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Grayscale Tracking & Gamma Response

Our grayscale and gamma tests are described in detail here.

The PA328Q arrived at our lab in its Standard mode. As you can see there are no visible grayscale errors and calibration really isn’t necessary. In this mode you can alter the color temp via presets but if you want access to the gain and offset sliders you’ll have to switch to User.

sRGB mode looks almost exactly the same as Standard. Again there is no need for adjustment which is good because no adjustments are available except hue which provides no benefit.

If you must tweak as we do, the User mode yields even better grayscale tracking. You won’t be able to see a difference with the naked eye but if want every possible ounce of performance from the PA328Q, calibration is the way to do that.

Here is our comparison group.

1.42dE represents the Standard mode. Asus claims errors of less than two Delta E and our sample achieves that with room to spare. In the sRGB mode we measured 1.52dE which is only a tiny bit higher. Either way the PA328Q meets its advertised performance handily.

Our calibration turned excellent performance into slightly more excellent performance. This improvement does more to satisfy ego than anything else.

Gamma Response

Regardless of picture mode, gamma tracks to near-perfection. You can change the preset to 1.8 or 2.4 from the default of 2.2. In both cases tracking stays flat as it should. Since we’re picking nits here we do wish there were a BT.1886 option for those editing film and video content.

Here is our comparison group again.

A .08 deviation in values is almost nothing and that dip happens mainly at the 90-percent brightness level. Gamma tracking doesn’t get much better than this.

We calculate gamma deviation by simply expressing the difference from 2.2 as a percentage.

The average value is 2.15 which represents a 2.27-percent variation from the 2.2 spec. Again this is such a tiny amount it’s barely worth reporting.

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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.