Results: Viewing Angles, Uniformity, Response, And Lag
To learn how we measure screen uniformity, please click here.
As mentioned on page three, the U28D590D has five options under the Samsung Magic Angle menu for improving off-axis image quality. Believe it or not, the settings do improve the image, as advertised. This is accomplished by altering the display’s gamma to emphasize some of the detail that’s normally lost when looking at a TN monitor from the side or above. They don't help with the horizontal color shift, however. That will still be greenish no matter what option you choose.
Our photo was taken with the feature turned off. Light falloff, color shift and detail retention are about the same as the other monitors based on the 28-inch TN Ultra HD Innolux panel.
Screen Uniformity: Luminance
TN-based panels are not known for great black field uniformity, but the U28D590D emerges as the second TN monitor in our group to drop below the 10-percent mark in this test. Even the IPS-based NEC can’t quite get there. According to our luminance meter, the brightest spot is in the center of the screen. But you won’t see that in practice.
Here’s the white field measurement:
The white field uniformity result is even better, beating the other TN screens. Samsung again makes sure the hotspot occurs in the center, where it’s the least noticeable.
Screen Uniformity: Color
Our sample U28D590D shows a slight color error down the left side of the screen. You can’t see it without a meter though. This is one discipline where modern TN panels really improve over their predecessors. It’s difficult to find a display with objectionable field uniformity these days and our results support that.
Pixel Response And Input Lag
Please click here to read up on our pixel response and input lag testing procedures.
We performed these tests with Game Mode both off and on. Panel response is the same either way at a rapid 15 milliseconds. Of all the displays in the group, the U28D590D has the least motion blur, though the effect is pretty subtle across the board. Any of the monitors look pretty good showing video and movie content.
Here are the lag results:
Since this monitor class is a go-to for gaming, input lag becomes a real differentiator when it comes time to choose a budget-friendly Ultra HD screen. Unfortunately the U28D590D doesn't quite break into the top group. Ninety-eight milliseconds is the result with Game Mode turned on. When it’s off, lag is a little greater at 106ms. Either way, gamers needing immediate response to control inputs should look at the Asus or Planar displays. Samsung has everything else going for it except this one attribute. If you’re more of a casual player (like me), the other specifications make it more than suitable for recreation.
