth motion and quick response. I review nearly all gaming screens, but occasionally, I get to cover something innovative that isn’t necessarily for gaming.

Professional monitors are essential tools for content creation, and in that genre, Asus ProArt displays have a strong presence. Though expensive, they cost less than comparable products from other manufacturers, making them credible entries among the best computer monitors.

Asus’ latest innovation is the PA32UCXR. What makes it stand out? It represents a new level of performance for Mini LED monitors with an incredible 2,304 dimming zones packed into a 32-inch 4K IPS panel. It covers most of the Rec.2020 color gamut with precisely calibrated picture modes that support every color standard currently in use. It also does HDR10, Hybrid Log Gamma, and Dolby Vision. It also has a myriad of calibration options, including a built-in color meter that lets it calibrate itself.

Asus ProArt PA32UCXR Specs

Given that lofty introduction, one might expect the PA32UCXR to be complicated, but it is incredibly well-designed to make finding the proper reference a simple task. Each color standard gets its picture mode, from sRGB to Rec.2020 and everything in between. It even covers the Cinema P3 standard with its special gamma and color temperature specs. You also get uniformity compensation, adjustable local dimming, multiple options for HDR luminance tracking and precise factory calibration. My tests revealed that no adjustment was necessary in any of the picture modes. The PA32UCXR is ready for work right out of the box.

Calibration options are plentiful. You can use the built-in meter at the bottom left corner of the screen. The PA32UCXR has its own internal test patterns, and you can initiate calibration of any picture mode with a few clicks of the OSD joystick. You can also connect it to Calman or Light Illusion ColourSpace software for a computer-controlled adjustment. Or use the two-point white balance and gamma presets in the OSD.

The PA32UCXR promises prodigious light output with a VESA DisplayHDR 1400 certification. I measured nearly 2,000 nits peak in HDR mode with over 1,300 nits available from a full-screen white pattern in SDR mode. This is a seriously bright monitor, which makes it ideal for creating HDR content. The 2,304-zone Mini LED backlight delivers deep blacks and broad contrast.

Color is not only accurate but also voluminous. The PA32UCXR covers almost 84% of Rec.2020 and fully covers all other gamuts down to sRGB and Rec.709. The picture modes are easily selected using intuitive front controls, including a joystick. Plenty of inputs exist with DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0, and Thunderbolt 4. You can connect peripherals using the USB 3.2 hub and a USB-C port that supports 90 watts of power.

What’s missing? You’d think nothing at this premium level. The PA32UCXR even has Adaptive-Sync, but its max refresh rate is just 60 Hz. While this is fine for film and TV content creation, game developers might raise an eyebrow. I’ll talk more about that later. The MSRP at this writing is $2,999. That is certainly a lot of money for a 32-inch monitor, but consider that something like Sony’s PVM-X3200 is over $14,000, and you can see why Asus ProArt displays are appealing. Let’s take a closer look.

Assembly and Accessories

Asus has adopted fully recyclable packaging for the PA32UCXR with a large clamshell box filled with smartly engineered cardboard structures inside. The contents are well protected, and there’s no crumbly foam. The three component parts are quite substantial, weighing over 30 pounds when assembled with no tools necessary. You also get a rigid light hood that snaps in place around the screen. Cables include HDMI, DisplayPort, USB-C, and USB-C/A. The power supply is internal, so you also get an IEC cord. Factory calibration data sheets verify color accuracy and screen uniformity for each sample.

Product 360

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You can tell right away that the PA32UCXR is a tool for content creation. The panel is thick and heavy, with substantial ventilation. I could hear an internal fan come on occasionally. It was never loud or distracting. And I never noticed anything but cool running. The light hood attaches with captive fasteners and is lined with light-absorbing material. It is of very high quality and installing it substantially improves the image by blocking all ambient light.

The bezel’s front right corner features a tiny joystick, five control keys, and a power toggle. A large rocker switch near the input panel can cut the power completely. The keys and joystick provide quick access to many functions and a comprehensive OSD. On the left side of the bezel is the color meter, which swivels around when summoned to perform the auto-calibration. It is flanked by ambient light and proximity sensors that can detect the user’s presence or adjust color and brightness to suit room lighting conditions.

The stand is a solid piece with a large rectangular base. With the panel in place, weight tops 30 pounds so you can be sure the PA32UCXR isn’t going anywhere. Ergonomics include a four-inch height adjustment, 5/23 degrees tilt, 30 degrees swivel, and a 90-degree portrait mode. In the back, you’ll find a 100mm VESA mount with fasteners included. Everything moves with a high-end feel and is solid as a rock. The PA32UCXR is clearly built for long-term use.

The input panel is under the left side, behind the color meter, and includes one DisplayPort 1.4, two HDMI 2.0, two Thunderbolt 4, and a USB hub. It’s version 3.2 and has a USB-C upstream port and three downstream type As. There’s a 3.5mm headphone jack and a pair of internal speakers rated for five watts of output. They play loud and clean but are limited to upper midrange frequencies.

OSD Features

The PA32UCXR’s OSD is extensive and appears when you press the joystick twice, or any key, then the joystick. Other keys can take the user straight to commonly used menus like color mode or HDR setting. Two of the buttons are programmable.

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The PA32UCXR’s most powerful feature is its precisely calibrated picture modes. Each is termed according to its color standard, and all are delivered with visually perfect accuracy. The first one, Native, is the default, but it doesn’t conform to any particular spec, so it’s unlikely to be of any use. sRGB is color-accurate but limits brightness to 80 nits. All other modes have brightness and contrast adjustments; some also let you choose between multiple color temps and gamma values. I’ll detail them further in the tests on page four. HDR includes DCI or 2020 color with three different presets for Perceptual Quantization (PQ), HDR’s version of gamma, or luminance tracking. You also get HLG and Dolby Vision options.

Most parameters can be altered including gamma and color temp. There’s a two-point white balance if you are inclined to use the OSD for calibration. The automatic feature is much more efficient, and I suspect many professionals will use software like Calman or Colourspace with an outboard meter.

In the Image menu is Asus’ overdrive feature called Trace Free. It has five levels, which effectively reduce motion blur, although the improvement is small because the refresh rate is only 60 Hz. You can engage Uniformity Compensation here if you like but it limits dynamic range and takes HDR out of the equation. My PA32UCXR was uniform enough without it.

Auto Calibration can be performed for one or more picture modes and engaged manually or at a preset time in the future. It is recommended that you warm up the PA32UCXR for 30 minutes first.

For film and TV production, the PA32UCXR includes masking to show title and safe areas for directors composing an image. You can also turn on markers and rulers if you need extra guidance.

The one nitpick I have about the PA32UCXR’s OSD is that the Dynamic Dimming options are in Settings instead of Palette or Image. They control the zone dimming for both SDR and HDR with three levels of aggressiveness. If you turn dimming off, the native contrast ratio is a bit over 1,300:1. Ambient Effect and Proximity Sensor refer to the front-mounted sensors that detect user presence and room light. The latter adjusts color and brightness on the fly if desired. Finally, there are two programmable shortcut keys to access frequently used menus.

The final photo shows all the PA32UCXR’s HDR options. HDR_PQ refers to HDR10 and can be set for DCI-P3 or Rec.2020 color. I found the latter was necessary to view the full palette in HDR content. You also get HLG, a broadcast HDR format used in Europe and on YouTube. You get Dolby Vision, which is a rarity on the desktop but necessary for content creation. You’ll find it on services like Netflix, Paramount+, Disney+, and many 4K Blu-ray releases.

Asus ProArt PA32RCXR Setup, Calibration and Hands-On

Calibrating the PA32UCXR is only necessary to create a custom setup that falls outside industry standards for grayscale, gamma, and color gamut. You only need to select your desired mode and it will deliver that spec with extreme accuracy. sRGB is brightness limited to 80 nits, so as an alternative, you can pick Rec.709, which lets you select from four color temps and five gamma values. DCI-P3 mode defaults to the cinema version with a D63 color temp and 2.6 gamma but you can change that as well to match Display P3. Adobe RGB is there for photographers, and you can go full color in Rec.2020 mode, which also has selectable gamma and color temp.

HDR10 modes each have three possible PQ curves. I found PQ Optimized to be the most accurate in testing, but you may wish to change it for the sake of the content you’re creating. You can choose DCI-P3 or Rec.2020 color and the same choices are there for HLG modes. Dolby Vision is included as well.

I didn’t perform my usual OSD calibration, but I did try out the auto feature. With the PA32UCXR already warmed up, I let it go hands-off by choosing Manual Execution. The meter motors into place and test patterns play on the screen. The meter doesn’t actually touch the screen, so I recommend doing this in full darkness for the best result.

Obviously, the PA32UCXR is overkill for typical workday tasks, but its gorgeous image and rich color are great at any time. The picture is razor-sharp and made even better when the light hood is in place. It’s worth using because it completely eliminates all glare and ambient light. The big draw is the Mini LED backlight array with 2,304 dimming zones. This means you won’t see any halo artifacts. This is easiest to see when bright objects are rendered against black backgrounds. I viewed several demo clips from Spears and Munsil which has great content for testing contrast. In every case, the background was completely black, while objects in the foreground were bright, colorful and free of halos.

Gaming is where the one weakness lies. With a maximum 60 Hz refresh rate, motion blur is considerable, even with Trace Free set to its optimum level. There is Adaptive-Sync which eliminates frame tears, but if you’re used to speedy monitors, the PA32UCXR will fall short. For gaming content creators, Asus offers the PA32UCG which is also a Mini LED panel that can run at 144 Hz. But it has half the number of dimming zones and lower brightness. I can’t help but wonder why Asus didn’t keep the higher refresh rate for this new display.

The PA32UCXR is clearly aimed at video creation. If you use it in the field, it has screen markers for action and title safe plus a center indicator. It supports every possible signal format and color spec and it’s ruggedly built. It supports all frame rates from 24 to 60fps as well, including 50p, which is frequently seen in programming from Europe. Signal changes are quick and seamless.

Takeaway: The PA32UCXR is perfectly suited for any type of content creation except gaming. There, you’ll want to consider a display with a higher refresh rate. For film, TV and photography though, it’s hard to imagine better. The preset color modes are accurate out of the box and it’s easy to set up the right format for any purpose. This is a reference display in almost every respect.

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