Philips 27B1U5601: Affordable monitor for your work desk

Details

A business monitor with a USB-C port, Windows Hello camera, KVM switch, LightSensor and PowerSensor. If you’ve heard this somewhere before, it was probably the Philips 34B1U5600 that we recently tested.This time, we’re focusing on the smaller, 27-inch variant, which is perhaps even more suited to the workplace environment than the curved widescreen. What makes the 27B1U5601 different besides the smaller diagonal?

Basic parameters

Packaging and accesories

The cardboard box has the same design as its larger sibling, i.e. the silhouette of the monitor and the main parameters are displayed in white. However, it opens like a shoebox, not from the front. Nevertheless, it is one of the easier opening styles.

The package is just as generous as the larger model, including HDMI, DisplayPort and USB-C cables (with a Type-A reducer on one end) and, of course, the power cable. There is also documentation, but this time there is no calibration result of the monitor, which is probably just a problem of the tested package, which has already made several stops in other editorial offices.

The square base is almost identical and will again offer side-to-side rotation, which is a unique feature of Philips monitors that we don’t see much of elsewhere.

The other part of the stand with height adjustment is virtually identical and I don’t see any changes.

Attaching the base to the leg is a matter of seconds and requires no tools.

You can also use the VESA 100×100 mount if needed, for example if you would like to mount the monitor on a wall or your own arms.

Attaching the stand to the monitor body is a matter of one “click”. Thanks to the aforementioned opening of the box in the middle, you can do this even before you take the monitor out of the package.

What we are probably most interested in is the port selection and whether it has remained as good as its curved sibling. The connectors from the left start with HDMI and DisplayPort, a pair of USB-C and RJ-45 Ethernet. After that, the ports are identical. But next comes another DisplayPort, which the curved 34B1U5600 doesn’t have. Last is a pair of 5 Gb USB for connecting accessories.

The second DisplayPort connector is used for video output and thus the possibility of connecting a second monitor. We will look at this feature in the next chapter. The first USB-C port handles up to 100W charging as well as video input and data transfer. The second is then used for data transfer. On the other side of the bottom there is a power connector for the integrated power supply and a power button.

We’re not done with ports yet, and like the 34B1U5600, the 27-inch version has another USB-C with 15W charging on the side. Then there are two more USB Type-A connectors, with one offering fast charging and also a 3.5mm audio jack. Like the larger version, the test piece features ultimate connectivity that really lacks nothing. Again, I commend the sending of the obsolete USB Type-B connector to the scrapyard of history.

The monitor also offers a pair of 5W speakers that you can use when playing videos or video calls, which is what this monitor is built for.

The design of the monitor is very simple and decent. The thin bezels on three sides are complemented by a thicker chin in grey, as if in a brushed aluminium design. There’s also the typical light and presence sensor, which changes the brightness or turns off the display according to the ambient light or whether you’re using the monitor or not. This is a useful feature for the office, where you walk away from the monitor for meetings or lunch. This way you don’t have to manually turn the monitor off and on.

What I also praise is the placement of the control buttons on the front of the chin. Philips tends to put them from the bottom or the back and then it happens that you accidentally press the wrong button. That’s why it’s much better if they are in the front.

The new product is also literally an acrobat as it offers all positioning possibilities. Height adjustment is in the range of 150 mm.

In addition, it offers a tilt range of -5 to +30 degrees, which is more than normal.

As we noticed in the unboxing, the square base offers 180 degrees of lateral rotation in each direction. So you can practically rotate the monitor around its axis in full as seen in the picture above. However, it can’t be done in one stroke, as you hit the end when you rotate a semicircle and have to go back.

Unlike with its bigger sibling, pivot is not missing and it is possible to pivot to both sides, which is also not standard. So the 27B1U5601 really does offer all the rotation and positioning options you could wish for.

One of the monitor’s highlights is the 5MP camera with Windows Hello support, which you can use for quick logins and video calls. For the latter, you’ll also enjoy the ambient noise filtering feature offered by the built-in microphones.

Backlight bleed of the 27B1U5601 is really minimal and only slightly visible around the edges. This is definitely one of the better results you could ask for in a backlit panel.

Of course, as always, every panel is different and your piece can be better or worse. We will also measure uniformity with a colorimetric probe in the next chapter.

A business monitor with a USB-C port, Windows Hello camera, KVM switch, LightSensor and PowerSensor. If you’ve heard this somewhere before, it was probably the Philips 34B1U5600 that we recently tested.This time, we’re focusing on the smaller, 27-inch variant, which is perhaps even more suited to the workplace environment than the curved widescreen. What makes the 27B1U5601 different besides the smaller diagonal?

Range of settings

The OSD menu is controlled by five buttons on the front of the monitor. Thanks to their placement, the chance of pressing the wrong button, as is usually the case when placed at the bottom or at the back, is significantly reduced.

Quick actions allow you to switch the video input, change the video mode or toggle the input with the KVM switch.

The first part of the settings is devoted to the LightSensor and the PowerSensor, LowBlue mode and again video inputs.

At the fifth position we find the image settings, where we can adjust the brightness, gamma, response time and other customization options. We’ll see the supported PiP and PbP modes in a moment.

There are also sound, colour, language and quick button settings.

Settings also offer USB port control, and you can also customize the active webcam indicator. In the last item you will also find the DisplayPort output control.

PiP mode traditionally displays a miniature of a single source, in three sizes.

You can also place the window in any of the four corners.

And of course switch between the main and secondary window.

The available PbP mode again displays two sources side by side with the possibility of swapping them.

We’ve also already mentioned the ability to output video through a second DisplayPort. In the settings you have the option of mirroring or extending, the second mode is probably more useful and we tried that one out too.

However, the output only worked when the primary monitor input was via DisplayPort and a desktop graphics card. In the USB-C test on the MacBook 14 Pro, the second monitor did connect, but no image was displayed.

A business monitor with a USB-C port, Windows Hello camera, KVM switch, LightSensor and PowerSensor. If you’ve heard this somewhere before, it was probably the Philips 34B1U5600 that we recently tested.This time, we’re focusing on the smaller, 27-inch variant, which is perhaps even more suited to the workplace environment than the curved widescreen. What makes the 27B1U5601 different besides the smaller diagonal?

Image properties

We tested the display properties using the Datacolor Spyder5Elite probe. The display has a 27-inch IPS panel with a classic 16:9 aspect ratio, 2560×1440 px resolution, anti-glare coating and uniform bezels on three sides. It also offers a slightly higher 75Hz refresh rate, but you won’t find Adaptive Sync here. Contrast reaches 1000:1, brightness is up to 350 nits and the 8-bit panel displays 16.7 million colours. Don’t look for HDR considering the lower brightness.

We compared the display quality in the basic mode, which is the mode the monitor will be in right out of the box. With our probe, we measured 100% sRGB, 81% AdobeRGB, 89% DCI-P3, and 80% NTSC coverage, which are slightly lower than the 34B1U5600 offered. Maximum brightness reached 346 nits in standard mode, and after switching the color profile to native, we measured exactly 350 nits, which is the value on paper. The uniformity tests confirmed what we saw with the colour display, namely that the monitor is definitely one of the better ones in this area. The average Delta E color deviation is also excellent, with a value of 0.81, which is a hair better than the 0.82 of its larger sibling.

The gamma modes were found to be somewhat inaccurate, having a deviation of 0.1 for the 1.8 and 2.0 modes. From 2.2 onwards, however, the deviation increased to 0.2, practically making the lower mode the higher one. This is something to watch out for if you need a particular value at work.

Input Lag and Response Time

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

SmartResponse already offers a fairly solid 10.9 ms base, which is reduced to a minimum of 9.8 ms, which is a good improvement considering how low the values we’re talking about are.

On the manufacturer’s website you will find information about 4 ms response time in GTG. The off, fast and faster modes proved to be usable, on the other hand the fastest mode suffers from inverse ghosting and I do not recommend using it at all.

A business monitor with a USB-C port, Windows Hello camera, KVM switch, LightSensor and PowerSensor. If you’ve heard this somewhere before, it was probably the Philips 34B1U5600 that we recently tested.This time, we’re focusing on the smaller, 27-inch variant, which is perhaps even more suited to the workplace environment than the curved widescreen. What makes the 27B1U5601 different besides the smaller diagonal?

Conclusion

The Philips 27B1U5601 is another in a series of business-oriented monitors, like its larger sibling the Philips 34B1U5600. Despite the smaller body, the 27-inch version retains all the advantages such as excellent port selection, almost infinite positioning possibilities or a very good panel for office work. There are also advanced features such as PiP and PbP modes, KVM switch, camera with Windows Hello or “Power and Light” sensors, which you will appreciate as you save as much as possible on energy.

The smaller and more standard size will probably be more suitable for office environments, and the possibility of connecting a second monitor via the DisplayPort output is also more than interesting. Equally interesting is the price, which is roughly 200 euros lower than the larger 34-inch model. Given the overall better impression and the virtual absence of any flaws, I would reach for the smaller 27B1U5601 if I had to choose between the pair of Philips business monitors.

English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš

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