Acer B286HK 28-Inch Quad Resolution Monitor

Yes, we are declaring this the golden age of monitors, now that Acer's B268HK Ultra High Definition monitor with 3840 x 2160 pixels can be bought for just less than $600. Look at those pixel numbers: There are twice as many pixels horizontally (2x 1980 to 3840) and vertically (2x 1080 to 2160), and four times as many pixels as the standard 1920x1080 monitor packed into 28 inches of clear, sharp, adjustable gorgeousness.

We reviewed Acer's 32-inch model B326HUL a while back, and its resolution is "only" 2560x1440. That many pixels spread across 32 inches were almost too much for one person using the monitor on one desk. However, this new B286HK model crams more pixels into less space, and the look and feel on the desk is large... but in a way that feels more luxury than overwhelming. You can see the entire monitor without whipping your head back and forth as if watching a tennis match, a plus in my book.

Other vendors are getting into the "4K2K" market, including Dell, Lenovo, Phillips, and ViewSonic. All are under $800. Asus has an older model with this resolution, but it's much larger (31.5 inches) and much, much more expensive at $1,999.

Adjustments

First, the monitor itself can be moved down about six inches with a single fingertip. Unlike some large monitors, this Acer can be positioned to within approxiately two inches of the desk surface. One finger under the screen can raise it to about eight inches above the desk surface. Almost six inches of travel makes it easy to find the ergonomic point where the top of the monitor is even with your eyes and the bottom of the monitor swings out just enough to keep the color consistency from top to bottom. A huge amount of screen information can be displayed in a way that's still comfortable and readable.

Six buttons across the bottom right corner of the (rather thick) bezel open up multiple menus to control 6-axis color adjustments. You can adjust the color saturation of red, green, blue, yellow, magenta, and cyan. Or you can try the default RGB color levels of eco, standard, graphics, or movie settings. The normal brightness, contrast, and color warmth are there, of course, and the intriguing, "Super Sharpness." You can save your specific configuration as your user setting, and switch back and forth using the buttons. That's a lot of color adjustments for what is considered a "midrange" UHD monitor because it's well under $1,500 which is the starting point for the high end monitors.

The power conscious will be happy to hear that this large LED screen only pulls about 43 watts in its standard mode, which we found to be too bright. On eco mode the power draw was only about 28 watts, darn good for this size of monitor with this many pixels.

To get full resolution, you need to use a DVI connection or a Display Port. There are both full-size and mini-DP ports on this monitor as well as USB 3.0 hub (four total ports).

Daily Use

It's easy to get used to this monitor and forget how good it is because you quickly get immersed in working with all the various windows open. The tighter pixels tend to reduce the size of fonts in word processing and spreadsheet programs (which can unroll horizontally practically forever on this monitor) but the image is so sharp you can still see everything clearly.

Do you like to compare one document to another? That's easy to do side by side with this Acer unit. Would you also like to open a browser to research anything on those open documents? Again, that's easy to do, and you can have two full document pages and a full browser window open with little overlap.

Forget those studies that say two monitors are more productive than one. They certainly didn't test this monitor as the one that's less productive. Since the screen shows four times the pixels as a regular 1920x1080 monitor, using this Acer B286HK might be four times more productive, or twice as productive as two monitors. Since measuring productivity often includes a boatload of assumptions, we assume one of these monitors will do far better than two standard monitors. Probably cost less and take less desk space as well. As for two of these side-by-side... that's a whole different story.

High definition movie trailers look great on this screen, with depth and detail you just can't see at 1920x1080. The speakers included are better than some flat panel speakers, but don't provide anywhere near the same quality of experience for your ears that this monitor provides for your eyes. Add some extra speakers, start up Netflix, and put the popcorn bag in the microwave, because this screen provides an excellent viewing experience.

Summary

Monitors with 4K resolution are fairly new but amazingly detailed. That we could expect based on the pixel density. But to have all these pixels for $599 is a steal. Get one and be dazzled. Then update your monitor refresh schedule, especially if your company still has sub-1920x1080 units in production. If you place these on desks, the recipients will owe you big time for the display upgrade.