CES 2019: Alienware Saves the PC Monitor World With a 55" OLED Gaming Monitor

[Raevenlord]

So, that news title may be slightly too flashy for the actual product, but bear with me here: OLED is such an improvement over current mainstream display technologies that its transition to the PC monitor space is one of the most sought-after unicorns in this market. Alienware, via a partnership with LG (that's almost obvious), will be making this particular unicorn come to reality. The Alienware 55 OLED gaming monitor will feature 4K resolution @ 120 Hz, Variable Refresh Rate support via HDMI 2.1 (FreeSync? G-Sync? - all's still up in the air), DisplayPort 1.4, and 98 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 RGB spectrum with a candy of HDR support thrown in the mix.





If those specs sound familiar, they are; Alienware is naturally using an LG OLED panel for this product, which the specs, all in the same ballpark of LG's announced products, show. Even the diagonal, so incredibly big by PC monitor standards (unless you count NVIDIA's BFGD displays), is the lowest an LG OLED will go. So, the lack of a TV tuner seems to be one of the signs that points towards this television's classification as a gaming monitor. Whether there are more specific, under the hood improvements for a PC-centric monitor of if this is just a repurposed LG OLED television with Alienware's branding and a gaudy light strip on the back of the monitor isn't a question we're equipped to answer at the moment. However, it has several modes to support different game genres that Alienware says will be optimized for those types of games.

Linus Tech Tips actually recorded the Alienware monitor in-action at 4K resolution, so you can check that video (with YouTube compression, sadly) below.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Wavetrex]

Until they can bring it down to a size that can actually sit on a DESK, what's the point?
I can already feel my neck hurting just thinking how much I'd have to move my head to actually see it all at arm's length.

p.s. Alienware, how did you solve the icing problem ?... excuse me, the BURN-IN problem.

 

[bug]

Yeah, an OLED monitor. What's it going to do? Shift my interface around like TVs do with their standby messages?

 

[Manu_PT]

I refuse to pay so much money for a display in 2019 without hdmi 2.1. These things should be future proof. DisplayPort 1.4 doesnt have enough bandwidth for 4k 120hz HDR with 4:4:4 chroma.

 

[SL2]

Until they can bring it down to a size that can actually sit on a DESK, what's the point?

Bring down the size? There are plenty to choose from if you want smaller.

Can PC monitors only be placed on desks? This is clearly not made for desks as it has 80 ppi, lower than a 24" 1080 monitor (92 ppi).

 

[Raevenlord]

I refuse to pay so much money for a display in 2019 without hdmi 2.1. These things should be future proof. DisplayPort 1.4 doesnt have enough bandwidth for 4k 120hz HDR with 4:4:4 chroma.

It does have HDMI 2.1.

 

[Manu_PT]

It does have HDMI 2.1.

Then I was a retard not reading properly sorry about that and thanks!

Curious about the input lag on this one

 

[MrGenius]

OLED is a majorly flawed technology. Nobody with a brain wants it.

But, of course, any OLED is eventually going to burn-in. It's just due to the nature of the Organic Light Emitting Diode. It degrades.

 

[mouacyk]

55in OLED 2019 monitor

Moooeehh

mLED needs to HTFU

 

[hyp36rmax]

Until they can bring it down to a size that can actually sit on a DESK, what's the point?
I can already feel my neck hurting just thinking how much I'd have to move my head to actually see it all at arm's length.

p.s. Alienware, how did you solve the icing problem ?... excuse me, the BURN-IN problem.

Then people will complain the size of the monitor is too small for 4K....

 

[Renald]

In France it has a purpose : there's a tax for having a TV in your home. 140€/year.
Practically all solutions, like TV / Projector, have a tuner in it, making it "a TV-like object". And your Internet provider are denouncing people that have Internet access to the government, not an inch of moral, like back in the 40's if you know what I mean. You can add to that another fishy thing : when you buy a TV, you're filed on a national database, telling that you have a TV, and that you must pay.
We have many useful taxes in France whatever people will say, allowing free healthcare of good quality, school for everybody and not bad ones only, help from the country for commuters (like 80% off train tickets), help for kids, help for handicap, etc.
But this one is stupid, and mainly an old tax, maintained and earned by the same people.

To avoid this tax which is quite ridiculous since some of the major show runners earn much more money than in private channels (like 1M€/year, when minimum salary is around 1050€ per month), you need to get rid of any "non-PC" display, and players (DVD, BluRay,etc. even VHS).
My current TV is 42 inches, cost me 300€ 8 years ago, and I'm now paying 140€ / year even if I don't watch TV (I use it for my consoles). Your TV can even be broken, you'll pay.
It drives me crazy that every 2 years, I'm paying again my TV ... for nothing.

This "can be", with big quotes, the reason of such a screen.

 

[toyo]

Naw. No way.

 

[Space Lynx]

i wonder what happens after i do several 12 hour sessions with witcher 3 and get burn in - lol goodbye 3 grand unless the warranty is good, but i doubt it, prob 1-2 month wait times on repair.

 

[AsRock]

In France it has a purpose : there's a tax for having a TV in your home. 140€/year.
Practically all solutions, like TV / Projector, have a tuner in it, making it "a TV-like object". And your Internet provider are denouncing people that have Internet access to the government, not an inch of moral, like back in the 40's if you know what I mean. You can add to that another fishy thing : when you buy a TV, you're filed on a national database, telling that you have a TV, and that you must pay.
We have many useful taxes in France whatever people will say, allowing free healthcare of good quality, school for everybody and not bad ones only, help from the country for commuters (like 80% off train tickets), help for kids, help for handicap, etc.
But this one is stupid, and mainly an old tax, maintained and earned by the same people.

To avoid this tax which is quite ridiculous since some of the major show runners earn much more money than in private channels (like 1M€/year, when minimum salary is around 1050€ per month), you need to get rid of any "non-PC" display, and players (DVD, BluRay,etc. even VHS).
My current TV is 42 inches, cost me 300€ 8 years ago, and I'm now paying 140€ / year even if I don't watch TV (I use it for my consoles). Your TV can even be broken, you'll pay.
It drives me crazy that every 2 years, I'm paying again my TV ... for nothing.

This "can be", with big quotes, the reason of such a screen.

Same crap in the UK with BBC TV license, well except if i remember right cost a lot more than your paying.

Love to see more larger monitors, although will not see me buying a LG Monitor or TV.

 

[Brusfantomet]

That looks interesting, but for computer use LG current OLED panels are to susceptible to burn in

which is the exact reason I did not get a 65" one a few months ago.

In France it has a purpose : there's a tax for having a TV in your home. 140€/year.
Practically all solutions, like TV / Projector, have a tuner in it, making it "a TV-like object". And your Internet provider are denouncing people that have Internet access to the government, not an inch of moral, like back in the 40's if you know what I mean. You can add to that another fishy thing : when you buy a TV, you're filed on a national database, telling that you have a TV, and that you must pay.
We have many useful taxes in France whatever people will say, allowing free healthcare of good quality, school for everybody and not bad ones only, help from the country for commuters (like 80% off train tickets), help for kids, help for handicap, etc.
But this one is stupid, and mainly an old tax, maintained and earned by the same people.

To avoid this tax which is quite ridiculous since some of the major show runners earn much more money than in private channels (like 1M€/year, when minimum salary is around 1050€ per month), you need to get rid of any "non-PC" display, and players (DVD, BluRay,etc. even VHS).
My current TV is 42 inches, cost me 300€ 8 years ago, and I'm now paying 140€ / year even if I don't watch TV (I use it for my consoles). Your TV can even be broken, you'll pay.
It drives me crazy that every 2 years, I'm paying again my TV ... for nothing.

This "can be", with big quotes, the reason of such a screen.

It’s the same in Norway, but here its 3038,56 kr, or 359,08 USD or 311,60 euro. Only advantage here is that if you can prove that the tuner in the equipment has been disabled you will no longer have to pay the tax. Also, the Norwegian law clearly states that the tax is for equipment capable of receiving a broadcast signal, since streaming is a one to one connection this is no broadcast and therefore not susceptible to the tax.

Witch ends in an interesting situation where the national broadcaster is technically free, you can go to their web page and stream the three channels they have, complete with foreign programs, free of commercials, or go to their archive spanning several decades back, and watch it all on a computer, for free. The ting that pays for it is all the people that has a device that is capable of receiving the broadcast signal.

 

[net2007]

All I see is noobs here. HDR? It's an OLED. I've read it will have both dp 1.4 and HDMI 2.1

I prefer 40"+ but. 55" is good. Just sit away untill comfortable.

 

[INSTG8R]

That looks interesting, but for computer use LG current OLED panels are to susceptible to burn in

which is the exact reason I did not get a 65" one a few months ago.




It’s the same in Norway, but here its 3038,56 kr, or 359,08 USD or 311,60 euro. Only advantage here is that if you can prove that the tuner in the equipment has been disabled you will no longer have to pay the tax. Also, the Norwegian law clearly states that the tax is for equipment capable of receiving a broadcast signal, since streaming is a one to one connection this is no broadcast and therefore not susceptible to the tax. It’s even on my PS4 and Chromecast there’s really no way to escape it...

Witch ends in an interesting situation where the national broadcaster is technically free, you can go to their web page and stream the three channels they have, complete with foreign programs, free of commercials, or go to their archive spanning several decades back, and watch it all on a computer, for free. The ting that pays for it is all the people that has a device that is capable of receiving the broadcast signal.

Yeah I’m trying to find a way out of it but really too many hoops to jump through. I get my TV free from my landlord (Altibox) but even that technically counts tho they have no real way of proving it. I’m not gonna take my brand new 4K TV in to get it “modified” it probably cost me as much as the TV....I hate this license every year and I’ve deleted all thing s NRK from my channel list because there’s nothing on there I would ever watch.

 

[londiste]

Until they can bring it down to a size that can actually sit on a DESK, what's the point?
I can already feel my neck hurting just thinking how much I'd have to move my head to actually see it all at arm's length.

Unfortunately nobody mass-produces OLED panels in monitor sizes. LG TV tech is the best bet to get one at all
I am pretty sure it will have HDMI 2.1, 4K UHD 120Hz means it is based on current year's LG TVs which in turn means it is going to get the same inputs - unless Alienware are complete morons which they are not.

OLED is a majorly flawed technology. Nobody with a brain wants it.

All technologies have their respective flaws. OLED picture quality - and HDR capability if we are going with current buzzwords - is simply unrivaled.

Curious about the input lag on this one

I have an old-old LG OLED TV. With the usual TV PC input things input lag is in 20-30ms range. This is good enough. The new gen is supposed to have some HDMI 2.1 specific stuff to help with input lag, or with configuring it properly if I read that correctly.

mLED needs to HTFU

Samsung made a huge step forward this year and the result is 75" 4k Micro-LED TV. This is state of the art pixel density for the technology and it is far from production yet. Micro-LED shows huge promise for large TVs but it is not likely to scale down to monitors. And probably not smaller TVs like 55".

I have a first-gen LG OLED TV - new ones are supposed to be better. Temporary burn-in does happen with parts of screen having large-ish static images with saturated colors - my TV box has bright-colored squares in UI and I have left these open for 3-4 hours a couple times. This leaves an ugly visible artefact on the screen for a while. That being said, TV does its anti-burn-in stuff regularly and so far it has cleared up the artefacts enough to not be noticeable. I cannot see any in normal usage - TV, movies, games. I rarely look at screen with entire screen being one colour, maybe I should run monitor test screens just to see if I actually do have some artefacts. I have had gaming sessions of several hours and have not seen any burn-in artefacts from it - even UI/HUD is not static enough and/or not saturated enough.

What prevents my from using TV as a more frequent screen is primarily lack of VRR support. And 60Hz seems too low when switching over from a 165Hz gaming monitor

 

[Space Lynx]

@londiste I saw a Samsung QLED at Costco the other day next to an OLED. I actually favor the QLED myself, and I saw 0 drawbacks on it. that sucker was gorgeous. when playstation 5 launches, i plan to buy the latest high end samsung QLED model and PS5 on same day, hook them up both same day, etc. i have no need for a tv until then though so just being patient on it ^^

 

[londiste]

Samsung should be spanked for naming those QLED. I mean, they may technically be correct but they intentionally try to mislead customers into thinking QLED is somehow similar to OLED. It is not.
What LCD has over OLED is brightness. This gets paid for in contrast. IPS has 1:1000 contrast, VAs have 1:3000/5000. The only reasonable solution to extend that contrast is FALD which inevitably has halo/blooming issues.

OLED is a conditional choice. If you use the screen in a well-lit room or are worries about retention/burn-in, get LCD (LED, QLED, nano-LED whichever).
When looking at the screen in dark or dim room, OLED dynamic range is very noticeable. Black blacks effectively mean infinite contrast/range.

 

[Brusfantomet]

Yeah I’m trying to find a way out of it but really too many hoops to jump through. I get my TV free from my landlord (Altibox) but even that technically counts tho they have no real way of proving it. I’m not gonna take my brand new 4K TV in to get it “modified” it probably cost me as much as the TV....I hate this license every year and I’ve deleted all thing s NRK from my channel list because there’s nothing on there I would ever watch.View attachment 114376

well, its usualy 1000 kr, (120 usd/ 100 eur) depending on where you live hese guys does it.

 

[INSTG8R]

well, its usualy 1000 kr, (120 usd/ 100 eur) depending on where you live hese guys does it.

Thanks man I will seriously look into this. I’m on a fixed income(trygg) and not high one either so this bill is never in my budget. Already planning to split this years bill over 2 payments NRK can suck it!

 

[Brusfantomet]

If they do not operate in your area you can search for "plombere TV" to get some options.
Just checked for myself it was 1290 kr (outside Oslo).

Does any other TPU members form Europe have a idea what the technicalities for the broadcaster taxes are?
Because if they are like here in Norway (bound to the antenna input) there should be a noticeable market for TVs with only HDMI inputs like the Alienware “monitor” here.

 

[INSTG8R]

If they do not operate in your area you can search for "plombere TV" to get some options.
Just checked for myself it was 1290 kr (outside Oslo).

Does any other TPU members form Europe have a idea what the technicalities for the broadcaster taxes are?
Because if they are like here in Norway (bound to the antenna input) there should be a noticeable market for TVs with only HDMI inputs like the Alienware “monitor” here.

Yeah I’m near Stavanger so I may have to search around a bit

 

[bug]

Samsung should be spanked for naming those QLED. I mean, they may technically be correct but they intentionally try to mislead customers into thinking QLED is somehow similar to OLED. It is not.
What LCD has over OLED is brightness. This gets paid for in contrast. IPS has 1:1000 contrast, VAs have 1:3000/5000. The only reasonable solution to extend that contrast is FALD which inevitably has halo/blooming issues.

OLED is a conditional choice. If you use the screen in a well-lit room or are worries about retention/burn-in, get LCD (LED, QLED, nano-LED whichever).
When looking at the screen in dark or dim room, OLED dynamic range is very noticeable. Black blacks effectively mean infinite contrast/range.

QLED manages to suggest both OLED and quantum dot at the same time. While having nothing to do with either one.