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Grayscale and Gamma Tracking
The Omen 34c G2 takes an unusual approach in that its default color mode doesn’t use its full color gamut, instead going for sRGB, which is the correct spec for SDR content. That’s the Standard mode, but if you want the wide gamut for SDR, choose Native. Either way, a calibration should be performed.
In Standard mode, the Omen 34c G2’s grayscale runs a bit warm. At levels above 50%, blue starts to fade in favor of red and green. This is a minor error, but calibration is easy to accomplish. Gamma tracks almost perfectly on the 2.2 reference line with an average value of 2.22. This is solid out-of-the-box performance.
Since most users will prefer the wider color gamut, I calibrated the Omen 34c G2’s Native mode, which employs the full spectrum. You can see that it starts quite green in tone but after tweaking, there are no visible errors. Gamma rides a tad dark though, but this is something a VA panel can get away with. The picture looks excellent.
Comparisons
The Omen 34c G2 starts out with a 3.54dE grayscale error. This isn’t too far off the mark, but in the Standard mode, you’re limited to the sRGB gamut. If you switch to Native, the error jumps to 4.92dE so you’ll have to calibrate for sure. Once done, it compares favorably to the others taking third place with 1.13dE.
In all cases, gamma tracks tightly with a tiny range of values. 0.07 was the final tally, nearly perfect. The deviation of 3.18% is because the gamma in Native mode is a tad darker than spec, actual value 2.27. This is forgivable for a VA panel thanks to its extra contrast.
Color Gamut Accuracy
Our color gamut and volume testing use Portrait Displays’ Calman software. For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, click here.
The first chart above shows the Omen 34c G2’s Standard mode, which renders the sRGB gamut to perfection for SDR content. This is technically correct, but most users spoiled by wide gamut monitors will want more color. (My hand weakly raises as I embarrassingly agree.)
You can get this in the Native mode, covering just over 90% of DCI-P3, coming up short only in the green primary. There are slight hue errors in yellow and cyan, but visually, there are no issues here. Calibration drops the error to just 1.67dE, which is excellent performance.
Comparisons
All the monitors can boast accurate color, with 2.15dE being the greatest error among them. That means in a side-by-side comparison, there are no visible differences in color between the six of them. Color gamut coverage is close as well but the old Omen 34c is a little less vivid than the rest. This is one reason to upgrade to the Omen 34c G2, it is visibly more colorful. It also covers a near-ideal 101.82% of sRGB. It is qualified for color-critical applications.
Test Takeaway: The Omen 34c G2 has reasonably accurate color which is made excellent with calibration. It’s unusual that it defaults to sRGB color, but the wide gamut is just a mode switch away. Don’t like Standard? Then go Native. Compared to its competitors, it covers the same color volume and delivers similar accuracy, which is to say excellent.
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