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Grayscale, Gamma & Color
Grayscale Tracking
Our grayscale and gamma tests are described in detail here.
There aren’t too many choices to confuse matters here, so we’re showing you before and after charts. The first result represents the S2417DG’s Standard picture mode as delivered from the factory. There isn’t much need for calibration based on these measurements. Errors are all below the visible threshold.
We made a few small adjustments to the RGB sliders but most of our gains in the brighter steps came from reducing the Contrast slider from 75 to 68. That tells us the monitor’s default setting clips some high-end detail and also clips green and blue, as seen in the pre-calibration chart. As you’ll see below, gamma is the real issue that needs to be addressed.
Comparisons
The S2417DG takes the top prize for out-of-box accuracy and narrowly misses the top spot after calibration. We’re glad to see this kind of attention to detail in a gaming monitor. This is a standard that should be met by every computer display, regardless of its price or intended use.
Gamma Response
Gamma is the only area where we had some concerns. The default trace rides close to 2.2 until things go south at the 60% mark. It’s solely due to a contrast control that’s set too high. If you do nothing else, please change that slider from 75 to 68 on your S2417DG. It will firm up grayscale accuracy in the brighter steps, and detail that was previously washed out will become visible. Even after calibration, this monitor’s gamma could be better. It’s a tad dark considering the contrast level. An additional preset in the OSD would be helpful here.
Comparisons
Post-calibration gamma tracking is fairly linear, which enables the S2417DG to finish third in our comparison. The overall value of 2.32 drops it down to fifth, however. It’s a small difference, but if the panel tracked at 2.2, the image would have a bit more pop, especially in the mid-brightness (30-60%) areas.
Color Gamut & Luminance
For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, please click here.
The S2417DG’s native color gamut shows a little under-saturation in red and a little over-saturation in blue. These are minor errors and they’re mostly compensated for by engineered tweaks to the color luminance levels.
Our calibration has almost zero effect on the saturation measurements, but the change in gamma has brought better balance to the luminance chart. We were not able to fix the hue error in magenta, but that is also very minor and does not detract from real-world image quality.
Comparisons
Calibration takes the average Delta E 2000 error from 3.65 to 3.23 which is an imperceptible change. We still feel that fixing the gamma is the most important takeaway from our adjustments. And you can realize the same gain by simply adjusting contrast as we did. While 3.23dE is acceptable for a gaming monitor, the other screens here perform a little better. There are other considerations in favor of the S2417DG, however. Read on.
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