Benq ew3280u review in Spanish (full analysis)

This time we are going to analyze the BenQ EW3280U, a monitor built and designed for entertainment, but pay attention to its features, because they will surprise more than one. And is that we have a 32-inch IPS UHD 4K panel that does not lack detail, such as FreeSync, its HDRi functions, smart brightness and a remote control to control all this and more.

This monitor has as its main advantage precisely its versatility and good performance in virtually all areas, although its features are not oriented to gaming as we will see. Without further ado, let's get started!

But before, we thank Benq for trusting us and our analysis criteria when giving us his monitor.

BenQ EW3280U technical characteristics

Unboxing

We begin this analysis with the unboxing of the BenQ EW3280U, a monitor that uses a box of fairly compact dimensions for its size and that we can move relatively easily. Mind you, a carry handle wouldn't have been a bad idea. In case the monitor is presented with two huge photos on the two main faces and little information about its benefits.

Inside this box we have the following accessories and elements:

• BenQ EW3280U display Support arm Support base Remote control HDMI cable USB Type-C cable Installation and support manual CD with drivers

Let's note that the USB Type-C cable appears to be optional, and can be swapped out for either a DisplayPort cable or a DisplayPort - USB-C cable, depending on our needs. In any case, with HDMI 2.0 we have more than enough to cover the needs of the monitor with a desktop PC.

Another detail to keep in mind is that the remote control already comes with a battery included. The rest of the elements will come disassembled.

Bracket design and mounting

The BenQ EW3280U monitor is completely disassembled in the box, and consists of three simple elements that we will have to assemble, the base, the arm and the screen. The truth is that we would have liked it to come already mounted, since the support system is very small and in a slightly larger box it would have fit perfectly.

The base in this case is rectangular and consists simply of a solid iron element painted in satin bronze. At the bottom we have of course rubber feet to avoid damaging the support surface, and at the back the mechanism that fits with the arm.

This arm is also quite simple, being another metallic element that will fit on a double rail located on the monitor. But it keeps a small surprise in the upper area in the form of a plastic cover that is removed so that the cables that reach the monitor can be routed there. Both the base and the screen will be fixed using star screws, a fairly simple and intuitive process.

Also interesting is the fact that the BenQ EW3280U is compatible with VESA 100 × 100mm mounts and even more ergonomic gaming mounts with quick tether. This can be seen if we remove the protective plastic from the central rear area of ​​the screen.

Final appearance and screen design

Once the BenQ EW3280U is assembled, we will be left with a monitor at a height of about 9 cm from the ground without the possibility of modifying it due to the limitations of the support. The display case is entirely made of completely black ABS plastic on the back and in satin copper on the bottom frame.

It is a monitor with a large useful surface, since its frames are integrated directly into the image panel except the bottom one. Specifically, the sides and top are about 10 mm thick, while the bottom is about 35 mm. The space is therefore very well optimized to improve the visual experience and finishes.

The anti-reflective finish of the panel is quite good, although it does not blur the incidence of direct Mondays too much. In the central area of ​​the lower frame there is a black plastic element whose function is to house the ambient light sensor to automatically control the brightness. Also in this area we will have the infrared sensor for the remote control that is included, and that we will see in the OSD menu section below.

If we place ourselves in the back area we will find the corresponding buttons to manage the options menu, consisting of three buttons and a joystick. But perhaps the most interesting and differential detail is that we have a volume wheel in the lower left area of the screen frame. And let's not forget the remote control.

Very fair ergonomics

The price to pay for such a simple support is having a very fair ergonomic monitor. And is that the BenQ EW3280U will only allow us to move the screen in vertical orientation between 5 ^or down and 15 ^or up.

We will not have any ability to turn or to raise and lower the monitor, and this should be a reason to lower the sale price a little. At least it does have the possibility of installing it on a universal VESA 100 × 100 mm bracket.

Connectivity

We now continue with the bottom of the BenQ EW3280U, where we find the video connectivity of the monitor. In this case the configuration is made up of the following ports:

• 1x Display Port 1.22x HDMI 2.01x USB Type-C1x 3.5mm Jack for audio output Kensington slot for universal padlock 3-pin power connector

The main novelty is the USB-C port which offers us DisplayPort 1.2 connectivity as well as the dedicated port and also 60W charging for the device that is connected to it. This is clearly intended for use with portable computers that allow charging through this port. Let's also note that it is not a Thunderbolt port.

For the rest, we have more or less what was expected, with several video ports that support in all cases 4K @ 60 Hz resolution with 10 bits, FreeSync and HDR. We also have support for HDCP 2.2. Finally, the power supply is integrated into the monitor itself, so we only have a 3-pin 230V cable as input.

Screen Features

It is in this section where the BenQ EW3280U has more to say, since its condition as a multimedia monitor makes it offer very interesting features in terms of color settings.

To open your mouth we have a 32-inch screen with IPS LED image technology that offers a UHD resolution of 3840x2160p natively and in a standard 16: 9 format. The typical contrast of the panel is 1, 000: 1 while the dynamic can go up to 20, 000, 000: 1.

Not being a gaming-oriented monitor and being of high resolution, the refresh rate is 60 Hz, although it includes AMD FreeSync dynamic refresh technology. Likewise, its response speed is 5 ms GTG, but Benq implements AMA (Advanced Motion Accelerator) technology. With it, the voltage of the pixels is raised to increase the brightness of the panel and improve the response of the pixels in GTG and thus eliminate as much as possible the effect of ghost image or ghosting. Later we will check if this is true. Nor should we forget that it is a monitor with flicker-free technology to avoid flickering of the image.

without HDR

with HDR

The panel is DisplayHDR 400 certified, and one of the main features is that it implements HDRi technology, which is basically an intelligent HDR mode that allows you to adapt the contrast and clarity of colors in visual content displayed on the screen. In this way we will achieve a better contrast with clarity in the dark areas without overexposing the colors in the lighter areas. It is something that usually happens in movies and games in generic HDR modes that generates an overly artificial image and noticeable loss of information. We also have an ambient light sensor with Brightness Intelligence Plus or BI + technology that adapts the brightness to the ambient light and to what is being reproduced on the screen itself.

We can't forget about color performance, and the BenQ EW3280U boasts 10-bit depth (1.07 billion colors) without giving details about whether it's a real setting or 8-bit + FRC. In any case, we have excellent color coverage with 95% DCI-P3 and almost 100% coverage in Rec. 709, the quintessential color space for movies and video content that will make us enjoy maximum fidelity and quality. of image. We will see if this is so in calibration.

We also have typical IPS viewing angles, with 178 ^or both vertically and laterally. And in this case we can say that the color distortion is non-existent, although we do see a darkening in the whites when we place ourselves on the sides near 180o. It is TUV certified for its blue light filter and for its anti-flicker technology.

And last but not least we must mention the sound configuration of the BenQ EW3280U, which in this case is the less interesting in the face of its possibilities. And it is that in the rear area two 2W speakers have been installed together with a 5W woofer that will give us a 2.1 configuration with treVolo technology that we can also manage with its software. For practical purposes we have a sound quality similar to that of a general-purpose television, both in audio power and in quality and even with quite remarkable bass.

Calibration and performance tests

We will analyze the calibration characteristics of the BenQ EW3280U, verifying that the manufacturer's technical parameters are met. For this we will use the X-Rite Colormunki Display colorimeter together with the DisplayCAL 3 and HCFR software for calibration and profiling, verifying these properties with the sRGB color space, DCI-P3 and also Rec. 709 by sr a monitor oriented to multimedia content.

In addition, we have used the Flickering and Ghosting tests on the Testufo page to verify that the monitor does not have such problems, as well as tests playing and benchmarking.

Flickering, Ghosting and other image artifacts

In this case we have made use of all the functions that the BenQ EW3280U makes available to us, which in this case is AMA technology on two different levels. Do not confuse overscan with overdrive, since this monitor does not have this function, which is replaced by AMA.

We have configured the test at 960 pixels per second and a separation of 240 pixels between the UFOs, always with a Cyan background color. The images taken have been tracked with the UFOs at the same speed at which they appear on the screen in order to capture the trail of ghosting that they may leave.

In the tests we see that where we get the most ghosting with the standard HDR mode activated, noticing the typical black trail behind the UFOs when we have a high contrast in colors.

If we put it in normal mode without AMA, we see that this trail is greatly reduced, although we still see a little of it. Where its total elimination is achieved is with the AMA function activated, with a very good definition of the moving image.

As for flickering, glow IPS and bleeding we do not see any of these problems on the screen, being a panel of very good quality and uniformity despite its large diagonal.

Contrast and brightness

For the brightness tests of the BenQ EW3280U we have used 100% of its capacity and with the standard HDR mode activated.

Measurements	Contrast	Gamma value		Color temperature	Black level
@ 100% brightness without HDR	1044: 1	2.27		6308K	0.3427 cd / m 2

In the table we see some values ​​that adjust very well to the quality requirements of the panel, with a contrast that meets the specifications, as well as a Gamma value of 2.2 that adjusts to the ideal value. Similarly, we have a color temperature of 6300K, slightly lower than those reference 6500K and that will produce a warmer image in our sight. Finally, the black level is indeed high for the level of brightness that we have on the monitor, and an optimal value would be around 0.2-0.25.

And as for the brightness in HDR mode, we are not reaching the values ​​that we expected and that the specifications promised us, since only in the central area are we exceeding 350 nits. In the rest of the areas it even has difficulties reaching 300 nits, when they should reach 400. It is possible that they are only loose units or, like this one, experimental.

SRGB color space

First of all, we indicate that all these color tests are carried out with all the factory parameters. And starting with the least demanding space in terms of color coverage, we have practically 100% in relative mode and 143% in absolute mode.

The average Delta E in the test table is 2.85, a good value, although not optimal because it is greater than 2. With a calibration we should have no problem improving this. Likewise, the graphics fit very well to their ideal references, for example, we see very compact RGB levels that demonstrate a good factory calibration and excellent color temperature and black and white levels.

DCI-P3 color space

We now turn to the most demanding space we tested, which is the DCI-P3, whose coverage in this case is 96%, thus exceeding the factory specifications. In fact, we see that in absolute values ​​we have more than 100% and that also translates into excellent coverage for Adobe RGB of over 80%.

And the Delta E in this case is 2.12, much better than in the previous case, thus demonstrating an excellent calibration for this space. Only in cold colors we see a greater mismatch, and it is surely due to this color temperature somewhat below 6500K.

Rec. 709 color space

Finally we wanted to put this space also because it has an image mode on the monitor itself, which we can activate from the remote control or from the image modes of the OSD panel.

In the color palette we see that the average Delta E is 2.39 is not a bad value, but we see that the gray adjustment worsens compared to the previous two. The coverage for this space is practically 100%, surpassing the triangle in all cases except in cold colors. Also, this mode lowers the brightness to only 8%.

Calibration

The calibration of the BenQ EW3280U has been carried out in the "User" image mode in which we can manually modify the RGB levels to adjust the color temperature. The rest of the values ​​such as brightness, contrast and others we have kept as they are from the factory.

In the new Delta e values ​​we see that in the three spaces shown the average low of 1 in all cases, now having a perfect calibration of this panel, suitable even for designers for its excellent coverage.

Next, we leave you the ICC calibration file to upload to your computer if you have this monitor.

OSD menu and remote control

We continue now to see the full menu of options for this BenQ EW3280U, which we can also fully control with its small remote control. Of course on the right side we have the corresponding manual controls consisting of a joystick and two buttons for quick menus.

The truth is that from the remote control we can control absolutely everything quickly. In addition to the buttons to turn on / off the monitor and select the video source, we have a wheel that will act as a joystick. At the bottom we have a total of 8 buttons for:

• Select the HDRi mode among the 3 available modes Open the OSDA menu Activate or deactivate the BI + mode which will only be available in the standard image profile Activate Low Blue Light with 5 different profiles Choose the audio profile among 5 predefined settings Give or remove volume to the monitor

Entering the OSD menu as such, we have a total of 7 sections with a large number of options especially focused on the image configuration and its quality. In fact some options like BI + are only available with the standard image profile.

The second and third menus are quite important. In the first we will touch basic image parameters such as contrast and brightness, and more advanced ones such as black exposure (Sharpness) and others such as the overscan, which should not be confused with the overdrive.

In the second menu is where we will find the rest of the image configuration parameters such as the different profiles, the gamma, the HDR modes and the color temperature, which we can only customize in the "User" image mode. Also here is the option to activate AMA, the image focus technology to eliminate the phantom effect.

Of the following menus, the most relevant is Eye Care, in which we have the BI + function and the rest of the levels of blue light filtering that adapt the image to our needs. We will not have an option to activate or deactivate the dynamic refresh because it is implemented by hardware, so with an AMD GPU we will have it activated by default and with an Nvidia GPU we will have to activate it from the configuration.

User experience

We cannot jump to conclusions without relying on our experience with the BenQ EW3280U, which in this case focuses on giving us the best possible multimedia experience.

Of course, options to configure the image output are not lacking, and it is one of the differential aspects compared to other monitors more focused on design or gaming. For example, we have that BI + mode that basically adapts the brightness of the screen to ambient light, which is ideal for viewing content in the most natural way possible and taking care of your eyes when using it on a day-to-day basis.

Another aspect that we really liked is the possibility of activating HDR mode directly from the OSD, without using the automatic Windows mode that is also available for games and movies. Despite not having too strong a brightness level, HDR works very well, controlling the contrast very well in very light or very dark areas without losing image information. This does happen on other lower quality monitors frequently.

As for gaming, it is not a monitor built for it, but it has a couple of details that make it a good option for solo campaigns where fluidity is not so important. These details are AMA technology to avoid ghosting entirely by increasing the pixel response, and FreeSync from hardware to avoid tearing the image. And in the tests carried out we concluded that they work very well. In any case, playing in 4K at more than 60 Hz is available to very few, so it is a very enjoyable monitor in this regard.

And the same goes for the orientation to advanced or professional design, it is not a monitor built especially for it, but having 10 bits, intelligent brightness adaptation functions and good HDR make it a series option. In addition, its calibration is very good and with a little push if we have a colorimeter, we will have a wide color coverage in the most demanding spaces.

Final words and conclusion about BenQ EW3280U

We come to the end of this new analysis where we have seen an almost round monitor in everything it offers and that is oriented to multimedia content without neglecting any of the other sections.

We have 32 inches and an IPS panel with which we will gain a huge desk to work, play or watch movies in excellent image quality. But its design does not offer many possibilities in terms of ergonomics, since we cannot configure it in height or in lateral orientation. At least it is compatible with VESA 100 × 100 mm universal arms.

The experience with its image panel has been very positive, since it gives us 10 bits of depth with a very good factory calibration and excellent color coverage, reaching up to 96% in DCI-P3 or 100% in Rec. 709. It slackens a bit on brightness power, as it falls short of the promised 400 nits, but its HDRi modes are excellent and give a well-worked HDR that is superior to many gaming monitors.

Visit our updated guide to the best PC monitors on the market

We have many interesting functions, and to configure them a very useful remote control or joystick integrated in the back. It implements FreeSync for its 4K and 60 Hz resolution, adaptive brightness technology based on ambient light and AMA technology, which improves pixel response and completely eliminates ghosting as we have verified with testufo. Nor have we seen any bleeding, glow IPS or flickering, as we have Flicker-free technology. Another highly valuable aspect is its Low Blue Light function with different modes that adjust very well to the user's needs.

We can say that we have been pleasantly surprised by its excellent sound quality, with a configuration of 2 2W speakers together with a 5W woofer with treVolo technology that will give us both power and very good bass at the level of a television. It will allow us to choose between different sound profiles from the remote. It's also a great touch to have USB-C connectivity with DisplayPort and 60W charging that will come in handy for use with laptops.

The BenQ EW3280U will be found on Amazon for a price of 799 euros. The truth is that it is not a low price to be oriented to multimedia, and we have some 4K options at a better price from ViewSonic or LG. Where it stands out above all these is its panel, with great image benefits and a large number of functions available to the user that make a difference and are useful.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ VERSATILE PANEL WITH GREAT CUSTOMIZATION AND NUMBER OF OPTIONS	LITTLE ERGONOMICS OF YOUR FOOT
+ HAS HDRI, BI + AND REMOTE CONTROL	BRIGHTNESS BELOW EXPECTED
+ NOTHING GHOSTING WITH AMA AND FREESYNC	PRICE
+ WIDE COLOR COVERAGE AND GOOD CALIBRATION
+ LARGE AUDIO SECTION AND OSD PANEL

The Professional Review team awards him the gold medal:

BenQ EW3280U

DESIGN - 86%

PANEL - 92%

BASE - 84%

MENU OSD - 91%

GAMES - 85%

PRICE - 85%

87%