Acer H277HU, a 27-inch USB Type-C monitor

Presentation

The Acer H277HU monitor has a 27-inch IPS panel with a Quad HD definition of 2,560 x 1,440 px. It stands out from the competition by its design and especially by the presence of a USB Type C port which allows you to connect a laptop with a single cable. Attention, we tested the exact reference Acer H277HUsmipuz. The manufacturer also markets two other monitors sharing the same design and carrying almost the same reference: the Acer H277HUsmidpx which swaps the USB-C and USB 3.0 ports for DVI and audio input, and the Acer H277Hsmidx, less than 300 €, which is in Full HD. Our Acer H277HUsmipuz is sold for around € 500.

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Ergonomics

The design is neat with a very thin screen frame and even a relatively discreet lower border. The latter is plastic with a brushed aluminum type rendering rather successful. Finally, the covering of the slab is matt; a good point!

The adjustment of the foot is limited to the inclination between -5 ° and + 15 °. It is impossible to adjust the height, play on the rotation or switch the monitor to portrait mode. We note here the extreme thinness of the screen.

The back is made of shiny white plastic, a material sensitive to fingerprints. On our test copy, the foot is golden, but this is not the case with the commercial version where the foot is silver.

All the connections are grouped together at the rear. It consists of an HDMI input, a DisplayPort input, two USB 3.0 ports and therefore a USB Type-C port (see box) which makes it special. The power is external. Please note, this screen also exists in DVI version, without USB type C and without USB 3.0 hub. The monitor also has two 3 W speakers whose rendering is anecdotal.

Access to the OSD is via the five buttons present under the edge of the screen, the sixth being reserved for powering up. As usual, this arrangement is not very pleasant and handling errors are frequent. The OSD is rather clear and allows you to play with a lot of settings (Gamma, temperature, overdrive, brightness, contrast).

We measured consumption at 20.3 W on our test pattern with a white calibrated at 150 cd / m². The relative consumption is thus 100 W / m², identical to that of the average of monitors tested in the laboratory.

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Colors and contrast

Default: average gray temperature: 6,140 K

Default: gamma curve at 2.3

Default: Delta E average at 2.9

Out of the box, the Acer H277HU monitor offers a quality image. The colors are faithful, with a Delta E - difference between the requested color and the displayed color - of only 2.9. The gamma curve is relatively stable (average at 2.3) and the color temperature, controlled, stabilizes on an average of 6 140 K.

Manual adjustment: average gray temperature: 5,670 K

Manual adjustment: gamma curve at 2.1

Manual adjustment: Delta E medium at 3.7

By default, the brightness of 380 cd / m² is too high. We then adjust the brightness to 14 to obtain a white close to 150 cd / m². The temperature is always placed on hot. With these settings, the rendering is not necessarily better. The color fidelity is a little less good (Delta E at 3.7), the gamma is not more stable and the average drops to 2.1 while the temperature is now too cold (5 670 K). Switching to "clear" temperature does not change the situation with an average of 7,880 K, a Delta E at 3.4 and a gamma at 2.1.

Calibrated: average gray temperature: 6,500 K

Calibrated: gamma curve at 2.2

Calibrated: Delta E medium at 1.5

The calibration is saving on this model. The application of an ICC profile makes it possible to stabilize the temperature and gamma curves with perfect values (6,500 K and 2.2 respectively). For its part, the colorimetric rendering is simply perfect (Delta E at 1.5). This color profile is available on Focus Numérique.

Equipped with an IPS panel, the Acer H277HU monitor does not work miracles in terms of contrast. We measured the latter at 1010: 1; it is therefore not the best of the IPS panels we tested, the best representatives of which exceed 1,300: 1. The advantage of the IPS panel is its very wide viewing angles which reduce variations in brightness when the user is not in front of the screen . This monitor remains far from the best VA monitors - the Eizo Fortis FG2421 or the BenQ BL2410PT - whose contrast exceeds 3000: 1.

The average difference in homogeneity is only 5% over the entire slab. We did not find any light leaks or clouding.

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Reactivity

Like most modern monitors, the AOC screen no longer uses Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) to manage the LEDs of the backlight system. This makes it possible to reduce the brightness without risking a flickering effect which would cause eye fatigue and headaches for the most sensitive people. This feature is called "Flicker Free" to signify the absence of flicker.

The Acer H277HU monitor allows you to adjust the overdrive. When deactivated, there is a ghosting effect and an increase in the afterglow time. Activating the overdrive in normal mode improves the remanence time, still limiting the effect of reverse ghosting. On the other hand, the passage of the overdrive to the highest level leads to an annoying reverse ghosting effect. We thus measured the remanence time at 10 ms with the overdrive in "normal"; a fairly good value for an IPS panel, but it cannot compete with TN panels which go down to 5 ms. In the end, the Acer screen is quite versatile and it will be suitable for office as well as for viewing videos or gaming, especially since the delay in display is only 9.5 ms. There is therefore no discernible discrepancy between the action performed with the mouse or the controller and its repercussion on the screen.

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Conclusion

The Acer H277HU monitor is the first to benefit from a USB Type-C port which transforms it into a real docking station for a laptop. This feature allows him to get his fourth star. The definition is very comfortable, the image is good after calibration, but the foot settings are too limited to make it an essential model.

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