HP z27x Review
by Chris Heinonen on December 2, 2014 4:00 PM ESTThe HP z27x offers a feature that no other monitor I have used before does: self-calibration. I’ve used many displays that include calibration software, but that is driven from the PC and not by the display itself. The HP z27x has the ability to directly interface with the Klein K-10A colorimeter. This is a high-end, professional meter that can read faster and more accurately at low light levels than almost any meter out there. Klein Instruments was nice enough to loan me one for an extended period of time to work with the HP.
Usually a colorimeter wouldn’t be the ideal choice because it needs to be profiled from a spectrometer before using it on a display. The Klein is different as it has built-in profiles that you can create and edit to make it work correctly without a meter. One of the internal profiles now is for the HP z27x, so it can be hooked directly up and work.
The self-calibration is very easy. You enable the HP z27x calibration in the menu system, plug in the K-10A, and the process starts. An aiming target is on-screen and you have full control over the settings you want to use. Our normal calibration target at AnandTech is 200 cd/m2 of light, a 2.2 power gamma, and the sRGB color gamut. I can set these all up using the z27x and the K-10A will calibrate a preset to those settings in under 10 minutes. If I want to use an XML file on a USB drive, I can even rename that setting and take that to multiple displays to calibrate them all the same.
A feature like this can be overkill for the home user, to a degree, but can be essential to a company that has a large number of HP z27x displays for production. You can move from display to display with your flash drive and K-10A, quickly calibrating all the presets to the same standards and same name. This removes the PC from the equation as well, so the video card LUT will have no effect on the calibration quality. Using the advanced management features in the HP z27x, an administrator can even tie a color profile to a user. People working on a Blu-ray disc will see the Rec.709 gamut while those working on a theater release will see the DCI gamut. It makes it easy to ensure accurate, consistent color without the ability to make a mistake.
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Wwhat - Sunday, December 7, 2014 - link
It's probably enforced by the damn HDMI consortium. But that's why it's nice to have displayport on monitors eh. Graphics cards use those and computer monitors like this one do.teddyboyd - Tuesday, December 9, 2014 - link
There are a number of higher rated monitors, I recommend seeing http://www.topreport.org/monitors/ among others.dgingeri - Tuesday, December 2, 2014 - link
I have the predecessor for this monitor, the ZR2740w, and I hate it. I had to have it replaced twice under warranty in three years. The support for it was difficult to reach and difficult to convince I deserved to get a new one because the old ones wouldn't power up at all. (Apparently, they thought I couldn't attach the cable properly, even though I'd worked in IT for over 15 years.) I am simply not getting another HP monitor again because of my experiences. I recommend the same to others.Dell makes much better monitors at has better support. Right now, they have the 27" UHD P2715Q for only $700, including a 3 year advanced replacement warranty. That sounds like a much better deal than this to me.
cheinonen - Tuesday, December 2, 2014 - link
The ZR2740w, and the Dell, are consumer targeted while the z27x (which isn't a predecessor to the ZR2740w, it's more related to the LP2480zx) is aimed at professionals. Neither the Dell not the ZR2740w have the expanded gamuts or calibration options, they're a different market.fumanstan1 - Tuesday, December 2, 2014 - link
I actually had a different experience with their support for the ZR2740w. Mine started failing where it wouldn't power up either, but they sent a technician out to my apartment to replace the monitor completely and basically came with a brand new warranty without any questions or problems at all. I came away impressed with their support.YazX_ - Tuesday, December 2, 2014 - link
Dell or HP is same rebraded crap originally manufactured in china, you could get same one as these for 300-400$, but the HP logo costs around 1k$.Things extra in this monitor:
LAN: Not important, well external USB 3.0 NIC is for 25$.
USB Hub: not important, costs around 10$.
save your money and get Qnix/X-Star, same quality for fraction of the price, also Qnix comes with Samsung PLS which is better than LG IPS.
Samus - Tuesday, December 2, 2014 - link
You're forgetting the HP logo comes with an excellent on-site warranty, and Qnix tech support doesn't even speak English (they're Korean)wolrah - Wednesday, December 3, 2014 - link
I think you missed the point on the ethernet port. It's not exposed to the PC, it's a configuration interface for the display itself. Still probably unimportant to you as it is to most, but certainly not equivalent to a random USB NIC.ijozic - Wednesday, December 3, 2014 - link
What are you on about? The z27x is a wide gamut monitor, while the ones you mention are not. Furthermore, IPS screens generally seem to have better color accuracy than PLS ones.Samus - Tuesday, December 2, 2014 - link
I had a ZR2740w, it isn't a "successor" to this monitor. The ZR2740 was never a "Dreamcolor" display. As cheinonen said, it's a cheap consumer monitor. I hated it too. I could never get it close to calibrated. But it was a cheap, name-brand 2560x1440 display, and decent for gaming (other than FPS's)