15.6 4k lcd panel hdr 10bit brands

The best 4K monitors are now almost essential tools for visual design work. In fact, for those working with video, 4K is almost becoming a minimum now that 8K video is emerging. 4K, also known as Ultra HD (UHD), refers to a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels. That"s four times as many pixels as full HD (FHD), and that increased pixel density makes for a much cleaner, sharper image with more detail and texture on any screen from 27 inches and above.

The good news is that the best 4K monitors are a lot more affordable than they were a few years ago. Because UHD has now become more standard, both for media consumption as well as professional use, there are a lot more options on the market today. The flip side of this is that it"s now perhaps harder than ever to work out which is the best 4K monitor for your needs.

To help with that, we"ve made our own pick of the best 4K monitors based on our own reviews, recommendations from working creatives and a full comparison of their specs. We"ve weighed up the pros and cons of each screen and evaluated them for build and ergonomics image quality, features, colour support and accuracy, brightness and connectivity (learn more about how we test and review at Creative Bloq).

We"ve also considered value for money in order to recommend options for different needs and budgets. The best 4K monitors in terms of image quality are still very expensive – demanding professionals with a big enough budget will want to go for the Asus ProArt PA32UC-K or Eizo ColorEdge CG319X, but we haven"t placed these at the very top of our list because their price makes them simply unaffordable for many people. When factoring in value, cheaper 4K monitors like the Dell S3221QS and Samsung U28E590D end up ranking higher since we think they meet most people"s needs and an accessible price.

If you"re looking for the best 4K monitor specifically for video work, see our pick of the best monitors for video editing. And while some of the screens below can support daisy chaining for a dual monitor setup, you might also want to consider one of the best ultrawide monitors if you want more space to work with.

Pro features for under a grand put this at the top of our list of the best 4K monitors. Following in a long tradition of fine displays from Dell, the UltraSharp U3219Q offers full sRGB covering, 95 per cent DCI-P3 and exceptional colour uniformity, making it ideal for all types of creative, including those working in photo and video.

Dell takes second place on our pick of the best 4K monitors too, but this time with a much more affordable display. So OK, perhaps it"s not exactly cheap, but it"s a lot more affordable than most good 4K monitors. It looks stunning too. Dell monitors aren"t known exactly known for their sleek looks, but the curved S3221QS is a lot more elegant than its name, standing out from all those black and grey business monitors with its white back and base.

Professional 4K monitors can be massively expensive (just see the stunning Eizo ColorEdge CG319X and the Asus ProArt PA32UC-K below), but there are now some fantastic UHD screens that strike a great balance between specs and price. Our favourite, certainly for photography, is the BenQ SW321C PhotoVue. When we reviewed it, we found it to be the perfect (reasonably) affordable 32in 4K monitor for photo editing for performance and usability.

The Eizo ColourEdge CG319X is the connoisseur’s choice in high-quality displays. Eizo displays are a very familiar sight in professional video and photography studios – and this 31-inch 4K monitor, with a 10-bit display and 24-bit colour look-up table, is a stunner. The CG319X also boasts one feature that sets it apart from competing high-end 4K screens: 4096 x 2160 resolution rather than 3840 x 2160. This reflects the slightly taller 4K standard used in digital video production.

For a more compact 4K monitor, this 28-inch Samsung 4K display follows very closely on the heels of the Dell 4K S3221QS at number 2 on our list of the best 4K monitors above in terms of value. It lacks pro features but there"s still 100 per cent support for the sRGB colour space, a high 300cd/square metre brightness level and support for 60Hz 4K.

The MateView is firmly pitched at working creatives. Its IPS panel is capable of displaying 100 per cent of the sRGB colour gamut, and 98 per cent of the DCI-P3 video colour space. It also has a maximum brightness level of 500 nits, and a 1200:1 contrast ratio. The sleek, slim-bezel design is a nice addition too, and we found the touch-sensitive smart bar to be an ergonomic way to control the monitor. It"s available at a tempting price (although there are some stock issues in the US), and we reckon it"s a solid choice of monitor for creatives.

Compared with some of the pricey high-end colour-accurate Eizo and Asus screens above, the Philips Brilliance 328P (another really catchy name, right?) is an excellent alternative, as it’s great value for money while still offering solid visuals. It’s a 31.5-inch IPS panel with measured 99 per cent sRGB and 73 per cent AdobeRGB coverage, a thin-bezel design and a few extras such as a pop-up webcam that works when the built-in USB hub is connected.

Photographers and videographers who need high resolution may also want to consider this more compact LG option, which offers a 98% DCI-P3 colour gamut, great colour accuracy and typical brightness of 540 nits. The stand is height-and-tilt adjustable so you can find the right position for you, and the Thunderbolt 3 port supports 4K Daisy Chain so you can set this up with another monitor.

Viewsonic has a few colour accurate displays on the market, and the VP2785-4K is the most high-end model in its catalogue. It"s a 27-inch 4K IPS screen, sporting 100 per cent sRGB and quoted 99 per cent AdobeRGB coverage. It’s a bit fiddly to put together, requiring a screwdriver to attach the panel to the stand, but the overall design is extremely svelte, with a thin and light build, near edge-to-edge screen, and only a small bezel at the bottom that accommodates touch-sensitive controls.

With a 14-bit LUT, 700:1 contrast ratio and 375-nit brightness, the picture quality of the VP2785-4K won’t disappoint, although it doesn’t quite deliver the same eye-popping colours of the most high-end 4K displays money can buy.What is a 4K monitor?4K, also known as ultra-high definition or UHD, is a measure of a screen"s resolution. 4K monitors have a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels, which compares to a resolution of 1290 x 1080 for full high definition (FHD). This means that it"s almost four times FHD resolution. What that means in practice is that images look sharper and tighter, which is great for viewing HD video and higher quality video game graphics.Do I need a 4K monitor?There are a couple of main reasons that you might benefit from a 4K monitor. Firstly, for your own enjoyment. Even if you"ll be using your screen purely for entertainment purposes rather than for work, 4K offers a notably sharper picture, which can enhance the enjoyment of watching films, series and playing games. That said, when it comes to PC gaming, 4K UHD resolution is very demanding and many will find that the improvement in image quality isn"t worth the drop in performance.

The other reason you might want one of the best 4K monitors is for work. If you work in any visual creative area, a 4K screen can improve your experience by allowing you to see your work in more definition. If you work in video, you"ll almost certainly need at least a 4K monitor since 4K video has almost become the norm. If you"re producing 4K video for a client, then you really need to be able to view it in 4K while you work.Is a 4K monitor worth it?Today, for most professionals it"s almost certainly worth investing one of the best 4K monitors. They"re still more expensive than 1080p displays, but they have come down in price a lot as they become standard, and they"re now so much more affordable than they were that it"s no longer such a big decision.

While 4K doesn"t make a lot of sense for a small monitor, from 27-inches and up, it makes a huge difference from FHD that will be immediately apparent to anyone. Gary Heiting, an optometrist and senior editor of the website AllAboutVision, even says that the increased screen resolution can reduce the risk of eye strain, so working in 4K over long sessions can be more comfortable even if you don"t need to produce 4K video.Is my computer compatible with a 4K monitor?You might hope that buying one of the best 4K monitors will automatically improve your viewing experience, but it"s important to know that not every laptop or PC can support 4K. Most recent PCs or Macs should have no problem displaying 4K resolution, but it"s a good idea to check your screen"s recommended display resolution before you buy a new screen. We have a guide to screen resolution that may help.

To check your device, Right-click your desktop and select “Screen Resolution”. Under display settings, you"ll find a range of screen recommendations. If 3840×2160 is listed, you can be confident that your computer will indeed support a 4K monitor. If not, then you"ll need to upgrade your computer as well as your monitor if you want to enjoy 4K video rendering.

There"s also the issue of ports. You’ll need to make sure your PC has either an HDMI 2.0 port or DisplayPort 1.4 port that can support 4K since earlier versions of these ports do not. Your CPU And GPU also have an impact on your device"s ability to run 4K, because 4K is more demanding.

If your device uses Intel integrated graphics, you"ll want to have at least a 4th generation (Haswell) processor core processor. If you have Ivy Bridge or earlier, you"ll need to have a recent graphics card installed (if you"re unsure, you can check your processor at ark.intel.com to find out what the motherboard or integrated CPU graphics is capable of.How do I choose the best 4K monitor?You can now go 4K without spending a fortune, but the best 4K monitors can still be very expensive if you want pro-level calibration and the best colour accuracy. If you"re going to be using your screen for any kind of colour work, then you want precise colour accuracy. Most entry-level 4K monitors actually do a fairly decent job, but the best 4K monitors for designers will have full coverage of the AdobeRGB or DCI-P3 colour space.

After colour, size is obviously another major factor in choosing the best 4K monitor for you. The most popular choice is usually 27-inches but 32-inch screens are becoming more common. If you"re looking for a display specifically for image editing then make sure you see our roundup of the best monitors for photo editing for more options.

You"ll also want to check what ports a monitor has before you buy it. The two cheapest options in our list of the best 4K monitors don"t have a USB-C connection, something that many creatives will want for hooking up devices quickly and easily. Most monitors have DisplayPort and HDMI ports, but this can"t be taken as given either – the LG Ultrafine 24MD4KL is well kitted out with USB-C and the faster Thunderbolt 3 ports, but skips the older ports.

The best 4K laptops are beautiful enough to make your jaw drop. Yes, you can watch movies and TV shows all in 1080p if you want, but with a sharper resolution, at 3840 × 2160, 4K panels are typically brighter and even more colorful than 1080p screens. And since there"s an increasing number of games that support this resolution, the best gaming laptops are stacked to deliver the best experience possible.

There"s a huge selection of the best 4K laptops, and you"ll find these super-sharp displays on the best laptops you can buy, including the best 2-in-1 laptops and workstations. And the best 4K laptops can double as video editing laptops and the best photo editing laptops as well. However, keep in mind that 4K laptops typically don’t have the best battery life around, so there are some compromises you’ll have to make. If you or your kid have a wild imagination and need a fun and safe outlet for that, check out our DND tips page to get started on the world"s best adventure game.

We determined which were the best 4K laptops by measuring the nits of brightness and the percentage of sRGB that their panels cover. When (not if) 8K laptops arrive, we"ll be ready for a whole new page for you.

If you’re looking for the best 4K laptop ever, that would be the Dell XPS 15. Not only does it have the brightest 4K screen around, but it also totes some impressive battery life, so you won’t be making the one compromise that you typically would on most 4K laptops. This also marks the first time the XPS 15 gets an OLED display, which is in itself monumental. But the system also packs an overclockable Core i9 processor and pairs it with a discrete Nvidia GTX 1650 GPU, making for one beautiful beast. If you’re looking to get into video editing or some light to medium taxing games, this laptop is perfect for you.

But, if you’re a full fledged gamer, the Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR is the best 4K gaming laptop that you can buy. You get all the bells and whistles, including a gorgeous 17.3-inch, 4K HDR display, a super-comfortable keyboard, solid battery life and strong overall performance, all packed into a sleek design. You’ll even get an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q GPU, and while it’s not as good as competitors, it’ll still net you high frames in your favorite games.

People who need a machine for professional creative work like 3D modelling and video editing 4K content, you’ll probably want the MSI WS65 9TM, which is the best 4K workstation available right now. The WS65 packs a powerful 9th-Gen Core i7 processor and Nvidia Quadro RTX 5000 Max-Q GPU into a superslim, durable chassis. Top that off with solid battery life and a gorgeous 15.6-inch, 4K display.

Alienware continues to raise the bar of what a gaming laptop can and should be. The latest addition to the family is the X17, a beautiful bruiser of a desktop replacement that’s only 0.8-inches thick. The ultra-premium system comes with all the fixings including an Intel Core i7 processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU and dual SSDs. Need more? How’s a 17.3-inch, 4K display, powerful speakers and a Cherry MX keyboard sound?

Gigabyte got a lot of things right with the Aero 15, including its sturdy, all-aluminum, jet-black chassis, gorgeous OLED panel and satisfying, clicky keyboard. Its gaming and performance benchmarks are decent, too. However, Gigabyte gets it all wrong with that awful nosecam. Considering the workforce’s new normal, I wish Gigabyte put a little bit more thought into implementing a more practical webcam. The Aero 15’s battery life could also be a concern for users who despise being tethered to a charger all day long, but short battery life is par for the course for most gaming rigs.

Bigger is better, particularly when it comes to the Dell XPS 17. Since its reemergence onto the premium laptop market, the big brother of the XPS 15 and 13 has flexed its muscle at every turn, serving up big heaps of performance, a head-turning 17-inch display, and excellent audio. And it has done so without being any bigger or heavier than your average 15-inch laptop. It’s big alright, but big where it counts, earning it a place on our best 4K laptops page.

This year’s HP ZBook Studio G8 holds on to the award-winning G7 series styling but bumps up the power to help content creators with their creative projects either in the studio or in the field. The $4,727 system is gorgeous, powerful, MIL-SPEC tough, and is one of the best content creator laptops on the market. Oh, I forgot to mention, its OLED 4K touchscreen is bright, vivid and positively stunning.

It has a massive 17-inch bright, colorful WLED 4K touch display that renders smooth eye-catching images and video. And you’ve got some solidly potent specs, including an11th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU, an Nvidia RTX A3000 GPU, and a 2TB SSD. Plus, you get a heaping helping of security features.

Are you thirsting for some Nvidia 30-series badassery? Well, look no further than the brand spankin’ new Alienware m15 R4. This baby has it all. Power, beauty (on the inside and out) and a soft touch. For a hefty $2,499, the Alienware m15 R4 will grace you with its intense Intel Core i7-10870H processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 GPU, a poppin’ 15.6-inch, 4K OLED display and a punchy keyboard wrapped in a familiar but stylish design.

According to our colorimeter, the Alienware m15 covered a whopping 149.5% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, sailing well past the average premium gaming laptop (89.9%). At 362 nits, the Alienware m15 exemplifies what a premium gaming laptop should look like, toppling the 346-nit category average. In the trailer for Another Round, Mads Mikkelsen’s maroon shirt was so vibrant and bold, I thought I was watching Hannibal for a second. In the same scene, the panel was so bright that it detailed the carpet in the background of the dimly-lit restaurant. Mikkelsen’s hair was also as sharp as ever, literally and figuratively.

Choosing the best 4K laptops for you really depends on what you’re using the laptop for. Do you just want to watch movies on a pretty screen? Are you into gaming and want to experience high frames all in 4K? Or are you a professional creator that needs a 4K laptop for video editing and 3D modelling?

If you just want something nice to look at, your best bet is picking up the HP Spectre x360, which will net you a vibrant 15-inch, OLED display for a relatively affordable price. If you’re a hardcore gamer that what’s the best gaming laptop around with a 4K display, go with the MSI GT76 Titan -- it’ll straight up rip and tear through the best PC games. However, if you’re looking for a workstation, take a look at either the Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition or even HP ZBook 17 G5.

To determine real-world performance, we task the laptop to convert a 4K video to 1080p resolution and to duplicate a 4.97GB multimedia file. Our real-world graphics test is the Dirt 3 benchmark with medium settings at 1080p resolution.

The choice is nice but overwhelming, as there are a lot of products in this market and a lot of features. Buyers looking for computer monitors now have to consider things like HDR, brightness, color accuracy, type of display technology, input lag and more. And then there are the usual considerations like size, adjustability, inputs and so on.

The cheapest monitors are still TN (twisted nematic), which are strictly for gaming or office use. VA (vertical alignment) monitors are also relatively cheap, while offering good brightness and a high contrast ratio. However, content creators will probably want an IPS (in-plane switching) LCD display that delivers better color accuracy, image quality and viewing angles.

If maximum brightness is important, a quantum dot LCD display is the way to go — those are typically found in larger displays. OLED monitors are now available and offer the best blacks and color reproduction, but they lack the brightness of LED or quantum dot displays. Plus, they cost a lot. The latest type of OLED monitor, called QD-OLED from Samsung, just came out this year. The most notable advantage is that it can get a lot brighter, with monitors shown at CES 2022 hitting up to 1,000 nits of peak brightness.

A 4K monitor is nearly a must for content creators, and some folks are even going for 5K or all the way up to 8K. Keep in mind, though, that you’ll need a pretty powerful computer to drive all those pixels. And 4K resolution should be paired with a screen size of 27 inches and up, or you won’t notice much difference between 1440p. At the same time, I wouldn’t get a model larger than 27 inches unless it’s 4K, as you’ll start to see pixelation if you’re working up close to the display.

HDR is the buzzy monitor feature to have these days, as it adds vibrancy to entertainment and gaming – but be careful before jumping in. Some monitors that claim HDR on the marketing materials don’t even conform to a base standard. To be sure that a display at least meets minimum HDR specs, you’ll want to choose one with a DisplayHDR rating with each tier representing maximum brightness in nits.

However, the lowest DisplayHDR 400 and 500 tiers may disappoint you with a lack of brightness, washed out blacks and mediocre color reproduction. If you can afford it, choose a model with DisplayHDR 600, 1000 or True Black 400, True Black 500 and True Black 600. The True Black settings are designed primarily for OLED models, with maximum black levels at .0005 nits.

Where televisions typically offer HDR10 and Dolby Vision or HDR10+, most PC monitors only support the HDR10 standard, other than a few (very expensive) models. That doesn’t matter much for content creation or gaming, but HDR streaming on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and other services won’t look quite as punchy. In addition, most models supporting HDR600 (and up) are gaming, rather than content creation monitors – with a few exceptions.

Refresh rate is a key feature, particularly on gaming monitors. A bare minimum nowadays is 60Hz, and 80Hz refresh rates and up are much easier on the eyes. However, most 4K displays top out at 60Hz with some rare exceptions and the HDMI 2.0 spec only supports 4K at 60Hz, so you’d need at least DisplayPort 1.4 (4K at 120Hz) or HDMI 2.1. The latter is now available on a number of monitors, particularly gaming displays. However, it’s only supported on the latest NVIDIA RTX 3000- and 4000-series, AMD RX 6000-series GPUs.

Serious content creators should consider a more costly 10-bit monitor that can display billions of colors. If budget is an issue, you can go for an 8-bit panel that can fake billions of colors via dithering (often spec’d as “8-bit + FRC”). For entertainment or business purposes, a regular 8-bit monitor that can display millions of colors will be fine.

The other aspect of color is the gamut. That expresses the range of colors that can be reproduced and not just the number of colors. Most good monitors these days can cover the sRGB and Rec.709 gamuts (designed for photos and video respectively). For more demanding work, though, you’ll want one that can reproduce more demanding modern gamuts like AdobeRGB, DCI-P3 and Rec.2020 gamuts, which encompass a wider range of colors. The latter two are often used for film projection and HDR, respectively.

Both the Xbox Series X and Sony’s PS5 can handle 4K 120Hz HDR gaming, so if you’re into resolution over pure speed, you’ll want a monitor that can keep up. 4K resolution, HDR and at least 120Hz is the minimum starting point, but fortunately there are 27-inch displays with those specs starting at well under $1,000.

The monitor with the best balance of size, refresh rate and color accuracy is Samsung’s $160 27-inch 1080p T35F. It’s good for business or light gaming and content work, thanks to the IPS panel and 75Hz refresh rate. Plus, it’s fairly attractive and modern looking. There are some things you don’t get at that price, of course – it can only tilt and has an HDMI 1.4 connection.

The $330 28-inch HP U28 4K HDR monitor is a great all around choice, especially for content creators. The 60Hz IPS panel and factory calibration delivers excellent color accuracy and it’s a nice size for creative or business work. It comes with DisplayPort, HDMI and three USB 3.0 ports, along with a USB-C port with 65W of charging for a laptop or tablet. And it’s easy to set just right, thanks to height, swivel and pivot adjustment.

If gaming is more your thing, the $300 Gigabyte G27QC is a top pick. The 27-inch, 1440p curved monitor has an ideal size and resolution for gaming, and it has a quick 165Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time. You can connect via HDMI 2.0 or DisplayPort 1.2 connections and get HDR support – albeit, without DisplayHDR certification.

The $400 BenQ 27-inch 2K QHD HDR model is ideal for creative work, particularly photo editing and graphic design. While resolution is limited to 1440p, it covers 100 percent of the sRGB color gamut with a “Delta E” accuracy value of less than 3 for consistent color performance. You also get height, pivot and swivel adjustment (a full 90 degrees), with HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4 and USB-C daisy chaining and 65W power delivery.

The 32-inch LG 32UN650-W is a great 4K monitor for entertainment, creative chores and gaming. The 31.5-inch, 60Hz IPS panel covers an excellent 95 percent of the DCI-P3 gamut with 10-bit color, but also supports AMD FreeSync for gaming. It also supports HDR, albeit with just 350 nits of maximum brightness. It has HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4 ports, tilt and height adjustments and even built-in speakers.

Sometimes speed rules over size and resolution, and the $500 24.5-inch 1080p ASUS ROG Swift PG256QN is fast. It maxes out at a 360Hz refresh rate (with NVIDIA G-Sync support) and 1ms GtG response time. At the same time, you get 1.07 billion colors with HDR support (up to 400 nits brightness) so you can see your enemies quickly and clearly. Other niceties include a fully adjustable stand, ASUS’s GamePlus Hotkey Enhancements and a large heatsink.

Gigabyte’s M28U 28-inch 144Hz 4K gaming monitor sure does a lot. It has an IPS panel with a 2ms (MPRT) response time, 94 percent DCI-P3 coverage, DisplayHDR 400 certification, 2 HDMI 2.1 ports and FreeSync Premium Pro support. It comes in a little bit more expensive than $500, but we"ve often seen it on sale for $480.

In this price range you can have resolution, color accuracy or brightness, but not all three. The one with the best balance is ViewSonic’s $1,000 ColorPro VP2786 27-inch 4K HDR Monitor. The true 10-bit IPS panel covers 98 percent of the DCI-P3 color palette with an excellent Delta <2 accuracy figure, and is certified for soft-proofing by the demanding Fogra print industry. At the same time, it offers HDR10 support, albeit with a limited 350 nits of output. It even includes a “ColorPro” wheel control compatible with Adobe or Capture One apps.

The best 4K gaming monitor under $1,000 is Dell’s G3223Q 4K 32-inch HDR 144Hz monitor because of the speed, brightness and compatibility. It has an IPS panel with a 144Hz refresh rate, 1ms GtG response time, 95 percent DCI-P3 coverage and DisplayHDR 600 certification. Plus, it comes with a pair of HDMI 2.1 ports and is both FreeSync and G-Sync compatible.

Dell’s P3223QE 4K USB-C Hub monitor is productivity-oriented, thanks to the wired Ethernet connectivity and USB-C ports that offer up to 90W of power delivery for laptops. It’s a 4K IPS panel with a 178-degree viewing angle and 350 nits of brightness and support for a billion colors (8-bit + FRC). It offers height, pivot, swivel and tilt adjustment, a VESA mounting interface and DisplayPort/HDMI inputs.

The best third-party option is LG’s $700 UltraFine 4 display, also sold on Apple’s Store. With a 24-inch 4K panel, you not only get very high resolution but also 500 nits of brightness (albeit, without HDR capability). It’s color-accurate out of the box, making it great for video- and photo-editing work on a Mac or MacBook. Finally, it supports Thunderbolt 3 with daisy chaining and power delivery, all of which is very useful for Mac users who may want multiple displays.

Ultrawide 21:9 monitors are a great option for some types of content creation, games (particularly driving and flight sims) and productivity work. The best model this year is LG’s 34GP950G-B, a 34-inch 3,440 x 1,440 curved monitor. The curved IPS panel supports HDR10 with 400 nits of brightness and maximum (via overclocking) 180Hz refresh rate. It’s also G-Sync and FreeSync compatible (the latter over DisplayPort only).

For the best balance of performance and price, LePow’s 15.6-inch, 1080p $200 C2S is a solid option. It offers decent brightness (220 nits), solid contrast and a very respectable 96.1-percent sRGB gamut coverage. You get a generous selection of ports (one mini-DisplayPort, one mini-HDMI port and two USB-C ports, along with a headphone jack. The metal stand is solid and practical, and it even has built-in speakers of decent quality.

ASUS still holds the prize for best luxury monitor, but it discontinued the previous mini-LED $4,000 ProArt PA32UCX monitor and replaced it with the $5,000 PA32UCG-K display. It uses the same mini-LED tech, but ups the ante with 1,600 nits of brightness via 1,152 backlight zones, an HDMI 2.1 port, 4K 120Hz resolution, 10-bit, 98 percent DCI-P3 coverage and an impressive 85 percent Rec.2020 coverage. Oh, and it’s one of the few monitors out there that supports Dolby Vision, along with HDR10 and HLG.

You’re probably doing it wrong if you’re using a $5K monitor for gaming. However, it does support AMD FreeSync (good for gaming creation) and has a 5-millisecond response time, very respectable for a display essentially designed for professional colorists. And to that end, color accuracy is calibrated to Delta E < 1 and it’s a true 10-bit panel delivering billions of colors. To verify that, it even comes with an X-rite i1 Display Pro color calibrator, normally sold separately for around $500.

Ok, so you might have a hard time finding that last one. Color bit-depth is often hidden on the specs page or described in some obscure way. However, bit depth is becoming an increasingly important metric for comparing projectors that claim the ability to reproduce wide color gamut (WCG) and high dynamic range (HDR) content. In fact, it may actually tell you more about a projector"s potential image quality than its contrast, pixel resolution, or even color accuracy ratings—all of which can be varied based on display modes or focusing accuracy.

Fortunately, there is a simple way for any serious video enthusiast to download and view 10-bit test patterns to help assess their display. All 4K UHD Blu-ray players have built-in 10-bit per color graphics capability for playing back 4K UHD Blu-ray movies—all of which are stored in 10-bits per color HEVC format video. Most of these 4K UHD Blu-ray players and a few 4K media players, including the Roku 4K HDR, have a USB input that enables them to play back animated 10-bit per color test targets that have been saved in 10-bit HEVC format.

If you"d like to see how your own projector handles 10-bit signals, you can download the 10-bit per color animated test target you see below (Figure 3), created by In-Depth Focus Labs, from ProjectorCentral.com. The spinning wheels display a 10-bit grayscale between video levels 0 and 20 on the left, and levels 20 through 100 on the right. Although it should appear as a grayscale image, it is actually a full color pattern containing metadata tags that should automatically turn on the HDR and WCG modes in any HDR10 compatible display.

To view the test pattern on your display, copy it to a USB flash drive and insert the drive into the USB media input on your UHD Blu-ray player. When you play the file from the disc player"s built-in media player, it should be recognized by your display as a UHD resolution video with 10-bit bit depth, HDR, and BT.2020 color space.

Unlike a monochrome display, color monitors must form at least three grayscale images that represent the red, green, and blue data channels found in a standard SMPTE color signal. Most 3-chip projectors, whether using LCD, LCoS, or DLP imaging chips, start by using the data from each of the incoming R, G, and B data channels to form associated grayscale images. These are then illuminated by red, green, and blue lights (created by filtering a white light or using color LEDs or lasers) to form an overlapping full color image on screen (Figure 4).

Below (Figure 5) are examples of the 10-bit circular HDR grayscale target cited above as it should appear when properly processed at 10-bit depth (top), and with obvious banding as a result of being processed with only 8-bit or 9-bit depth (bottom). You can clearly see the banding steps in the darkest part of the test pattern, and more subtly, in the brighter part of the pattern.

In real world content on most 8-bit per color displays, you might perceive bit-depth banding issues in the transitions of light levels and colors in a sunset, or in the different hues of blue in a sky. Other bit-depth artifacts can be seen around the edges of objects, such as the transition between a planet in outer space and the halo of light surrounding it, or when one saturated color ends and another begins. Instead of a smooth tonal transition, you see a line or edging effect. For example, in the illustration below, shot in 4K HDR with 10-bit color depth, compare the out-of-focus, violet-tinged flowers behind the butterfly. The top frame in Figure 7 shows the out-of-focus flowers as they should appear with proper 10-bit processing. Below that is the frame processed at 8 bits per color.

For more than a decade, advanced photographers, videographers, and film directors have been aware of the advantages of capturing and processing color images and video with a minimum of 10-bits per color (30-bits per pixel). The RAW modes on all DSLR cameras store still photos in 10- or even 12-bits per color, and affordable 4K camcorders now have similar capabilities. On the computer side, every Mac currently sold has at least 10-bits per color graphics capability, as do the majority of PCs, image and video editing programs, and 4K or higher-resolution monitors used for image editing and advanced gaming.

However, it wasn"t until 4K UHD Blu-ray movies and players became available, enabling the distribution of high dynamic range (HDR) and wide color gamut (WCG) content to a home audience, that 10-bits per color became an important feature for both flat panel TV"s and projectors. Before that, the marketing of displays and projectors had concentrated on increased resolution and in some cases, improved color accuracy and extended color gamut reproduction. In 2015, 10-bits per color became the minimum acceptable color standard when the CEA released its minimum guidelines for HDR10-compatible displays and projectors, which included a 10-bit requirement under the HDR10 Media Profile. Here are the parameters:EOTF: SMPTE ST2084

The simplicity of the CEA definition may have created more confusion among consumers than it eliminated. A deeper read shows that all a projector or display has to do in order to claim "HDR10-compatibility" is to accept an HDR content signal containing 10-bits per colors data that"s stored using BT.2020 color space coordinates and includes appropriate HDR metadata tags. But HDR10-compatible displays and projectors are not required to maintain 10-bits per color from input to output, or even reproduce any wide gamut colors outside the standard dynamic range (SDR) Rec. 709 color space. That loophole was intentional, and left the door open for more affordable and "older-technology" 8-bit displays that are limited to Rec. 709 color gamuts (or slightly more) to be re-engineered to accept HDR and wide gamut color content from 4K UHD Blu-ray players without choking.

The TV industry has always prioritized backwards compatibility, and in this case it can be done with some internal processing tricks on the display or projector side, or within a computer or stand-alone media player. The result is that some displays with limited bit-depth capabilities are labeled as HDR-capable, but don"t really meet the criteria or deliver the full image quality benefits of 10-bit HDR displays.

Here"s how it typically works for an 8-bits per color display claiming to be HDR-compatible: When an incoming 10-bit HDR movie signal is detected, a front end processor in the display downsamples the signal to 8-bits per color data, or creates dithered 10-bit colors. Next, the display applies a reverse HDR or HLG curve adjustment to counter the EOTF 2084 contrast curve applied during the HDR mastering process. A color look up table (LUT) is then applied to scale all the wide gamut colors the display can"t reproduce to the closest in-gamut colors that it can reproduce. Additional image tweaks may include selective saturation, contrast, and blurring adjustments to minimize posterization and banding artifacts.

The result on the screen lands in between a SDR 8-bit image and a 10-bit HDR image. You may still see some wide gamut colors in the 8-bit display output, as 10-bits per color is not required to create many of the DCI-P3 gamut colors that fall outside the smaller Rec. 709 standard color gamut. However, no reasonably affordable 8-bit display or projector can achieve 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 wide gamut color space used to master and color grade 4K UHD Blu-ray movies, and 10-bit or higher color is required to achieve the additional colors found in the full BT.2020 color gamut.

Projectors and flatpanel TVs with true 10-bit processing and the improved image quality it enables are out there and more affordable than you might think. But they"re competing with some "HDR10-compatible" models that claim all sorts of HDR advantages yet don"t reveal their 8-bit limitations until you see their output on screen, or learn about it in a product review. The lesson? If you"re in the market for a new projector, make sure you do your homework.

Just curious. So practically speaking, how does this relate to an old projector like the Optoma HD80 which claims 10 bit color processing when it obviously doesn"t support HDR.

Jason, the manufacturers don"t always make this information immediately available in the spec sheets we use to create the database. But we are discussing how we might be able to incorporate this information. At this point, pretty much all new 4K displays ought to be able to do full 10 bit processing,though I suppose some budget models might not.

Great thanks for this, I wish there was more calibration/test patterns available on movies/devices/projectors. Trying to play a 4K HDR disc through a xbox one x on my projector is just hoping for the best, none of those things have any great test patterns to help you out. Things will get better but right now its...not good.

Nitin, the only Dolby Vision projectors we know of on the planet are the Christie digital cinema projectors built expressly for Dolby Vision movie theaters. There could be a couple of possible reasons for this, all conjecture on my part and not from anything I"ve heard: 1) The cost of licensing it for a projector is prohibitive for projector manufacturers, or 2) what I think is the more likely reason, Dolby simply doesn"t have a version of this technology to license to projector makers. Dolby has been very interested in making sure the technology is well executed so that viewers have a positive view of it, and unlike in Dolby Vision theaters, where they have direct knowledge of the screen size and material and lighting conditions being used and get involved in the installation and tuning of these systems (which I think are dual-projector)they can"t know how it"s going to look in home theaters. Given that HDR10 is essentially an open source technology, they can"t sell licences for something that can"t be sure looks demonstrably better or at least is executed to a level they consider satisfactory. They can do that with TVs -- but not projectors.

Do you believe we will ever get 36 bit colour projectors? If so when could you gestimate when we would have such things? Which system is best capable of doing in future, laser, LCD etc?

I"m curious about the use of temporal dithering for the many panels that are true 8 bit panels but want to "show" 10 bit colors. With all manufacturers that I investigate, I cannot find what their native panels are. What I am looking for is a modern day true 10 bit projector, but I don"t know where to look. Many say they perform 10 bit color processing, but that does not necessarily mean the panels are 10 bit. I"d really love to hear your thoughts on this. Thank you for the great article.

The ASUS ProArt™ PA329C 4K UHD HDR professional monitor delivers accurate and brilliant color reproduction and is designed for graphics professionals. PA329C is ideal for high-end video editing, thanks to a wide color gamut of 100% Rec.709 and 100% Adobe RGB for exceptional color fidelity. Up to 600 nits of brightness and VESA DisplayHDR 600 certified provides lifelike experience. ProArt PA329C features USB-C™ port supports data transfers, DisplayPort and also support 60W power delivery. Advanced ProArt™ calibration technology and factory pre-calibrated to ensures outstanding color accuracy (∆E < 2). With Windows- and Mac OS-certified, PA329C is ideal for photographers, colorists, graphic designers, and film editors.

ProArt PA329C features 32-inch 4K HDR panel with 138 pixels per inch (PPI) to give you four times the pixel density and up to 300% more onscreen space than similarly-sized Full HD displays. VESA DisplayHDR 600 certified HDR-10 enhance the contrast between the brightest and darkest parts of an image and HDR technology delivers exceptional onscreen clarity and detail.

The ASUS ProArt™ Calibration Technology saves all color parameter profiles on the PA329C"s internal scaler IC chip instead of the PC. This lets you connect PA329C to different devices without needing to continuously change existing settings. It also reduces the signal distortion between the IC and the LCD optical spectrum. The color profiles can be easily activated by using the hotkey on the monitor next time without a PC or calibrators

ProArt Preset can set the color gamut and HDR curves. PA329C provides 9 modes (Standard Mode / sRGB Mode / Adobe RGB Mode / DCI-P3 Mode / DICOM Mode / Rec.709 Mode / HDR_PQ Rec2020 / User Mode1 / User Mode2) and features ASUS Smart HDR technology provides multiple PQ curves (PQ600, PQ Basic and PQ Optimized) to fit your needs, whether you‘re filming or photography, you can quick switch and match your needs easily.

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