Applying an HDR10 signal to the Asus TUF Gaming VG289Q switches it to HDR mode automatically. All image controls are grayed out, but you get two HDR modes to chose from: Cinema and Gaming.
HDR Brightness and Contrast
Brightness numbers were identical between the Cinema and Gaming HDR modes, so we’re showing the results from the former. HDR brightness is about the same as it is for SDR (354.9 nits versus 370.5 nits). The peak white on the VG289Q was slightly lower, but contrast was the same (just over 1,016:1). There is no dynamic contrast option available, and to our eyes, Cinema and Gaming HDR looked the same.
Grayscale, EOTF and Color
The VG289Q’s color and grayscale accuracy extend to both HDR modes. They measured almost identically, so we’re showing the Cinema mode again. There were no white point errors anywhere in the brightness range, and the EOTF tracked to near perfection. It’s a little light in the darkest steps, and we observed clipping where we could not distinguish between 0, 5 and 10% brightness. This might muddy some very dark shadow detail, but in actual content, it wasn’t too apparent. Bright highlights popped nicely with a transition to tone-mapping at 65% brightness.
In the HDR gamut test, red is a little over-saturated at the 40-80% targets but good at 20 and 100%. Green and yellow were about 20% under-saturated, while blue tracked well. Magenta was also properly saturated but showed a slightly blue hue. Compared to other HDR monitors, the VG289Q offers good performance. Its HDR accuracy is very good, but as an edge lit IPS panel, it doesn’t deliver much more contrast than good SDR monitors.
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