UP3216Q, brightness, uniformity issues

Question

Hello everyone (especially Dell team)!

To summarize, I have bought UP3216Q for ~1000 EUR, warranty November 9, 2020 to November 10, 2025. For me, it turned to be worse in some important (undocumented) aspects, when compared to my 10-year-old, dying 300 EUR monitor.

To give some context for my problem, I need to tell you the full story, so please bear with me.

I'm a visually handicapped 40 years old man. I've been studying and working as a programmer for 20 years already. Because of my vision issues, it has always been difficult to find myself a good LCD monitor. I don't care that much about perfect color quality and dead pixels, but I really need good image brightness uniformity without any haze nor TN-like brightness shifts because I usually use monitors at a closer-than-normal distance and thus I notice all brightness uniformity deficiencies. They can become very distracting and tiring for my peripheral vision.

My first displays were good quality CRTs. When they broke down, I tried to find a TN replacement. I went through 2 exchanges in my local shop to find a model that I could live with and not experience any discomfort. Fortunately, 17" TNs have always been cheap and there were many models to choose from. Of course, it had all the characteristic TN problems, but still, the image was very uniform without any clouding on whites and blacks.

Ten years ago I went for an upgrade and was lucky enough to immediately find a 23" semi-professional (as marketed by the manufacturer) IPS model that felt almost perfect to my eyes. No clouding, no uniformity issues, no haze at sharp angles. It had the infamous IPS glow but it was acceptable. It still had CCFL backlight, not LED. The price was about 300 EUR. I won't mention the name publicly so that it doesn't feel like an advertisement. But I can disclose that the panel used was LG LM230WF2-SLB1. Sometime later this company released an updated LED model with panel LG LM230WF3-SLB1, but people who tested both of them told that the old one with LM230WF2-SLB1 had much better uniformity and angular brightness stability. So, could it be that the haze is created by something specific to LED backlight polarizing layer? If only I knew an LCD engineer...

From reputable testing websites that display did not get particularly high scores for color accuracy but for my eyes it was the best I've seen just because reading it felt very much like reading a sheet of paper - no tired eyes, no distracting shadows. It did not have a flicker-free backlight; however, I did not feel any discomfort.

Last month my trusty old monitor started showing signs of death. Now it needs almost an hour to fully turn on. Very characteristic sign for burnt CCFLs and/or leaking capacitors.

So, I wanted to get a replacement ASAP, and also I wanted to have an upgrade to 32". I scouted my local shops for something semi-professional with the hope that it should be at least as good as my old one. I live in a small town and local shops don't have such expensive models immediately available. Dell UP3216Q was the only one 32" semi-professional display they could deliver from their warehouse. The price was 1140 EUR. For that price, I expected an upgrade in every way possible over my 10-year-old 300 EUR worth display.

I got my new display and put it side by side with my old one. And I was so disappointed about some things:

1) IPS glow was much more noticeable even when I adjusted the display to minimal brightness. Maybe the old one has lower minimum brightness setting and that's why I cannot turn the brightness as low as to match the old display (see the attached image at the end of the post, marked both displays with red, you barely can see the old one). In real-world, the difference is not that large, but it is still noticeable. Ok, I can live with that IPS glow, although still disappointing.

2) backlight uniformity on white is not good at all. There's some weird greyish chunk at the bottom part of the screen (see the attached image at the end of the post, look at the mid-left side on the bottom, I marked the problematic area with a red line). It was shot with Uniformity compensation feature enabled, but it did not help to get rid of that grey chunk.

3) in general, UP3216Q doesn't feel as easy on my eyes when compared to the old one. I can notice some of that "IPS haze" that is present on many modern IPS panels. It did not exist on my old display. Not sure why - if it's because of some coating or polarizer or specific to LED backlight. I won't explain much here, it would be very technical, I have already asked for help on other forums about this issue. Many people have noticed it but accepted as "IPS deficiency", but my experience shows that not every IPS panel has this problem. I still have 12 days left to return my UP3216Q but I have no trust that I will get something better on my next try. I have seen people going through replacements multiple times just to get something without annoying backlight bleeding. I'm living in a small town and all this replacement process is complicated and expensive for me because of my poor vision (have no car, need to pay someone to drive me and the monitor back and forth).

I wish there was some service that inspects the specific monitor for you and sends you some video tests and images and picks one of the best units for you. People who work at a normal distance would not suffer from the issues that are so distracting for me. I would be gladly willing to pay more if I knew that I will get what I need at the first attempt.

My monitor is my work instrument and I really want to continue earning money. I'm following the latest tech news and the best option would be microLED but it will take many years for microLEDs to reach the computer display market.

I'm not sure why I wrote this. Maybe I'm just disappointed with the progress of modern tech. One step forward to 4K large displays and color depth and two steps back regarding backlight uniformity.
Please, Dell, introduce backlight uniformity calibration in your quality control routines - I would gladly pay more for backlight quality, instead of color depth and other professional features.

If Dell can replace my UP3216Q display with something that for sure has uniform whites and no brightness haze, then I would really appreciate this. I would even agree to have a smaller display if only it was as close as possible to the uniformity of my old one. Do you have any display that is as close as possible to LG LM230WF2-SLB1 panel but larger? Is U2721DE any better?

Anyway, thank you for reading this text. Have great holidays and merry Christmas!

Image of IPS glow at minimum brightness for both old display and UP3216Q:

White uniformity issues with compensation enabled:

DELL-Chris M · Accepted Answer

* Go back to the top of the Monitors Forum
* Open the sticky, "FAQ Monitor"
* Open, "Backlight or Color/Tint Uniformity policy"

First, Dell does not test/validate our monitors in a full dark room. Second, both pictures provided show that this UP3216Q passes our manufacturer specifications for overall uniformity. Third, Dell would never issue an exchange for a different monitor model unless your model was no longer available.

martinerous · Answer

More info added after some private messaging (it was a bit confusing, I'm not sure what came from a person and what from an automated robot):

Yes, I'm aware that my unit is within the manufacturer's specification and that there is no point in testing in a totally black room. The problem is that it still turned out to be worse than my old monitor and I have no idea how to find a suitable replacement.

My old monitor clearly was not something magical from another universe. It was just a usual 300 EUR IPS monitor and I have no idea how can it be so that after 10 years manufacturers are not being able to produce something like that but a bit larger (27' instead of 23"), even not for a 1000 EUR.

How much should I pay now to get that backlight quality I'm so used to on my old monitor? Just tell me the price and the model and I'll buy it, if only someone can prove that it's better than UP3216Q and as least as good as my old monitor.

I feel totally helpless here. I've contacted multiple manufacturers and none of them was able to provide me with recorded videos of their monitors displaying white background and filmed at different angles. It would take them a few minutes to create such a video. I would even agree to pay for that. It would save me months of unpacking, testing, packing, returning, waiting for the money to return, and also getting blacklisted by some stores for doing too many returns. Alas, it seems the next year will be busy and nervous for me. More because of the monitor than COVID-19.

martinerous · Answer

One more update.

I searched nearby online stores and unfortunately, none of them has any (semi)professional 27" - 32" monitors available sooner than 12 days, especially considering the pandemic situation. It means I won't be able to return my UP3216Q to the seller during the remaining return window of 12 days because then I will have no reliable monitor to work on in January.

My old monitor works intermittently and while I suspect what the problem is (the symptoms are typical for leaked capacitors or a burnt-out CCFL tube) and I might be able to repair it myself (I have some soldering skills), I won't be able to do it in the next 12 days.

So, there seem to be three possible outcomes to the situation:

1) The most likely scenario: just accept the fact that most new displays are worse than the old ones, even despite their larger size and price. While discussing with people on different forums and looking at a few monitors myself, it seems that some quality was lost during the transition from CCFL to LED. It would be great to find some experienced LCD engineer to verify this.

Considering I'm legally blind and have to use my display at 25cm distance (ok, hopefully, I'll be able to use my new display at a larger distance) at a non-native resolution, getting used to UP3216Q will take time, and very likely, my eyes still will feel more tired than on the old monitor because of that cloudiness and some IPS haze on white background.

2) Someone from Dell steps in and prolongs my return window so that I have some more time to find a decent replacement for UP3216Q. However, it is highly unlikely because customer support is limited to their procedures and there are no procedures for such a request (even if I plead on my knees and agree to pay for it).

3) Someone from Dell steps in and helps me to find a decent replacement for UP3216Q from current Dell models. Dell would win from this because I would return my UP3216Q to them and agree to receive a smaller, cheaper model if only its backlight quality and IPS haze characteristics are close to my old monitor. Yes, you heard it right - I agree to give my 1000 EUR display back to Dell and receive back a ~300 - 500 EUR model if it has better backlight quality (and it is possible because my old one was 300 EUR). However, again it is highly unlikely there are no procedures for such a request.

Some rant follows.

I as a programmer have experience working in small projects and in large corporate projects. For this reason, I empathize with Dell customer support because I know how it sometimes feels when you want to help a customer with some special request but are limited by strict procedures that do not give you any means and tools to deal with special situations. And also, I know how it feels when you are given some freedom and can actually make things happen and see your customer with a happy smile. It motivates me even more than a salary. For this reason alone, I avoid working for larger companies, which in turn means that my salary is lower (so, 1000 EUR for a monitor is a six month worth of my savings) but there are more cases when I'm allowed to deal with customers more directly and register, develop and deliver their requested features and bugfixes. Yeah, that makes me naive and uncompetitive because I won't make a career that way. Still, I value exchanging happiness more.

And in some rare cases, I have seen some large companies being able to step forward and do something that is technically possible, ethically acceptable, and financially beneficial to them, even if is outside of normal procedures.

In this case, it is technically possible to ask Dell engineers for help to find a model and unit that has some specific characteristics that are close to some other known LCD panel. It is financially beneficial to Dell because I agree to return my more expensive display and receive a cheaper one, if it happens to match my needs. I would not ask for this if I was not visually handicapped. In my case, normal manufacturer specifications do not apply because I'm unable to use the monitor as it normally should be used.

So I remain on my knees (virtually) pleading for help.

martinerous · Answer

Again to summarise some ideas from private messaging.

I'll try to find a monitor to loan while I return this one to the seller (I have still some days left). Anyway, I don't blame Dell support, I know their hands are tied by the company rules and tools that are available to them.

Just some information for raising awareness.

I've been following issues for display quality and people with special vision needs on many online forums for many years, communicating with people both with normal vision and handicapped. In Russian technology forums the topic "Monitors for sensitive eyes" is ongoing for many years and gets bumped up again and again almost every day. Some people are sensitive to PWM flickering (I'm not), some are sensitive to VCOM flickering, which again is not documented and not regulated by any industry standards (I'm somewhat sensitive to VCOM flicker), some are sensitive to IPS angular brightness shifts (I am) and some people just cannot work with any LED-backlit screen for yet unknown reasons and have to stick to a CCFL-backlit one (almost not available anymore).

It's not a widespread issue, so manufacturers don't care about these less than 1% of affected people. In the end, most of the "sensitive people" find something that works for them, although that requires multiple returns and dealing with angry sellers who, rightfully, don't like so many returns from a person.

Technically, it is very often possible to find a display with a panel that matches some specific, even undocumented characteristics and works for the person in question; especially if such a panel was already known from experience with some previous LCD screen that worked for the person in question.

Still, it would be nice if manufacturers had some procedures in place to help such sensitive people (especially the ones who can provide some document to prove their eye health status) to find a monitor that works for them. We have ramps for wheelchairs and audio signals for blind people - why not have some kind of a "monitor testing program" for people with vision issues?

However, less than 1% is not enough to have any impact. Our modern economy is not exactly demand-driven - actually, it is the demand of *majority* only that drives supply. The minority who demands higher quality with fewer features won't ever be satisfied because that is not a profitable practice in the modern economy.

It's at least good to see manufacturers phasing out PWM based backlight controls and using flicker-free solutions instead. Who knows, maybe technologies and industry standards will change with time so that any professional series display will be also good enough for people with vision issues. We'll see what the upcoming microLED technology will bring - it might be a game-changer for all.

Happy New Year to everyone! Choose your monitor wisely! Sometimes a cheaper one might turn out to be better quality than a more expensive one, so don't give up, try again! That's what I will do in January.

martinerous · Answer

And one more update.

A friend recently showed me his Dell S2721DGF. It has clean uniform whites without any patches, and also no darkening at different viewing angles. His model costs about 400 EUR.

So, Dell should really increase their quality control for their UP series. It's not normal that a UP display for 1000 EUR is worse in at least 2 aspects when compared to a 400 EUR display, especially considering they both are produced by Dell. Does this mean Dell's Gaming display team has higher "industry standards" than PremiumColor display team? Something's not quite right here.

yumichan · Answer

That S27-is smaller-uses a WLED PFS backlight limited to P3 (UP gamut is bigger in green to cover AdobeRGB)-uniformity issues chances increase will size and bigger gamuts. QC applied to U3216Q will result in NEC PA / Eizo CG 32' UHD versions, starting at 2500 euro to 4500 euro.If you need of a widegamut monitor and at the same time you need to risk low cost monitors due to limited budget (and UP3216Q is a LOW COST widegamut) you may want to try UP series. Otherwise DO NOT BUY A WIDEGAMUT, buy a 'sRGB only' display.Those sRGB only models are:-Current U or P models in Dell (but maybe some models are P3 like S2721)-EV in Eizo-EA in NEC-PD in Benq... and so on. This sumarizes on you buying a LOW COST widegamut believing that you bought a expensive high QC 'common monitor' because teh price... but that is not true.-32' UHD 60Hz with a backlight capable of AdobeRGB at 1000 or 1800 euro or US dollar is LOW COST display.-32' UHD 60Hz with sRGB only backlight at 1000 euro is usually high end.

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UP3216Q, brightness, uniformity issues

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