Dell U2711 Black Levels

[GuyScharf]

How well can a U2711 display blacks, as shown on http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/black.php or http://www.drycreekphoto.com/Learn/Calibration/monitor_black.htm?

I have just received a Dell U2711. The U2711 is using the sRGB preset, brightness 30, contrast 70, gamma PC, mode Graphics. Video card is a Radeon 5750 and connection is via DisplayPort.

I calibrated the U2711 with ColorEyes Display Pro and a five-year old DTP94 (aka Monaco Optix XR) colorimeter. On the Lagom page, I cannot distinguish the first five squares from the background and barely distinguish #6. With the DryCreekPhoto page, I can begin to see differences between the color and the background at #7. This is much better than before I profiled and calibrated the display.

Is this as good as it gets, or should I be able to distinguish those very near-black squares from the background? If so, I'd appreciate any suggestions on how to improve the blacks. I can reasonably live with the blacks that I am seeing, but if there's a way to squeeze more out of the monitor, I'd like to do that.

 

[quixotic]

Since it comes pre-calibrated I didn't mess with it. Compared to even an uncalibrated 2209WA, the U2711 blacks are significantly lighter.

 

[GuyScharf]

I'm curious what black levels you can see on the lagom page.

 

[absolute_zero]

if you're otherwise happy with and confident in the calibration you've done already -- the only remaining thing i can think of is to reduce the brightness, recalibrate, and (subjectively) check your blacks again on a familiar image/Lagom etc. time of day/ambient light factors into your perception of light/dark on the monitor a lot, so make that as consistent as possible.

 

[absolute_zero]

I'm curious what black levels you can see on the lagom page.

squares #1 and #2 are indistinguishable from the bg for me...if i turn off all other light sources, and full screen (as is suggested by the test instructions) the #3 becomes ever so slightly noticeable...from #4 on up i'm good.

fyi -- i'm using a samsung syncmaster 226bw that i don't much care for.

 

[Startup123]

squares #1 and #2 are indistinguishable from the bg for me...if i turn off all other light sources, and full screen (as is suggested by the test instructions) the #3 becomes ever so slightly noticeable...from #4 on up i'm good.
.

The same here looking right now at u2711 when I'm using the Custom settings recommended from this review as better than the default presets calibration. And that's in complete darkness without any light. During the day, with a diffuse light in the room with blinds on, and no other lighting, I can't distinguish the first row and can barely see the first squares from the second row. u2711 comes with these presets: Standard, Multimedia, Game, Warm, Cool, Adobe RGB, sRGB, and Custom. The black levels with the Custom preset I just described are pretty much the same as with most of the other presets except the Game preset where I can clearly distinguish all squares. In Game preset the first square is now almost as bright as the 4 square in the Custom and other presets. The interesting thing is that increasing the brightness from the recommended 22 to 100 didn't affect the squires at the dark levels on the first row except affecting very slightly when using the Game preset.

 

[mathesar]

It's worth noting being able to see square #1 on http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/black.php doesnt indicate "good black levels" it just means the monitor is calibrated properly gamma / contrast wise and will display proper shadow details (which is of course also important)

For example I can see square #1 on both my FW900 CRT and Samsung PX3270 LCD yet the actual deepness of blacks is 10x better on the CRT.

 

[Baghdadii]

Using a NEC EA231WMi uncalibrated with a few tweaks from my Nvidia control panel I am able to see square #1. The black level on this monitor is very deep after my tweaks and the shadow detail is perfect with very accurate colours.

On a Samsung PX2370, even after several tweaks, I couldn't see 1-5.

 

[mathesar]

On a Samsung PX2370, even after several tweaks, I couldn't see 1-5.

I used Quickgamma to get my PX2370 up to snuff, It took awhile but I can see down to square #1 in the black level test and up to pattern 253 on the white saturation test (couldnt get the last 254 pattern to appear).

It also made all the colors much "richer" and deeper Im surprised the monitor is so overbright by default (had a washed out look before using quickgamma).

 

[Baghdadii]

I used Quickgamma to get my PX2370 up to snuff, It took awhile but I can see down to square #1 in the black level test and up to pattern 253 on the white saturation test (couldnt get the last 254 pattern to appear).

It also made all the colors much "richer" and deeper Im surprised the monitor is so overbright by default (had a washed out look before using quickgamma).

How deep is the black level on your PX now? Is the background of this site flush with the monitor's bezel? It seems to be pretty close on my NEC.

On the white saturation test I got the same result as you. However, on the gradient test, I did notice a bit of dithering. Is this a big deal? How does it affect the image quality?

EDIT: Great...just noticed some bad backlight bleed in the lower left corner of the screen which covers about 25% of the screen. Looks like I have to go back and get a replacement.

 

[quixotic]

I'm curious what black levels you can see on the lagom page.

All are clearly visible and distinguishable on the U2711. It's slightly harder on the 2209WA.

 

[GuyScharf]

All are clearly visible and distinguishable on the U2711. It's slightly harder on the 2209WA.

I wish I could achieve those results! The U2711 is set to factory defaults, with mode to sRGB? What is your system color profile set to (control panel->color management)?

When I return monitor to original settings, then sRGB, and use the "Dell U2711 Color Profile, D6500," the first square I can distinguish from the background is about #25 or #30. The screen colors look very intense and "pretty" but the blacks aren't that good.

I wonder if I've messed something up somewhere!

 

[mathesar]

How deep is the black level on your PX now? Is the background of this site flush with the monitor's bezel? It seems to be pretty close on my NEC.

On the white saturation test I got the same result as you. However, on the gradient test, I did notice a bit of dithering. Is this a big deal? How does it affect the image quality?

EDIT: Great...just noticed some bad backlight bleed in the lower left corner of the screen which covers about 25% of the screen. Looks like I have to go back and get a replacement.

The black levels on this PX are "Fair", But ive been spoiled by a Kuro plasma's black levels which is sitting only a few feet away from the LCD and a FW900 CRT that Ive been using for the last 5 years.

On the LCD the background on this site is slightly brighter than the bezel.

I also have some bleeding at the bottom of the screen but apparently the chances of getting a TN without any bleed is pretty rare (or so Ive been told).

 

[quixotic]

I wish I could achieve those results! The U2711 is set to factory defaults, with mode to sRGB? What is your system color profile set to (control panel->color management)?

When I return monitor to original settings, then sRGB, and use the "Dell U2711 Color Profile, D6500," the first square I can distinguish from the background is about #25 or #30. The screen colors look very intense and "pretty" but the blacks aren't that good.

I wonder if I've messed something up somewhere!

I just realized I switched the preset mode to Game shortly after I got it, but I didn't touch anything else. However, even when set to sRGB, the first I can definitely distinguish is #4 (5 and up are effortless). I'm surprised you can't even distinguish the ones just below #25!

Yes, I use the Dell U2711 D6500 and it's connected with DisplayPort.

 

[absolute_zero]

I wish I could achieve those results! The U2711 is set to factory defaults, with mode to sRGB? What is your system color profile set to (control panel->color management)?

When I return monitor to original settings, then sRGB, and use the "Dell U2711 Color Profile, D6500," the first square I can distinguish from the background is about #25 or #30. The screen colors look very intense and "pretty" but the blacks aren't that good.

I wonder if I've messed something up somewhere!

i thought you were using your own calibration hardware/software created profile. if not, that is likely your best bet for achieving the "truest" output from your monitor. forget the monitor presets (and don't make monitor setting changes after calibrating -- it undoes what you just did).

 

[GuyScharf]

i thought you were using your own calibration hardware/software created profile. if not, that is likely your best bet for achieving the "truest" output from your monitor. forget the monitor presets (and don't make monitor setting changes after calibrating -- it undoes what you just did).

I know that changing OSD settings after profiling undoes the profiling.

Looking at presets and blacks was simply a way of assessing whether my display was operating reasonably, before the effects of profiling. After lots of further testing, I've concluded that I don't know whether my display is handling blacks as well as others might but that I can profile it well enough to serve my needs.

I'm using profiling software new to me (my old Monaco Optix XR software won't run for me with Windows 7-32 bit) and this is the first LCD I've tried to profile. I've been trying to separate all the variables to understand what I am seeing. (I've also compared results with a different calorimeter to confirm that my DTP94 was operating properly, and it is.)

With my latest profile, I can now see blacks down to #3 and my wife can see down to #2. So one of the other things that tells me is that my perception of low light levels may be off (and I do have other eye problems).

Thank you all for your help.