OSD Setup And Calibration
AOC takes a unique approach to OSD design by placing everything in a long strip across the bottom of the screen. It's easy to measure test patterns that way, and the menus are right above the control buttons.
OSD Tour
The Luminance menu has everything you need to control light output, gamma and dynamic contrast. You also get seven image modes that correspond to different tasks. We recommend using the default Standard preset and making changes in the Color menu, which we'll talk about next.
Interestingly, the U2879VF includes uniformity compensation in the form of its own image preset. You can adjust all other picture parameters in that mode. We'll show you its effects on contrast and measured uniformity on pages four and seven.
Shadow Control is a low-end gamma adjustment that increases detail in dark content; it also raises the black level. Also here is the overdrive control. Its highest setting produces a little ghosting in moving test patterns and in fast-moving gameplay. We settled on the medium option as the best compromise.
The Color menu has five color temp presets plus a user mode. In our tests we found the best accuracy by using the sRGB setting. Not only does it return the best grayscale and gamma result, it offers the best possible color gamut and luminance quality. We'll explain our tests more thoroughly on pages five and six.
Picture Boost is a feature we've only seen on AOC monitors and they all have it. It creates a zone on the screen where the user can independently adjust brightness and contrast. The effect is a grayed-out frame around the picture. It can be used to highlight a specific part of the image.
The OSD Setup menu has adjustments for menu position though we can't imagine why one would want to move it from the bottom of the screen. You can also control its transparency and timeout. If you're wondering why FreeSync isn't working, the option to turn it on is here as well. It's off by default for some reason.
Ultra HD monitors are great for displaying images from multiple sources. The U2879VF supports two images in a PIP or PBP configuration.
The final menu is called Extras and has an input selector, off timer and signal information. This screen will let you know when the monitor is in FreeSync mode.
Calibration
It seems that every AOC display we test has a slightly different calibration routine. There are multiple image modes but the secret to unlocking the U2879VF's full potential is in the color temp presets. After selecting the Standard picture preset, we recommend choosing the sRGB option in the color menu. That gave us the best test results; better than when we attempted our own calibration. The only downside is that brightness is locked at 228cd/m2, which might be a bit much for darker workspaces. If you want full control of output, please try our RGB settings below.
AOC U2879VF Calibration Settings | |
---|---|
Brightness 200cd/m2 | 71 |
Brightness 120cd/m2 | 37 |
Brightness 100cd/m2 | 28 |
Brightness 80cd/m2 | 19 |
Brightness 50cd/m2 | 7 |
Picture Mode | Standard |
Gamma | 2 |
Contrast | 50 |
Color Temp | Red 50, Green 48, Blue 52 |