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To learn about our HDR testing, see our breakdown of how we test PC monitors.
The SUW49DA supports HDR10 signals through both its HDMI and DisplayPort inputs. In either case, you must forgo Adaptive-Sync; neither FreeSync nor (uncertified) G-Sync will work with HDR engaged.
HDR Brightness and Contrast
The SUW49DA manages to squeak out a little more light in HDR mode and misses the 400-nit mark by less than 5. But it doesn’t have a dynamic contrast option to increase image depth, so its HDR delivers the same look as SDR. While HDR will look better on the SUW49DA than it does on an IPS monitor, it won’t come close to the HDR capability of a full-array backlight screen or one that employs a dynamic contrast feature. We tried engaging Dynamic Luminous Control in the OSD, but that only served to raise the black level and reduce contrast.
Grayscale, EOTF and Color
The SUW49DA’s HDR grayscale and color accuracy is very good. We saw slight green errors in the mid-gray tones, but they weren’t really a factor when viewing real world content. The luminance curve runs slightly dark until 35% brightness, where it follows the target line closely up to a 65% tone-mapping transition. From an accuracy standpoint, this is excellent performance. You can also see how most of the P3 color targets are on-point with just a few hue errors in yellow and blue. Despite unimpressive contrast numbers, the SUW49DA’s HDR color is superb.
We recommend using HDR for video or photo editing if the content is HDR encoded. But since it cancels out Adaptive-Sync, we don’t suggest using it for games.
