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In addition to excellent contrast, the AG254FG sports some of the best out-of-box color accuracy I’ve experienced. It’s a pro-level display for sure.
Grayscale and Gamma Tracking
Our grayscale and gamma tests use Calman calibration software from Portrait Displays. We describe our grayscale and gamma tests in detail here.
I’m always satisfied when I can calibrate a monitor to less than 1dE grayscale error. When one comes from the factory at that level, I’m impressed. The AG254FG clearly doesn’t need to be calibrated. Just leave Game Mode off and color temp on Warm to get the same great result I did.
Of course, I tweaked the RGB sliders just to see if I could make it better, and I managed a 0.26dE gain, tiny and completely invisible. Gamma in either case is a tad light with dips at 10 and 90%. This doesn’t have a huge impact on image quality as the tracking is straight. If you want a darker presentation, change Relative Gamma to +0.2 in the Luminance menu.
Comparisons
The AG254FG clearly needs no adjustment, but if I can lower the value from 0.94dE to 0.68dE, I call that progress. Yes, it’s just a matter of ego. There is no visual difference in the image after calibration. Unchanged, the AOC wins the day. After all the screens are calibrated, it slips to fifth, but since all the screens are under 1dE, there is no actual difference in their images when compared side by side.
The AG254FG’s gamma tracks straight enough to beat out the other screens in the range of values test, but with a 4.09% deviation from 2.2, it places fifth. Again, that’s a small difference in a group of monitors that are all excellent. The AOC’s advantage is that it can run with the group at its default settings.
Color Gamut Accuracy
Our color gamut and volume testing use Portrait Displays’ Calman software. For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, click here.
The AG254FG has astoundingly accurate color gamut accuracy. It’s rare that any monitor, even a professional one, can beat 1dE in my color test. The AOC is already at the highest level before I’ve changed a single setting. Calibration makes no visual difference but drops the value slightly. It truly doesn’t get better than this. My only wish is that the gamut was larger. The 360 Hz monitor class has not yet embraced extended color.
Comparisons
The AG254FG would win this comparison with or without calibration, and that’s impressive. It’s also impressive that all the screens here are below 2dE average gamut error. There’s nothing to complain about with any of them.
The one bummer here is that the AG254FG doesn’t have a wide gamut. The other screens are sRGB also, but they push the envelope more, up to 112.83% from the Alienware. A bit more color would be nice here.
