Philips 221V8LN 22-inch Gaming Monitor Review: So Much For So Little

The 221V8LN includes five picture modes called SmartImage. The smartest choice is to leave it set to Standard where you’ll find decent color accuracy and near-perfect gamma. With a few tweaks, a small improvement can be realized. 

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. 

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Out of the box, there are some visible errors in the brightness steps above 40%. There is a slight purple tint which can be seen in content. But gamma is already on target with no visible errors in luminance. This is very promising.

Calibration removes all visible grayscale errors and takes the 221V8LN within striking distance of the best gaming monitors for overall accuracy. This is excellent performance for any monitor and even more so for one costing just $70.

The sRGB mode in the color temp menu looks nearly identical to the default settings. Its grayscale is a tad purple, but its gamma is perfect.

Comparisons

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4.35dE is on the high side of average among gaming monitors. Among budget choices, the NZXT is an outlier. OK, budget is a stretch for a monitor that costs $359. But the 221V8LN isn’t that far behind for one-fifth the price.

Though it comes last in the comparison after calibration, there is no visual difference between the six displays. They all have errors below the visible threshold of 3dE. 

I was particularly impressed with the 221V8LN’s gamma response. Very few monitors are this tight for both range of values and deviation from the 2.2 standard. This is one of the best displays I’ve tested of any type, at any price, for gamma accuracy.

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. 

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I observed similarly high accuracy in the 221V8LN’s color gamut tests. The default chart shows slight undersaturation in red and green with a little extra blue and magenta. With an average error of 3.41dE, you will barely notice any problem, which is impressive for $70.

Calibration makes a slight but visible improvement with better balance in blue and magenta. Red is still a tad under-saturated, but that is a tiny error.

The sRGB mode, which I found in the color temp menu, does not reduce the color gamut. It drops color luminance a bit, making it look less vivid, but it is not a true sRGB mode.

Comparisons

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Though the 221V8LN is in fifth place in the gamut test after calibration, it gets below the visible threshold of 3dE. The other screens fare better but cost more.

I was very impressed to see the results of the 221V8LN’s color volume test. That you can get a true wide gamut display for $70 is a definite breakthrough. Only two screens managed to beat it, and only by small margins. In the price versus performance metric, the 221V8LN is way beyond anything else I’ve reviewed.

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