Results: Color Gamut And Performance
Color gamut is measured using a saturation sweep that samples the six main colors (red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, and yellow) at five saturation levels (20, 40, 60, 80, and 100%), providing a more realistic view of color accuracy.
The PQ321Q’s color performance is not quite as good as what we saw in the grayscale and gamma tests. The blue/magenta/red side of the gamut is slightly undersaturated. In addition, all colors except cyan are clocked away from their targets. You can see in the luminance chart that blue, magenta, and, to a lesser extent, red are bumped up to compensate. If you check out familiar images like fleshtones and sky, they look reasonably accurate. The errors increase as you go up in saturation.
Let’s see how Asus' screen stacks up against the competition.
An average error of 2.55 Delta E is beneath the threshold of visibility, but some of the problems at higher color saturations can be seen by the naked eye. The range of values is .47 to 7.53 Delta E. We’d prefer to see greater consistency in a monitor selling for $3499.
Gamut Volume: Adobe RGB 1998
There are basically two categories of displays in use today: those that conform to the sRGB/Rec 709 standard like HDTVs, and wide-gamut panels that show as much as 100 percent of the Adobe RGB 1998 spec. We use Gamutvision to calculate the gamut volume, based on an ICC profile created from actual measurements. The chart shows the percentage of both sRGB and Adobe RGB 1998 gamuts.
The PQ321Q is a Studio RGB-only display. It is accurate enough for professional use, but many will prefer the wider Adobe RGB 1998 gamut available in screens like Asus' PA279Q. We’re sure it’s only a matter of time before an Ultra HD panel becomes available in wide-gamut form. For now, we have to be satisfied with a monitor that looks great in gaming and multimedia applications.
