When Samsung released the LS27D5590CS-ZA, Dell was not about to sit idly by so they went on and released the Dell SE2716H. Dell’s offering has a 27-inch curved screen that uses a VA panel, which can also be seen in Samsung’s contender. The SE2716H has very dark blacks and a good gray-scale quality while having all-around good viewing angle performance. However, even though color contrast is great, color accuracy is another story as it does seem a tad off.
Can the Dell SE2716H Keep up With Its Competitors?
The Dell SE2716H displays a glossy, piano-black cabinet with ultra-thin bezels. Said bezels only measure 0.3-inches for the slightly curved 27-inch display. Bring all of these together and you have one sharp-looking monitor. The monitor’s silver stand will provide a 26-degree tilt range (5-degrees forward and 21-degrees backward). While it does add to the overall look, it lacks height, pivot, and swivel adjustments. Aside from this, it also lacks VESA mounting holes. Nonetheless, it does offer two down-firing, 9-watt speakers which offer good volume and a good bass response.
At the lower-right side of the bezel, you will find four small function buttons along with the Power switch. These buttons aren’t marked as they use on-screen icons so don’t worry if you think can’t “feel” them.
There aren’t many picture settings for the Dell SE2716H monitor, but it does have eight picture presets. These are Standard, Movie, Paper, Cool, Warm, Game, Multimedia, and Custom (User Defined). There are also the usual brightness and contrast controls, and the sharpness and aspect ratio settings. If you are looking for an Eco-friendly monitor, this isn’t it since the only Eco mode you have is limited to disabling the LED status light to conserve a minute amount of power.
The design of this monitor from Dell is to provide a more immersive viewing experience than what you can get on a flat screen one. For the most part, it does succeed for its intentions. But if you want to have the full benefits of curved screen technology, there are other monitors that can do that such as Dell’s Ultrasharp U3415W.
It offers rich blacks and admirably correct gray-scales, but when it comes to color accuracy it’s a different story. Greens are almost completely out there while the reds and blues are found to be at the borderline. There won’t be any noticeable tinting or oversaturated colors, but these flaws will come into play when you match these colors with other sources, especially when you’re adding a secondary monitor.
It’s sad that the Dell SE2716H aims to provide a good all-around monitor but fails in some areas, especially with the color accuracy. Therefore, it might be able to keep up (albeit slightly) with the competition, but it won’t win awards.