The ViewSonic VP3881 is a professional monitor geared toward photographers, video editors, and other creative professionals who require very accurate colors. To this end, it has a large, ultra-wide screen that comes pre-calibrated to conform to multiple color spaces. The VP3881 beautifully rendered photos and videos in our testing. The panel is a 38-inch monster with a moderate curve, meant as a single enveloping display for graphics pros. We'd suggest looking at this panel from the point of view of pure display quality and minimalism, and not to count on the built-in audio or to put too much stock in the HDR support.

That Compelling Screen

The monitor's design is simple and conservative, with clean lines and a narrow, nearly invisible bezel, keeping one's focus on the panoramic screen. The VP3881 at Amazon measures 19.7 by 35.3 by 11.8 inches (HWD), including the stand; you can raise it by nearly five additional inches. You also get swivel and tilt adjustment (the latter, 22 degrees across the whole range). The stand emerges from a wide and sturdy rectangular base.

The in-plane switching (IPS) panel is admittedly impressive, spanning 38 inches (of which 37.5 inches are viewable), with a native resolution of 3,840 by 1,600 pixels (WQHD+). Given that resolution, the aspect ratio works out to an ultra-wide 24:10.

ViewSonic rates the VP3881's contrast ratio at 1,000:1, which our testing showed to be within half a percent of what we measured in our tests (996:1). The VP3881's peak brightness is rated at 300cd/m2 (aka nits); it turned in a slightly better 327 nits when we took it through its paces.

ViewSonic's monitor has a good set of connectors, including two HDMI inputs, a DisplayPort input, a USB Type-C port, three USB 3.0 downstream and one USB 3.0 upstream ports, and two 3.5mm jacks. The audios are one audio-in and one audio-out, meant for connecting to an external audio source, or to speakers or headphones. You may well make use of the audio-out jack, because the built-in pair of 5-watt speakers, although reasonably loud, pumps out mediocre-quality sound. Audio was better with the twin 10-watt speakers on the Editors' Choice LG 38UC99-W, which doubles as a professional and gaming monitor.