Monitors have become a great alternative to TVs if you want a smaller display for watching movies and shows. There are a number of monitors with OLED panels, and even some budget and mid-range monitors have full-array Mini LED backlighting, providing great picture quality. Although monitors have less image processing and upscaling power than TVs, they're also versatile for gaming or productivity, so they're great choices for different uses besides just watching content. You can also learn more about the differences between monitors and TVs.
Our monitor reviews include nearly 400 tests, covering various aspects that contribute to having good picture quality. One of the most important is having a high contrast ratio, which helps the monitor display deep blacks against bright highlights, particularly in dark rooms, and OLEDs excel at this. Having a monitor with high brightness is also useful if you want to watch content in bright rooms. Lastly, it's important for the monitor to display a wide range of accurate colors so that images look life-like. You should also consider whether you're going to watch your content in SDR or HDR, as some monitors are better for HDR than others.
We've bought and tested more than 360 monitors, and below, you'll find our recommendations for the best multimedia monitors available. See our recommendations for the best HDR monitors, the best OLED monitors, and the best Mini LED monitors. If you want more options for watching content, check out the best TVs for movies.
Quick Look
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Best Multimedia Monitor
HDR Picture9.4SDR Picture10Brightness7.0Color Accuracy8.2Contrast10Local Dimming10Black Uniformity10SDR Color Gamut9.8HDR Color Gamut9.5HDR Color Volume8.9Size32"Pixel TypeQD-OLEDMax Refresh Rate240 HzSee all our test resultsNative Resolution3840 x 2160The best monitor for movies and multimedia content that we've tested so far is the ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM, which is a premium 4k QD-OLED monitor. The main advantage of getting this for watching content is that it has remarkable picture quality. Its QD-OLED panel displays deep and inky blacks in dark rooms, and a wide range of vivid colors that make your favorite content look realistic. It also makes small highlights pop against the rest of the image, which is ideal for watching HDR content.
However, one thing to know is that a QD-OLED like this performs best in a dark room. Using it in a bright room causes the black levels to rise, making them look purple, and for dark colors to desaturate quickly. That said, even if you want to use it in a room with some lights around, it gets bright enough to fight glare and has fantastic picture quality. Another positive is that it supports Dolby Vision, so it can take full advantage of content available in that format. However, if you don't need that and prefer a monitor with a built-in smart platform so you don't even need a PC to stream content, then check out the Samsung Odyssey OLED G80SD S32DG80. It performs similarly, but with a matte screen coating, images aren't as clear as on the glossy coating of the ASUS.
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Best Upper Mid-Range Multimedia Monitor
HDR Picture9.3SDR Picture9.9Brightness6.6Color Accuracy8.0Contrast10Local Dimming10Black Uniformity10SDR Color Gamut9.7HDR Color Gamut9.6HDR Color Volume8.8Size27"Pixel TypeQD-OLEDMax Refresh Rate240 HzSee all our test resultsNative Resolution3840 x 2160If you find that the ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM is too expensive but still want premium picture quality, then check out the Dell Alienware AW2725Q. It costs less than the ASUS, and you can also get it directly from Dell's website if you can't find it available through retailers. The main difference is that it doesn't get as bright as the ASUS, so it performs worse in bright rooms, but like with the ASUS, it looks best in a dark room anyway. Another difference is that it isn't as accurate in HDR, because it displays some dark content brighter than what the creator intended, but this is the trade-off for getting something cheaper.
While that's one downside, it still has all the positives that you'd expect from a QD-OLED. Blacks are deep and inky in dark rooms, and it displays a wide range of vivid colors with bright highlights. It also supports Dolby Vision and has a 4k resolution like the ASUS, so it delivers detailed images. That said, if you don't mind a 1440p QD-OLED that costs less, the ASUS ROG Strix OLED XG27ACDNG is another fantastic choice, but images aren't as detailed, and it doesn't support Dolby Vision.
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Best Mid-Range Multimedia Monitor
HDR Picture9.0SDR Picture9.9Brightness7.5Color Accuracy8.3Contrast10Local Dimming10Black Uniformity10SDR Color Gamut9.6HDR Color Gamut9.0HDR Color Volume8.0Size27"Pixel TypeOLEDMax Refresh Rate240 HzSee all our test resultsNative Resolution2560 x 1440Should you want something in the mid-range price category, there are some great options you can find that are cheaper than the Dell Alienware AW2725Q. One of those is the ASUS ROG Strix OLED XG27AQDMG, which is another 27-inch OLED, but it has a few differences from the Dell. Firstly, it has a lower 1440p resolution, so images aren't as sharp and detailed. Another difference is that the ASUS has a WOLED panel instead of a QD-OLED like the Dell, so its colors aren't as vivid, which means it's a step down in overall HDR picture quality.
On the plus side, the ASUS offers all the benefits of an OLED with deep blacks in dark rooms. While the black levels rise a bit in bright rooms, they don't rise nearly as quickly. It also gets very bright for an OLED, so highlights really pop, and it fights glare in most well-lit rooms. However, if you want something brighter, you can also check out a Mini LED option like the Acer Nitro XV275K P3biipruzx. It's a 4k display that usually costs less than the ASUS, but it doesn't display the same deep blacks because it isn't OLED.
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Best Budget Multimedia Monitor
HDR Picture8.1SDR Picture7.9Brightness8.9Color Accuracy9.0Contrast8.7Local Dimming8.0Black Uniformity6.3SDR Color Gamut9.8HDR Color Gamut8.1HDR Color Volume8.5Size27"Pixel TypeVAMax Refresh Rate180 HzSee all our test resultsNative Resolution2560 x 1440If you're looking for the best monitor for watching movies and you're on a budget, there's a more limited selection of good monitors to choose from compared to higher-end displays. That said, there are still some options that are better than other entry-level displays for HDR, which is the case with the AOC Q27G40XMN. It's a 27-inch, 1440p display like the ASUS ROG Strix OLED XG27AQDMG, with the main difference being that it doesn't have an OLED panel. This means it doesn't have the same deep blacks without any haloing, but this is what you should expect from a budget monitor.
However, this monitor punches above its weight compared to its competitors because it's one of a handful of budget monitors to have Mini LED backlighting. This helps improve its contrast ratio, so it displays deep enough blacks against bright objects, but there's still some haloing, and its local dimming system has a bug with certain settings. It also gets very bright, ideal to use in a bright room, and highlights pop in HDR. However, it has only decent reflection handling, and it has distracting reflections in very bright rooms. Additionally, unlike the higher-end OLEDs, it has a matte screen coating instead of glossy, so it looks slightly hazier than a glossy screen.
Notable Mentions
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MSI MPG 322URX QD-OLED:
The MSI MPG 322URX QD-OLED is a premium 4k QD-OLED that's similar in cost to the ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM. It performs similarly and has higher UHBR20 DisplayPort bandwidth. However, it doesn't have Dolby Vision support.
See our review -
Dell Alienware AW3225QF:
The Dell Alienware AW3225QF is a competitor of the ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM that uses a QD-OLED panel and also supports Dolby Vision. It sometimes costs less than the ASUS, too, but not everyone may like its curved screen.
See our review -
ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG27UCDM:
The ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG27UCDM is very similar to the larger ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM. Both have a similar price, the same 4k resolution, and very similar performance, so you should choose between them based on which size you prefer.
See our review -
Samsung Smart Monitor M80D S32DM80:
The Samsung Smart Monitor M80D S32DM80 is a 32-inch, 4k monitor with a built-in smart platform, which is useful if you want the best monitor to watch movies without a PC. It's in the same price range as the ASUS ROG Strix OLED XG27AQDMG, but it's a major step down in performance as blacks look gray, and it lacks a local dimming feature.
See our review
Recent Updates
Aug 06, 2025:
We replaced the AOC Q27G3XMN with the AOC Q27G40XMN, as the Q27G3XMN is hard to find. We also replaced the MSI MPG 321URX QD-OLED with the MSI MPG 322URX QD-OLED and the Gigabyte AORUS FO27Q3 with the ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG27UCDM in the Notable Mentions.
Apr 25, 2025:
We replaced the Samsung Odyssey OLED G80SD S32DG80 with the ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM for consistency with other articles, as the ASUS supports Dolby Vision. We also replaced the Gigabyte AORUS FO27Q3 with the Dell Alienware AW2725Q, which has a higher resolution, and the Acer Nitro XV275K P3biipruzx with the ASUS ROG Strix OLED XG27AQDMG because it has an OLED panel. We removed the Acer Nitro XV275U P3biipx because it's unavailable now. Lastly, we replaced the MSI MPG 271QRX QD-OLED with the FO27Q3 in the Notable Mentions.
Feb 19, 2025:
We replaced the MSI MPG 271QRX QD-OLED with the Gigabyte AORUS FO27Q3 because the Gigabyte is more accurate in HDR. We also replaced the Samsung Smart Monitor M8/M80C S32CM80, Dell Alienware AW2725DF, and ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM with the MSI MPG 271QRX QD-OLED, MSI MPG 321URX QD-OLED, and Samsung Smart Monitor M8/M80D S32DM80 in the Notable Mentions to reflect changes and the current market. Lastly, we introduced a new format to the article.
Dec 19, 2024:
We replaced the Gigabyte AORUS FO27Q3 with the MSI MPG 271QRX QD-OLED for consistency with other recommendations. We also added the Acer Nitro XV275U P3biipx as the 'Best Cheap' and the ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM to Notable Mentions to give other options.
Oct 08, 2024: We replaced the ASUS ROG Strix OLED XG27AQDMG with the Gigabyte AORUS FO27Q3 because it has better picture quality. We also added the Acer Nitro XV275K P3biipruzx to give another option, and we replaced the Acer Nitro XV275U P3biipx with the AOC Q27G3XMN for consistency with other recommendations. Lastly, we added the Dell Alienware AW3225QF and the Dell Alienware AW2725DF to the Notable Mentions.
All Reviews
Our recommendations are based on what we think are the best monitors for watching movies and other types of multimedia content currently available. They're adapted to be valid for most people in each price range. The rating is based on our review, factoring in price and feedback from our visitors.
If you would prefer to make your own decision, here's the list of all of our monitor reviews. Be careful not to get too caught up in the details. Most monitors are good enough to please most people, and the metrics that fare worse are often not noticeable unless you really look for them.