HP Omen Transcend 32 assessment: An costly 4K monitor, value each penny

The most recent technology of 32-inch 4K OLED screens are my private favourite shows of 2024. Immersive and sharp, they ship colour efficiency and distinction that was inconceivable to acquire from any monitor simply half a decade in the past. Nevertheless, most focus somewhat narrowly on PC and console gaming. The HP Omen Transcend 32 bucks that pattern with a variety of connectivity and options that make it equally suited to work and play.

HP Omen Transcend 32 specs and options

The HP Omen Transcend 32’s primary options shall be acquainted to anybody searching for a 32-inch 4K OLED monitor in 2024. It has a 32-inch 16:9 facet ratio show, 3840×2160 decision, and a Samsung QD-OLED panel with a most refresh price of 240Hz. Many 32-inch 4K OLED screens provide these identical specs.

• Show measurement: 32-inch 16:9 widescreen
• Native decision: 3840×2160
• Panel sort: QD-OLED 10-bit
• Refresh price: As much as 240Hz
• Adaptive sync: AMD FreeSync Premium Professional, Nvidia G-Sync, VESA Adaptive Sync
• HDR: Sure, VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 Licensed
• Ports: 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 2.1 (UHBR10), 1x USB-C with DisplayPort Alternate Mode and 140 watts of Energy Supply, 1x USB-C upstream, 3x USB-A 3.2 downstream, 1x USB-C downstream, 1x 3.5mm audio line out
• VESA mount: Sure, 100x100mm
• Audio system: 2x 3-watt audio system
• Value: $1,299.99 MSRP

Connectivity is the place the Transcend 32 begins to go off-script. It has assist for each HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 2.1 (although DisplayPort solely helps UHBR10 knowledge charges, which isn’t a lot completely different from DisplayPort 2.0). The cherry on high is a USB-C port with DisplayPort and 140 watts of Energy Supply. Many rivals lack USB-C or provide a USB-C port with way more restricted Energy Supply.

Additional studying: See our roundup of the most effective 4K screens to study competing merchandise.

HP Omen Transcend 32 design

The HP Omen Transcend 32 makes a powerful first impression. The white colorway I obtained has a contemporary, distinctive look, whereas a black choice is accessible for a darker, extra severe fashion.

A look on the entrance of the monitor reveals an understated look with slim bezels on three sides and a small chin on the backside. The rear design stands out, nevertheless, because of an incredible RGB-LED gentle bar. Its brightness and form set it other than most rivals, which generally use round LED bars positioned tightly across the stand neck. Some, just like the Acer Predator X32, don’t have an RGB-LED gentle in any respect.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

The monitor’s materials high quality is strong however doesn’t absolutely justify the worth. Plastic is the first materials, and whereas sturdy and immune to flexing, it lacks the premium texture or really feel of alternate options like Samsung’s Odyssey OLED G8 line, which makes use of a extra luxurious metallic panel design. The stand design follows go well with. It’s purposeful, however plain, with unremarkable plastic development over its metallic skeleton.

The stand provides important peak adjustment and is simple to place, however my take a look at unit’s base was not completely degree, inflicting minor wobble when jostled. Ergonomic adjustment consists of peak, tilt, and rotation as much as 90 levels to be used in panorama orientation. It may’t swivel, nevertheless.

These limitations could push customers to exchange the stand with a third-party arm. Happily, the monitor helps a 100x100mm VESA mount for third-party arms, although a bundled bracket is required for VESA mounting.

HP Omen Transcend 32 connectivity

HP equips the Omen Transcend 32 with a formidable vary of connectivity choices. It consists of two HDMI 2.1 ports, one DisplayPort 2.1 (UHBR10), and a USB-C enter with DisplayPort Alternate Mode, offering 4 video inputs — all able to supporting 4K decision on the monitor’s most refresh price of 240Hz.

The USB-C port is a spotlight, because it supplies as much as 140W of USB Energy Supply, far surpassing most rivals. 4K OLED screens typically omit USB-C fully or provide considerably decrease Energy Supply. 140 watts is sufficient to energy Home windows laptops with entry-level discrete graphics, any built-in graphics laptop computer, or a MacBook Professional.

There’s one small caveat right here: The monitor makes this energy accessible by way of a huge 480-watt exterior energy brick. I don’t usually touch upon a monitor’s exterior energy brick, because it’s often small, however this one is a chonker.

Further USB ports embody a USB-C upstream port, three USB-A 3.2 downstream ports, and one USB-C downstream port. Whereas that’s robust connectivity, the dearth of a USB-B upstream port could also be a problem for customers with older desktops that lack USB-C compatibility.

A 3.5mm audio line-out is accessible for audio-out. There’s no eARC assist, which is a minor downside in comparison with rivals just like the Alienware AW3225QF, which options HDMI with eARC — a helpful addition for connecting soundbars. The Alienware lacks USB-C with video and energy supply, although, and I’d commerce eARC for USB-C any day of the week.

Lastly, the Omen Transcend 32 makes use of a rear-facing port format somewhat than the extra widespread downward-facing design. It makes connecting cables simpler in typical setups however can complicate wall mounting.

HP Omen Transcend 32 audio

The HP Omen Transcend 32 has 4 downward-firing 3W audio system built-in into the underside of the monitor. They’re surprisingly succesful, offering ample quantity and clear, crisp sound throughout video games and music. The audio system lack bass and have a comparatively slim soundstage, however they outperform each different 4K 240Hz monitor I’ve examined with the only exception of LG UltraGear 32GS95UE-B, which has a formidable “Pixel Sound” audio system.

HP Omen Transcend 32 options

The HP Omen Transcend 32 could appear and feel like a gaming monitor, however HP positions it as a show for each players and artistic professionals, dubbing it the “portal between gaming and creating.” The monitor’s options assist the advertising and marketing.

The on-screen menu is accessed by way of a joystick positioned on the rear-right aspect of the monitor, a typical setup. Nevertheless, HP units itself aside with its on-screen menus, that are noticeably bigger and simpler to learn than these of most rivals. That is particularly useful if you happen to’re leaning again from the show or don’t have good 20/20 imaginative and prescient.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

The menus are logically organized and embody a broad vary of picture high quality changes, comparable to preset modes, fine-tuning for colour temperature, gamma, and full colour calibration. That’s excellent news for creators.

Further creator-focused instruments embody video and filmmaker overlays, the flexibility to isolate the blue channel, and choices for adjusting the downstream RGB sign. Whereas in HDR mode, the monitor permits for adjusting the clipping degree — a uncommon function in 4K 240 Hz OLED screens — however curiously, it doesn’t enable for direct HDR brightness changes, which might be a welcome addition.

Whereas the on-screen menus are nice, HP additionally supplies monitor controls by means of its Omen Gaming Hub software program. That is often faster and simpler than accessing the on-screen menu, and HP’s software program works effectively. Most main competing manufacturers provide comparable software program however smaller price range manufacturers (like AOC, Spectre, or Innocn) usually don’t. Omen Gaming Hub software program may management different Omen gadgets, so it’s particularly helpful if you happen to personal an Omen laptop computer or Omen gaming peripherals.

The Omen Transcend 32 has a KVM swap and HP’s distinctive “Omen Gear Switch,” which simplifies managing USB gadgets linked to the monitor when utilizing a number of PCs. This permits customers to toggle which PC the USB gadgets talk with.

Guarantee protection is sweet, as effectively. HP supplies a three-year guarantee for the Omen Transcend 32. Alienware and Samsung have three-year warranties on their aggressive 4K OLED shows, however LG supplies simply two years for the LG UltraGear 32GS95UE-B.

HP Omen Transcend 32 SDR efficiency

HP’s Omen Transcend 32 has a 32-inch Samsung QD-OLED panel with a local decision of 3840×2160. We’ve tried dozens of QD-OLED screens at this level, and all of them carry out equally. Nevertheless, the HP Omen Transcend 32 scores just a few small victories to ship ever-so-slightly higher SDR than most rivals.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

OLED screens aren’t particularly brilliant in SDR. The HP Omen Transcend 32 doesn’t change that, however its most sustained SDR brightness of 257 nits is in direction of the higher finish of what’s typical from a 4K OLED monitor. The monitor additionally has an efficient anti-glare end that does a superb job of minimizing glare.

The Transcend 32’s brightness isn’t sufficient to maintain the monitor comfy in unusually brilliant conditions, like a front room with massive sunlit home windows, nevertheless it’s in any other case greater than enough for comfy SDR viewing.

Distinction, in the meantime, is a tie. All fashionable OLED screens can obtain a minimal luminance of zero nits and an successfully infinite distinction ratio. The Transcend 32 delivers an immersive picture with convincing depth and shadow element—however the identical is true of all 4K OLED shows. 

Matthew Smith / Foundry

Subsequent up is colour gamut. That is usually a energy for Samsung QD-OLED panels, which use Quantum Dots to extend their colour gamut, and the Transcend 32 performs effectively. It may show one hundred pc of sRGB, 98 % of DCI-P3, and 94 % of AdobeRGB. These figures are consistent with different QD-OLED screens however superior to OLED screens with an LG WOLED panel.

The large colour gamut is sweet information for creators, because it means the monitor can show extra colours total. It additionally results in an ultra-saturated, vivid look that most individuals will get pleasure from. It is a punchy, alluring show.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

The Transcend 32 actually stands out in colour accuracy with the second-best colour accuracy of any OLED show we’ve examined up to now, behind solely the Alienware AW3225QF. It is a really distinctive degree of colour accuracy that may look good even to a essentially the most vital viewers. This, once more, is sweet information for content material creators, because it means content material created on the monitor ought to function a superb reference for the way it appears to be like on different shows. Nevertheless it’s additionally good for gaming and films, each of which look real looking.

HP stored up its robust efficiency in gamma, because it delivered a spot-on default gamma curve of two.2, which implies content material doesn’t look brighter or darker than preferrred. Shade temperature was heat on the default (Native panel) settings, with a colour temperature of 6000K, which is a bit heat and reddish. Nevertheless, it’s doable to compensate for this with the monitor’s settings.

Sharpness is a perk. 3480×2160 decision throughout a 32-inch panel works out to about 138 pixels per inch. Small textual content is sharp whereas 4K video games and films look crisp and refined.

The HP Omen Transcend 32 is an distinctive SDR monitor and fulfills its mission of delivering nice picture high quality for many creators and players. It pairs wonderful distinction with vibrant, correct colour and 4K decision. Brightness is a bit weak, as true for different OLED screens, however that’s solely a problem if you happen to plan to make use of the monitor is an unusually brilliant room.

HP Omen Transcend 32 HDR efficiency

The HP Omen Transcend 32 helps HDR and is VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black licensed, a regular generally achieved by most 4K OLED screens. Nevertheless, its measured HDR efficiency falls barely behind rivals.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

The problem is brightness. The monitor reached a most of solely 345 nits in a ten % window take a look at, the place 10 % of the show reveals an HDR picture whereas the remaining stays utterly black. Ideally, this take a look at ought to reveal brightness ranges exceeding 1,000 nits. This result’s beneath the brightness ranges of different OLED screens we’ve examined just lately, suggesting that the Omen Transcend 32 struggles to ship the brilliant, eye-catching HDR expertise that enhances films and video games.

My eyes agreed with the take a look at outcomes. The “Into the Storm” clip from Mad Max: Fury Street confirmed that whereas the monitor may ship nice depth, immersion, and colour, it didn’t dazzle as lightning arced between the mounting mud clouds. Displays with an LG WOLED panel, just like the LG Ultragear 32GS95UE-B and Asus ROG Swift PG32UCDP, are the leaders in HDR efficiency (amongst OLED screens, at the very least).

HP Omen Transcend 32 movement efficiency

The HP Transcend 32 delivers spectacular movement efficiency. Its 4K OLED panel boasts a most refresh price of 240Hz, a big improve for anybody coming from a 60Hz and even 144Hz monitor. Whereas some shows now exceed 500Hz, the 240Hz refresh price is well-suited for many fashionable video games, providing a superb sense of fluidity.

Movement blur is minimized not simply by the excessive refresh price but additionally by OLED’s inherently low pixel response time. OLED pixels transition between colours extra rapidly than these on IPS or VA panels. In testing with scrolling pictures from League of Legends and Dota 2, characters, silhouettes, terrain, and spell results stay clear. Character names and well being bars had been typically legible, although they may grow to be inconceivable to learn when the distinction with the background was inadequate.

The HP Transcend 32 helps a variety of adaptive sync requirements, together with Nvidia G-Sync, AMD FreeSync Premium Professional, and VESA Adaptive Sync. This ensures a easy adaptive sync expertise with most fashionable gadgets, and it’s good to see official assist for all three requirements. Throughout testing, the monitor carried out effectively with each AMD and Nvidia GPUs.

The one actual draw back to the Transcend 32’s movement efficiency is that it doesn’t stand out from its OLED rivals, since in addition they hit 240Hz. Nonetheless, it provides a superb gaming expertise.

Do you have to purchase the HP Omen Transcend 32?

The HP Omen Transcend 32 is a strong 32-inch 4K 240Hz monitor that’s an particularly good selection for individuals who want one monitor to deal with each high-end PC gaming and demanding content material creation. Although it delivered modest ends in HDR, the monitor scored extraordinarily effectively in SDR. It additionally supplies an unusually robust collection of video and USB connectivity and a number of other helpful extras, like a KVM swap and a pretty, easy-to-read on-screen menu.

Due to that, the HP Omen Transcend 32 is an efficient alternative for creators who additionally wish to play video games on one show (or vice versa). It’s additionally a high choose when you have each a gaming desktop and work laptop computer, and also you wish to often swap between them.