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Our HDR benchmarking uses Portrait Displays’ Calman software. To learn about our HDR testing, see our breakdown of how we test PC monitors.
Displays like the 27M2N8500 are the best way to enjoy HDR content thanks to their large color gamuts and deep contrast. An HDR10 signal applied to the Philips enables six new picture modes, five of which are adjustable for brightness, contrast, luminance curve and color saturation. This is an unusual level of flexibility for an HDR display. Most have few or no options. I ran all tests in the 1000 Max mode, which has the highest peak white level.
HDR Brightness and Contrast
The 27M2N8500 isn’t super bright but it is bright enough to be effective at presenting HDR as long as you aren’t playing in a room soaked in sunlight. If you really need high peak output, the Pixio is one of the brightest 27-inch HDR monitors I’ve tested. However, in a typical media room or office, the 27M2N8500 delivers as much impact as the others.
Grayscale, EOTF and Color
The 1000 Max mode delivers slightly warm grayscale tracking and an EOTF that rides close to the reference. Areas from zero to 40% brightness are a bit too dark so some shadow detail might be hard to see. The tweaks available in the OSD can be used to tailor the 27M2N8500 to different content. Not all HDR material is the same.
In the color test, I noted slight oversaturation from 20 to 80% but at the 100% targets for red and blue, the 27M2N8500 comes up slightly short. Most content doesn’t use those extreme values but one might occasionally see a little less verve in the brightest scenes. Green is fully covered, and the secondaries hit their hue targets. The BT.2020 test shows the same behavior and maxes out at 85% red and blue, and 75% green. This is good performance but there is some room for improvement.
Test Takeaway: It’s hard to dislike HDR presented by any QD-OLED monitor and the 27M2N8500 truly looks amazing. However, I noted slight undersaturation in the brightest examples of red and green and some dark shadows where detail was hard to see. Adjustments are available though which is something most monitors don’t allow. While there is room for improvement, users can tweak to a better HDR image with a few adjustments.
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Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.
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oofdragon What's exactly "response time"? Like, how can it be faster than a also OLED but 480hz?Reply -
deesider
It's the total time from when the video signal changes at it's source, to when the image changes - so it includes any processing time the monitor needs.oofdragon said:What's exactly "response time"? Like, how can it be faster than a also OLED but 480hz?
Their testing methods are explained further here: https://www.tomshardware.com/reference/how-we-test-pc-monitors-benchmarking/4