AUO has been busy developing what the company calls Advanced Reflectionless Technology or A.R.T. which the company was showing off at the Touch Taiwan trade show. The panel in question was a 32-inch, 4K AHVA panel, which is AUO's own variant of IPS. Although the panel was set up so there were fewer reflections in the area where it was being displayed, the panel did seem to be less reflective compared to other displays sitting next to it. However, it's always hard to judge these things on a show floor, so we'll have to wait for some reviews before passing final judgement on A.R.T. but it looks like a promising technology when it comes to reducing unwanted reflections.

The panel is also one of the first 4K panels capable of delivering a 240 Hz refresh rate, although it's going to be hard finding a graphics card capable of driving all games at that kind of refresh rate at 4K resolution. Sadly the brightness is only 400 cd/m², although AUO claims 1 ms grey to grey response time with overdrive enabled and a 95 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut, which is better than most 4K gaming panels on the market today. Sadly, AHVA panels suffer from IPS glow, just as normal IPS panels, which can clearly be seen in the second image below.

Acer today introduced their new XV272XU monitor. A wildly popular, sweet-spot-like 27" 1440p panel is used with what Acer says is an "IPS-like" panel from AUO Optronics' of the AHVA type. The 165 Hz refresh rate and 1 ms (GtG) response time alongside VRR support from both AMD (FreeSync) and NVIDIA (G-Sync) up the ante in terms of gaming fluency. The 178º/178º viewing angles and 8-bit panel ensure proper accuracy for its 99% coverage of the Adobe RGB color gamut, while the 1000:1 contrast ratio and VESA HDR400 certification round out the specifications.

There are swivel (+- 20º), pivot (+- 90º) and tilt (-5º to 25º) functions to increase adaptability to any workplace scenario, alongside height adjustment (in a 120 mm range). A VESA 100 x 100 mm mount is present, as are 2x 2 W speakers. I/= is taken care of by 4x USB 3.0 Type A, 1x USB Type-C, 2x HDMI 2.0, 1x DisplayPort 1.2, and 1x 3.5 mm audio jack. The Acer XV272XU is expected to be released between Q3-Q4 2020 for a price of 5,499 CNY ($770 / €707 / £632).

Reports have started doing the rounds that users might finally see NVIDIA's dream for 4K, 144 Hz gaming come to fruition as early as next month. NVIDIA's approach towards establishing a platform of a premium 4K gaming experience meant that manufacturers - of which ASUS and Acer are two of the foremost examples for this story - were forced to opt for a single panel solution, based on AU Optronics' M270QAN02.2 AHVA panel. This is because NVIDIA wanted gamers to be treated to a fully integrated solution, that boasted of features such as 3840×2160 resolution, a 144 Hz refresh rate, a 1000-nits brightness, a direct LED backlighting system with 384 zones, and feature a quantum dot film to enable HDR10 and coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut.

However, with such stringent requirements, NVIDIA monitor partners would have to accept what constraints might arise from the panel manufacturer's side of the equation, which ultimately, resulted in a delay for the manufacturer's models - Acer Predator X27 and ASUS ROG Swift PG27UQ - from a 2017 release date to what is now expected to be a firm, April 2018 one. Gamers might thus be in for the impending release of some of the best monitors in the industry when it comes to a premium, high refresh-rate gaming experience. Now, where are those mainstream OLED panels with at least 900 nits brightness I wanted to get my hands on?

It's confirmed: no 144 Hz 4K gaming with HDR in 2017 for NVIDIA gamers who want to make use of G-Sync t avoid screen tearing in their games. Acer last week announced that its 4K HDR Predator X27 gaming display would be delayed to Q1 2018 (meaning, no such thing below your Christmas tree or on your fireplace sock, sadly.) But it isn't Acer's fault, apparently: ASUS's ROG Swift PG27UQ, which features virtually the same specifications, has also been delayed to 2018. Both these monitors are based of an NVIDIA reference design showcased at Computex 2017 (you may remember a slight foul play there as well.)

The Acer Predator X27 and the ASUS ROG Swift PG27UQ are based on AU Optronics' M270QAN02.2 AHVA panel, which offers a 3840×2160 resolution and can reach a 144 Hz refresh rate. Something that really should make these monitors shine is the usage of a direct LED backlighting system with 384 zones, which can be individually dimmed or brightened as needed, which allows the panel to deliver much higher levels of contrast, needed for true HDR display. At least until OLED panels make their way to high-performance gaming monitors, these are expected to be the best of the crop.

ASUS is readying with what could be the world's first 4K Ultra HD monitor with 144 Hz refresh-rate. The monitor features a 27-inch AHVA panel by AU Optronics. The monitor relies on DisplayPort 1.3 for sufficient bandwidth to push its advertised resolution (3840 x 2160 @ 144 Hz). There's no word on whether the monitor supports adaptive sync technologies such as G-SYNC or FreeSync. DisplayPort 1.3 support can be found on some of the latest GPUs, such as the GeForce GTX 1080 and the Radeon RX 480.

Philips introduced the BDM3275UP 32-inch monitor, offering 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160 pixels) resolution. It embeds an IPS-AHVA panel, with 178°/178° viewing angles, 350 cd/m² maximum brightness, dynamic mega-contrast ratio, and 30-bit color (1.07 billion colors). The display takes input from HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2, and dual-link DVI. A headphones output (putting out audio from the HDMI/DP audio channels), and a 4-port USB 3.0 hub make for the rest of its feature-set. The company didn't reveal pricing or availability.

Display panel OEM AU Optronics announced development of a new 27-inch AHVA panel. AHVA, or advanced hyper-viewing angle, is AU Optronics' equivalent of LG's IPS panel technology, and is not to be confused with AMVA (advanced multidomain vertical alignment). Codenamed M270DAN02.3, the panel offers stellar refresh rates of 144 Hz, and native resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels. Other vitals include 1000:1 contrast ratio, 350 cd/m² maximum brightness, sRGB gamut, and of course, 178°/178° viewing angles. Its introduction could spur growth of "gaming" grade monitors, which come with technologies specific to gaming PCs, such as AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA G-Sync support, that dynamically sync the display's refresh-rate with the frame-rate of the graphics card, to minimize stuttering, and produce a fluid display output.