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The VX2730D-4K supports HDR10 signals with an automatic switch if HDR is set to Auto in the OSD. I noted some issues which I’ll detail below.
HDR Brightness and Contrast
The VX2730D-4K has an edge LED backlight with no dimming available for HDR so I expected that it would match output levels between SDR and HDR. I could only get to 207 nits with no provision for improvement. I checked full field and window patterns and got the same result. Black levels are about the same as they are in SDR with the backlight maxed, so contrast drops to 1,080.6:1. This gives HDR content the same appearance as SDR with no additional depth or impact.
Grayscale, EOTF and Color
HDR grayscale tracking is decidedly blue, and I didn’t need the meter to tell me there was an error. I could see it in step patterns and full fields. This further flattens the image to where it has less impact than its SDR counterpart. The EOTF runs a bit dark, below the reference line, but stays consistent enough to keep all detail visible.
In the gamut test, you can see the effect of the skewed grayscale tracking. All colors are pulled off their hue and saturation targets. HDR is colorful thanks to the VX2730D-4K’s large gamut, but it is not impactful due to the errors I noted. In the BT.2020, color runs out at 90% red, 75% green and 95% blue.
Test Takeaway: The VX2730D-4K’s HDR presentation is lackluster at best. Brightness is reduced by around 30% from maximum and contrast goes down as well. Grayscale errors result in a flat image with no more impact than its SDR counterpart. While the HDR mode is usable, it doesn’t provide any advantages over SDR.
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