 Okay, pop quiz. HDR or high dynamic range is all about producing the brightest whites and the darkest blacks, right? So then if this monitor can produce only up to 450 nit brightness and this one can do up to a thousand nit brightness, can they both count as HDR monitors? Now if you're confused, you're not alone and the monitor and TV industries have been capitalizing on consumer naivety by slapping gigantic HDR stickers on just about anything they can because at the end of the day, believe it or not, there isn't really a defining standard of what meets and doesn't meet the threshold of HDR. At least there wasn't until now. Introducing the Philips 436M6, the first monitor to earn the new VESA Display HDR 1000 certification. And you can be the first to learn about it and today's sponsor, CableMod. CableMod's configurator now includes a customizable RGB backplate that can enhance the look of your GPUs and SSDs. It's compatible with RSync, RGB Fusion, Mystic Light Sync or CableMod's own kit. Find out more at the link below. Okay, so the 436M6 is the first monitor to have this logo right here on it. Display HDR 1000 is not marketing mumbo-jumbo. It is a real quantifiable standard. So then what exactly does it mean? Well because VESA's goal with the new certification is to alleviate consumer confusion, a big part of it is about transparency. So you can actually go to display HDR.org and see all of the criteria that a display has to meet in order to earn that badge. So for the display HDR 1000 cert, a display has to be able to produce bright spots on a small part of the screen like the sun or a burning candle and bright flashes across the screen like an explosion or lightning strike at illuminance of 1000 nits, hence the name of the certification. It also has to be able to produce full screen sustained brightness of 600 nits. That is about twice as bright as a good non HDR monitor. But it is not just about brightness. There are minimum standards for black level performance, color gamut performance, pixel response times and bit depth too. VESA lets you download the full spec yourself and there's even a free tool in the Microsoft store to help you test your monitor at home. Though it's not exactly easy to use. But back to our original question, are these both HDR? Well, like the Philips, this one right here actually does boast 1000 nit brightness and at $2,000 you would hope that it is good enough to make the grade and it is. Okay, but then what about the lower luminance ones like this one? Well, you may have noticed on our spec chart that the display HDR standard actually has three tiers including a 400 nit tier. So this monitor here could actually have a shot at that one even though it's not on the list of certified products at this time. VESA also says that there could eventually be higher tiers beyond a thousand nits in the future as this technology continues to develop. Very cool. But anyway, now that I've got this $1,000 VESA 1000 certified HDR display on my desk, is it guaranteed to be a good monitor then? Well, not exactly. While the display HDR spec does have requirements for performance that sort of imply the use of full array local dimming, it is not explicitly required. And it just so happens that the 436M6 doesn't have it. Believe it or not, this gigantic HDR monitor does not have a direct backlighting feature. And instead is edge lit from the top and the bottom, which is why it has such poor backlight uniformity along the side edges of the display. But then, wait a second, can edge lit displays even have local dimming? Yeah, okay. So to an extent, many displays with FALD, including our god of gaming monitors over here, actually have 384 dimming zones that they can individually brighten or dim according to the content on the screen. But if the lights are on the edge of the screen, how can you control a 1x1 inch square in the middle? You can't. And that is why this monitor only has 32 local dimming zones, just two rows of eight columns, which would explain why the halos around these floating balls are so big. The VESA spec also doesn't force displays into having professional grade color accuracy. The stipulations on wide color gamut coverage do nudge monitors towards better color capabilities, and the 436M6 uses quantum dot technology to get there, but true 10-bit color is not required, and the 8-bit plus dithering solution that this monitor uses delivers color accuracy that is... acceptable as long as you're not a content creator. But this monitor wasn't made for content creators anyway. It was made, as far as we can tell, for console gamers. I mean, just look at it. Like, it's the size of a small TV, it's got a TV-like stand, which can't elevate or swivel, but can tilt a little bit, it's got two upward-firing 7-watt speakers, and it even comes, huh, there it is, with a remote. It's also advertised as having low input lag, it runs at 60Hz with adaptive sync, and it even has RGB, sort of. Phillips calls it Ambiglow, and what it's meant to do is enlarge the screen by shining colored lights behind it that match the content that you're watching. It actually looks really cool in the pictures, but in reality it's basically two RGB strips that are hardly visible unless the monitor is right against a wall in a dark room, and even then it's actually not as cool as some of their other models that have the light strips on the sides instead of the bottom. So, bottom line then, should you buy this monitor? That's tough. If you need a DisplayHDR 1000 certified monitor today, then this is the cheapest option by a factor of two. But then again, not everyone wants a whopping 43-inch TV-like monitor, and if you are in the market for a TV, then why not just get a TV? 4K HDR TVs this size are half the price, and while they won't have DisplayPort, Mini DisplayPort, and DisplayPort over USB Type-C like this monitor does, they probably will have more than one HDMI port, which is a must for anyone who's looking to plug in more than just a console or a set-top box. So, while I actually don't think anyone who buys this beast is likely to be disappointed, I also don't think that HDR on the PC is ready for prime time in general. So, unless this fairly niche product conveniently checks all of your special snowflake boxes, I would probably consider waiting to see what else comes down the line with this shiny new sticker on it. Speaking of shiny new stickers, I actually don't have a segue. There's just a gap in my telepromp- Oh, Dollar Shave Club! We all have our everyday grooming routines, showering, brushing our teeth, and yes, of course, shaving. At least I hope we all have them. This is new. I'm supposed to share a personal or signature grooming movie. Actually, you know what? I've got one. So, I always run water on my toothbrush and then just leave it for about five or ten minutes before I brush my teeth. It makes the bristles a lot softer. Anyway, so no matter what your routine is, Dollar Shave Club, yes, that Dollar Shave Club has everything you need. Toothpaste, body wash, razors, etc. to help you look, feel, and smell your best. And they are basically giving away their daily essential starter set to new members for just five bucks. The starter set features three trial-sized versions of their most popular products to help you stay fresh and clean, and their executive razor, which has their premium weighty handle and a full cassette of cartridges to go with it. 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