8-bit Displays?

J

Jarrett

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Are there any true 8-bit displays out there for <$500?

I had the Viewsonic VX2025WM many years ago and things sure have changed. I use an NEC EA231WMi now, but the banding with 6-bit panels is much more noticeable.

If that's not possible, what are the top two or three 24" displays everyone is talking about? Only thing I dislike about my NEC is the black levels are insufficient for movie watching (not very deep or rich)

Thanks
 
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The Dell U2410 has an 8-bit panel and can be found under $500 with coupons and sale pricing.

I believe that banding may have gotten better on the 6-bit panels as well though.
 
I use an NEC EA231WMi now, but the banding with 6-bit panels is much more noticeable.
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The banding is not introduced by the 6bit panel itself (which appears to the electronic as 8bit panel through its internal FRC stage) but is related to the precision of signal processing. Eizo FS2332 and EV2335 are good examples. Both displays use the same 6bit PLS panel but implement a different electronic. There is no visible loss of tonal values regarding the input signal when using the FS2332 which performs transformations through a 10bit (per channel) LUT - independent from OSD settings. The EV2335 shows (slight) banding depending on OSD settings. It utilizes a 8bit LUT.

Best regards

Denis
 
The HP ZR24W is a true 8-bit panel. You don't get the "brown" black levels attributed to 6-bit panels. But it doesn't have the best black levels & contrast for movies and such, but very accurate color otherwise.
 
Sailor_Moon said:
The banding is not introduced by the 6bit panel itself (which appears to the electronic as 8bit panel through its internal FRC stage) but is related to the precision of signal processing. Eizo FS2332 and EV2335 are good examples. Both displays use the same 6bit PLS panel but implement a different electronic. There is no visible loss of tonal values regarding the input signal when using the FS2332 which performs transformations through a 10bit (per channel) LUT - independent from OSD settings. The EV2335 shows (slight) banding depending on OSD settings. It utilizes a 8bit LUT.

Best regards

Denis
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Where on earth did you get the idea that the FS2332 is a 6 bit display? I can't find any source for that information.

EDIT:

tftcentral claims the FS2332 has an LG panel, but a forum member called crmb has opened his and found it is a SAMSUNG PLS LTM230HL01.
 
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closers said:
I thought the 231 were true 8 also, the successor 232 are 6.
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It took a while with google, but it seems he is right :-/ the LTM230HL01 is 6 bit + AFR with a 10 bit LUT behind it.

That is the first time I have seen a manufacturer combine a 6 bit panel with a 10 bit LUT.

Looks like 8 bit LED panels are rare as ****.
 
runs2far said:
Where on earth did you get the idea that the FS2332 is a 6 bit display? I can't find any source for that information.

EDIT:

tftcentral claims the FS2332 has an LG panel, but a forum member called crmb has opened his and found it is a SAMSUNG PLS LTM230HL01.
Click to expand...

oddly Eizo list the FS2332 as having an IPS panel with LED backlight:

http://www.eizo.com/global/products/foris/fs2332/index.html

but sounds like in fact they are using a Samsung PLS panel instead?! can you link me to page where someone dismantled the Eizo screen and link to where the LTM230HL01 is confirmed as 6-bit?
 
Sailor_Moon said:
The banding is not introduced by the 6bit panel itself (which appears to the electronic as 8bit panel through its internal FRC stage) but is related to the precision of signal processing. Eizo FS2332 and EV2335 are good examples. Both displays use the same 6bit PLS panel but implement a different electronic. There is no visible loss of tonal values regarding the input signal when using the FS2332 which performs transformations through a 10bit (per channel) LUT - independent from OSD settings. The EV2335 shows (slight) banding depending on OSD settings. It utilizes a 8bit LUT.

Best regards

Denis
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Denis, has this changed then as in the Prad.de review of the FS2332 it talks about it using an IPS panel, and not a PLS panel?
 
I thought the EA231WMi was H-IPS 8-bit? According to this it uses an LM230WF2-SLA1 panel and tftcentral lists it as thought to be 8-bit.
 
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Fujitsu has 8-bit displays. P23T-6 and its 3D version are 8-bit and use LED backlight for example.
 
Drags said:
oddly Eizo list the FS2332 as having an IPS panel with LED backlight:

http://www.eizo.com/global/products/foris/fs2332/index.html

but sounds like in fact they are using a Samsung PLS panel instead?! can you link me to page where someone dismantled the Eizo screen and link to where the LTM230HL01 is confirmed as 6-bit?
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Look at the FS2332 thread.
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1615694&highlight=fs2332&page=2

EDIT:
I can't find any official pages that confirm 6-bit+FRC, but a lot of forums etc. claims it is not 8-bit.
END EDIT.

vazel said:
I thought the EA231WMi was H-IPS 8-bit? According to this it uses an LM230WF2-SLA1 panel and tftcentral lists it as thought to be 8-bit.
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The EA231WMi should be an 8 bit CCFL panel, nobody has disputed that in this thread.
EDIT:
Ahh, the OP writes that it is 6 bit, seems a bit odd as it should be a 8-bit panel, seems like nobody can figure out how many bit these 23" panels have.
END EDIT.

Tup3x said:
Fujitsu has 8-bit displays. P23T-6 and its 3D version are 8-bit and use LED backlight for example.
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Although I cant confirmt it, Fujitsu probably use the same 6-bit + FRC LG panel as all the other 23" IPS monitors out there. It would be very impressive if Fujitsu uses an IPS panel that no other monitor manufacturer uses.
 
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According to PRAD it is 8-bit like in their spec sheet. I can not spot any dithering and there definitely is not moving, noisy patterns. It is identical in that area with P24W-6. I have both, both have excelent grey scales.
 
runs2far said:
Although I cant confirmt it, Fujitsu probably use the same 6-bit + FRC LG panel as all the other 23" IPS monitors out there. It would be very impressive if Fujitsu uses an IPS panel that no other monitor manufacturer uses.
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I've been tracking panels for a bit and I agree with this. All new (ie W-LED) 23" looks to be 6bit+FRC. However, LG call the newer ones S-IPS instead of e-IPS even though they're still seems to be specified as 6bit, sometimes.
In this specification war I'm really starting to doubt that all the 27" WLED IPS panels are 8-bit also. One of the reasons for LG going 6bit IPS was to enhance transmittance thus allowing the use of weaker/cheaper backlights and that include W-LED.

As for PLS. Its up in the air. I've read that the 23" is 6bit while the two others are 8bit. My personal guess is that they're all 6bit. Including the new Ipad3 retina display.

Considering VA panels: They're not really 8bit in my book. AFAIK they all use spatial dithering. While that might be fine with high DPI.. its still not true 8bit.

Then there is the new AH-IPS panels that LG has in production. My take on this is that its just a collection name for the latest improvements on 6bit panels. Maybe the're 7bit? Who knows what the hell they're doing. They thrive on misconceptions, these guys. I might as well feed the negative cycle beforehand since whatever they've done its not going to be a vast improvement. Compare it to the PLS hype that was going for a while.

To make sure, I would go H-IPS or 10bit. There are both W-LED and CCFL panels with 8bit+FRC. Not sure which monitors use them, though.

But then. Reviews as far as I can tell of e-IPS doesent conclude that 8bit have notably better color reproduction and they're both better than TN/VA. Its more about backlight profile and general production quality. If neither people nor instruments can really tell the difference between 6bit and 8bit, maybe it doesent matter in any way.

If you happen to have ergonomy-concerns with FRC then you have a much bigger fish to fry in PWM flickering and excessive luminance levels anyway.
 
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