The 4 Best Multimedia Monitors - Spring 2024 Reviews

The best monitor for movies we've tested is the Dell Alienware AW3225QF. It has a QD-OLED panel, which is what some high-end TVs use; this combines perfect black levels with a wide range of vivid and bright colors, making it ideal for watching content in dark rooms. It also makes small highlights pop against the rest of the image, which is great for watching HDR colors. It's best to buy it directly through Dell's website.

Its high 4k resolution lets you watch your favorite content with a ton of detail, and the 32-inch screen is big enough for an immersive viewing experience. It's also a great choice for watching content with a friend next to you because it has wide viewing angles and decent ergonomics that let you adjust the screen. One downside is that its picture quality is worse in bright rooms, as blacks look purple when there are bright sources directly on the screen, but this is typical of QD-OLEDs, and you need to watch it in a dark room for the best experience.

If you find the Dell Alienware AW3225QF too expensive, check out the Dell Alienware AW3423DWF instead. It's different from the AW3225QF in a few ways, as it has a 1440p resolution, so content looks less detailed and sharp. However, it has an ultrawide aspect ratio, which is ideal for watching ultrawide movies, and they'll fill up the screen without any black bars.

It uses a QD-OLED panel like the AW3225QF, meaning content looks vivid with bright highlights, and it also displays deep and inky blacks in dark rooms. You can also look into the Samsung Odyssey OLED G8/G85SB S34BG85 if you want an ultrawide QD-OLED with a built-in smart platform, so you can watch your favorite content without a PC, but it costs more than the AW3423DWF.

If you don't want to spend a lot of money on the best monitor for watching movies, there are some great options for a lower cost, but they aren't QD-OLED like the Dell Alienware AW3423DWF. The Acer Nitro XV275K P3biipruzx is a cheaper alternative to the Dell that's great for watching multimedia content but doesn't display the same deep and inky blacks. Instead, it features Mini LED backlighting with a decent local dimming feature that helps improve the contrast ratio in dark scenes, but it doesn't eliminate all blooming.

Although it's not as good in dark rooms as the Dell, it's a better choice if you want to use it in a bright room as it easily fights glare. It also gets very bright in HDR, enough for highlights to stand out against the rest of the image. Another advantage over the Dell is that it has a 4k resolution, which results in very sharp and detailed images, ideal for watching the latest content.

Although most budget monitors don't offer anything special for watching movies and shows, there are some coming out now that have more features, like the AOC Q27G3XMN. It's better than most other low-cost displays because it features Mini LED backlighting. This helps result in a good local dimming feature, and combined with its very high native contrast ratio, it displays very deep blacks in dark rooms. It also makes highlights pop in HDR and displays a wide range of colors.

There are a few downsides compared to the Acer Nitro XV275K P3biipruzx, though, as it has a lower 1440p resolution, and images aren't as detailed. It also has an issue with a red tint depending on which combination of settings you use, which is disappointing if you care about image accuracy. Lastly, it has narrow viewing angles, so it isn't ideal for sharing your screen with others, but it's still fine if you want to watch content while sitting directly in front of it.