Author Topic: Acer XF240H Review & Viewsonic XG2402 Review: 144hz 1080p Matte TN Panels with AMD-Free-Sync  (Read 12299 times)

NCX

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The Wheat Is Taller On The Other Side Of The Fence
« on: August 10, 2018, 02:03:31 am »

The XG2402 greatly benefits from an ICC profile created by calibration software dispcalgui and my Spectracal C6 HDR 2000 colorimeter while the XF240H does not, though it dos need to have its gamma settings changed to counter the 144hz "AUO wash out" effect, which is loss of contrast, gamma and uniformity 144hz AUO TN panels suffer from when set to 144hz.  The XG2402's color balance, particularly the Blue levels is skewed and way too high in the 0-40% white range resulting in a blue dominance which requires software calibration created ICC profile to correct.  An ICC profile is also required to correct the skewed native gamma which is way too high in the 40-100% white range which results in many light colors being too dark, dulled a bit, as well as for shades to blend which results in a loss of detail.  The XG2402 offers slightly higher sRGB and REC 709 color space coverage, but dark greys are a bit more blue than the XF240H which nullifies the slight color space coverage superiority. 

After calibration the main difference between the two is mainly perceptual since the XF240H has a perceived black depth increasing grey bezel versus the XG2402's black bezel, and XF240H I tested also has better uniformity, especially in dark scenes, though this could be due to panel lottery.  Both panels viewing angles are the same, and vertical gamma shift is equally as obvious, and their viewing angles are equally as restrictive, and prevent one from being able to lean back or raise either monitor.  In order to get the best viewing experience one must look down at TN panels from above, and ensure that the top of the TN panel lines up with the tip of the viewers nose, or slightly below the eye line like so:

Spoiler (hover to show)

Discounting the typical TN panel flaws (restrictive viewing angles and vertical gamma shift or uneven color from top to bottom) neither monitor can be considered good for a TN panel since the bottom quarter of the panels clearly have lower contrast and worse uniformity compared to the first generation of CCFL back-lit TN panels from 2010-2011 like the Asus VG236H (glossy), PLanar SA2311W (matte) and Samsung S23A750D (glossy) which used TN panels made by LG and Samsung.  The AUO TN panels the Acer and Viewsonic use are better than those used by the Asus MG248Q and the first few years of LED back-lit AUO TN panels, but are still not up to par with the final generation of CCFL back-lit TN panels made by LG and Samsung, both of which sold both glossy and matte 120hz TN panels.
« Last Edit: October 17, 2018, 12:10:16 am by NCX »