AOC U27V4EA: 4K on 27″ for the economical, but with IPS

Variety of settings

Monitors with 4K resolution have been here for some time now, but their significant expansion has long been hindered by their high prices. More solid models used to cost over €500, and the cheaper ones often offered relatively low-quality panels with TN. However, times have changed and 4K monitors are not necessarily a privilege anymore, but common mainstream products. This is exactly what AOC is trying to prove with the new U27V4EA.

Main specifications

Package and equipment

The design of the cardboard is strikingly similar to the one we see with Philips monitors. The print shows the silhouette of the monitor as well as a few basic specs, such as diagonal size, resolution and available connectors.

In addition to the monitor, the package includes a two-part power adapter, an HDMI cable and documentation. You will also find a report from the monitor calibration, which is common for more expensive monitors, so it is a pleasant surprise.

The package of course includes a stand, which consists of two parts. The oval-shaped base has a black surface and a screw from the underside, which you can tighten without the use of a screwdriver, only using your fingers.

The second part of the stand snaps into the first and is tightened with the mentioned screw.

Unfortunately, the foot does not offer any height adjustment, so the monitor can only be tilted.

It is worth noting that the U27V4EA also offers the option of mounting with VESA 100 × 100, which is a partial solution to the problem of limited mobility of the supplied stand.

Attaching the stand to the back of the monitor is easy and only takes a few seconds. The speed and ease of installation is mastered beautifully, but it is not extraordinary. Most competitors offer the same solution. As soon as it is necessary to use some tools or the procedure requires several steps, it would certainly be the target of my criticism, but there is no such thing.

After the mounting, we can look at the front side. I praise the minimalist design, which looks modern and timeless. The bottom of the monitor has a thin chin with the manufacturer’s logo. There are no thick frames on the sides, which you will appreciate in a multiple-monitor setup. But it looks good even when using only one.

At the back is again the manufacturer’s logo and the upper part is made of a kind of stripes, which is definitely better than if there was glossy black plastic.

But let’s move on to connectivity, which can be described as average, satisfactory, but by no means exceptional. Two HDMI 2.0 connectors and one DisplayPort 1.2 will provide the ability to connect up to three different sources at 4K and 60 Hz, which you will appreciate when using a PC, laptop and, say, a game console at the same time. Older models of 4K monitors often offered 4K@60 Hz only on a selected port and not all ports.

In addition to the video inputs, the monitor also offers a 3.5 mm audio jack and, of course, a power connector. What is a little disappointing in 2021 is the absence of USB-C and at least a smaller USB hub (e.g. two USB-A connectors), which would definitely make this monitor more attractive.

In addition to the AOC logo, you can also see pictograms of the controls and a small status light on the lower chin.

The mentioned frames on the sides and top are really thin and contribute to the modern look of the monitor. The manufacturer is also able to offer an even more attractive design with a completely frameless design, but for a different price. The proof is the U32U1 tested last year.

When describing the supplied stand, we have already said that it offers only limited positioning options. Specifically, the inclination is set from -5 to +23 degrees. You will not find pivot or height adjustment here.

Backlight bleed is a bit disturbing, especially on the top left and slightly on the right edge.

Of course, as always, each panel is different and your piece can be better, but also worse. In the next chapter, we will also measure the uniformity with a color analyzer.

Monitors with 4K resolution have been here for some time now, but their significant expansion has long been hindered by their high prices. More solid models used to cost over €500, and the cheaper ones often offered relatively low-quality panels with TN. However, times have changed and 4K monitors are not necessarily a privilege anymore, but common mainstream products. This is exactly what AOC is trying to prove with the new U27V4EA.

Variety of settings

Five buttons on the right edge of the display located at the bottom are used for navigation. The power button is slightly larger than the other four buttons. I also made fewer wrong moves during the use and felt that the pictograms on the lower chin corresponded better to the location of the buttons. I often have a problem with this on AOC monitors, and mistaken actions used to be very common. It is therefore positive to see that the manufacturer is listening to user feedback and trying to improve the navigation.

Quick button actions offer input change, volume adjustment and Clear Vision control.

The OSD menu is identical to previous AOC monitors and offers nothing unconventional. The absence of PiP and PbP, which tend to be present on 27-inch monitors, is a bit disappointing.

However, redesigning the OSD menu, especially in terms of design, would not be detrimental. Especially when the exterior design of AOC monitors improves with each generation.

Monitors with 4K resolution have been here for some time now, but their significant expansion has long been hindered by their high prices. More solid models used to cost over €500, and the cheaper ones often offered relatively low-quality panels with TN. However, times have changed and 4K monitors are not necessarily a privilege anymore, but common mainstream products. This is exactly what AOC is trying to prove with the new U27V4EA.

Image properties

We tested the properties of the display using the Datacolor Spyder5Elite color analyzer. The display uses the IPS technology with a diagonal of 27″ and a classic aspect ratio of 16:9, the resolution is 3840 × 2160 px, anti-reflection treatment and tiny frames from three sides. From the specifications on the manufacturer’s website, you will find information about a 4 ms GtG response, 350-nit brightness, 1000:1 contrast and the reported 75 Hz refresh rate. In reality, however, the monitor offers the usual 60 Hz. You will also find Adaptive Sync here, and I can confirm that G-Sync can be activated when an Nvidia graphics card is connected, although the monitor is not one of the official G-Sync Compatible ones. There is no support for HDR, although as you know, the lowest HDR400 standard is a marketing move rather than an added value.

We compared the image quality in the basic mode, i.e. the one that the monitor uses right after unboxing. The manufacturer states 112% sRGB coverage, 83% AdobeRGB and 79% NTSC. The color analyzer showed us 100% sRGB, 83% AdobeRGB, 81% NTSC. The average color difference of Delta E is 1.91, which crawls under the magic value of 2.0. After switching to sRGB mode, we see that the gamut has decreased and the measured values are as follows: 98% sRGB coverage, 75% AdobeRGB and 70% NTSC. Delta E improved to 1.51.

The monitor offers three Gamma modes: 1, 2 and 3. Values of 2.1, 1.9 and 2.3 were measured with small 0.01 and 0.02 deviations. The maximum measured brightness is 382 nits in the basic mode, which is slightly less than the presented 350 nits. The backlight uniformity is slightly weaker in the top left of the display. This is also indicated by deviations with visible contrast differences on the map with uniformity measurements.

Input Lag and Response Time

We also measured input lag on the monitor in several Overdrive modes.

Basic setting Off has an input lag of 9.6 ms. Changes to Medium and Strong modes drop the value to 9.5 ms and 9.1 ms, while Weak does not change the value. These are very good values, which we see on gaming monitors.

On the manufacturer’s website you will find information about 4 ms GTG response time, i.e. the pixel refresh rate. Overdrive had a positive effect on reducing input lag, the changes are less noticeable with ghosting. The differences between Off, Weak and Medium are relatively small. With Strong, inverse ghosting is already visible, which is an undesired side effect. In practice, it’s worth it to use Weak and Medium.

Monitors with 4K resolution have been here for some time now, but their significant expansion has long been hindered by their high prices. More solid models used to cost over €500, and the cheaper ones often offered relatively low-quality panels with TN. However, times have changed and 4K monitors are not necessarily a privilege anymore, but common mainstream products. This is exactly what AOC is trying to prove with the new U27V4EA.

Conclusion

The AOC U27V4EA is a very interesting affordable 4K monitor. It offers a modern design and a panel with good visuals. Connectivity and positioning options are standard and offer nothing extraordinary. In particular, the absence of a USB-C connector, which would be a nice added value, disappoints a little.

However, the most interesting aspect of the monitor is its price-performance ratio, as for 300 euros you get a very good 4K IPS panel, which was not possible until recently. You will not find premium functions such as HDR, USB hub or height adjustment and pivot here. These are things that the mainstream user will either not use or some of them can be replaced relatively quickly and cheaply, either by a USB hub or a table under the monitor, or by the use of arms on the table.

We did not encounter any critical spots during testing, and since the AOC U27V4EA offers a very good panel at a reasonable price, we give it our editorial “Smart buy!” award.

• Contents
• Details
• Variety of settings
• Image properties
• Conclusion