If you've been itching to try out a curved-screen monitor, but have limited funds, the Philips Brilliance Full HD Curved LCD Monitor (279X6QJSW) is worth checking out. This 27-inch Multi-Domain Vertical Alignment (MVA) display offers a subtle curvature, pleasing aesthetics, and solid performance, all for $299.99. As with most affordable monitors, it isn't exactly loaded with features, but it does support AMD's FreeSync anti-tearing technology and has a decent selection of video inputs. As such, it's our Editors' Choice for affordable big-screen displays.

Design and Features
The 279X6QJSW's ( at Amazon) panel is treated with a semi-gloss coating that casts a reflection when the lights are bright. It is housed in an attractive glossy-white cabinet with half-inch matte-black bezels and uses a thin, semicircular metal stand that allows you to tilt the panel, but lacks height, swivel, and pivot adjustments. You won't find the usual array of function buttons along the lower bezel; instead, the 279X6QJSW uses a four-way dial located dead center beneath the lower bezel.

The 1,920-by-1,080 display has a 3,000:1 contrast ratio, a 60Hz refresh rate, a 16:9 aspect ratio, a peak brightness of 300 cd/m2, and a 4-millisecond (gray-to-gray) pixel response. The panel has a 4,000R curvature, which means that if you put several of these monitors edge to edge to create a complete circle, the circle's radius would be 4,000mm. The curvature is subtle and not nearly as pronounced as the 1,800R of the Acer Predator Z271 ( at Amazon) , and it supports AMD's FreeSync anti-tearing technology. You don't get any extras with the 279X6QJSW, such as USB ports or speakers, but it does have an HDMI/MHL input, a DisplayPort input, a VGA input, and an audio output, all located around back, facing outward.

Affordable monitors rarely offer advanced picture settings, such as 6-Axis Color adjustments, and the 279X6QJSW is no different. However, it does come with a handful of useful settings, including SmartImage picture presets (Text, Office, Photo, Movie, Game, Economy, and Off) and SmartContrast (which automatically adjusts contrast ratio according to displayed content). You also get Brightness, Contrast, and Gamma settings, a Sharpness setting, Color temperature settings, and an sRGB setting.

Philips Brilliance 279X6QJSW

Philips covers the 279X6QJSW with a three-year warranty on parts, labor, and backlight. Included in the box are DisplayPort, HDMI, and VGA cables, as well as a Quick Start Guide and a resource disc.

Performance
Given its price, the 279X6QJSW delivered surprisingly accurate colors out of the box. As shown on the chromaticity chart below, red, green, and blue colors (represented by the colored dots) are all very closely aligned with their ideal CIE coordinates (represented by the boxes). Colors appeared sharp and evenly saturated while displaying scenes from Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier on Blu-ray, and the picture showed good highlight and shadow detail.

Grayscale performance was also good in our tests. The 279X6QJSW was able to display every shade of gray in the DisplayMate 64-Step Grayscale test. Viewing angles were wide, with no apparent color shifting when viewed the top, bottom, or side.

While not specifically designed for gaming, the 279X6QJSW can easily be pressed into after-hours gameplay. It performed well in our Crysis 3 (PC) and Grand Theft Auto V (Sony PlayStation 4 ($499.00 at Amazon) ) gaming tests with minimal motion blur and only occasional screen tearing in the Crysis 3 test. Enabling FreeSync eliminated any tearing artifacts and helped provide smoother gaming action. The panel's input lag of 10.9 milliseconds, as measured with the Leo Bodnar Video Signal Lag Tester, is short, but not quite as fast as BenQ's XL2430T ($399.99 at Amazon) and SW2700PT ($599.00 at Amazon) , both of which measured 9.5 milliseconds.

See How We Test Monitors

The 279X6QJSW doesn't require a lot of power. It used 24 watts in our tests while set to the standard (Off) picture preset and only 15 watts while set to the Economy preset. In comparison, the Acer XG270HU ($379.48 at Amazon) used 45 watts in Standard mode and 26 watts in ECO mode, while the Dell UltraSharp 27 InfinityEdge Monitor U2717D ($569.99 at Dell) used 27 watts in Standard mode (it doesn't offer an ECO mode).

Conclusion
This monitor doesn't come with a lot of bells and whistles, but it does offer solid performance and an accurate, curved 27-inch screen with FreeSync technology for less than $300. A few more features, such as USB ports or an ergonomic stand would be nice, but then the monitor would not be quite as inexpensive. The Acer H276HL ($354.18 at Amazon) , another top pick, also delivers solid performance at an affordable price, but it doesn't support FreeSync technology, and it lacks a curved screen. As such, the 279X6QJSW replaces it as our Editors' Choice for affordable big-screen monitors.

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• Report: LG and Samsung Are Developing Portable Displays for Phones