OSD Setup And Calibration Of The Philips 288P6LJEB
OSD Tour
The bezel buttons can directly access picture modes, inputs, audio controls or the PIP/PBP options. Touching the far left one is the only way to see the list of SmartImage presets.
SmartImage is separate from the color modes in the OSD. Engaging any of the presets shown above locks out further adjustment and turns on features like dynamic contrast or reduces the backlight to conserve energy. If you want to retain full control, set SmartImage to off (as it is by default).
Pressing the far right bezel key brings up the full OSD. Regardless of where you left off, it always starts with the input select screen. If you only connect one source at a time, the 288P6LJEB automatically detects it and switches to the appropriate input.
The Picture menu lets you choose aspect ratios of either Wide Screen or 4:3. Brightness and Contrast work as expected but - surprise - there’s also a black level control. For PC signals, you can leave it on the default setting of 50. If you connect a video source like a Blu-ray player, you may want to adjust it up or down to be sure you’re seeing full shadow detail. Use a proper PLUGE test pattern for best results.
SmartResponse is a pixel clock adjuster with three speed levels. Use Fastest for the best screen response. SmartContrast is a dynamic contrast control and can be either on or off. Use it judiciously because it clips detail in the brightest and darkest areas of the image.
There are five gamma presets. The 2.2 setting works fine if you don’t calibrate. However, we had to select 2.0 when we accessed the User color mode. For more detail, see our gamma results on page five.
The 288P6LJEB can display images from two sources in either a PIP or PBP configuration, so long as the input resolution is the same. Once configured, you can place the PIP window in the top- or bottom-right and choose one of three sizes.
Audio coming from this monitor is among the best we’ve experienced. Not only do the speakers sound decent, but the audio source switches automatically between analog, HDMI or DisplayPort. The volume control affects both the speakers and the headphone output.
In Color Temp mode, you can change the white point by Kelvin values using presets of 5000, 6500, 7500, 8200, 9300 and 11500. sRGB mode is the same as choosing 6500K. When you select User Define, you can adjust the RGB sliders. You have to change the gamma preset to 2.0 if you want to maintain a 2.2 measured value.
The OSD is available in 21 languages.
The OSD Settings entry appears to allow movement of the menu, but the controls are in fact grayed out. You can change the transparency (four levels) and set the timeout as long as 60 seconds. The User option changes the function of one of the bezel control keys, letting you choose between Audio Source, Volume or Input Select.
If you use the VGA connection, you can adjust the position, phase and clock parameters in this menu. DisplayPort should be set to 1.2 for 60Hz operation at full resolution. If you use HDMI, you can still have 3840x2160 pixels, albeit at a maximum 30Hz refresh rate. Finally, you can reset the entire OSD here.
Signal info is basic and includes a reminder that 3840x2160 is the monitor’s optimum resolution. You also get the model and serial number.
Calibration
From the factory, the 288P6LJEB arrives with a Color Temp mode at 6500K. This measured well in our tests, and is a perfectly acceptable fire-and-forget configuration for good image quality. If you want to adjust the white balance, specify the User mode to unlock RGB sliders. For some reason, this also alters the gamma, so you’ll have to go back to the Picture menu and change the preset to 2.0. The sliders can only be reduced, so you’ll take a hit to contrast. We also had to lower the contrast control 12 clicks to fix issues at 90- and 100-percent brightness. This put us in a situation where we had to choose between contrast performance and grayscale accuracy. We preferred the more accurate picture. As it turns out, ANSI contrast and gamma are very good, which offsets the reduction in on/off contrast.
| Philips 288P6LJEB Calibration Settings | |
|---|---|
| SmartImage | Off |
| Brightness | 100 |
| Contrast | 38 |
| Black Level | 50 |
| Sharpness | 50 |
| Gamma | 2.0 |
| Color Temp (User Define) | Red 100, Green 98, Blue 79 |