Asus ProArt Display PA32UCR-K

[Patchwork]

I’ve just been reading about a new monitor from Asus, the ProArt Display PA32UCR-K (where do they get these names?). It is a 4K 32 inch display but uses mini-LEDs with 576 zones giving a peak brightness of 1000 nits. It also has 99.5% coverage of Adobe RGB and 98% DCI-P3, 100% Rec.709 and 100% sRGB colour space coverage, so sounds promising for content creation. It has 80w power delivery and at least in the UK seems to come with an X-rite i1 Display Pro. The most surprising thing is the price, with this being listed at £1,200 in th UK - for compassion the Dell U3223QE is about £900 and the Apple Studio Display starts at £1,499. Unfortunately no detailed reviews yet, though as it isn’t out until mid-May, that might explain it.

 

[DarkPremiumCho]

I guess the ProArt Display part is inspired by the Pro Display Ex Dee "Art"?

The PA32UCR-K part looks like how pharmaceutical companies code-naming their molecules, at least to me.

 

[mmanuel]

I am surprised by your message, this model was released 1 year ago, so it is already available for sale.
Maybe it's because many articles compare a new ProArt OLED model with the "old" PA32UCR-K, but it's only the OLED model that is new.
I spent a lot of time looking for a monitor and I chose this one.
I plan to buy it as soon as the next Mac Studio is released.
For the strange reference, I can only tell you that the "-K" corresponds to the version sold with the calibration probe.
After some research, I found some tests, the most complete ones are in Spanish and Hungarian (use an automatic translation module), see the links below.
The most important thing to remember (and which is never mentioned in the specifications) is the uniformity of the luminosity and the white point, in the test below the result is rather good!

If you decide to buy it soon, don't hesitate to give your opinion here ! Thanks


https://www.profesionalreview.com/2022/10/25/asus-proart-display-pa32ucr-review/

https://oaziscomputer.hu/teszt/180/asus-proart-pa32ucr-k-teszt

 

[-griffy-]

I guess the ProArt Display part is inspired by the Pro Display Ex Dee "Art"?

The PA32UCR-K part looks like how pharmaceutical companies code-naming their molecules, at least to me.

Pretty sure ASUS was using the ProArt name for years before the Pro Display XDR was released.

 

[elbateria]

Hi there.

I bought this monitor a few days ago and I've been testing it hard. In SDR this monitor is pretty good, 99.5% Adobe RGB and around 94% DCI-P3 Delta <1 (around 0,5). The only problem is Asus Proart Calibration software: it's a scam. It doesn't work and it crashes in Windows 11, Ventura and Sonoma. You can callibrate it using i1Display profiler and get good results, but you can't use the main highligh of this monitor and the reason you pay 1300€: internal calibration and color space swaps via hardware.

Besides, HDR modes are unusable in production. You can use it to play games or watch movies, but miniled backlight and local dimming are so terrible that you can just follow the trace of your mouse clearly across the screen. Uniformity drifts apart when you put dynamic dimming on, and activate uniformity compensation also kills contrast.

So, if you're happy having a 1300€ monitor with non usable HDR, subpar contrast and broken hardware calibration but great Adobe RGB coverage, Delta <1 and quite good brightness (overkill for SDR and not enough for HDR), this PA32UCR-K could be the one.

PS: X-Rite just ceased supporting i1 Display hardware, last week they launched their last update. And you can't swap to Calibrite (the new brand for X-Rite stuff) with this asus licensed X-Rite sensor, so your sensor just became vintage stuff and it probably won't work next year when you get a new macOS.

PS2: I'll probably send it back to Amazon. I'm not happy because it could be a terrific piece of hardware, but Asus support is always so disappointing...

Regards.

 

[mmanuel]

Hi there.

I bought this monitor a few days ago and I've been testing it hard. In SDR this monitor is pretty good, 99.5% Adobe RGB and around 94% DCI-P3 Delta <1 (around 0,5). The only problem is Asus Proart Calibration software: it's a scam. It doesn't work and it crashes in Windows 11, Ventura and Sonoma. You can callibrate it using i1Display profiler and get good results, but you can't use the main highligh of this monitor and the reason you pay 1300€: internal calibration and color space swaps via hardware.

Besides, HDR modes are unusable in production. You can use it to play games or watch movies, but miniled backlight and local dimming are so terrible that you can just follow the trace of your mouse clearly across the screen. Uniformity drifts apart when you put dynamic dimming on, and activate uniformity compensation also kills contrast.

So, if you're happy having a 1300€ monitor with non usable HDR, subpar contrast and broken hardware calibration but great Adobe RGB coverage, Delta <1 and quite good brightness (overkill for SDR and not enough for HDR), this PA32UCR-K could be the one.

PS: X-Rite just ceased supporting i1 Display hardware, last week they launched their last update. And you can't swap to Calibrite (the new brand for X-Rite stuff) with this asus licensed X-Rite sensor, so your sensor just became vintage stuff and it probably won't work next year when you get a new macOS.

PS2: I'll probably send it back to Amazon. I'm not happy because it could be a terrific piece of hardware, but Asus support is always so disappointing...

Regards.

Hello,

Thank you for your feedback.
I was very hesitant about this monitor, but after a lot of research I gave up for a number of reasons, including the ones you mention.

I chose the Benq SW321C, which costs 2000 euros but if you can reclaim the VAT it comes to 1600 euros.
I don't regret my purchase at all, it's exactly what I wanted both in theory and in practice.
This monitor also has HDR, but that's not why I bought it.
The next best thing is the EIZO at 3500 euros.
The Asus is too mediocre
This Benq really is the best value for money. It's an ideal model for photography or graphic arts (which is my case), if you're interested in video and HDR it might not be the best choice, although I've seen youtubers (professional videographers) recommending it and using it

 

[elbateria]

HDR is not currently my business but the only way to go for HDR color grading is OLED, miniled is just a very expensive patch. Now the best film houses are working with LG OLED TVs and in the next years payable OLED monitors will show up. I just want a reliable SDR monitor for the next 5 years and then I will buy an OLED.

Regards.

 

[mmanuel]

HDR is not currently my business but the only way to go for HDR color grading is OLED, miniled is just a very expensive patch. Now the best film houses are working with LG OLED TVs and in the next years payable OLED monitors will show up. I just want a reliable SDR monitor for the next 5 years and then I will buy an OLED.

Regards.

The Benq is really reliable, but it's true that the budget is a bit higher.
I advise you to visit a website with many very detailed monitor tests (brightness uniformity and colour temperature tests, etc).
I can't post links here (I got banned last night), I don't post much here and I'm not allowed to post links.
I'll let you reconstruct the web link: guide-gestion-des-couleurs
and add dot com
The site is in French, use a translation module.
If you click on "Plan du site" at the bottom of the site, you'll get a complete list of the monitors tested.

Good research

 

[dangros]

HDR is not currently my business but the only way to go for HDR color grading is OLED, miniled is just a very expensive patch. Now the best film houses are working with LG OLED TVs and in the next years payable OLED monitors will show up. I just want a reliable SDR monitor for the next 5 years and then I will buy an OLED.

Regards.

Your review saved me thanks!!
So what are you going to get?

 

[elbateria]

I don't know. Most probably, DELL U3223QE. Similar color accuracy and it doubles Asus contrast, a very nice feature for video editing.

Dell U3223QE Review

The Dell U3223QE is a 32-inch, 4k office monitor. Part of Dell's UltraSharp lineup, it sits alongside the Dell U2723QE and has a lot of features and connectivity...

www.rtings.com

Buy a LG 42" OLED C3 is also a good option, but I'm afraid of OLED burning, screen reflections and some issues you get when using a TV as a monitor.