A New 30" Contender: HP ZR30w Review
by Brian Klug on June 1, 2010 6:30 PM EST
Brightness Uniformity
In addition to the performance at center, we’ve also added 9-point testing for brightness, both white and black. This is done the same way we measure color uniformity, except we only care about measured intensity. We set the monitor through the "OSD controls" to near 200 nits, and then measure those 9 points.
White Level Uniformity
Black Level Uniformity
Our plots here do exaggerate differences - the ZR30w is remarkably uniform with an average brightness of 203 nits and a standard deviation of 6 nits. There’s a bit of a pattern for white, up top there’s a measured falloff compared to the rest of the panel, but visually I couldn’t discern any difference. It seems that under 10 nits is difficult to really discern.
Blacks are a similar story - they're very uniform. The average is 0.31 nits with a standard deviation of 0.019. There’s a slight brightness difference horizontally across the display, but again even after intense scrutiny I couldn’t discern anything. Brightness uniformity is impressive as expected.
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MamiyaOtaru - Wednesday, June 2, 2010 - link
are they always s-ips? I love my lp2065, but I had to find one that was advertised specifically as s-ips since not all of them were D:Teemax - Wednesday, June 2, 2010 - link
Excellent review! I appreciate the efforts in measuring the input lag!Looks like my Dell 3007WFP finally has a worthy replacement.
Mr Perfect - Wednesday, June 2, 2010 - link
Yes, I'm glad to see it compared to a CRT rather then a "good enough" LCD with unknown input lag.Earballs - Wednesday, June 2, 2010 - link
I guess I have to assume it's 60Hz?Earballs - Wednesday, June 2, 2010 - link
redacted.melgross - Wednesday, June 2, 2010 - link
I've given up on the idea of moving to 30" from 24". I use my monitors mostly for Photoshop, video editing, publishing, etc. I've found that even IPS displays of various types show a change in brightness and contrast in the sides from sitting at the distance required for this work. Because of the large size, you're always looking at the edges at an angle that will make the difference noticeable.I've been looking at the new 27" displays for that reason. Apple's new 27" iMac doesn't have as much of a problem because of the slightly smaller size, but with the LED backlighting, they only claim an sRGB gamut. It's pretty good, but not for what I need.
Is the NEC on your to do list? I hope so. The Dell 2711 hasn't proven to be all that great.
omf - Wednesday, June 2, 2010 - link
Thanks for the detailed review! It seems rare to get good, technical data in reviews these days...I'm surprised you haven't included tests for the Dell 3008 display, though. I've heard mixed things about it and would love to see some test results.
Thanks again!
R4F43LZiN - Wednesday, June 2, 2010 - link
I would like to see a full "how to calibrate your display" one of those days here on AT. I mean, there are a few of those on the internet, but none with the kind of detail and technical aspects that we've come to expect from a AT article.MauveCloud - Wednesday, June 2, 2010 - link
"Considering other 30” displays include a plethora of input options"From my research of 2560x1600 monitors, only the Gateway XHD3000 (which I use now, though I had to get it repaired a couple of weeks ago - I did the research on possible replacements) and the Dell 3008WFP have component inputs, or are you referring to 30 inch televisions, with native resolution 1920x1080, rather than 2560x1600?.
"The ZR30w has no OSD. If you recall, neither did its predecessor, the HP LP3065. At that time, HP claimed there were no ICs that could drive an OSD at native 2560x1600 resolution. Apparently this is still the case."
My Gateway XHD3000 has an OSD at 2560x1600 (albeit not fullscreen), and so does the Dell UltraSharp 3008WFP.
phoible_123 - Wednesday, June 2, 2010 - link
I've used this cable to connect a macbook pro to my 23" NEC monitor with Displayport:http://www.buy.com/prod/mini-displayport-to-displa...
It actually transmits sound as well if the monitor has an integrated speaker.