EBU HDR Monitor Tests 2024: None Meet Color Gamut Requirement For Grades 1 & 2

THE DESIRE FOR LOWER PRICES​

The high end of the market has so far been dominated by a handful of ±30” display models with list prices of around 35k EUR. These instruments can be regarded as measurement devices with predictable performance and good consistency in colour reproduction from model to model.

Due to their high price tag, and probably due to shrinking budgets and democratization of HDR production, professional users have been looking for lower-cost alternatives, sometimes reverting to computer monitor style devices or even considering using high-end home TV sets.

Occasionally, the (false) argument is made that the great inter-model variability of CE television sets means that reference monitors are less relevant. We think this is wishful thinking. There is no alternative for a clear reference, which is also stable over time and can be calibrated when needed, especially when the variability of the receiving device population is large.

THE ‘MISSING MONITOR’​

From the users’ perspective, there clearly is a desire to see the addition of more products that offer:

• A peak brightness of at least 1000 cd/sqm
• Dark blacks
• A good coverage of the ITU-R BT.2100 (or at least P3 ) colour gamut
• A relatively wide viewing angle with low variability in terms of brightness and colour shifts – so multiple people can see the same image, e.g. in editing suites
• No or very limited artefacts when playing back moving images (blooming, edge effects, ghosting)
• A price tag in the < 20k EUR range

Creating a monitor that meets all these at once, is far from trivial, but it is encouraging to see that the high-end HDR monitor market is quite dynamic (pun intended).

Source: EBU

EBU: HDR MONITOR TESTS 2024 TECHNICAL REPORT

None of the displays tested met the requirements of a Grade 1 or Grade 2 HDR Monitor. 

The monitors under test used a range of different display technologies, including Organic LED (OLED), Organic LED with Quantum Dot phosphors (QD-OLED) and Dual-Layer Liquid Crystal Display (LCD). 

The monitors tested: Canon DP-V1830, Canon DP-V2730, Flanders Scientific XMP550, SonoVTS QRDP 310-B, Sony BVM-HX3110, Sony PVM-X2400, SWIT FM-215

The following tests were performed:

   match of transfer function to ITU specification,

• simultaneous contrast, 

   full screen contrast,

• colour gamut,

• colour representation accuracy and precision for BT.709 and BT.2100 HLG test colours,

• effect of patch size on luminance, white point accuracy and precision, grey scale chrominance accuracy,

• uniformity of monitor luminance across the screen, 

   viewing angle

Colour Volume

A number of monitors were able to cover the required luminance range for one of the target monitor grades, however there were no monitors that could cover the required gamut to meet the Grade 1B, or 2 HDR requirements. This wide gamut was designed to cover 80% of the ITU-R BT.2100 colour gamut. Unlike previous video standards, ITU-R BT.2100 was designed as a container format, rather than being based on a display technology. 

Further discussion with the industry is needed to see if the limits of current and near future technology prevent EBU Tech 3320 limits being reached.