KTC A32Q8 Review: 4K 60Hz VA Smart Monitor

16% OFF CODE: 16KTCAQ8

The KTC A32Q8 is a 32″ 4K 60Hz monitor based on a VA panel with a high 3,000:1 contrast ratio for deep blacks and a wide color gamut for vibrant colors.

It also features built-in Google TV smart OS and comes with a remote controller – here’s everything you need to know about it!

Image Quality

First, let’s see how the monitor performs out of the box in terms of image accuracy and if there are any settings you can adjust to improve it.

For image quality testing, we’re using the Calibrite Display Pro HL colorimeter and DisplayCAL software.

The KTC A32Q8 has 8 picture presets: Standard (Default), Dynamic, Movie, Low Blue, ECO, Game, PC Mode and User.

The PC Mode will be grayed out as you need to first enable it in a separate ‘PC Mode’ setting. We highly recommend using the PC Mode as it will enable 4:4:4 chroma for sharper text without any fringing.

Now, with the PC mode, some ‘Professional Settings’ become locked, including Noise Reduction, Dynamic Contrast Control, MPEG Noise Reduction and Smooth Gradation, but we didn’t find these settings to be that useful anyway.

Of course, if you’re watching low-resolution or low-quality content and text clarity isn’t an issue, you can use the Game mode and play around with these settings to see if you can improve the image quality.

Once you enable PC Mode, the Game mode becomes PC Game, which is the recommended mode as it reduces display latency from 25.13ms to 10.69ms.

Next, we measured a color temperature of 8100K in the default Standard color temperature preset, which is too high and adds a bluish tint to the whitepoint.

Simply changing the preset to Warm under ‘Color’ and ‘Color Temperature’ settings will improve it to a more accurate 6700K (target is 6500K), which eliminates any noticeable tinting to the whitepoint.

Further, the default average gamma is 2.11 (target is 2.2), meaning that most scenes will be a bit too bright. Under ‘Professional Settings’, you can change the gamma to ‘2’, which will improve the average gamma to 2.22. You should also disable the ‘Local Contrast’ option while in the Professional Settings menu.

Here are the test results out of the box.

And here you can see the improved gamma and whitepoint by using the gamma option ‘2’ and ‘Warm’ color temperature preset. Local Contrast is also disabled.

Due to the monitor’s wide color gamut, the maximum Delta E is a bit high at 3.14 (target is < 3), while the average Delta E is 1.68 (target is < 1.5). This is still an excellent result for everyday use. It’s not good enough for color-critical work, but in that case, you should be looking at IPS monitors anyway.

Under the Color settings, you will find six Color Space options: Native, Auto, sRGB, DCI-3, AdobeRGB and BT2020.

In the Native mode, we measured an sRGB color gamut volume of 118.4%, which slightly over-saturates the colors, but it’s not too intrusive and most users will actually prefer the extra color vibrancy over the standard 100% sRGB volume.

The sRGB mode is supposed to clamp the gamut down to 100% sRGB to avoid over-saturation, but it was too aggressive in our tests as it reduced the gamut all the way down to 83% sRGB, leading to washed-out colors. Therefore, we don’t recommend it.

Note that in PC Mode, ‘Color Space’ is set to ‘Auto’ by default, which is the same as ‘sRGB’ in this case. So, we recommend changing it to ‘Native.’

We don’t recommend using the DCI-P3, Adobe RGB and BT2020 modes as the monitor doesn’t have a wide enough coverage of those color spaces. The BT2020 mode extends the sRGB color gamut volume a bit to 122.6%, but it heavily over-saturates everything.

Using the above settings, we’ve done a full calibration of the monitor.

We also adjusted the whitepoint settings to 1958 red, 1915 green and 1788 blue to get a more accurate 6513K color temperature, though optimal settings for fine-tuning color temperature will vary across different units, so we don’t recommend copying them.

You can download our ICC profile here. Depending on your unit though, the gamma corrections might not offer the same results, so use Lagom’s test images (mainly Contrast, Black level and White saturation) to test it out. You can also use our ICC profile to clamp the gamut more accurately using dwm_lut or novideo_srgb tools.

After calibration, the average Delta E is reduced to 0.37, while the maximum is down to 0.79. Gamma tracking is accurate and we got a 6513K color temperature.

Next, we measured a peak brightness of 260-nits, which is the minimum as far as modern LED-backlit displays go. However, under normal lighting conditions, the screen can still get more than bright enough. The minimum brightness is only 13-nits, which is great for viewing in a dark room.

To adjust the brightness, make sure you’re using the ‘Backlight’ slider. The ‘Brightness’ slider on this monitor only adjusts white luminance, so increasing it will make the image more washed out.

The static contrast ratio amounts to 2869:1, which results in deep blacks, especially in comparison to IPS panels with a typical contrast ratio of around 1,000:1.

The downside of the VA panel is that it doesn’t have quite as wide viewing angles as IPS since there are minor shifts in contrast and saturation when viewing the certain at skewed angles, but this is not an issue for everyday use – only for color-critical work.

VA panels don’t suffer from IPS glow, which in addition to their superior contrast ratio makes for a more immersive viewing experience when watching dark content in a dark room.

Next, here’s how the KTC A32Q8 performs in DisplayCAL’s image uniformity test. The bottom-right part of the screen is a bit darker (up to 16.43% in the corner), but we didn’t find this to be noticeable during everyday use. This result is also in line with most monitors we’ve tested.

Moving on, we didn’t find any excessive VA glow or backlight bleeding, no frame skipping, image retention or pixel inversion visual artifacts.

However, our unit had a cluster of 4 dead pixels as well as 6 more dead or stuck pixels throughout the screen, which would qualify you for an exchange unit under KTC’s warranty policy.

Note that the number of dead pixels varies across different units. Yours might have more, fewer or none at all.

Apart from the dead pixels, the image quality is crisp thanks to the 4K UHD resolution, which provides you with a high pixel density of roughly 140 PPI (pixels per inch). You also get plenty of screen real estate, while scaling is optional (100%, 125% and 150% scaling are all viable options, depending on your preference).

However, keep in mind that 4K UHD is quite demanding on the GPU when it comes to newer video games, though thanks to upscaling technologies such as FSR and DLSS, you can get a decent frame rate at 4K even with a mid-range graphics card.

Lastly, the KTC A32Q8 also supports HDR (High Dynamic Range). While it can accept and display the HDR10 signal, it lacks proper display hardware (full-array local dimming or an OLED panel) for a proper HDR viewing experience.

Therefore, we don’t recommend using HDR on this monitor. If you want a good HDR display around this price range, consider the AOC Q27G3XMN.

Performance

The KTC A32Q8 has a maximum refresh rate of 60Hz, so motion will appear somewhat choppy in comparison to high refresh rate displays.

For responsive gameplay, we highly recommend 100Hz+ gaming monitors, but if you’re just into casual gaming, the KTC A32Q8 will do just fine thanks to its decent response time and low input lag.

For pixel response time speed and latency testing, we’re using OSRTT.

In ‘Picture’ settings under ‘Game Option’, you’ll find ‘OverDriver Gain’ option with adjustable levels of overdrive from -64 to 63 in increments of 1. The default setting is -22 and we found it to have some subtle inverse ghosting artifacts in some scenes, so we recommend dialing it back to around -26.

Lowering the overdrive to -26 reduces the average GtG pixel response time speed to 7.4ms from 7.09ms, but it also reduces the average overshoot error from 10.03% to 8.5%.

Overall, there’s no prominent ghosting behind fast-moving objects as the 60Hz refresh rate isn’t that demanding, but motion will appear somewhat choppy if you’re used to higher refresh rate gaming monitors.

Here’s how it compares to some other displays in Blur Buster’s UFO ghosting test.

The monitor also supports variable refresh rate with a 48-60Hz range for tear-free gameplay as long as your FPS (Frames Per Second) is within the range. This also allows you to display 24p content without judder.

VRR is supported via DisplayPort for compatible AMD and NVIDIA GPUs, while only AMD FreeSync works over HDMI.

When playing games, make sure that Game or PC Game picture modes are selected to minimize latency. These modes reduce the input latency from 25.13ms, which has a noticeable delay, down to 10.69ms, which is imperceptible at 60Hz.

Features

The KTC A32Q8 is based on Google TV / Android 11 smart OS, which we found to be quite responsive.

To navigate the menu, you can use the OSD joystick at the rear of the monitor or the provided remote controller, which has several shortcuts for useful settings.

When turning on the monitor for the first time, you’ll be asked to pair the remote controller with the screen, after which you can set it up with your Google account for personalized recommendations, Google Assistant, etc. – or you can set it up as basic TV without an account. You’ll still have access to most settings and features.

Besides the basic image adjustment tools (contrast, brightness, color temperature, etc.), the monitor has plenty of advanced settings, including white balance fine-tuning (red, green blue gain and offset), 6-axis hue/saturation, automatic input detection, display scaling (auto, full, 4:3, direct) and gamma.

Useful gaming features include ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode – enables Game Mode when connected to a console) and Shadow Detail (improves visibility in dark scenes by altering the gamma curvature).

There’s no dedicated desktop application for OSD-related adjustments, but the monitor supports DDC/CI, so you can use third-party apps, such as ControlMyMonitor, to adjust the following settings:

Design & Connectivity

The stand of the monitor is tilt-only, but it is made out of metal and it’s quite sturdy, while the screen is VESA mount compatible via the 100x100mm pattern.

Further, the screen has ultra-thin bezels at the top and at the sides with a 6mm black border before the image starts. The bottom bezel is a bit thicker at 15mm with a thinner 2mm black border.

There’s a medium matte anti-glare coating that efficiently diffuses reflections without adding too much graininess to the image.

To attach the monitor to the stand, you’ll first need to remove the cover from the monitor riser to reveal two threaded holes. Then, screw in the two provided screws, put the cover back on, attach the stand base and screw in the last screw.

Connectivity options include HDMI 2.1*, DisplayPort 1.4, a USB-C port with DisplayPort Alternate Mode and 65W Power Delivery, a headphone jack, dual integrated speakers for basic sound output and four USB 2.0 downstream ports, which can be used to connect a mouse, keyboard or external storage to the monitor’s smart OS.

Note that KTC advertises HDMI 2.1 version since it supports ALLM, but it has a limited bandwidth of 14.40 Gbit/s. You cannot use 4K 60Hz 10-bit over HDMI – it’s limited to 8-bit color depth, whereas DisplayPort supports 4K 60Hz 10-bit. This isn’t a big issue though since most SDR content uses 8-bit color anyway.

In the box, along with the monitor and the stand, you’ll get a quick start guide, a warranty card, an external power supply, a power cord, an HDMI cable, a remote controller, three screws for the stand and two screwdrivers (one of the remote controller, one for installing the stand).

Price & Similar Monitors

The KTC A32Q8 price amounts to $299.99, but it’s available with a $50 off coupon on Amazon. Further, you can use the 16KTCAQ8 code for additional 16% off, bringing the final price down to $201.99. The sale lasts until December 10, 2024.

Overall, the monitor offers an exceptional value for the price given that the Samsung M70D and the LG 32SQ730S smart monitors with the same panel go for $330 – $400.

If you want a cheaper smart monitor, you can check out LG’s 25SR50F and 27SR50F 1080p IPS models for $160 and $200, respectively, or the LG 27SR73U with a 4K IPS panel.

We don’t recommend the 32″ 1080p models since their resolution is too low for the 32″ screen size and they’re not that cheaper than the 4K UHD models.

As far as smart monitors that are also good for gaming, there are several options to consider:

• LG 34SR65QC – 3440×1440 100Hz IPS curved
• Samsung G6 – 27″ and 32″ 1440p 240Hz curved VA
• Samsung G70B – 28″ and 32″ 4K 144Hz IPS
• Samsung G95SC – 49″ 5120×1440 240Hz curved OLED
• Samsung G85SB / G85SD – 34″ 3440×1440 175Hz curved OLED
• Samsung S80SD – 32″ 4K 240Hz OLED

For more information and the best deals available, check out our comprehensive and always up-to-date best gaming monitor buyer’s guide.

Conclusion

All in all, the KTC A32Q8 is an excellent monitor for the money!

It costs as much as regular 32″ 4K 60Hz VA displays, so you basically get the built-in smart OS as a bonus.

The large 32″ screen with a 4K UHD resolution, high contrast ratio and wide color gamut ensures a vibrant and crisp image quality, while the pixel response time speed and display latency are good enough for casual gaming.

For responsive gameplay, however, we highly recommend considering a higher refresh rate display.

If you don’t need a high refresh rate or professional-grade color accuracy for your work, the KTC A32Q8 is definitely worth considering.

Specifications

Screen Size	31.5-inch
Resolution	3840×2160 (Ultra HD)
Panel Type	VA
Aspect Ratio	16:9 (Widescreen)
Refresh Rate	60Hz
Response Time (GtG)	Not specified
Speakers	2x2W
Adaptive-Sync	Adaptive-Sync (48-60Hz)
Ports	DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.1*, USB-C (DP Alt Mode, 65W PD)
Other Ports	Headphone Jack, 4x USB 2.0
Brightness	250 cd/m²
Brightness (HDR)	250 cd/m²
Contrast Ratio	3000:1 (static)
Colors	1.07 billion (8-bit + FRC) 83.3% DCI-P3
HDR	HDR10
VESA	Yes (100x100mm)