Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
The 27QHD240 doesn’t need to be calibrated and cannot be improved from its factory state. It arrives out of the box at a very high level of accuracy. It is better than many professional screens I’ve tested in this respect.
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.
Though I can improve the chart when calibrating the 27QHD240’s grayscale, the picture is visually the same. The only tiny flaw here is a rise in gamma at the 90% brightness step. And no, you can’t see that error in actual content.
Since I could calibrate the sRGB mode separately, I did so. You’ll notice its default gamma is a bit askew, with too-dark values at 10% brightness and too-light results at 90%. These are minor errors, but I noticed a few highlights that looked a tad washed out. Calibration made a visible difference there, even though grayscale tracking was unchanged.
Since I could calibrate the Standard and sRGB picture modes, I’ve added both results to the comparison charts. There’s clearly no need for calibration, but in sRGB mode, gamma is improved after adjustment, so it’s worth doing if you have the means.
Clearly, gamma is not a problem for any of the panels. The 27QHD240 is last in the range test and third in the deviation test. This means none of the monitors have any gamma issues worthy of concern.
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.
I was beyond impressed by the 27QHD240’s gamut test results. Few monitors can achieve such low color errors after calibration. These charts show out-of-box numbers that are as close to perfection as possible. Essentially, my RGB adjustments did not affect the gamut values and that is a very good thing. In sRGB mode, I noted some under-saturation in the red primary and slight hue errors in magenta. These issues are not visible to the naked eye.
Comparisons
All the OLED panels I’ve tested, including the 27QHD240, have superb color. It’s well saturated and right on the reference targets. Though these are gaming monitors, they deliver accuracy worthy of any professional display. And they do it for far less money. They’re not inexpensive, but they cost less than many pro screens.
The gamut volume test shows OLED’s capabilities to be more consistently superior to VA and IPS-based LCDs. The 27QHD240 finished fourth here, which is extraordinary considering its coverage is only a hair shy of 100% of DCI-P3. That’s pretty awesome, I’d say. You can expect any OLED monitor to be very colorful. The 27QHD240 is fully qualified for color-critical applications as well.
MORE: Best Gaming Monitors
MORE: How We Test PC Monitors
