Benchmarking displays is a crucial process for reviewers, as it helps to evaluate the quality and performance of a display. Display quality is affected by several factors, including brightnesscontrastcolor accuracy and uniformity. To measure these factors, reviewers use various instruments, such as spectrophotometers and colorimeters.
The choice of instrument depends on the specific use case, such as gaming or color grading. For example, gaming monitors require high brightness and contrast levels, while color grading monitors require high color accuracy and uniformity. Reviewers must also consider the tone-mapping process, which can affect the display’s color accuracy and contrast.
Measuring Brightness and Contrast
To measure brightness and contrast reviewers use a luminance meter. This instrument measures the display’s luminance levels, which are typically expressed in candela per square meter (cd/m²). The contrast ratio is calculated by dividing the maximum luminance by the minimum luminance.
Measuring Color Accuracy
To measure color accuracy reviewers use a colorimeter. This instrument measures the display’s color temperature and color gamut. The color temperature is typically expressed in Kelvin (K), while the color gamut is expressed as a percentage of the NTSC color space.
Measuring Uniformity
To measure uniformity reviewers use a uniformity meter. This instrument measures the display’s luminance uniformity and color uniformity. The luminance uniformity is typically expressed as a percentage of the maximum luminance while the color uniformity is expressed as a percentage of the color gamut.
Avoiding Common Traps
Reviewers must avoid common traps when benchmarking displays, such as tone-mapping issues and instrument calibration errors. Tone-mapping can affect the display’s color accuracy and contrast while instrument calibration errors can affect the accuracy of the measurements.
