Philips Reveals 346B1C 34-Inch 100 Hz Curved UltraWide Monitor with USB-C Docking
by Anton Shilov on October 17, 2019 9:00 AM ESTPhilips has introduced its new 346B1C ultrawide curved monitor, which is designed for business and professional users looking for a large display offering USB Type-C docking. The Philips 346B1 is one of the industry’s first productivity-focused curved displays that features a 21:9 aspect ratio, as well as a 100 Hz maximum refresh rate, a built-in Gigabit Ethernet, and even VESA Adaptive Sync (i.e. Freesync).
The Philips 346B1C is powered by a 34-inch VA panel with a 3440×1440 resolution, 300 nits brightness, a 3000:1 contrast ratio, a 5 ms GtG response time, a 100 Hz maximum refresh rate, and 178°/178° viewing angles. While the LCD was designed primarily with productivity applications in mind and can display 16.7 million colors, it does cover 119% of the sRGB, 90% of the Adobe RGB, as well as 100% of the NTSC color spaces. Furthermore, the monitor is factory calibrated with a Delta <2 accuracy for the sRGB gamut.
One of the main selling features of the Philips 346B1C is its connectivity. The monitor has one DisplayPort 1.2 input, one HDMI 2.0 port, and one USB 3.2 Type-C input. The latters supports up to 90 W Power Delivery, making it suitable for powering even higher-end 15-inch notebooks. In addition, the monitor offers a built-in Gigabit Ethernet port, a quad-port USB 3.2 hub, and a headphone output. Last but not least, the display has an integrated KVM switch that enables to control two PCs using one display, one mouse, and one keyboard. One thing to note is that when the LCD uses a USB-C connection, it can only support 3440×1440 @ 100 Hz when the upstream USB connection feeding the USB hub is set to 2.0, presumably as the full bandwidth mode requires all 4 high-speed lanes from the USB-C connection.
Traditionally for productivity monitors, the Philips 346B1C comes with a stand that can adjust height, tilt, and swivel. Furthermore, it has VESA mount holes.
Philips's Curved Display with USB-C Dock & KVM | |
346B1C | |
Panel | 34" VA |
Native Resolution | 3440 × 1440 |
Brightness | 300 cd/m² |
Contrast | 3000:1 |
Maximum Refresh Rate | 100 Hz |
Response Time | 5 ms GtG |
Viewing Angles | 178°/178° horizontal/vertical |
Curvature | 1500R |
Pixel Pitch | 0.233 mm |
Pixel Density | 110 ppi |
Anti-Glare Coating | Anti-Glare, 2H, Haze 25% |
Inputs | 1 × DisplayPort 1.2 1 × HDMI 2.0 1 ×USB Type-C (with up to 90W PD) |
USB Hub | 4-port USB 3.0 hub |
Stand | Height: +/- ? mm Tilt: -? to +?° Swivel: 180° |
Audio | headphone output |
GbE | integrated |
KVM | integrated |
Launch Price | UK: £539 |
The Philips 346B1C will be available next month. In the UK, the product will cost £539, so expect MSRP in the USA at a sub-$600 level.
Related Reading:
- HP’s E344c: A 34-Inch Curved Ultra-Wide Productivity Monitor
- Philips Brilliance 329P9H: A 4K IPS Monitor with USB-C Dock, GbE
- Philips Brilliance 499P9H Ultra-Wide 49-Inch Monitor Now Available
- Philips 328P6VU Professional 4K Display: DisplayHDR 600, USB-C, GbE
- Philips Unveils 43-Inch 4K Gaming LCD with DisplayHDR 1000, DCI-P3, FreeSync
Source: Philips
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Valantar - Friday, October 18, 2019 - link
You're misreading the intended market segment for this monitor. With its size and featureset it is an impressive value at its rated MSRP.cygnus1 - Friday, October 18, 2019 - link
definitely DOA, it's all about the price. Very few need TB3 or HDR. HDMI is backwards compatible, so 2.1 is not needed at all when bandwidth isn't an issue, which it's not here.cygnus1 - Friday, October 18, 2019 - link
*definitely NOTaustinsguitar - Thursday, October 17, 2019 - link
seems like a good product. not super big and a good resolution and frame rate. price is reasonable. might sell a lot of these. good job philips.fist003 - Thursday, October 17, 2019 - link
sorry but what is the use for GE port in a monitor...?GreenReaper - Thursday, October 17, 2019 - link
You plug your laptop into your monitor via USB-C and the monitor into the wall via Ethernet, and you have an Ethernet connection. It's a Realtek USB Ethernet Network Adapter. Here's the manual:https://www.download.p4c.philips.com/files/3/346b1...
GreenReaper - Thursday, October 17, 2019 - link
Most likely, it's an RTL8153. You can get the chip for $5 so it makes sense as a value-add:https://www.realtek.com/en/products/communications...
cygnus1 - Friday, October 18, 2019 - link
The same reason the USB C connection provides power to whatever you plug into the monitor. It's a laptop dock builtin to the monitor. You plug one cable into your laptop and you get all your desktop connections including charging the laptop.Slash3 - Friday, October 18, 2019 - link
This just looks like a really well rounded display with some smart features and a pretty solid price, too.I looked it up on Amazon and it also states "Philips Monitors come with 4-year advance replacement warranty in the United States, minimizing downtime" in the description. Not sure on the dead pixel policy, but four years is pretty damn solid.
Well done, Philips.
Valantar - Friday, October 18, 2019 - link
Agreed, this just made the top of my monitor wish list. Not the "best" on that list, but by far the best price/featureset, and it checks _a lot_ of my desired boxes. Too bad there's no HDR, but that's about it. Could also do with more ports, but I have a couple of HDMI switches lying around, so no worries there. The KVM switch is a brilliant addition, as is powered type-C docking coupled with FreeSync - not many monitors have that. Strikes a (seemingly) perfect balance between productivity and gaming use. I'll still need to see some reviews to see if it's actually any good (cheap VA panels are known for artifacting, and overdrive controls are important for high refresh rates), but I'm hopeful.