Results: Viewing Angles And Uniformity
The more monitors we test, the more we can see that off-axis viewing performance is dependent not only on pixel structure (IPS, PLS, TN, etc.), but the backlight technology as well.
Since IPS technology has not changed over the past year or so, we can only conclude that the better off-axis viewing results we’re getting are due to improvements in the panels’ anti-glare layer. Where earlier QHD screens showed an obvious green shift to the sides, now there is little to no color change. The red tint in the top and bottom views is fairly typical. The other positive effect of this trend is increased image clarity. In the past, an aggressive anti-glare coating would make the picture look hazy and poorly defined. Now you really can have your cake and eat it too. Reflections are practically non-existent, small text is super-clear, and you get a far more consistent image when viewed left or right of center.
Screen Uniformity: Luminance
To measure screen uniformity, zero and 100-percent full-field patterns are used, and nine points are sampled. First, we establish a baseline measurement at the center of each screen. Then the surrounding eight points are measured and their values expressed as a percentage of the baseline, either above or below. This number gets averaged. It is important to remember that we only test the review sample each vendor sends us. Other examples of the same monitor can measure differently.
First up is black field uniformity.
The EA274WMi doesn’t have any uniformity compensation built in. But it obviously isn't needed, since we get one of the best results we’ve recorded, beating some displays that have the feature. Our sample showed no visible issues at all. Looking at the raw measurements, the C6 sees a little extra brightness in the top-center and upper-right portions of the screen.
Here’s the white field measurement.
This is the second-best result we’ve recorded to date. The biggest deviation is at the top-center, where we measure 5 cd/m2 brighter than the center. That’s phenomenal performance for any LCD panel of any type.
Screen Uniformity: Color
To measure color uniformity, we display an 80-percent white field and measure the Delta E error of the same nine points on the screen. Then we simply subtract the lowest value from the highest to arrive at the result. A smaller number means a display is more uniform. Any value below three translates to a variation invisible to the naked eye.
We saw no color uniformity problems with our press sample, and an error range of 1.47 Delta E backs that up. The highest value is 2.00 and the lowest is .53. All of our measurements are well below the threshold of visibility. We're using an 80-percent white field pattern, though patterns at other brightness levels look just as neutral across the screen.
