HP ZR2740w - High Resolution IPS that Doesn't Break the Bank
by Chris Heinonen on March 16, 2012 1:15 AM ESTColor Uniformity and Color Gamut
The calibrated results on the ZR2740w were pretty good, but with such a large panel was the uniformity going to suffer because of it? 23” 1080p displays have a hard time with uniformity and are easier to fix, but perhaps since the HP is a higher end display more work has been put into keeping the screen uniform all around. Measuring nine points around the screen at the 200 nits calibrated setting, you can see what we found.
Only one of the nine locations had an average dE above 3, and the median value there was still below 2.75. What concerned me the most is that the uniformity on the grayscale was so bad, so when you have a solid white background, which is likely on a monitor like this with spreadsheets and other applications, you will be able to clearly see a shift in the white point as you look at it. Colors were far more consistent than white was across the display, so it seems to be a shift when the panel is fully driven, probably due to unevenness in the lighting I would assume.
While it has an 8-bit panel and can do 10-bit colors with A-FRC, the backlight system of the HP means that you aren’t going to get the full AdobeRGB colorspace on it. The HP comes out of Gamutvision with 76.82% of the AdobeRGB space, pretty much dead on to the 77.2% in the specs.
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Visual - Friday, March 16, 2012 - link
The 16:10 variant would be 1600 px vertical, and 30 inch diagonal. It is quite understandable why anyone with a brain would prefer that. And there have been several such 30" monitors reaching similar price to this 27" so the OP is right about it being too much money, hopefully some nice discounts will appear for it though.People were using 1600x1200 15 years ago on 20 inch CRTs. Getting less vertical resolution now is really sad.
If a 10" iPad can have better resolution, I don't see how you can think this one is OK.
iieeann - Friday, March 16, 2012 - link
Ouch, still a retarded 16:9 product. When will a 16:10 27"-30" IPS monitor come out...I am still using the old dell 2709W. Not an IPS but i keep it because of 16:10.
DanNeely - Friday, March 16, 2012 - link
at least five years ago (Dell 3007); not sure if it was the first 2560x1600 monitor; but Dells model number scheme at the time baked in the year making it easy to date.Death666Angel - Friday, March 16, 2012 - link
30" with 2560x1600 have been out for years, but they usually cost nearly twice as much as the 27" pendants. Vote with your pocket if you are serious, I am fine with 16:9 in this size range (though I go 16:10 below that).dcollins - Friday, March 16, 2012 - link
Get over it already, 16:10 is gone. 16:9 has become the standard whether you like it or not, so you should start getting used to it. Move your Windows taskbar or OSX dock to the side, that gives you ~80px. If you absolutely MUST have vertical resolution, do what my buddy does: buy two smaller monitors and use them in portrait. Learn to adapt.Sabresiberian - Saturday, March 17, 2012 - link
You are clueless. 16:10 is far from gone, in fact several companies have released new 1920x1200 screens in the last few months. 16:10 is also the standard in a 30" display.Apple is releasing a new notebook this year which will be 2880x1800, 16:10. Asus has at least one product coming out with a 10.1" 1920x1200 display.
There are people all over the internet complaining about 16:9 monitors these days. You can't go to a hardware review site without seeing a growing numbers of people posting about how they think 16:9 is trash for a monitor.
cheinonen - Saturday, March 17, 2012 - link
Right, but those hardware review sites (like here) are a representation of a very, very small slice of the monitor buying population. For that small slice, and professional designers and other people, there are still 16:10 panels being produced with their associated price premium. For most people, they're plenty happy with 16:9 panels and the more affordable price with them, and I really wish the comments didn't get filled with this endless diatribe every single monitor review.EnzoFX - Saturday, March 17, 2012 - link
Just get a bigger 16x9. The argument is dumb IMO once you're at this high resolution.piroroadkill - Friday, March 16, 2012 - link
If you're going to talk about affordable 27" 2560x1440 panels, you're missing the whole point: the Korean domestic market monitors: The Catleap/Shimian whatever other name monitor. Uses a 2560x1440 LG panel and can be had for ~$400 SHIPPED.piroroadkill - Friday, March 16, 2012 - link
Sorry, just so I don't leave people hanging, yes these are real, no they are not a scam, yes sometimes they have a couple of dead pixels, but that's perfectly acceptable:http://www.ebay.com/itm/ACHIEVA-Shimian-QH270-IPSB...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-YAMAKASI-CATLEAP-Q270-...
Pixel perfect guarantee: http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-YAMAKASI-CATLEAP-Q270-...