Out-Of-Box Performance: Brightness And Contrast Ratio
Right out of the box, Dell's SR2320L offers some very deep blacks, but it's stunted by poor white luminance. Samsung's PX2370 has the opposite problem: high white and high black luminance. In comparison, HP's 2311x takes the middle ground.
The brightness of white and black tones does not tell the full story of a monitor. It's only one part of a larger picture. Luminance can have an effect on how you perceive color, but it's indirect. It can help the display achieve brighter colors, but it often comes at the cost of contrast if a monitor has a poor color palette.
All three monitors default to a slightly cool temperature. This is to be expected. On the showroom floor, shoppers tend to favor images in blue tones. But remember, this is only an indication of out-of-box performance.
If you want a balanced image, you'll need to calibrate the display to 6500 K. Most DVDs, digital cameras, and online video content are calibrated for a 6500 K white point, because this represents the spectrum you would see in overcast daylight.
