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With Mini LED screens hitting 2,000 nits, OLED is considered by some to be inferior for HDR content. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s about dynamic range and because OLED black levels are so low, they will always look better. The 42M2N89 is no exception to this. When an HDR signal is input, it switches modes automatically and offers four additional image presets. I use the default one, HDR Game, for these tests.
All the OLEDs here were measured using 25% window patterns. The 27-inch models have higher output, but the 42M2N89 is the best of the jumbo screens with over 485 nits peak. I measured the black levels here as the 42M2N89 doesn’t completely shut the screen off, so I recorded an HDR contrast ratio of 20,006.4:1. This is lower than most of the Mini LED screens I’ve tested. Still, visually, their advantage is general brightness, not perceived contrast. It’s always about black levels so the OLED will always win on that score. Like the SDR test, if you lined up all the OLEDs here, they’d look the same in HDR mode.
I tested the four HDR modes and settled on HDR Game as the most accurate. It realizes the 42M2N89’s full potential for dynamic range and color accuracy. There are no visible grayscale errors and the EOTF tracks to near perfection. Steps up to 45% are a tad dark, then the trace goes slightly light until the tone-map transition at 65%. These are minor errors and in no way detract from the stunning HDR image.
With over 95% coverage of DCI-P3, the 42M2N89 can show all the color mastered into HDR content. Generally, there is a little over-saturation typical of all the HDR monitors I’ve tested. This adds a bit of punch to the image without obscuring detail or overblowing the picture. When the reference is Rec.2020, the 42M2N89 over-saturates similarly until the panel runs out of color at around 85%. This is also typical of the best HDR monitors I’ve tested. The 42M2N89 is as good as it gets in all aspects of HDR performance.
Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.
