Pros & Cons
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- Bargain price
- Roomy 27-inch display
- Ultra-high contrast ratio
- Full sRGB color coverage
- 100Hz refresh rate and adaptive sync
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- Modest resolution and pixel density
- Limited port selection
- Tiny OSD control buttons
- Lacks built-in speakers
Philips 271V8LB Specs
| Adaptive Sync | Yes |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:9 |
| Dimensions (HWD) | 18 by 24.2 by 9.1 inches |
| Native Resolution | 1920 by 1080 |
| Panel Size (Corner-to-Corner) | 27 |
| Pixel Refresh Rate | 100 |
| Rated Contrast Ratio | 4000:1 |
| Rated Screen Luminance | 250 |
| Screen Technology | VA |
| Tilting Stand? | |
| VESA DisplayHDR Level | NA |
| Video Inputs | HDMI |
| Video Inputs | VGA |
| Warranty (Parts/Labor) | 4 |
| Weight | 7.7 |
The 27-inch Philips 271V8LB ($107.99) costs nearly twice as much as its little cousin, the Editors' Choice-winning, 22-inch 221V8LB, but for many users it will be well worth what is still a budget price for the extra screen room it provides. Its modest 1080p resolution, limited ergonomic adjustability, meager port selection, and control buttons instead of the mini joystick we prefer are par for a sub-$200 display. Yet this 27-inch panel packs in a few frills, too, such as a 100Hz refresh rate and AMD FreeSync compatibility. Plus, its image quality is exemplary for its price, with nearly full sRGB color coverage and a sky-high contrast ratio for a budget monitor.
Design: Budget Aesthetic With a Big, Contrast-y Screen
The 271V8LB is equally useful for home-office and entertainment purposes. It can handle any standard personal or business task. The vertical alignment (VA) panel with 100Hz refresh rate and AMD FreeSync compatibility puts it in good stead for casual gaming, and the screen's color coverage and excellent contrast make it good for movie watching. Without built-in speakers, though, the sound will either have to come from your computer or through headphones or powered external speakers connected through the monitor's audio-out jack.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)Display: Best for Office Tasks and Video Watching
Mounted on its stand, the all-black 271V8LB measures 18 by 24.2 by 9.1 inches (HWD) and weighs 7.7 pounds. Its full HD (1,920-by-1,080-pixel) VA screen measures 27 inches diagonally. The one thing you lose in choosing the 271V8LB over the 221V8LB is that, since it has the same resolution as the smaller panel, its pixels are more spread out. A screen with the 271V8LB's specifications has a pixel density of 82 pixels per inch (ppi), about 20ppi lower than the minimum that we would recommend for serious photo editing.
That said, the screen should still be fine for basic photo edits such as cropping, resizing, and global changes to brightness, contrast, and/or saturation. The VA panel helps keep the price down and provides much higher contrast than in-plane switching (IPS) screens can manage.
Stand: Ergonomics Limited to Tilt Control
The base and stand are plastic. Although they don't feel particularly strong, they hold the panel reasonably steady. Assembly needs no tools; the shaft snaps into place onto the back of the chassis, and the base rotates into the bottom of the shaft until it catches. You can separate the components by pressing a pair of latches.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)The 227V8LB has a basic stand with limited ergonomic features, providing only tilt adjustment (up to 5 degrees toward you or 20 degrees away). I would have liked the screen's cabinet to be mounted slightly higher on the stand. The 271V8LB has a square array of holes set 100mm apart to fit a VESA mount for arm or wall mounting.
Ports: Standard Budget Fare
Port selection for the 227V8LB is typical for a budget monitor, consisting of one HDMI and one VGA port. This ensures compatibility with the vast majority of desktop and laptop computers sold over the past couple of decades; many models from the early 2000s are limited to VGA connectivity. Some recent budget monitors also include a USB-C port, but even without one, you can connect via USB-C by using a third-party USB-C-to-HDMI adapter. You'll also find a jack for headphones or powered speakers to output audio received from the computer over an HDMI connection.
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(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)The ports all face downward, but can be accessed by tilting the panel or setting it face down on your desk. You navigate the on-screen display (OSD) with a row of tiny control buttons on the bottom-right bezel—although we prefer the mini-joystick controllers found on many current monitors, most budget displays eschew them in the interests of cost saving.
Philips offers one of the best monitor warranties in the business—four years, while most other manufacturers cover their displays for three years at most. To the company's credit, it doesn't skimp on this even with budget products like the 271V8LB.
Performance Testing: Good Contrast, Color Coverage for a Budget Panel
I tested luminance, contrast ratio, and color coverage using our standard test gear: a Klein K-10A colorimeter, a Murideo 8K SixG signal generator, and Portrait Displays' Calman Ultimate for Business calibration software. Philips rates the 271V8LB's brightness at up to 250 nits (candelas per square meter); I measured it at 230 nits, a little off its rating but still fine for use in a room without an excess of ambient light.
In our color testing, the 271V8LB covered nearly the full sRGB color space, tallying 97.9% (see the chromaticity chart below), which is better than we expect for a monitor at its price.
(Credit: Calman)According to Philips, the 271V8LB has a typical contrast ratio of 4,000:1, which is as high a contrast ratio rating we have seen on anything short of an OLED panel. (And you won't find an OLED panel for anything close to this price.) Although it fell well short of its rating, the 3,314:1 ratio it tallied in our testing is still an impressive figure for a monitor of its price.
In viewing our usual suite of test photos and video clips with the 271V8LB, images looked reasonably bright and colors seemed true. Detail was well seen in both bright and dark areas.