Our HDR benchmarking uses Portrait Displays’ Calman software. To learn about our HDR testing, see our breakdown of how we test PC monitors.
The X32’s Mini LED backlight provides tremendous light output. It’s rated for 1,000 nits but I found more than that. My only nitpick is that you must switch between SDR and HDR manually. But the result is well worth the extra step.
HDR Brightness and Contrast
The X32 measured over 1,150 nits peak with a full-field white pattern. I didn’t have to measure a small window to hit the max, which is an achievement for sure. Without local dimming, the HDR contrast ratio is around 1,200:1 but when set to Average, the middle option, it jumps to 56,043.8:1. The top three screens go completely black, so their ratios are infinite because it’s not possible to measure their black levels. Don’t be fooled though, to the human eye the X32’s picture quality is equal to the three screens above it in the chart. It’s stunning to say the least.
Grayscale, EOTF and Color
There aren’t any calibration options in HDR mode, so you must accept a slightly cool grayscale. Tracking is consistent so the error is hard to spot. Color saturation is high enough to mask most of the inaccuracy. The EOTF tracks a little dark up to the tone-map transition at 75% which is consistent with the best 1,000-nit monitors I’ve tested.
In the DCI-P3 test, red and blue are around 10% over-saturated but the other colors are closer to target. While not strictly accurate, it’s a minor error and I have no complaints about the visuals. The Rec.2020 chart, which is the more commonly used color standard for HDR, shows similar behavior. The picture is warm in a good way and all you’ll think is “color for days” when you look at it. I cannot overstate how the X32’s extra color volume impacts the image positively. It’s one of the main reasons I’ve used the term “reference” throughout this review.
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