We’ve had the premium all-rounder display Huawei MateView in for review and now it’s the turn of their upmarket gaming-centric Huawei MateView GT 34″, a curved ultra-widescreen monitor that shows the Chinese telecoms giant’s ambition.
Display of Content
Huawei MateView GT is a curved ultra-wide 34-incher with a 2K resolution – in this case, 3,440 x 1,440 pixels. The 1,500R curve of GT is a little tighter than the typical curved display (1,800-4,000R). However, it’s not quite the near-wraparound of 1,000R.
The large size and degree of curvature mean MateView GT will occupy a lot of a user’s field of view, offering quite a bit of extra immersion in practice.
MateView GT’s 21:9 aspect ratio, 165Hz and 178 degree (H and V) viewing angles will be appreciated by a wider audience. Pun intended.
As should its 4,000:1 contrast ratio in a realm where 1,000-1,500:1 is considered adequate. In practice, the excellent contrast is noticeable and adds a richness to all content.
Gaming especially benefits from this 4,000:1 ratio. Scenes on 9th-gen. hardware feel at home on the monitor with their bespoke HDR implementation.
The display’s maximum brightness of 350 nits is the gaming monitor standard.
However, sitting at moderate distance – as suggested by the room-filling soundbar – you may notice it’s much less bright than your average telly or premium media-focused PC or Mac display.
90% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut is a strong figure for this type of device. 90% of DCI-P3 is roughly equal to 120% of the sRGB range. MateView GT features a maximum refresh rate of 165Hz but is a little limited by its HDMI 2.0 standard. 1440p resolution via HMDI tops out at 144Hz, for example.
The choice of a VA panel gives MateView 34″ that deep contrast but also keeps the response time at 4ms. Most won’t notice it but some golden-eyed folk may perceive a little motion blur during more intense scenes.
Feature Proof
Huawei are offering more than specs to sell MateView GT to gamers with two details are aimed squarely atMateView GT’s target demographic.
One is the built-in cross hair – for games that lack one or when you are unhappy with the reticle options in-game. The other is a type of brightness compression that Huawei are calling Dark Field Control. This brightens dark areas of the screen or darkens overblown spots to keep your opponents visible.
Those who wrestle with Rainbow Six Siege‘s visibility mechanics will certainly see a difference. Dark Souls Remastered‘s Tomb of the Giants doesn’t benefit from the bump so you are going to need those Skull Lanterns or to save yer man from going mad.
Matte Boss
Like their previous monitor, Huawei MateView GT 34″ features a single column vertical stand. A minimalist and contemporary look that helps the display itself stand out all the more.
The device as a whole wears a dark, matted metallic finish. The minimal bezel and anti-glare matted screen all fit together visually in a pleasing fashion.
While gaming accessories have moved away from gaudy micro detail and excessive logos to a more toned-down aesthetic, Huawei MateView GT 34″ takes this to the extreme.
It doesn’t really look like a gaming monitor beyond the very obvious ultra-wide and curved form and that’s actually very refreshing.
Sound Lounge
A built-in soundbar and dual mics are an attempt to offer a headset-free online experience allowing one to lounge.
The audio drivers reside into the oversized horizontal spars of the T-shaped foot to create the integral soundbar. GT features 2x5W (peak) drivers – it must be noted that the user will be sitting close to the device so will suffice for most content.
The soundbar lacks low-end punch and can be a little raw sounding in the higher regiesters. With louder action gaming, movie or TV content, it can be a little hollow.
Music has the same issues – bass-filled, heavy music loses some of its impact due to the weak low-end. The presence of that harshness in the high-end also takes a little away from more delicate tracks.
An LED lightbar resides on the speaker setup and users adjust the volume by sliding a finger along this light, it’s responsive and easy to place the volume where you like.
Power Option
MateView GT features two USB-C ports on the rear – one is used to power the display while the other is a full-suite USB passthrough.
This can also output power to charge other devices at 65W. Two full-size USB-3, two HDMI 2.0 and a DP 1.4 round off the rear ports.
Huawei say they are using the USB-C power option to consolidate the user’s suite of cables. As USB Type-C is beginning to reach critical mass, this is probably a shrewd move by Huawei – the type of gamer who drops around €/$500 on a gaming monitor will appreciate touches like this.
All the ports are around the rear of the display itself so swapping them out isn’t as easy as with other monitors.
Gaming Well Monitored
Huawei MateView 34″ is a lot of monitor for the price. The ultra-wide 1440p curved panel tech does not come cheap yet Huawei did not scrimp on build-quality or features to keep the price down.
If the soundbar isn’t to your liking or you are definitely a solo gamer, you can get Huawei MateView 34″ without the speakers for around £70/€100 less. At that point the monitor is an even bigger steal.
While the VA panel adds a little motion blur that most will not perceive, it adds a depth through contrast that everyone certainly will. Combined with a billion-colour engine, the rich contrast gives the monitor a gorgeous visual pop.
