OSD Setup & Calibration
The S2719DM has a full on-screen display (OSD) with nearly every option you could desire. It’s not aimed at professionals, but it does have the accuracy required for color-critical work in the sRGB realm.
The OSD is divided into seven sub-menus. The input source sub-menu has an auto-sense feature that locks on almost instantly to the first active signal.
There are seven image modes. Standard offers sufficient accuracy, so calibration is an option rather than a requirement. ComfortView is similar to the low blue light modes many other monitors offer. To tweak that last one percent of performance, choose Custom Color and adjust the RGB sliders as we did. Gamma presets and color gamut options are not present. DCI happens only in HDR mode, and gamma is fixed at 2.2.
Computers usually output RGB signals, but many Blu-ray players use YPbPr (the analog version of the YCbCr color space). If your player has issues with the S2719DM, you can manually select the YPbPr format available in the Input Color Format sub-menu, which is under Color.
Display offers aspect ratio options, a sharpness control (20 is all you need before edge enhancement sets in), overdrive and four HDR options. The HDR options only work when an HDR10 signal is present, and you can turn it off if desired. We saw the best image quality using Movie HDR.
Under Menu, you can select the OSD's language, adjust its transparency and decide how long it stays on screen (up to 60 seconds).
Personalize lets you change the functions of the first two control keys. You can also turn off the power LED here.
The final menu, Others, offers signal info (including the HDMI version of the source), DDC/CI (two-way communication between display and source)and LCD Conditioning, which is completely unnecessary in any LCD. You can also view the firmware and service tag here if you need service or support.
Calibration
The S2719DM’s Standard mode is fine for all applications, gaming, or SDR movies. Its errors are below the visible point, so calibration is unnecessary.
In Custom Color, RGB sliders appear that only need minor adjustment to bring grayscale tracking to an excellent level. We lowered contrast a bit to remove all signs of clipping from the 100% brightness point. However, this is unnecessary; if you leave everything alone, SDR contrast is about 1000:1, and color errors never exceed 2dE.
Below are the recommended settings in Custom Color mode:
| Dell S2719DM Calibration Settings | |
| Picture Mode | Custom Color |
| Brightness 200 nits | 58 |
| Brightness 120 nits | 26 |
| Brightness 100 nits | 22 |
| Brightness 80 nits | 16 |
| Brightness 50 nits | 8 |
| Contrast | 70 |
| Color Temp | Red 99, Green 99, Blue 100 |
| Smart HDR | Movie |
For HDR content, you can increase contrast to 75 for a little more pop. But don't go beyond that or visible clipping will occur. We also found the best performance in the Movie HDR preset.
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Nice to see though that Tom's got one with fantastic black uniformity, maybe I should have just ordered a second one.....
You can't get 120Hz in a 4k UHD monitor. That would require HDMI 2.1 which is not something you can buy for a Windows 10 PC at this time.
Am I missing something?
Is Tom's saying >>all<< 4k UHD monitors have a con of a maximum 60Hz?
The author needs to write a different article about the state of 4k UHD monitors in general compared to typical 1080p monitors or something like that.
I had the exact same thought. The price point of this monitor and its features are extremely competitive if not class setting. You have to spend over $400 (USD) to get a faster 1440p 27" monitor, and that's not even including one for Freesync or G-Sync. Further, I am one who doesn't see the major performance improvement past a consistent 60Hz/60FPS gameplay experience or a 120Hz/120FPS experience.
This is why I've always overkilled on GPU power. I want to make sure the minimum frames in games don't dip down to near or below the 60FPS/60Hz sync limit. Also, the GPU doesn't have to work as hard. I've tried a G-sync 144Hz monitor and just didn't appreciate the cost difference vs. performance. I guess my eyes are getting older.
Anyway I've been very happy with my Dell U2713HM 1440p that is now five years old. It cost over $500 but for the time was top of the line. In fact I have four Dell monitors I've never had problems with any of them dating back to a 2000-built 19" Trinitron G420S CRT built by Sony. If my 1440p monitor dies, I'd snap one of these up in a heartbeat.
Also, I hope one day we can all have some sort of HDR standard because the different formats of it are not the same kind of tech and really not directly comparable:
HDR10 Dolby Vision
HLG
Advanced HDR
Off topic: I see my Dell G420S CRT monitor is selling on eBay for $450 plus! A photographer pro friend tells me that these old CRTs are still in high demand for their color reproduction. I think I just found my ticket to my next hardware upgrade.
If only this was a 4k monitor you may have had a point.
It's a QHD i.e 2K monitor. I don't think the author is the one confused. :pt1cable:
Wow... do I feel stupid. I've been so focused on upgrading to 4k UHD that I forgot what QHD was.
In my limited brain space there is only 1920x1080p and 3840x2160 UHD. Everything else is just noise that I ignore. If I had noticed the article was about a QHD monitor I wouldn't have even read it.
Thanks for pointing out my stupidity. I was really confused about 60Hz being a "Con".