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Viotek makes no claims about HDR in the GNV34BDE’s marketing, but it does indeed accept and process HDR10 signals. We used our Accupel pattern generator along with an HD Fury Integral to create the signal. We also confirmed HDR operation in Windows; Control Panel recognized the Viotek’s HDR capability, as did our HDR-enabled games.
HDR Brightness and Contrast
The Viotek musters a bit more brightness for HDR signals than it does for SDR (354 nits versus 302 nits). That helped highlights pop a bit more. Black levels are very deep putting the monitor in fourth place for that test. Contrast was about the same as it was in SDR mode (3,053:1 versus 2,595:1). We tried turning on an option called Dynamic Luminous Control, but that only served to raise black levels and reduce contrast to below 1,000:1. Leave that one off for sure. Other image controls, like color temp, gamma, brightness and contrast, were grayed out.
One interesting note: our initial HDR White measurement was the same 200 nits as SDR after calibration. We went back to SDR mode, maxed the backlight, then returned to HDR mode. The reading was then 354.2 nits, as shown above. Therefore, the GNV34BDE inherits the SDR brightness setting when an HDR signal is detected. The workaround is to up the brightness slider before switching over to HDR.
Those concerned with the Viotek’s relatively low HDR brightness needn’t be. Though it’s generally accepted that 400 nits is a minimum standard for HDR, the actual contrast number is more important. The Dell in our comparison group achieved a very high value, thanks to its effective dynamic contrast feature that selectively adjusts brightness according to on-screen content in real time. The Viotek doesn’t have this feature but has slightly more dynamic range than the AG493UCX. So even with lower overall brightness, it could hold its own and even slightly exceed the AOC’s image depth in HDR mode.
Grayscale, EOTF and Color
There are no color-related controls available for HDR signals, but the GNV34BDE measured very accurately nonetheless. There was a slight push toward green from 25-60% brightness, but this was nearly invisible. The EOTF curve is slightly dark up to the clip point, which made a smooth transition to tone-mapping.
Color tracking for yellow, cyan, clue and magenta proved solid with most points on-target. Red, on the other hand, was over-saturated between 40 and 80% brightness, while green couldn’t quite get to the 100% box. This test result compares favorably with other screens that cost more. We can’t really fault HDR performance here given the Viotek’s low price and lack of any claims about HDR function. Its HDR image is quite good though.
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