Eizo launches spectacular, self-calibrating 31-inch 4K monitor with near-complete Adobe RGB coverage
posted Tuesday, November 18, 2014 at 7:57 PM EDT
Now that 3D is largely dead and buried, Ultra High-Definition or 4K is the next big thing, and this time it seems to be getting a rather better foothold. That's partly because of a concerted marketing push from the industry, but it's also because it's easier for consumers to see the advantages of a higher-resolution display. (And there's no need for annoying glasses or accessories to take advantage of the new feature, either, something that rather doomed 3D from the start.)
It's still early days, though, and there's no guarantee that 4K will succeed either -- but if you're a content creator, that's rather beside the point. Unless you wat to be left chasing the ball, the time to upgrade is now, and 4K computer monitors are becoming pretty common. Many are of somewhat dubious heritage, though, with resolution pushed to the limit at the expense of other features. Not so Eizo's latest pro-oriented 4K display, the Eizo ColorEdge CG318-4K.
On paper at least, it looks to be a pretty spectacular offering, although not surprisingly, that performance comes at a price. With a total resolution of 4,096 x 2,160 pixels (DCI 4K), the ColorEdge CG318-4K offers four times as many pixels as a Full HD video feed, or double the linear resolution for any given screen size. And there's plenty of room, as well, because it's based around a large 31.1-inch panel.
The Eizo ColorEdge CG318-4K's 149 pixels-per-inch panel should offer impressive image quality for videography and photography, thanks to 98% DCI-P3 gamut coverage, 99% Adobe RGB coverage, and 100% Rec. 709, EBU and SMPTE-C coverage. There's also a 1,500:1 contrast ratio, Digital Uniformity Equalizer tech for an even backlight, and wide viewing angles thanks to IPS panel technology.
The monitor comes from the factory precalibrated for suitable red, green and blue color characteristics, and has a short three minute warmup time. And all of that comes coupled with the company's clever self-calibration technology that hides a calibration sensor above the top of the screen, then pops it out occasionally for automatic calibration without any user intervention required. Color correction is then handled in the monitor itself courtesy of a 3D lookup table.
Add in a five-year warranty, a 10,000 hour brightness and color warranty, dual DisplayPort 1.2 and dual HDMI inputs, and a bundled shading hood to prevent reflections, and this really does look to be a heck of a monitor. Global availability is set for April 2015, with US-market availability likely from June or July 2015. Pricing has not yet been disclosed in the US market, but in Japan the CG318-4K is listing for around ¥540,000, roughly equivalent to US$4,600.
More details can be found on the Eizo website.