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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.
The XB273U NVbmiiprzx has two HDR modes. If you set the OSD option to Auto, it works well but doesn’t quite pop as much as the HDR400 option, which delivers higher brightness and better image depth.
HDR Brightness and Contrast
The XB273U easily exceeds its DisplayHDR 400 certification with a 422.65 nits brightness with HDR. The Viotek and Asus screens offer a bit more, but anything over 400 nits is very bright. The XB273U’s second-place black level of 0.08 nit clearly shows the effect of dynamic contrast.
Even MSI’s VA panel isn’t that dark because it relies on its native contrast for both SDR and HDR. Resulting contrast for our review focus is a healthy 4,987:1, which is among the best we’ve measured for a monitor with an edge backlight, which won’t yield as premium results as a FALD backlight. The Asus is an overachiever here with one of the highest HDR contrast ratios we’ve recorded to date.
Grayscale, EOTF and Color
The XB273U’s HDR grayscale, EOTF and color performance leave no room for complaint. Grayscale tracking is visually perfect. Most monitors have some issue at the tone-map transition point, but not this Predator. The luminance curve tracks almost perfectly with dark shadows, well-defined mid-tones and highlights that pop.
Color tracking is mostly on-point with a slight undersaturation at the inner targets but full realization at the gamut perimeter. Only green comes up short of the full volume and by about the same margin as most DCI-P3 screens. Secondaries are at the correct hues and near their saturation targets too. These charts show the XB273U NVbmiiprzx delivers excellent HDR accuracy.
