In our original testing only the ‘vivid’ mode showed any real improvement in HDR peak brightness, reaching up to 792 nits, but only at the expense of an overly colour colour temp, now measured at 9252K. Even this wasn’t reaching the 1000 nits advertised, and we have no idea where that spec came from really. We couldn’t achieve it from our testing. As we said above, the newer April 2023 firmware made some adjustments to the Gamer 2 preset mode which we have added to the table above, making that much cooler now and reaching 882 nits max, but at ~8900K colour temp. Even this “cheat mode” didn’t help it reach the advertised 1000 nits. In early April 2023 LG released an updated firmware for the 27GR95QE designed to supposedly help improve screen brightness. We have unfortunately had to return our screen sample, but our friends over at Monitors Unboxed have updated the firmware on their screen (done via the LG OnScreen Control software) and re-tested brightness in both SDR and HDR modes. The Gamer 2 HDR mode has now been changed to be much cooler than before, reaching around 8900K in their measurements. This does however deliver a brighter image, reaching up now to 882 nits max (2% APL) but at the cost of a much cooler and bluer image. This is a common cheat method on OLED screens to try and reach a higher peak brightness, and we would not consider this useful unless you specifically like a very cool looking image. Where is the 1000 nits peak HDR brightness? Peak brightness in default Gamer 1 HDR mode, with a white point close to 6500K at 6847K When using VRR, the pixel response time performance is perfect regardless of the refresh/frame rate as there’s no need for different overdrive modes. Anyway the process itself is nice and easy to use and the results, as reported by the software based on the device you’re using look very good. Keep in mind that the calibration will only be as good as the device you’re using, but the same could be said for software profiling anyway. There’s no options in the software to use a “correction matrix” or to profile your meter against a reference device, so the accuracy might not be as good as software where that’s possible – like Calman Ultimate for instance which includes a correction matrix for WOLED panels. However, this is free software from LG, and the results will be better and more practical than software profiling, so it’s great to see it included. You can of course calibrate the other preset mode to different targets if you want. It’s a shame there’s no calibration support for HDR though. Brightness and Contrast While the achieved colour coordinates are listed there is no easy measurement for the colour gamut coverage or confirmation that it has been matched really. It would have been nice to include a % sRGB coverage here to make it easier for the user to validate, perhaps an absolute figure and a relative figure, which would then reflect if there’s any over-coverage still. Actually we spotted an error with the reporting of the blue coordinates above too. You can see the target was 0.1500, 0.0600 and the software says the result was 0.1490, 0.1490. That second “0.1490” is wrong, and thankfully it hasn’t been calibrated to that, otherwise we’d end up with a massive under-coverage in blue shades and only 81% sRGB gamut! It’s being reported wrong in the results above.

We were disappointed though with the brightness capability of the screen in HDR content, not getting anywhere near the spec advertised, even in overly cool preset modes. If you like the extra pop of a very bright HDR experience, then you will find higher elsewhere, but you probably need to look at Mini LED LCD screens instead of OLED for the brightest HDR performance. On the plus side the HDR setup was pretty decent and accurate which was pleasing, as that’s one mode you can’t hardware calibrate sadly at the moment. Here’s Why You Should Only Enable HDR Mode on Your PC When You Are Viewing HDR Content May 31, 2023 The only concern for text clarity is the WRGB subpixel structure, which is an issue we saw on the first batch of QD-OLED monitors. There’s some blurring around text as you sit close to the monitor, but I never found it distracting while using the display. You have to get very close to the screen to notice, so although text clarity is a problem compared to a traditional LCD monitor, it’s far from a deal breaker. Superb gaming Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

LG 27UL650 Review – 4K IPS Monitor with FreeSync and HDR The LG 27UL650 is the next 4K monitor in line to the well-loved 27UK650 which provided accurate color and excellent… When you enable an HDR input source you are left with a few available preset modes in the menu – Gamer 1, Gamer 2, FPS, RTS and Vivid. Most other picture related settings are greyed out, but brightness remains available in case you wanted to turn that down at all, and sharpness too in case you wanted to change that for gaming and movie viewing. The default 100% brightness setting is optimal for maintaining the highest possible peak brightness in HDR content.

OLED and QD-OLED Image Retention and Burn-in Longevity Testing at Rtings.com – Our Thoughts and Analysis The Vivid HDR mode can reach up to 800-nits for 3% and lower sizes, 700-nits for 10% and 130-nits for 100%, but it over-exposes some bright parts and has a bluish tint. Either way, it falls short of the specified 1000-nit peak brightness. LG plans to release a firmware update in April to improve the brightness performance. HDR Related content: our video guide to the best settings for the LG 27GR95QE Calibration (Software Profiling) For around the same price, you can get the Dell AW3423DWF (165Hz, FreeSync) with a 34″ 3440×1440 QD-OLED panel. Calibrating it reduced that dE average to an excellent 0.73, making it suitable for editing work. The monitor is used for editing and content creation in either sRGB or DCI-P3 formats, so it’s more than just a gaming display.It’s that combination that makes the UltraGear OLED 27 so striking. The 240Hz refresh rate is easily beaten out by the recent barrage of 360Hz screens we’ve seen, like the Asus PG27AQN, but it’s still much higher than you see on a typical gaming monitor. Combined with the response time, motion clarity can reach the levels of a 360Hz panel, making it a great option for competitive games like Overwatch 2, Rainbow Six Siege,and Valorant. Gradient handling was good though with no visible banding issues, and only minor gradation in darker tones. sRGB Emulation Mode