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The Omen 32q supports HDR10 signals with a VESA DisplayHDR 400 certification. It switches modes automatically and delivers high image fidelity with no need for or possibility of, adjustment.
HDR Brightness and Contrast
My Omen 32q sample nearly hit 500 nits in HDR mode, which is a lot of light for a 32-inch screen. It’s well ahead of the VA panels in this test. If you like bright HDR, this monitor is the one. Thanks to a field dimming feature, it also has the best HDR black levels in the group. That results in an impressive 10,068.5:1 HDR contrast ratio, the best of the bunch. Any concerns about SDR contrast go out the window when HDR is this good. It translates to a sharp, bold and deep image with dark shadows and bright highlights. The other screens don’t improve over their SDR scores. Note that the AOC CQ32G2S is omitted here because it doesn’t support HDR.
Grayscale, EOTF and Color
The Omen 32q’s HDR grayscale and EOTF chart is reference quality. There are no visible grayscale errors and the EOTF tracks almost perfectly to its reference line. Shadows are a tad dark, but I saw no lack of detail. There was no clipping in any actual content. The tone-map transition is at 65%, which matches the measured white and black levels. This is truly impressive performance.
HDR color sticks to its hue targets and adds in a bit of over-saturation. This is typical of HDR monitors and when the points are linear, as they are here, detail rendering is not affected. You can see all the elements of the original content displayed in vivid tones. The Omen 32q’s HDR color is clearly richer than SDR. The Rec.2020 chart shows the same behavior, correct hues and linear over-saturation. Color runs out around 75% for green and 90% for red and blue. This is expected, given the measured gamut volume. The Omen 32q has superb HDR color.
Test Takeaway: Any concerns I had about contrast were quickly forgotten when I measured the Omen 32q’s HDR mode. It does a superb job with all HDR content, rendering terrific dynamic range and vibrant color that’s clearly more saturated than SDR. I’ve only seen premium Mini LED and full-array local dimming panels look better. HP has a coup here for just $400.
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