19" LCD Monitors: The Spring 2006 Collection

ViewSonic VP930: Color Fidelity, As Promised

The VP930 passed our calibrator test with flying colors. Reproduction was faithful, with 94% of colors rated as perfect.

Here again is a pleasant surprise. The contrast was excellent. It was a good deal short of the 1000:1 claimed in the specs, but it's always a nice surprise to see the black level go down while the brightness remains stable. The new AU Optronics panel got off to a good start in our standard battery of tests.

Again, the contrast ratio remained fairly stable when changing brightness levels. Let me point out once again that dynamics have nothing to do with contrast. People complain in forums and blogs that varying brightness flattens contrast. That's not true. What it can do is cause some gray levels to blend into one another. That's a loss of dynamics, not contrast.

Tested with the Gretag Eye-One Display 2, the VP930 again came out looking good. The 6500K mode built into the monitor was a little warm (6300K). The sRGB mode was more convincing. Of course, you can always adjust the color channels yourself, but a calibrator is a good idea if you can get your hands on one.