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Response, Input Lag, Viewing Angles and Uniformity

To compare the 34M2C8600’s performance, I’ve lined up an almost-all-OLED group that consists of Corsair’s Xeneon Flex, Asus’ PG27AQDM, Alienware’s AW3423DW and AW3423DWF, and as a control, the Philips 34M2C7600 which is a VA Mini LED with similar specs.

Pixel Response and Input Lag

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Philips Evnia 34M2C8600 — (Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Higher refresh rates mean higher frame rates and smoother motion. But when comparing OLEDs, there is little difference between 175 Hz and 240 Hz. Two LCDs running at those speeds are more obviously different. This is because OLED processes motion better and keeps objects sharp at lower speeds. I have observed this to be true of all the OLEDs I’ve tested.

If input lag is your most important metric, the PG27AQDM is the current king, but the 34M2C8600 isn’t far behind at 27ms total. This difference might be too much for professional gamers, but most players won’t be disappointed at the Philips’ feel or performance. It is very responsive and smooth in all types of gameplay. However, you’ll notice the other Philips is a bit lower in the ranking thanks to its 165 Hz refresh rate. And it is much less smooth than all the OLEDs.

Viewing Angles

Aside from “it’s awesome'' there isn’t much else one can say about the 34M2C8600’s off-axis image quality. This is one of OLED’s major advantages over LCD. The degree of light polarization is far lower, meaning you won’t see any reduction in brightness and just a minimal color shift. You can see a bit of red in both angle shots, horizontal and vertical. But this will be hard to spot in actual content. The 34M2C8600 is very shareable by two users.

Screen Uniformity

To learn how we measure screen uniformity, click here.

Screen uniformity doesn’t get much better than 2.10% deviation. The 34M2C8600 produced one of the lowest values I’ve ever recorded. None of the OLEDs here have any visible glow, bleed or variation, so as a technology, it is more consistent in this test than LCDs. In practice, any number below 10% is visually perfect.

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Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.