ASUS Announces January Availability of ProArt Display PA32UCXR Monitor

[GFreeman]

ASUS today announced that ProArt Display PA32UCXR will be available on shelves by January 2024. This 32-inch 4K monitor features mini LED backlighting with 2304-zone local dimming, a peak brightness of 1600 nits, and up to 1000 nits sustained brightness without partial patch limitation. PA32UCXR boasts 99% Adobe RGB and 97% DCI-P3 gamut. Designed for post-production workflows, each monitor is factory pre-calibrated to guarantee Delta E1 color accuracy and features a built-in motorized flip colorimeter along with Auto Calibration and Self Calibration functionality for convenience.

PA32UCXR works with ProArt Calibration software as well as third-party offerings such as Calman and Light Illusion ColourSpace CMS to ensure professional-grade colors. Two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a host of other connectivity options enable seamless and efficient creative workflows, making this monitor ideal for content creators.



Ultra-realistic visuals
To lower costs, most mini LED technology use fewer control ICs, preferring to employ central control via data scanning for chained zones. This approach requires brighter imagery to achieve optimal performance, which can lead to screen flickering, irregular brightness, and a shorter LED lifespan.

In contrast, ProArt Display PA32UCXR boasts impressive 2304-zone local dimming. It uses numerous control ICs to independently manage backlighting zones, effectively minimizing onscreen flicker during transitions and ensuring high levels of sustained brightness. This gives PA32UCXR outstanding brightness uniformity, efficient heat dissipation, and improved HDR image quality.

ProArt Display PA32UCXR delivers peak brightness of 1600 nits and an industry-leading 1000 nits of full-screen sustained brightness, allowing for outstanding contrast between the deepest blacks and gleaming whites.
True-to-life colors

PA32UCXR exceeds industry color reproduction standards with its 99% Adobe RGB, 97% DCI-P3, 100% sRGB, 100% Rec. 709, and 87% Rec. 2020 color gamut, making it ideal for post-production. The true 10-bit IPS panel is able to showcase more than 1.07 billion colors to give content creators a vast color spectrum to work with.

Each ProArt display is factory pre-calibrated using a new three-scale process to guarantee industry-leading color fidelity. The display then undergoes stringent testing using ASUS advanced grayscale tracking technology to ensure smoother color gradations, better uniformity and high color accuracy with a Delta E1 color difference value. Each grayscale level is also carefully measured and set to ensure compliance with the DICOM standard for medical use.

Intuitive and intelligent calibration
For convenience, ProArt Display PA32UCXR has a built-in motorized colorimeter that flips into place during calibration and has an innovative self-calibration feature. It is compatible with any OS and doesn't require any additional calibration software. Users can initiate the calibration process at any time, or schedule calibration to occur during off hours via settings in the OSD menu.

ASUS ProArt Calibration technology saves all color parameter profiles on PA32UCXR's internal scaler IC chip instead of the PC. Users can calibrate the monitor and subsequently rewrite the look-up table, allowing them to connect it to devices with different OS or applications without the need to adjust monitor settings. PA32UCXR is supported by ProArt Color Center, offering remote group control and calibration tools that allow users to run vital tasks from a centralized location.

Calibration schedules and customized color parameters can be set to maintain consistent, professional-level accuracy. ProArt Calibration technology can also be used to schedule regular calibration intervals. Additionally, the built-in colorimeter works seamlessly with third-party Calman or Light Illusion ColourSpace CMS professional hardware-calibration software.

Create in ultra-vivid HDR
Exclusive ASUS Smart HDR technology enables ProArt Display PA32UCXR to support multiple HDR formats, including Dolby Vision , HLG, and HDR10. Dolby Vision transforms the viewing experience with unmatched levels of brightness, contrast, and colors. HLG allows users to view and create material for broadcast and satellite TV platforms such as BBC iPlayer, Japan NHK TV, and DirecTV. HDR10 support ensures compatibility with existing streaming video services and a growing list of HDR-enabled games.

Enjoy streamlined, more efficient workflows
The inclusion of dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, DisplayPort 1.4, and two HDMI 2.0 ports ensure futureproof compatibility with displays and peripherals. One of the Thunderbolt 4 ports offers up to 90 W Power Delivery to charge devices, as well as the ability to daisy-chain several displays though a single port, without the need for a hub or switch. PA32UCXR also includes an earphone jack and USB hub.

PA32UCXR supports Picture-by-Picture (PbP) and Picture-in-Picture (PiP). The former allows users to view content from up to four input sources simultaneously. Each window's color mode can also be configured to sRGB, Adobe RGB, DCI-P3, Rec. 2020, User Mode 1, User Mode 2, or User Mode 3. PiP mode places content from a second input source in a smaller window that can be placed in any corner of the display.

PA32UCXR features an ambient light sensor that automatically dims or brightens the display. There's also a proximity sensor that dims the display when it detects that there isn't a user in front of the monitor.

A bundled wraparound hood helps reduce on-screen reflections from nearby light sources, enabling users to work with confidence in the studio or on location. The ergonomic stand of PA32UCXR offers tilt, swivel, pivot, and height adjustments to allow users to find their preferred viewing position. Being able to pivot the screen 90° clockwise or anticlockwise to portrait orientation comes in handy when working with posters, playbills, and other large-format projects. A quick-release feature allows users to VESA mount the monitor to a wall to save desktop space.

Free Adobe Creative Cloud subscription
Adobe products are central to creative work in many industries. ASUS has partnered with Adobe to empower creative workflows with the renowned Creative Cloud suite of apps and services. In select regions, purchase of a ProArt Display PA32UCXR includes a free three-month subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe Substance 3D and Adobe Acrobat (a US$397.44 value). The Creative Cloud subscription can be applied to a new or existing account and can be redeemed via the registration site. The redemption period ends August 31, 2024. For full details, visit https://www.asus.com/content/asus-offers-adobe-creative-cloud.



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[bug]

...each monitor is factory pre-calibrated to guarantee Delta E1 color accuracy...

This leads me to believe this is just a consumer monitor, trying to masquerade as a professional one. Professionals calibrate their equipment every month (if not every week), they wouldn't care less about ootb settings.
2,000+ zone is nice (not great, but nice), but this will be priced through the stratosphere. Once very promising, miniLED seems to be going nowhere fast.

 

[wNotyarD]

This leads me to believe this is just a consumer monitor, trying to masquerade as a professional one. Professionals calibrate their equipment every month (if not every week), they wouldn't care less about ootb settings.

Even though, a professional won't get any screen that comes with its default calibration WAY off, it only makes harder (when not impossible) to calibrate it correctly later. The article mentions calibration, also:

PA32UCXR works with ProArt Calibration software as well as third-party offerings such as Calman and Light Illusion ColourSpace CMS to ensure professional-grade colors.

 

[Chaitanya]

Whats the price, their last 32" mini LED offering was priced above $3000 mark. Though it was a truly professional display.

This leads me to believe this is just a consumer monitor, trying to masquerade as a professional one. Professionals calibrate their equipment every month (if not every week), they wouldn't care less about ootb settings.
2,000+ zone is nice (not great, but nice), but this will be priced through the stratosphere. Once very promising, miniLED seems to be going nowhere fast.

Their previous miniLED offering which is quite a few years old at this point still sells for $3k.

Amazon.com

Asus ProArt PA32UCG with 32" 4K IPS Panel, 120Hz VRR, 1152 zone MiniLED backlight and HDR 1400 - TFTCentral

Share this contentNews piece originally published 4 September 2019 and updated most recently 29 April 2021 At IFA in Berlin all the way back in September 2019 Asus showcased their....[click link for more]

tftcentral.co.uk

 

[venturi]

Let me get this straight - for that kind of money and hype it has:

60hz refresh
DP 1.4 (no 2.0)
HDMI 2.0 (no 2.1)

their prior PA32UCG-K current / monitor has HDMI 2.1, 144Hz refresh,1600-1800 nits, active dimming, dolby vison pro etc and comes with calibration software and puck.

Did I miss something?
What is the point of this monitor?

 

[dyonoctis]

This leads me to believe this is just a consumer monitor, trying to masquerade as a professional one. Professionals calibrate their equipment every month (if not every week), they wouldn't care less about ootb settings.
2,000+ zone is nice (not great, but nice), but this will be priced through the stratosphere. Once very promising, miniLED seems to be going nowhere fast.

That's a weird thing to say, every professional monitor does that. Eizo do it, HP Z do it, Dell do it, Apple as well. Many of those monitors have a calibration device integrated.
Without Factory calibration, the built-in colors profile would be useless. Being a Pro doesn't mean that you can't appreciate something that works well out of the box.

 

[AnarchoPrimitiv]

I would really hope EVERY $2000+ monitor would come with Displayport 2.1 (I get that they don't need high refresh, but if I'm spending that much on a monitor it should have the next gen ports)

 

[bug]

That's a weird thing to say, every professional monitor does that. Eizo do it, HP Z do it, Dell do it, Apple as well. Many of those monitors have a calibration device integrated.
Without Factory calibration, the built-in colors profile would be useless. Being a Pro doesn't mean that you can't appreciate something that works well out of the box.

I didn't meant they shouldn't calibrate, I just took issue with making checkbox item on the box out of it.

 

[Metroid]

The qdoled or woled 32 inch will make this monitor obsolete in regards to price.

 

[dyonoctis]

I didn't meant they shouldn't calibrate, I just took issue with making checkbox item on the box out of it.

Ahh, well I guess Asus is still trying to gain mindshare. Eizo and Apple are the only one who don’t bother mentioning it since, “duh”. ProArt is still fairly young in that market

 

[Minus Infinity]

Let me get this straight - for that kind of money and hype it has:

60hz refresh
DP 1.4 (no 2.0)
HDMI 2.0 (no 2.1)

their prior PA32UCG-K current / monitor has HDMI 2.1, 144Hz refresh,1600-1800 nits, active dimming, dolby vison pro etc and comes with calibration software and puck.

Did I miss something?
What is the point of this monitor?

The new Dell 40" looks better even though it's only IPS, it's 120HZ and 5K 24:10 and same dpi as 4K 32".

 

[dyonoctis]

Let me get this straight - for that kind of money and hype it has:

60hz refresh
DP 1.4 (no 2.0)
HDMI 2.0 (no 2.1)

their prior PA32UCG-K current / monitor has HDMI 2.1, 144Hz refresh,1600-1800 nits, active dimming, dolby vison pro etc and comes with calibration software and puck.

Did I miss something?
What is the point of this monitor?

The new one got 2304 zones vs 1152 zones for the older one. They both get Dolby Vision (Dolby Vision pro doesn't exist, and the older one also max out at 120hz, 1600nits, not 144hz 1800nits ). For the lower refresh rate, I don't know tbh, without the price we don't even know if it's actually meant to replace the PA32UCG-K rather than the lower priced PA32UCX-K

 

[Dredi]

This leads me to believe this is just a consumer monitor, trying to masquerade as a professional one. Professionals calibrate their equipment every month (if not every week), they wouldn't care less about ootb settings.
2,000+ zone is nice (not great, but nice), but this will be priced through the stratosphere. Once very promising, miniLED seems to be going nowhere fast.

<1 dE means that the backlight is super accurate. Unless there is some bullshit clause that it only applies to the centermost 1 cm^2 area.

 

[bug]

<1 dE means that the backlight is super accurate. Unless there is some bullshit clause that it only applies to the centermost 1 cm^2 area.

It really doesn't.
If you ever calibrated a monitor, you'd know the process uses large patches of a given color. But when you go HDR, you still have ~2,000 zones controlling ~8,000,000 pixels. So that "super-accurate" means you still have patches of ~4,000 pixels lighting up together. Better than most miniLEDs, but still a far cry from OLED.

 

[Dredi]

It really doesn't.
If you ever calibrated a monitor, you'd know the process uses large patches of a given color. But when you go HDR, you still have ~2,000 zones controlling ~8,000,000 pixels. So that "super-accurate" means you still have patches of ~4,000 pixels lighting up together. Better than most miniLEDs, but still a far cry from OLED.

You didn't really understand what I was trying to say. <1dE in terms of uniformity means that if the whole display is showing just a single colour, that the backlight LEDs need to be super accurately selected for both brightness and colour temperature. That level of uniformity is something that commercial OLEDs do not have. Now, if using local dimming, the accuracy is suspect, as you stated.

 

[bug]

You didn't really understand what I was trying to say. <1dE in terms of uniformity means that if the whole display is showing just a single colour, that the backlight LEDs need to be super accurately selected for both brightness and colour temperature. That level of uniformity is something that commercial OLEDs do not have. Now, if using local dimming, the accuracy is suspect, as you stated.

Delta E has nothing to do with uniformity, it's used when measuring color accuracy: Explanation from ViewSonic
Uniformity is far from a 1dE equivalent, it usually varies by >10%: https://tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell-ultrasharp-u4021qw#Uniformity

 

[Dredi]

Delta E has nothing to do with uniformity, it's used when measuring color accuracy: Explanation from ViewSonic
Uniformity is far from a 1dE equivalent, it usually varies by >10%: https://tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell-ultrasharp-u4021qw#Uniformity

Delta E has everything to do with uniformity. If any other metric is used for measuring uniformity, then the results are likely simply shit.
A luminosity difference of 10% is a lot in terms of deltaE. With led based backlight the unit differences between led's come to play as well, and the colour can wary a lot just because of badly selected LEDs.

If you'd have ever really calibrated a monitor, you'd know that it needs to be done on a number of patches and you simply discard the display if you can't get good results because of uniformity issues.

Now, if this product is within <1dE only on the centermost pixel or other bullshit, then it cannot be used for any real work it is advertised for.

 

[Chomiq]

This leads me to believe this is just a consumer monitor, trying to masquerade as a professional one. Professionals calibrate their equipment every month (if not every week), they wouldn't care less about ootb settings.

And this is exactly why this monitor comes with:

For convenience, ProArt Display PA32UCXR has a built-in motorized colorimeter that flips into place during calibration and has an innovative self-calibration feature.

As well as:

Additionally, the built-in colorimeter works seamlessly with third-party Calman or Light Illusion ColourSpace CMS professional hardware-calibration software.

Delta E has everything to do with uniformity. If any other metric is used for measuring uniformity, then the results are likely simply shit.

Also, you can still have low deltaE and have shit uniformity, here's my calibration on ultrawide with BLB in lower right corner:

 

[Dredi]

Also, you can still have low deltaE and have shit uniformity, here's my calibration on ultrawide with BLB in lower right corner:

I would argue that a single point deltaE measurement has little to no value to the end user. Most 10+bit displays can anyway be calibrated to a low single point deltaE value, but what cannot be done is fix bad uniformity. That is why most high end manufacturers focus on uniformity and not on silly marketing single point deltaE.

Asus in its marketing materials state that their advertised deltaE is valid for any window size. This leads me to believe that they have at least attempted to solve the uniformity issues in typical consumer displays.

 

[bug]

And this is exactly why this monitor comes with:

Of course it does. What I'm saying is that, knowing Asus' history, that isn't just a cheap-a$$ calibrator included just to check a box. There is also the possibility they built something decent, indeed, but someone in marketing wasn't too familiar with what's relevant and what isn't and thought "hey, that dE looks good, why not put it on the box anyway".

What is clear, is you cannot measure a difference of <1dE across the screen in HDR mode without per-pixel lighting. So that claim is a lie at least in HDR context.