{"id":185200,"date":"2025-09-27T11:37:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T11:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/185200\/"},"modified":"2025-09-27T11:37:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T11:37:09","slug":"i-think-i-need-a-long-break-from-super-ultrawide-monitors-and-the-philips-evnia-qd-oled-proves-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/185200\/","title":{"rendered":"I think I need a long break from super ultrawide monitors \u2013 and the Philips Evnia QD-OLED proves why"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"6aeaed08-c234-4782-89ae-9be2bc88322a\">I&#8217;ve long been a big fan of ultrawide displays, and QD-<a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/tag\/oled\" data-auto-tag-linker=\"true\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/tag\/oled\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">OLED<\/a> display tech has taken them to new heights and into the ranks of the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/news\/best-gaming-monitor\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/news\/best-gaming-monitor\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">best gaming monitors<\/a>. With inky deep black levels, fast refresh rates, and a widened perspective, they&#8217;re hard to beat.<\/p>\n<p>Super-ultrawide displays take things up a notch with an expansive 32:9 aspect ratio \u2013 and the Philips Evnia QD-OLED 49M2C8900 is one such example. I&#8217;ve been using this 5120&#215;1440 OLED for a while, and it provides exceptional image quality across games and movies.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\" href=\"\" data-url=\"\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"6aeaed08-c234-4782-89ae-9be2bc88322a-2\">Impressive though it is, however, I&#8217;ve now reached a point where I&#8217;m casting wistful looks at the standard ultrawide in the corner of my room. Super-ultrawide monitors may be the epitome of immersive PC gaming for some, but I&#8217;m done with them for a while.<\/p>\n<p>You may like<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-d9e851e6-6065-40f6-af0b-6b8fb6b5f79a\" href=\"\" data-url=\"\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\"\/>The light-not-so-fantastic<\/p>\n<p>Image 1 of 2<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/MwCVn8aDdJKnhKnQsVBKTU.jpg\" alt=\"Wallpaper Engine running on desktop screen\"   class=\"image-wrapped__image image__image\" loading=\"lazy\" data-normal=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/MwCVn8aDdJKnhKnQsVBKTU.jpg\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/MwCVn8aDdJKnhKnQsVBKTU.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/MwCVn8aDdJKnhKnQsVBKTU.jpg\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" data-slice-image=\"true\"\/>(Image credit: Future \/ Isaiah Williams)<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/K5JkPANDSdFPmkDcgwi4kY.jpg\" alt=\"RGB lighting behind Philips Evnia QD-OLED super ultrawide\"   class=\"image-wrapped__image image__image\" loading=\"lazy\" data-normal=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/K5JkPANDSdFPmkDcgwi4kY.jpg\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/K5JkPANDSdFPmkDcgwi4kY.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/K5JkPANDSdFPmkDcgwi4kY.jpg\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" data-slice-image=\"true\"\/>(Image credit: Future \/ Isaiah Williams)<\/p>\n<p id=\"b8529111-b262-4df1-861e-76033d153b16\">One of the most intriguing features of the 49M2C8900 super-ultrawide is its Ambilight RGB feature.<\/p>\n<p>This works in much the same way as Philips&#8217; excellent Ambilight TVs do, casting patterns of light on to the wall behind the screen to match what&#8217;s happening on it and further increasing the sense of immersion.<\/p>\n<p>As with other Ambilight Evnia monitors, the 49M2C8900 has several Ambilight modes to choose from, including &#8216;Follow Audio&#8217; and &#8216;Follow Video&#8217;. The latter does a good job at capturing colors on screen accurately, and playing intense, fast-paced action titles such as <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/gaming\/split-fiction-review\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/gaming\/split-fiction-review\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Split Fiction<\/a> while using it was mind-blowing at times.<\/p>\n<p>However, in my experience, and on this model at least, this version of Ambilight can also be very inconsistent, with cases of random colors flashing on the rear even when there was a static image on screen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.<\/p>\n<p>I also found the 49-inch screen size to be a drawback for Ambilight. The screen is simply too wide and takes up such a significant amount of space on my desk that it&#8217;s hard to even notice the color shifts happening (even without my second monitor mounted on top).<\/p>\n<p>I could also use that as a positive for the actual screen itself, as its brightness (when it&#8217;s not dimming every few minutes, which I&#8217;ll get into) was enough to make me forget the RGB lights were on \u2013 but then I could equally say that the RGB lights need to be brighter, too.<\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/5K8yCEEjYsh2Yzhyv7F6te.jpg\" alt=\"Side image of Philips Evnia monitor\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/5K8yCEEjYsh2Yzhyv7F6te.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/5K8yCEEjYsh2Yzhyv7F6te.jpg\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p>(Image credit: Future \/ Isaiah Williams)<\/p>\n<p id=\"a41afd21-bdb1-48fe-9133-afce9ba9b0ab\">I&#8217;ve also found the OLED Auto Brightness Limiter (ABL) to be a problem. There&#8217;s a good reason for this feature to exist in OLED displays \u2013 namely, to help prevent them from overheating and burn-in, with the latter in particular being a big potential drawback to the display tech.<\/p>\n<p>You may like<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, the aggressive ABL on the Philips Evnia QD-OLED 49M2C8900 goes a bit too far: it kicks in regularly while gaming, and particularly when a large portion of the display gets bright.<\/p>\n<p>This can easily pull you out of your immersion; <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/reviews\/cyberpunk-2077\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/reviews\/cyberpunk-2077\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cyberpunk 2077<\/a> is one of the best games to play when using <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/tag\/hdr\" data-auto-tag-linker=\"true\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/tag\/hdr\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">HDR<\/a>, thanks to the ray tracing tech available, but while I was able to enjoy the usual great contrast and colors an OLED screen provides, the constant brightness dimming proved distracting.<\/p>\n<p>With my Alienware AW3423DWF, the same ABL disturbances occur, but only when using the HDR 1000 mode. That isn&#8217;t the case with this Philips Evnia display, as it dims in both SDR and HDR.<\/p>\n<p>It was also an issue with the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/computing\/gaming-components\/ive-spent-250-hours-in-the-resident-evil-4-remake-using-an-rtx-3080-ti-the-upgrade-to-an-rtx-4080-super-and-asus-49-inch-oled-ultrawide-is-worthwhile\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/computing\/gaming-components\/ive-spent-250-hours-in-the-resident-evil-4-remake-using-an-rtx-3080-ti-the-upgrade-to-an-rtx-4080-super-and-asus-49-inch-oled-ultrawide-is-worthwhile\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Asus 49-inch QD-OLED super ultrawide<\/a> I tested, albeit it wasn&#8217;t this bad or noticeable, so I&#8217;m not sure if there&#8217;s a pattern with super ultrawides or if I just have the worst luck.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-7efb060a-9fe1-483c-9dd9-eaa0ed091046\" href=\"\" data-url=\"\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\"\/>More is less<\/p>\n<p id=\"e885f708-7ab7-40a9-a7cf-528910a51c33\">Don&#8217;t get me wrong, this Evnia monitor is fantastic in many ways and can give you the extra edge in both single-player and multiplayer titles, if you&#8217;ve got the hardware capable of playing at the 5120&#215;1440 resolution. But whether it&#8217;s super-ultrawide fatigue on my part or just issues with the models I&#8217;ve tried, these behemoths are just not doing it for me right now.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s partly a space issue: they leave so little behind for other devices or components. With my 34-inch Alienware QD-OLED ultrawide I can still fit my laptop, Lian Li desktop PC large case, and speakers on my desk, but the 49-inch Evnia display leaves little to no room at all.<\/p>\n<p>And then there&#8217;s the price \u2013 the Phillips model launched at $1,500 \/ \u00a31,650, and though it&#8217;s now dropped a fair bit, if you can find it, there are better options in our <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/news\/computing-components\/peripherals\/best-monitor-9-reviewed-and-rated-1058662\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/news\/computing-components\/peripherals\/best-monitor-9-reviewed-and-rated-1058662\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">best monitors<\/a> guide for less.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, I&#8217;ll stick with a standard ultrawide display for now \u2013 after all, you can have too much of a good thing.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-you-might-also-like\" href=\"\" data-url=\"\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\"\/>You might also like&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I&#8217;ve long been a big fan of ultrawide displays, and QD-OLED display tech has taken them to new&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":185201,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[191,74],"class_list":{"0":"post-185200","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-computing","8":"tag-computing","9":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185200\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/185201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}