Philips 27B1U7903 with 4K, 2304-zone Mini LED Backlight and Thunderbolt 4 Connection

November 23, 2022November 23, 2022 Simon Baker

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Originally published 4 January 2022, last updated 23 November 2022

Back as far as January 2022 a new model from Philips in their professional monitor line-up appeared on their website in some regions. Now at the end of Nov 2022 we have some further official information from the manufacturer as the screen is launched to market. The Philips 27B1U7903 is part of their “Brilliance 7903 series” of screens and is 27″ in size, offering a 3840 x 2160 “4K” resolution and a Mini LED backlight with 2,304 dimming zones. This can help it achieve excellent HDR performance, high contrast ratios, and high peak brightness. According to the press release the screen is focused on providing “performance-boosting features, high-quality visuals, and comfortable connectivity.”

“Packed to the brim with cutting-edge, performance-boosting features, the Philips 27B1U7903 is the ideal choice for all creative professions. Not only does it deliver jaw-dropping visuals with extreme colour accuracy and attention to detail, but it also includes the speed, power, and simplicity of Thunderbolt™ 4 technology.” – says Xeni Bairaktari, Global Marketing Lead and Senior Brand Manager EU at MMD Monitors & Displays.

Philips 27B1U7903 Specs

The screen is 27″ in size and based on an IPS technology panel. This has a 3840 x 2160 “4K” resolution, so whether you are a demanding professional who needs clear images of CAD solutions, or a financial expert dealing with large spreadsheets, it offers a high pixel density and sharp image. There is also a 4ms G2G response time, 1300:1 contrast ratio, 1000 cd/m2 brightness (SDR apparently!), 178/178 viewing angles, 1.07b colour depth and a wide colour gamut covering 154% sRGB, 97.2% DCI-P3 and 99.2% Adobe RGB.

The new Philips monitor provides the following colour space modes: sRGB: Most personal computer applications and games, Internet and Web design. Adobe RGB: Graphics application. NTSC: Analog video. Rec. 709: High-definition video. Rec. 2020: Ultra HD video. DCI-P3: Digital widescreen projector, some movies and games, and Apple products. Gallery. D mode: DICOM mode to enhance grayscale performance. The screen is factory calibrated with a dE <1 (not clear which mode that is in).

The screen also includes an integrated motion sensor. There is support for adaptive sync, although the screen is 60Hz max only. There are 1x DisplayPort 1.4, x HDMI 2.0, 1x Thunderbolt 4 (discussed more in a moment) and 4x USB 3.2 connections provided. There are also 2x 3W speakers included along with an audio output. The stand offers a full range of tilt, height, swivel and rotate adjustments.

2,304 Zone Mini LED Backlight

The Mini LED backlight can control lighting and contrast. The small size of the mini LED forms a backlight, which can create 2304 independently controlled areas, providing deeper blacks and brighter whites. Rich HDR content can now be viewed because it provides excellent contrast and accurate reproduction. The screen is certified under the VESA DisplayHDR 1400 level as well with a peak brightness of 1600 nits offered along with a wide colour gamut (97.2% DCI-P3 quoted) and 10-bit colour depth support. The screen also offers multiple HDR modes, each of which is optimized for your usage scenarios: HDR games, HDR movies, HDR photos, and VESA DisplayHDR certification levels.

Thunderbolt 4 Connectivity

This Philips docking monitor is one of the world’s first Thunderbolt 4 monitors that comply with the USB4 standard. Compared with traditional USB-C displays, Thunderbolt 4 technology provides 40Gbps extremely fast data transmission speed, high-definition video, multi-stream daisy chain transmission, provides up to 90W power supply for the device, and a stable 1Gbit/s Ethernet connection, all through a single cable. Thunderbolt 4 provides a slim, single-cable USB-C docking solution that can be plugged in and out at will to create a smooth and convenient desktop, which greatly improves work efficiency.

Daisy chaining allows you to drive multiple displays and devices from a single Thunderbolt port on your laptop. Connect to this monitor from the Thunderbolt port of the laptop, and then connect to the second 4K monitor from the second Thunderbolt port on this monitor.

Pricing and availability

The Philips 27B1U7903 is now available for purchase at the price of £1199 GBP in the UK.

Source: Philips

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