Samsung launches 28-inch 4K billion-color UD590 monitor

Time to get that second graphics cards, guys: Samsung has announced that its 28-inch 4K UD590 monitor will soon be available in the US for the paltry sum of $700. The UD590 packs a 28-inch 3840×2160 TN panel (157 PPI), capable of displaying 10-bit color (1 billion colors) at 60Hz with 1ms GTG response time. Priced at $700, this is probably your best bet if you want to try your hand at 4K gaming — or, if you’re a creative of some kind, the idea of 10-bit color on a 4K display should be very, very alluring.

From what we can tell, the UD590 has been available as a gray import from South Korea for a month or two — but now Samsung is preparing to launch it officially in the USA. Design-wise, the UD590 has a very minimal stand and bezel that’s finished in silver and black — in my opinion it’s much more attractive than the Dell P2815Q, the other $700 4K monitor that’s currently on the market. There are no DVI connectors, two HDMI connectors, and a single DisplayPort connector (which is what you need to use, if you want 3820×2160 @ 60Hz).

But enough about the minutiae — let’s get down to nitty-gritty here. In particular, that 10-bit TN (twisted nematic) panel. As you may know, in today’s market, there are two primary underlying technologies used in LCD displays: TN and IPS (including Samsung’s PLS). TN is cheap and fast, but IPS has wider viewing angles and generally better color fidelity. Personally, I have never heard of a 10-bit TN panel before; usually, if you want 10-bit color (10 bits per pixel, or bpp) you have to spend a lot of money ($1000+) on a professional-grade IPS monitor. To think that you can get a 10-bit 4K monitor for $700 makes me a little dizzy.


Unfortunately, even though the UD590 has been available as a gray import, none of the reviews online appear to mention the monitor’s color fidelity/image quality. The official Samsung specs don’t offer much in the way of guidance, except to say that it can display 1.07 billion colors, that it has 1-millisecond gray-to-gray (GTG) response time, standard 300 cd/m² brightness and 1000:1 contrast (or 10,000,000:1 dynamic contrast, if you prefer), and that there’s the usual poor viewing angles associated with TN panels.

Unfortunately, even though the UD590 has been available as a gray import, none of the reviews online appear to mention the monitor’s color fidelity/image quality. The official Samsung specs don’t offer much in the way of guidance, except to say that it can display 1.07 billion colors, that it has 1-millisecond gray-to-gray (GTG) response time, standard 300 cd/m² brightness and 1000:1 contrast (or 10,000,000:1 dynamic contrast, if you prefer), and that there’s the usual poor viewing angles associated with TN panels.