Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
The GNV32DBE’s User mode is the only preset that allows any image adjustment. Unfortunately, there were some grayscale errors I could not fix through calibration. Fortunately, color is fairly accurate, and the overall presentation of actual content is good.
Grayscale and Gamma Tracking
Our grayscale and gamma tests use Calman calibration software from Portrait Displays. We describe our grayscale and gamma tests in detail here.
You can see in the chart that the GNV32DBE runs slightly green in the darker steps and blue in the brighter ones. This gives neutral tones a generally cool look. Color is not affected as much by this, but there are some secondary hue errors that I’ll show you below.
My attempts at calibration proved fruitless as the RGB sliders only affected one brightness step at a time. I found it best to leave the color temp set to Normal. The 2.2 gamma setting runs slightly dark in the low and mid tones, but this makes the picture a bit more textured in a good way. Color is very saturated, too, which is a good thing.
Comparisons
The GNV32DBE doesn’t compare well in the grayscale test. 5.31dE is below average for both out-of-box and calibrated results. A firmware fix might be in order here to allow proper adjustment of the RGB sliders or to make the Normal color temp preset more accurate.
On the upside, there are no gamma issues to complain about here. The range of values is relatively tight, and it’s only 3.64% off the 2.2 spec. Since the errors are above the line (slightly dark), I’m satisfied.
Color Gamut Accuracy
Our color gamut and volume testing use Portrait Displays’ Calman software. For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, click here.
The GNV32DBE performs much better in the color gamut test. It covers most of DCI-P3 and hits the saturation targets closely. Blue is a tad over-saturated, but the other primaries are within 2dE. The green/blue grayscale tracking pulls the magenta secondary off its hue target but not by a significant amount. With an overall average error of 3.10dE, we’re in pretty good shape.
Comparisons
Though the GNV32DBE comes in fifth place in the comparison, its 3.10dE gamut error is minor. It’s more than excusable when you consider the Viotek’s price tag. That consideration also comes into play in the gamut volume calculation. 86.83% of DCI-P3 is about average for the category, but you’ll pay a lot more to go above that. At this writing, the Cooler Master is $490 while the Corsair sells for $650. Viotek delivers a lot of color for the money.
