Results: Grayscale Tracking
For a product like the On-Lap 2501M, stock grayscale performance is very important since it’s unlikely that a user would calibrate this display. It is important that the color of white be consistently neutral at all light levels from darkest to brightest. Grayscale performance impacts color accuracy with regard to the secondary colors; cyan, magenta, and yellow. Since computer monitors typically have no color or tint adjustment, accurate grayscale is key.
The stock measurement shows a slightly cool result. Fortunately, green and blue track together, so the overall tint to white is barely noticeable. This is affirmed by the Delta-E numbers, which just barely exceed the visible level from 30 to 80 percent. The best stock setting for color temp is the 6500 K preset.
Adjusting the RGB sliders and increasing the brightness to maximum produces the following result. You can see Delta-E values are now all below three.
Green and blue track fairly well, but red starts to rise as the signal level increases. Turning up the red slider any higher produces a visible tint to the brightest whites, which is simply unacceptable for a computer monitor.
Compared to more expensive IPS monitors, the On-Lap does pretty well.
With an average stock Delta-E error of only 3.54, you are unlikely to notice any tint to the white balance. This is very good performance.
Calibrating the On-Lap only reduces the error by 1.34 Delta-E. You're going to notice the difference in lost contrast much more than the difference in white balance.
As mentioned, calibrating the On-Lap reduces its contrast performance by around 19 percent, which is enough to be visible to the naked eye. Since dynamic range is still the ultimate metric for image quality, we recommend leaving the panel in its stock configuration and adjusting the brightness to taste. Dialing in the white balance won’t make an appreciable difference, and the reduction in contrast just isn’t worth it.
