The 6 Best Multimedia Monitors - Summer 2020
Reviews

The LG 27UK650-W is the best multimedia monitor that we've tested so far and is the best monitor for movies. This 27 inch, 4k screen delivers an immersive multimedia experience with its HDR support. Although its HDR performance is somewhat hindered by its lower peak brightness and the lack of local dimming features, the gradient performance is outstanding, which minimizes banding.

If you also want to game a bit on this monitor, the response time on this monitor is great for fast action scenes, but you're limited to a 60Hz refresh rate. Given that 4k gaming at a high refresh rate is still uncommon due to hardware constraints, we don't expect it to be an issue. Inputs include two HDMI ports and one DisplayPort, which allows for multiple devices to be connected, such as a gaming console or media streamer. It also has wide viewing angles, great for watching the latest trending videos with your friends.

As expected, unfortunately, the IPS panel isn't ideal for darker rooms, as it can't produce true blacks and has mediocre black uniformity. Overall, this is a very good monitor that's feature-packed for its price, making it the best monitor for watching movies we've seen so far.

The best 1440p multimedia monitor we've tested so far is the ASUS TUF VG27AQ. Although this monitor is mainly made for gaming, it delivers great all-around performance, and most people should be satisfied watching multimedia content on it.

It has an IPS panel, so it has wide viewing angles, which is great for watching videos with a few friends. That comes at the cost of a low contrast ratio, so blacks appear closer to gray if you watch dark scenes in dark rooms. It performs fairly well in bright rooms as it can get bright enough to combat glare, and it has decent reflection handling. This monitor displays nearly all of the sRGB color space used in most content. It also has decent coverage of the Adobe RGB color space used in photo editing, but it might not be enough for professional editors.

Unfortunately, even though it supports HDR, it can't display a wide color gamut, and it doesn't get bright enough to bring out highlights. However, fast-moving content looks excellent thanks to its high refresh rate, resulting in minimal motion blur. Overall, this is the best 1440p monitor for multimedia we've tested so far.

The best monitor for watching movies on an ultrawide screen is the LG 34GN850-B. It has an immersive 21:9 aspect ratio with a 1440p resolution, so you can sit back and enjoy your favorite videos on this monitor. It also has an IPS panel with wide viewing angles, ideal if you want to share your screen with a friend.

This monitor has great color accuracy out-of-the-box, so you won't have to pay extra to get it calibrated if you're just using it to watch videos. It covers almost all of the sRGB color space used in most content, and it has excellent coverage of the Adobe RGB color space used in photo editing. It also supports HDR10, displays a wide color gamut, and it gets bright enough in HDR to bring out some highlights, but still not good enough as some TVs. Additionally, it has superb gradient handling, minimizing banding.

Sadly, due to its IPS panel, it's not ideal for watching movies in dark rooms. It has a low contrast ratio so blacks appear closer to gray. On the upside, if you choose to use it in a bright room, it gets bright enough to combat glare and it has decent reflection handling. All in all, this is the best monitor for movies with an ultrawide screen we've tested so far.

The best monitor for watching movies in the budget category is the Dell UltraSharp U2520D. It's a simple, yet reliable monitor with a good all-around performance that should please most people. It's well-built, and like most Dell monitors, it has impressive ergonomics.

Its overall picture quality is great. It has very good out-of-the-box color accuracy, impressive coverage of the Adobe RGB color space used in photo editing, and like most IPS panels, it has wide viewing angles. It's not a bad choice for HDR too as it displays a wide color gamut and its peak brightness in okay, but you still won't be getting a true HDR experience. It also has a USB hub so you can charge your devices while watching movies.

Sadly, like any IPS monitor, it has a low contrast ratio, so blacks appear closer to gray. Its reflection handling isn't good either, but it gets bright enough to combat glare, so it's still a good choice for moderately-lit rooms. It's a good monitor overall, making it the best monitor for movies available for a cheap price that we've tested.