AOC Teams Up with Porsche Design for PDS241 and PDS271 Displays
by Anton Shilov on July 8, 2017 9:00 AM ESTAOC this week introduced two new displays that it co-developed with the Austrian arm of the Porsche Design Group. The PDS241 and PDS271 feature IPS panels with FHD resolution, but their main feature is visual aesthetics with a design that attempts to hide power and signal cables.
While things like resolution, color gamut and refresh rate matter a lot, the visual design remains very important in for various business environments. The new AOC PDS family of displays is an example of the design-first approach. When developing the PDS-series monitors, AOC claims to have attempted to achieve three goals: first, to build visually attractive devices; second, to hide their cables inside their stands; third, to ensure relative affordability without using cheap components and compromising user experience.
The AOC PDS-series displays feature asymmetric metal stands that integrate their power and signal cables, creating the impression of ‘cable-less’ monitors. The displays use custom PSUs that not only deliver power, but also feature an HDMI input. In fact, in order to make the PSUs small in general, and avoid using thick power cables, AOC had to use LCD panels and backlighting with lowered power consumption and slightly reduced brightness versus mainstream desktop screens. This also contributes to the reduced thickness of the panel itself.
Speaking of panels and general specs, the PDS241 and the PDS271 are based on 23.8” and 27” AH-IPS panels featuring a 1980×1080 resolution, 250 nits brightness, a 1000:1 contrast ratio, viewing angles of 178°, and so on. The displays claim to cover 100% of sRGB and 90% of NTSC color gamut. As for input, both monitors only have an HDMI connector due to space constraints, located in the power supply. Power consumption of both displays ls listed as not exceeding 25 W.
Two thing to notes about the PSU: it is very small, but it also uses a USB Type-C connector to the display to carrying both signal and power.
AOC PDS-Series Displays | |||
PDS241 | PDS271 | ||
Panel | 23.8" AH-IPS | 27" AH-IPS | |
Native Resolution | 1920 × 1080 | ||
Maximum Refresh Rate | 60 Hz | ||
Response Time | 4 ms (gray-to-gray) | ||
Brightness | 250 cd/m² | ||
Contrast | 1000:1 | ||
Viewing Angles | 178°/178° horizontal/vertical | ||
Color Gamut | 100% sRGB, 90% NTSC | ||
Pixel Pitch | 0.2745 × 0.2745 mm | 0.311×0.311 mm | |
PPI | 92.56 | 81.59 | |
Inputs | 1 × HDMI | ||
Audio | 3.5-mm headphone jack | ||
Color | Silver | ||
Power Consumption | Standby | < 0.5 W | |
Maximum | 25 W | ||
Additional Information | Link | Link | |
Price | $199 | $249 |
AOC’s PDS241 and PDS271 displays are already available in the U.S. from Amazon for $199 and $249, respectively.
Related Reading
Source: AOC
20 Comments
View All Comments
GeorgeH - Saturday, July 8, 2017 - link
Fantastic idea, terrible execution.The breakout box should include more ports, esp. USB, not just power and HDMI. It should be mountable on the back of the monitor, or optionally with a long cable (routable through the stand) so it can be mounted wherever it's convenient.
In other words a free docking station with your monitor. But for that to have value you'd need much more than just HDMI and power. You're not plugging and unplugging multiple devices with this thing (because it has basically no ports), you're doing it once and then "hiding" a big box instead of a couple small cables.
They were >< this close to a fantastic design idea and decided to make something useless instead.
jabber - Monday, July 10, 2017 - link
You cant even remove the horrible stand and mount it on a moveable arm. Truly retarded design. This unit is designed by and for those that fail to understand good design.jabber - Monday, July 10, 2017 - link
I bet there was some old timer design guy at AOC that said "Guys...that's a piece of shit!" and got told to "shut up and get back to your work!" by the 20 somethings.Etern205 - Monday, July 10, 2017 - link
Ahh, Anandtech is a bit behind on this one.This news is like 2-3 months old.
FreckledTrout - Monday, July 10, 2017 - link
Porsche design groups have shirts that cost more than this monitor. Useless fact of the day.meacupla - Monday, July 10, 2017 - link
so, since this monitor ultimately buses data and power over USB connector, could you, theoretically, just connect this monitor directly to a USB3.0 port and do away with the brick entirely?3DVagabond - Tuesday, July 11, 2017 - link
Looks like the designer was playing with a paperclip while he was trying to think up the design. Bent it up a bit, set it on his desk and thought, ouala!BrokenCrayons - Tuesday, July 11, 2017 - link
Your offering pleases Clippy.evilspoons - Tuesday, July 18, 2017 - link
Is "ouala" some new spelling of "voilà" or "ooh la la"? I'm honestly not sure.TheWereCat - Wednesday, July 12, 2017 - link
WTF is this? Their AGON monitors feature an excellent stand and they then go and make this junk?