Philips Momentum 329M1RV | Review

There are several TVs on the market capable of handling the 4K 120Hz of the new generation consoles, but not all of them use PS5 or Xbox Series X in the living room: if you have them in your room, perhaps next to a gaming PC , what you need is a quality monitor ready for the next gen, with 4K resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, HDMI 2.1 ports and support for Adaptive Sync. There are already several solutions on the market with these characteristics and today we are talking about the Philips Momentum 329M1RV, a 32-inch that combines the listed unique features such as Ambiglow lighting, DTS audio and excellent image quality.

Philips Momentum 329M1RV is equipped with an IPS type panel and offers 85% coverage of the DCI-P3 space, DisplayHDR 400 certification and guarantees high color fidelity thanks to factory calibration. In addition to the three HDMI 2.1 ports, on board we find a DisplayPort 1.4 input (which allows you to take advantage of the 144Hz refresh rate), a USB-C port and four USB 3.2 type A, enabled by the classic USB-B to be connected to the PC . Among the features there is also a KVM switch, which allows you to use the same mouse and keyboard (connected to the monitor) with different systems; in this context, the PBP function is also very useful, which allows you to view two different sources side by side.

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Design and features

The design of the monitor is very simple and clean, without any particular aesthetic trappings, which makes it suitable for any environment. The metal base, with a T-shape, takes up little space on the desk but at the same time holds the monitor firmly, in addition on the stand it offers a convenient cable guide to keep them tidy. The display is surrounded by fairly thin edges, except for the lower one, which is thicker. The back is made of plastic and in addition to the Ambiglow LEDs it houses a small joystick for navigating the OSD menu.







The integrated 5 watt speakers are well made and guarantee a dazzling experience. listening above average. They will not replace good headphones or external speakers, but still allow you to enjoy good sound in different situations.

OSD menu

The OSD menu of the Philips Momentum 329M1RV is full of options, that allow you to customize both the video and audio sectors, as well as the Ambiglow lighting. The latter can be set to follow audio and video played on the screen, or on customized effects; it is also possible to adjust the intensity and set a static color (the "Xbox" preset makes the LEDs green). If you want to use Ambiglow as an ambient light, our advice is to set the white color and brightness to the lowest option. The LEDs can also be turned off, just select "Off" in the OSD menu.

There are also many options dedicated to gamers, who can manage Adaptive Sync, activate the classic viewfinder in the center of the screen and adjust the overdrive, as well as reducing blur via MPRT (Adaptive Sync must be disabled to do this). This option has 20 levels of adjustment, the higher you go the darker the image becomes and the more the blur is reduced.





Under “SmartImage” there are ten different image presets, but the monitor gives its best by keeping this setting off. There is also the typical sRGB profile, hidden however in the submenu dedicated to color temperature; five different presets for gamma adjustment are also found here.

The audio settings offer six different DSP presets and the ability to disable DTS. By choosing this option you access an equalizer that allows you to customize the audio. Finally, the USB menu allows you to manage the KVM switch and standby options for the two USB ports capable of charging devices.

User experience

Given its nature as a monitor for gaming, we used the Philips Momentum 329M1RV mainly for this purpose. The gaming experience is truly excellent, thanks also to a high image quality, both in SDR and HDR. Contrast and details are not lacking, however (as often happens) the HDR gaming experience changes depending on the title: in Doom Eternal we had to make adjustments to improve saturation, while in other games we did not have to change even one parameter. .

In SDR, on the other hand, you have the best experience with SmartImage deactivated, however we would like to point out that the Xbox mode turns very blue. Adaptive Sync works flawlessly, as does overdrive, which eliminates ghosting and almost all blur.



Setting the Ambiglow system to follow what happens on screen it greatly improves immersion, but in some cases it has distracted us from the action; you will have to try it to understand whether to use it like this, whether to set it as ambient light or even to keep it off.

The audio sector is as mentioned above the average, the sound is not distorted even at maximum volume. There is a little lack of bass, but the mids are well balanced and rendered much better than one might expect from speakers integrated into a monitor; a pair of headphones or external speakers remain the best solution, but in the absence of anything else, the speakers of the Philips Momentum 329M1RV will do just fine.

The monitor is also valid outside of gaming: the images are always rich in details, the contrast is high and the texts are read well, without straining the eyes. The high color fidelity allows you to use it without problems even with graphics and photo editing programs.

Conclusions

The Philips Momentum 329M1RV is a quality monitor that offers everything you need toa> play at your best from PC, but above all from new generation consoles: those who own a PS5 or an Xbox Series X (or both) and want to integrate it in the best possible way in the setup of their room, will find in this monitor an adequate and satisfying solution.

The presence of a DisplayPort 1.4 to connect the PC to, several HDMI 2.1 for consoles, 4K resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, support for Adaptive Sync and excellent color fidelity make the Philips Momentum 329M1RV the perfect product for this scenario. The Ambiglow lighting, the metal base and the excellent build quality are added values ​​that should not be underestimated.



At the time of writing, the Philips monitor is priced at around 1000 € . It is certainly not cheap, but the quality is undoubted and, together with the features described, it justifies the cost, even compared to competing solutions that lack unique features such as Ambiglow.

Ultimately, if you are looking for a quality monitor to be placed on your desk that allows you to play better with PC, console or any other device you decide to connect, as well as to work with graphics programs thanks to a faithful color reproduction, you should seriously consider the Philips Momentum 329M1RV.