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Results: Color Gamut And Performance
For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, please click here.
Our CIE chart shows the effect of the grayscale errors clearly. The entire gamut is pulled off-target by the white point. This demonstrated the importance of grayscale calibration and how it affects overall color quality and accuracy.
Monoprice doesn’t specify the native color gamut of its 30-inch IPS/LED, but our initial chart suggests it’s Adobe RGB. We thought it might be using the same panel part as DoubleSight’s DS-309W, but since that monitor has a CCFL backlight, it can’t be. Checking our database reveals that LG only makes one 30-inch 16:10 part with a GB-r-LED backlight and it is indeed rated for Adobe RGB 1998 coverage.
After calibration, things are much better. But we’re still seeing over-saturation across the board. Red is the worst offender with errors as high as 25 percent. Just to confirm our suspicions, we’ll make another measurement run using the Adobe RGB gamut as our standard.
Sure enough, this is a wide-gamut monitor. Though the results are much better, the red/magenta/blue side of the triangle is still over-saturated. The problem in our eyes is that most purchasers of this display will be using it for general computing and entertainment. Even with calibration, film and gaming content still looks overblown, especially in the red and blue tones.
Now we return to the comparison group:
A result of 5.29 DeltaE represents the average error when calculated in the sRGB color space. Compared to the Adobe RGB 1998 gamut, it improves to 3.64. And here’s a little surprise – when we ran the test against the Rec.2020 standard for Ultra HD, it came up 3.94dE. So if you happen to need a mastering monitor for really large-gamut content, the Monoprice turns out to be a good choice.
Gamut Volume: Adobe RGB 1998 And sRGB
Given our CIE results, you’d think the Adobe RGB volume would be over 100 percent. Look at the green primary, though. It doesn’t quite make it to the highest saturation level. If you plan to use the Monoprice as a wide-gamut monitor, a software LUT calibration is required to match it with the rest of your production suite. And for those using it for gaming and general computing, color will look over-saturated all around unless you perform the same LUT adjustment. A package like CalMAN or Spyder can help you accomplish this.
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