Best Monitor For Video Editing 2023 – best display for editors

We find the best monitor for video editing and gaming

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We have seen some incredible enhancements in technology, right across the last decade. One area that has seen rather large improvements, in particular, is the monitor industry.

No longer do we imagine those chunky, warhorse CRT’s when we think of a monitor. These days we are all used to using sleek, high-performance LCD displays for everything from sending emails to competitive gaming. So, let’s take a look at what we consider to be the best monitors for video editing!

Today’s best monitor deals!

Before we jump into the best monitors for video editing, you may want to check out some of the best monitor deals currently on Amazon. When picking out a monitor, it’s always best to seek out a deal with your purchase! You can also opt to check out Amazon’s wider range of computer components and accessories deals if you wish.

Best Monitor For Video Editing 2023: our top picks

This article will be focusing on the best monitors for video editing. Whether you’re a graphic designer, YouTuber, photo editor, or 3D animator, there will be a monitor in this guide that will suit your exact requirements.

Best Monitor For Video Editing 2023: reviews

ASUS ProArt Display 34-inch (PA348CGV)

Size

34″

Panel Type

IPS

Resolution

3440 x 1440

Refresh Rate

120Hz

Bit Depth

10-bit / 30-bit colors

Color Gamut

98% DCI-P3, 100% sRGB, 709 color gamut

How We Review

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Pros

• 21:9 ultrawide display for increased work space
• Excellent color gamut range & specs
• 120Hz refresh rate
• Great connectivity with USB hub & more

Cons

• Expensive option

Introducing a fantastic ultrawide option for editing. Going ultrawide means you have more screen space to work with for your video editing needs, which is always a nice bonus. The 3440 x 1440 resolution works out as a 21:9 aspect ratio and provides a more immersive work space. The high refresh rate of 120Hz also makes it a good gaming choice, especially due to the immersion. When talking editing though, we want to praise the amazing color gamut values, such as 100% sRGB and 98% DCI-P3 color standard, providing a beautifully accurate display.

The connectivity can also be regarded as one of the great features on this ASUS ProArt Display, with support for DisplayPort over USB-C at 90W. There are additional ports for HDMI and a USB hub to make it easy to connect external devices such as a laptop or Mac. Overall, this serves a one of the best displays for video editing, with super accurate colors and a great ultrawide aspect ratio for better productivity while working. It’s also perfect for leisure as well, serving as a great high refresh rate gaming display or an ideal choice for your favorite movies and shows.

Dell UltraSharp U2723QE 27-inch

Size

27″

Panel Type

LCD

Resolution

3840 x 2160

Refresh Rate

75Hz

Bit Depth

10-bit (8-bit + FRC)

Color Gamut

100% sRGB / 98% DCI-P3

How We Review

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Pros

• High 4K UHD screen resolution
• Ideal for video editing or viewing media
• Wall mountable
• Crisp, accurate colors, and 400 nit brightness

Cons

• 27″ is smaller than some other choices

Next up is this beautiful Dell UltraSharp U2723QE display, which offers a lot for the price. That makes it one of the best value picks on this list. Despite sitting at 27″ screen size (compared to larger 32″ displays), it’s hard to outperform in terms of specs. The color gamut is particularly wide ranging, with a complete 100% sRGB and near-complete 98% DCI-P3 display for super accurate colors. That makes it one of the best displays on the market at this price range, perfect for video editing, photo editing and general media consumption.

Another plus for the editors out there is the full UHD 4K 16:9 screen resolution, displaying everything on screen in crystal clarity. Another features which help out here is the anti-glare screen coating for easy viewing. The Dell UltraSharp display is particularly crisp and vivid thanks to the 400 nit brightness from the backlit WLED screen. This monitor doesn’t have a super high refresh rate, but 75Hz is not bad for 4K gaming, especially if gaming isn’t going to be your main focus. It also includes 5ms GTG to response time – not the fastest out there, but still results in snappy input.

The Best Monitor For Video Editing

Editor’s Pick

LG 32UD99-W 32-Inch 4K UHD IPS Monitor

Size

32″

Panel Type

IPS

Resolution

4K

Refresh Rate

120Hz

Bit Depth

8bit

Colour Gamut

95% DCI-P3

How We Review

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Pros

• Great Viewing angles
• Incredibly crisp 4K picture clarity
• Low input lag
• Extremely wide colour gamut range

Cons

• Fairly limited HDR performance

We’ve gone for LG’s 32UD99-W monitor as another choice, and for good reason. The 32-inch monitor from LG comes with a bunch of premium features, which include: 99.5% sRGB colour coverage, 10bit color depth, almost zero color bleed, 4K resolution, and more. It even boasts FreeSync support – great if you’re an editor who loves a bit of gaming on the side.

The monitor has a sleek, refined aesthetic that should fit almost any background. The monitor itself has excellent adjustability with tilt, swivel, and height adjustments. Picture quality is of the absolute highest clarity thanks to the superb 4K max resolution. With 32inches at your disposal, editing becomes much easier as you can split the screen into numerous sections. With a wide color gamut, you have the ability to view colour at their most accurate. Even though this monitor doesn’t have the greatest Adobe RGB coverage, it is still much higher than others in its price point. Limited motion blur creates a crisp visual thanks to the monitor’s fast response time.

Overall, if you’re looking for superb picture quality with excellent color accuracy, look no further. This monitor ticks all the boxes you need, and more.

The Best Value Monitor For Video Editing

LG 27UK650-W 27 Inch 4K UHD IPS LED Monitor

Size

27″

Panel Type

IPS

Resolution

4K

Refresh Rate

60Hz

Bit Depth

10bit(8bit + A-FRC)

Colour Gamut

99% sRGB

How We Review

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Pros

• Crisp 4K max resolution
• Very sleek aesthetic
• Very low input lag
• Excellent viewing angles

Cons

• No local dimming support
• Doesn’t have the best Adobe RGB range

Next up comes LG’s second entry into this list. It’s the LG 27UK650-W, and it holds our best value pick in this guide.

The monitor comes equipped with a bunch of features geared towards editors, including a 99% sRGB coverage, 10bit(8bit+A-FRC) color depth, and an IPS panel that provides superb viewing angles. Pair these features with the monitor’s high-performance 4K resolution for the perfect balance between picture quality and realistic color accuracy. The design is a classic, of LG offering up another of their recognizable sleek and minimalist styles with a robust stand to boot. The bezel is very thin and provides an almost elegant look which suits most background settings.

In addition to the 99% sRGB coverage, this monitor also has 76.4% Adobe RGB coverage – which might be a little lacking for some creative professionals. However, this monitor does come with a 10bit color depth to play with, and very little color bleed too, making it perfect for design at this price. It does come equipped with FreeSync, which is ideal for people looking to do a bit of on the side gaming. With a low 60Hz native refresh rate, this monitor would by no means be one of our best gaming picks.

Overall, a great monitor which showcases very good picture quality and color recreation at an affordable price tag.

The Best Mid-Range Monitor For Video Editing

Dell Ultrasharp U2719DX 27-Inch WQHD Monitor

Size

27″

Panel Type

IPS

Resolution

1440p

Refresh Rate

60Hz

Bit Depth

8bit

Colour Gamut

99% sRGB and 85% DCI-P3

How We Review

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Pros

• A very accurate and realistic colour-accurate display
• Plenty of screen adjustment
• Showcases excellent value for money
• Peace of mind that comes with purchasing Dell

Cons

• Does not come with built-in speakers
• Missing some high-end features

DELL’s Ultrasharp U2719DX monitor gets our mid-range pick thanks to a bunch of great features that all get wrapped up in a very affordable price tag. Even though this monitor doesn’t have the best design, it’s certainly not the worst either. With a slender 6.5mm profile width and an extremely thin bezel, it still provides a refined aesthetic. The stand is both robust and fully adjustable, allowing users to find the perfect ergonomic viewing position.

This monitor is capable of displaying extremely vibrant and attractive colours thanks to its wide color gamut of 99% sRGB. It also comes color calibrated to a Delta-E accuracy of less than two. Pair this great color accuracy with the 1440p pixel density and you have a seriously nice viewing experience. Especially for the price point. Thanks to the IPS panel. the U2719DX comes equipped with excellent viewing angles (up to 178 degrees) and very little backlight bleed.

Unfortunately for some, the monitor comes with very little gaming features. However, if you’re not looking to game on your PC, this monitor will excel in all other areas.

The Best Ultra-Wide Monitor For Video Editing

DELL AW3418DW 1900R 34.1″ Curved Monitor

Size

34.1″

Panel Type

IPS

Resolution

1440p

Refresh Rate

120Hz

Bit Depth

8bit

Colour Gamut

99% sRGB

How We Review

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Pros

• Excellent viewing angles
• Decent sRGB coverage
• Extremely attractive design
• Very impressive colour recreation

Cons

• No local dimming support
• Only a 77% Adobe RGB range

We come to another ultra-wide pick for editors – and it’s one you might not have expected.

Primarily, the DELL AW348DW is thought of as a gaming monitor as it comes with high-end features like 100Hz refresh rate and G-Sync. However, it’s much more than that.

The Alienware AW3418DW has fantastic color accuracy thanks to the 99% sRGB coverage. Pairing this with a 34.1″ IPS panel, 1000:1 native contrast ratio, 300 cd/m², 21:9 aspect ratio, makes this monitor the absolute perfect all-rounder for any scenario.

This AW3418DW has some of the best aesthetics in this guide. With a 1900R, 34.1″ curved display, this monitor ranks extremely high when it comes to providing an immersive viewing experience. The ergonomic stand offers excellent viewing angles and ergonomics as well.

Having 34.1″ of display can’t be ignored either. Having that extra room allows you to split your screen into multiple sections making the design process much easier.

This is the best ultra-wide monitor for editors and one that showcases real value for money.

The Best Budget Monitor For Video Editing

ViewSonic VP2468 Professional 24 inch 1080p Monitor

Size

24″

Refresh Rate

60Hz

Resolution

1080p

Panel Type

IPS

Maximum Resolution

1920 x 1080

How We Review

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Pros

• Accurate colour recreation
• Energy efficient
• Very robust stand
• Sleek, bezel-free design

Cons

• Lacking in premium features
• Doesn’t have speakers
• Top resolution of 1080p

Next comes our budget pick in the shape of Viewsonic’s VP2468 Professional 24″ monitor. Don’t let that price tag fool you though, it’s still got some cool features and the cheapest price tag in this guide.

The Viewsonic has a subtle design (quite similar to that of the DELL), however, it only comes with a 24inch display which can be a little off-putting for some creative professionals.

The Viewsonic’s stand is very robust, and offers up almost zero screen wobble when in use. I/O ports include a USB hub, DisplayPort, two HDMI slots, and a headphone jack.

The VP2468 comes with a 250cd/m peak brightness, 16:9 aspect ratio, 5ms response time, and a 1000:1 native contrast ratio. Furthermore, it makes use of 100% of the sRGB color gamut to offer users superbly accurate colors.

As expected though, a monitor of this price has to have some downsides.

With the VP2468 they come in the resolution and screen size departments. Only having a max resolution of 1080p can be a little problematic for some creatives. It doesn’t offer nearly as much sharpness and clarity as 1440p and above resolutions.

So, to conclude, if you’re looking for a cheap monitor that offers up decent color recreation, the VP2468 could be exactly what you’re looking for.

How We Choose

Choosing the right components for our best of guides is always hard, no matter if it’s a guide to the best AMD graphics cards or the best monitors for video editing.

It requires hours of product research, performance benchmarking, and user feedback to get anywhere close to a definitive conclusion on what to use.

If you aren’t tech-savvy and struggle to put time aside to go through the above requirements, you may end up purchasing a monitor that simply isn’t right for you or what you want to use your PC for.

Fear not though, friends! Here at WePC, we like to take the stress of research away, and transform the whole process into an easy-to-follow, complete buyers guide. That’s right, our team of PC enthusiasts has done all the hard work for you!

How We Test

Testing the products we recommend is a huge part of the overall selection process in our best of guides. It’s a way to make sure what we recommend is, without a doubt, the best option in its specific category.

To be sure a product is “the best,” it must show excellent performance in our tests, and display better qualities over the competition it faces.

Most of the products we recommend here at WePC have gone through a strict testing process that involves everything from price to performance and efficiency. Each product is pushed to the limit to see how it performs under intense stress to make sure it warrants the coveted top spot

Doing this enables us to provide you with the most accurate review of how the product performs and, ultimately, whether it’s worth your hard-earned cash.

With that, let’s take a look at some of the key areas that make a monitor great for video editing

Things To Consider

It doesn’t matter if you’re buying a monitor for gaming or video editing; understanding their key specifications is an incredibly important step in choosing the right monitor for you. Understanding these areas will ensure that your next purchase is the right one for your specific needs.

With that being said, we have outlined all the different key specifications of a monitor below, so that you can make a more informed decision on your next purchase.

Let’s get straight into it.

Panel Type

One of the first things you should learn about a monitor is the panel type. Primarily, there are three main panel types:

• TN Panel (Twisted nematic)
• IPS Panel (In-plane switching)
• VA Panel (Vertical Alignment)

As you can probably imagine, each of the panel types comes equipped with their own pros and cons. These pros make certain panel types ideal for video editing, but not great for gaming. To help understand the differences between the panel types we’ve created the following table:

As you can see, the IPS panel is a clear winner when it comes to video/photo editing requirements. Doing creative work requires a crystal clear picture with high color accuracy. That’s exactly what you get with an IPS panel.

Having a solid viewing angle is probably more important than you first think. A high-tier IPS panel will have at least 178° viewing angles both vertically and horizontally. That means no matter where you’re looking at the monitor from, your image will not be obscured by a washed-out color/contrast ratio.

The color accuracy in an IPS panel is fantastic. High-end monitors get the highest possible color accuracy which helps the user create a more realistic image. They do cost a little more than other panel types, but it’s definitely worth the investment when you consider this (editing) is how you make your money.

Color Accuracy

So, we’ve already touched upon color accuracy in the above section. But what exactly is color accuracy, and how does one differentiate between the good and bad.

Well, color accuracy comes down to a couple of factors, but first, let’s discuss the gamut.

The color gamut is the full range of colors visible to the human eye. You can measure how much of the color gamut your monitor can display by using preset ranges. There are a number of different ranges (or ratings) that can be used to measure your monitor’s color accuracy and they are listed below.

As you can see from the image above, different ratings have either higher or lower color coverage than others. For example, the DCI-P3 clearly has more coverage than sRGB. That means a monitor that can create a large percentage of the DCI-P3 is going to have better color accuracy than something that has the same percentage in sRGB color space.

A lot of premium tier monitors will be equipped with a wider color gamut, and this will certainly affect their price tag. Especially with a good calibration out of the factory, to have a low delta e.

Color Bit Depth

The two main bit depths we see in most of today’s monitor is 8bit and 10bit.

The bit depth refers to the number of bits per channel. An 8bit monitor will have 256 color steps per channel. This is ultimately what makes up the 16.7 million color range that we see most brands shouting about. On the other hand, a 10bit color depth supports 10bits per channel. That translates to 1024 color steps per channel, or a 1 billion color range.

In the simplest terms, this makes 10bit color depth much more appealing than 8bit – but there is one downside. Your PC’s hardware must be able to support this level of color depth or you won’t reap the rewards of this premium feature in your monitor.

Having a high-end graphics card that supports 10bit color depth is essential. If it doesn’t, you’re simply wasting your money on this feature.

Furthermore, you must be working in software that supports 10bit color depth as well. Simply working on a JPG or MP4 movie will mean your work is being saved in an 8bit color format. However, using software like RED 10bit and EXR Sequences will allow you to utilize this feature in its fullest.

Monitor Size & Resolution

Monitor size and resolution are probably more important than you would think when it comes to a video editing monitor.

Your monitor’s size is usually measured in inches from one corner to the other, diagonally. To get a full understanding of the size of your monitor, you must then take the aspect ratio into consideration as well.

Two monitors with the same size – let’s use 27″ as an example – could be completely different sizes if the aspect ratio is different. The most popular sizes for creators is 24-27″ with an aspect ratio of 16:9 as this gives a more cinematic look, and actually fits our eye’s field of vision more naturally.

A monitor’s screen resolution is completely different from its size. The resolution refers to how many physical pixels a monitor can display. The most commonly used resolutions for native monitors are below:

• 1080p
• 1440p
• 2160p
• 4k
• 8k

A 1080p monitor is restricted to the number of pixels it can display over a 4k monitor because it simply doesn’t have the available pixels to do so. This means the 1080p monitor’s picture is far less crisp than a higher resolution display.

If you’re looking for picture quality and clarity, higher resolution is always better.

Contrast Ratio

Contrast ratio is something brands have been manipulating for a long time. It’s a technique used across the board these days and is a way of almost tricking you into thinking the monitor’s contrast ratio is actually good.

Let me explain, there are two ways in which a monitor is measured when it comes to contrast ratio. You have a dynamic contrast ratio and static contrast ratio. These, however, are two very different beasts.

A dynamic contrast ratio is something that refers to the distance between the darkest point and the lightest point across different brightness settings.

Since a user will rarely change the monitor’s brightness settings, this is a figure that can be disregarded if truth be told. What we as a buyer want to know is what the static contrast ratio is.

Look through the monitor’s specs before purchasing and always look for a high Static contrast ratio. We recommend an IPS panel to have a minimum of 500:1 static contrast ratio. But we’d advise aiming for 1000:1 for the best possible visual recreation.

Brightness

Even if you’re new to computers and editing, you should still know what brightness is. However, what some people might not understand is how your monitor’s brightness is measured.

Brightness is usually measured in cd/m² (also known as nits). The higher the cd/m² the brighter the monitor will be. Easy, right?

One thing I will say about brightness, however, is that sometimes you can go too bright. If you work in a room that doesn’t require an extremely bright monitor, simply don’t get one. We recommend a monitor around the 300cd/m² mark, but they do go brighter.

Monitor Refresh Rate

A monitor’s refresh rate refers to how fast a monitor can refresh the image that is currently being displayed. This is a specification gamers should be concerning themselves with as “motion blur” can occur in high-fps gaming.

The refresh rate is measured in Hz, with most modern monitors coming equipped with nothing less than 60Hz. High-end gaming monitors will come with 144Hz – 240Hz, but as designers, we don’t really need to worry about this too much.

Connectivity

Video editors and content creators alike might be interested in the extra features such as the connectors available in the display itself as well. Not only are we talking about the compatible video inputs, but any sort of USB hub passthrough you might find behind them.

Shortening where you need to plug in your devices, there are some options that are worth considering. Such as if there is a USB-C port or Thunderbolt connector, which will allow power delivery and display connection to laptops if you use one of those.

The number of HDMI ports, DisplayPort, or any other video inputs might be a factor when planning your usage. Then if you are planning on using any USB hub with the monitor to make it easier to plug in your keyboard and mouse, make sure there’s enough.

Mountability

Another design feature will be how you can set up the monitor. The standard is to have a VESA mount available, so you can use a compatible arm allowing you to pivot, swivel and adjust the display. Especially handy for displays without wide viewing angles, but what you might find is budget monitors omitting the feature.

Summarize

So, to summarize; We’ve gone over some of the more important key aspects of a monitor. What can we take away if you’re looking to get a monitor that’ll be great for video editing?

Well, below is a checklist of areas that you should try to tick off when purchasing a new display for editing:

IPS Panel, Wide color gamut – DCI-P3 98% or above, 8bit or 10bit (depends on your PC’s specifications), 27″ display with 16:9 aspect ratio, a contrast ratio of 1000:1, 350cd/m brightness, refresh rate should only be considered when gaming.

This is the basis for any great video editing monitor. Having said that, you might not always find a monitor with all these specs, and you certainly might not find one within your price range.

Anyway, now we have the specifications out of the way, let’s jump into what we consider to be the best monitors for video editing.

Worthy mentions

• ASUS PA32UCG: This creative monitor is easily one of the best in today’s market. Equipped with mini-LED backlight technology and a quick 120Hz refresh rate, this monitor really does excel for editing. ASUS PA32UCG review.

Final Word

So, there you have it; our comprehensive breakdown of the best monitors for editors currently available. We’ve tried to make the purchasing process easier by giving you different price points to choose from. Hopefully, this helped you make a decision on your next monitor purchase.

The ultimate monitor for video editing in our round-up comes in the shape of the LG 32UD99-W. This sports all the features you’ll need to get the job done and there is plenty left in the tank for gaming too.

Leave us a comment below letting us know which one you’re thinking of purchasing. Furthermore, if you think there is a monitor we should be reviewing but haven’t, don’t hesitate to let us know below. We also have our Community hub where you can start a topic on anything monitor related!

FAQs

Which type of monitor is best for video editing?

A monitor with an IPS Panel, wide color gamut (DCI-P3 98% or above), 8bit or 10bit (depends on your PC’s specifications), 27″ display, a contrast ratio of 1000:1, 350cd/m brightness is a good start for the best monitor for video editing.

Do I need a 4K monitor for video editing?

It’s not necessary to have a 4K monitor for video editing. You can still edit 4K footage on a smaller resolution anyway. But you might be missing the key details by using a smaller resolution.