IN SEARCH OF HDR
HDR, or high dynamic range, has always been a tricky concept, but in the recent context of PC displays, it’s been more problematic than ever. What with numerous competing standards and no unifying definition of what it takes to be an HDR display, it’s a minefield for buyers.
Arguably, the problem is even more fundamental than that. The ability to support or decode HDR content is one thing, the ability to render an HDR image is another. To the discredit of many monitor companies, they’ve conflated the two. But not all manufacturers are guilty.
By way of example, in a review of the new BenQ DesignVue PD3220U, we noted that BenQ says the display “supports HDR10 content.” Arguably, BenQ could be even more explicit, but it’s welcome that the company doesn’t pitch the PD3220U as an HDR monitor. A quick perusal of its specs, for instance, reveals a maximum brightness of just 300cd/m2. That’s insufficient for true HDR visuals.
What is sufficient? HDR10 support just indicates signal processing capability. More useful and widely applied by many manufacturers is the VESA DisplayHDR standard, which actually encompasses multiple standards. The entry-level DisplayHDR 400 certification is not, in our view, true HDR. It involves a peak brightness of 400cd/m2 and only sRGB color gamut support. All the other levels of DisplayHDR certification demand at least some local dimming, which is critical for HDR for enabling the much higher contrast involved in true HDR visuals, plus a wider color gamut, and better controlled black levels. But we think it’s only with DisplayHDR 1000, a standard that requires a sustained brightness of 1,000cd/m2, very low black levels, and local dimming, that you get a really rich HDR experience.
Of course, all of that applies to LCD monitors; OLED is a whole different ball game and has its own HDR standards. But as we explain elsewhere, OLED isn’t about to become mainstream in PC monitors.