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Archive notice: This article was originally published on January 10, 2019. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
But before we get into that, here’s a brief overview of the test device: The EIZO Coloredge CG319X is a 31-inch screen (just under 80 centimetres diagonal) with a 17:9 ratio and 4,096 x 2,160 pixels, i.e. true 4K resolution in an IPS (wide gamut) panel, which is available at an RRP of 4,899 euros (street price at around 4,500 euros, as of November 2018). The resolution means that the screen is aligned to DCI 4K content and this is displayed in full without scaling. If you calculate the resolution, you get 149 pixels per inch.
DCI-4K material can be viewed at 60 Hz via two display ports and two HDMI ports. The CG319X therefore not only fits into PC-based workflows, but can also communicate with all kinds of players.
Scope of delivery
As befits a professional monitor, the CG319X is supplied in a sturdy box with extra handles, as the stand is solid. The included, customised monitor test report is comprehensive and the cable set is complete.
As a goodie, a bottle of cleaning agent recommended by EIZO is also included. Not necessary, but nice – depending on the user, the setup is a somewhat awkward situation. Not that we want to insinuate anything, but 31 inches is quite a board. Once it’s in place?
The device itself
The CG319X looks like a normal EIZO monitor: dark plastic, no flashing lights, no frills and a professional look. When it sits on a monitor arm with its 31 inches, it is inconspicuous, but does everything it is supposed to do – show pictures.
Other external values: the surprisingly light panel is also stable on a cheap monitor arm, the Vesa100 connection is cleanly implemented. Nothing creaks, nothing squeaks (as mentioned, there were monitors in tests in a similar price range that were annoyingly loud). A light protection cover is also included.
The only noise the monitor makes at all is when the built-in colour sensor (more on this later) folds out. The noticeably audible noise elicited a hearty Halloween scream from us (several people, no pluralis majestatis) the first time we switched it on. But that was it in terms of noise development, because the screen is fanless and adapts to colour changes in the panel due to temperature changes – with the so-called Digital Uniformity Equalizer (DUE). So no fan whistling at the workplace – yay, at last you can hear every word of wisdom that the producer utters.
The screen has the necessary inputs – 10-bit 4:4:4 at 50/60p via Displayport and 10-bit 4:2:2 at 50/60 Hz via HDMI, of which there are two each. Plus a USB hub with three downstream USB 3 ports and one upstream. Available (and permanently usable with the integrated colour sensor) are Rec. 2020, Rec. 709, DCI, PQ DCI, PQ Rec. 2100, HLG Rec. 2100, Adobe RGB, sRGB and two user-defined modes.
Put simply, this means that the CG319X has presets for the two common gamma curves used in HDR workflows, HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma) and PQ (Perceptual Quantisation).
This allows it to be integrated into HDR post-production workflows, where true HDR is usually only used in the final work step, grading, on monitors such as the Coloredge CG3145 – a test of this device starts on page 36. All previous work is completed on SDR devices, which are able to visually reproduce HDR tonal gradations correctly thanks to the installed gamma curves, but are not as bright.
Colours
Anyone familiar with EIZO’s screens can skip this paragraph: The usual stable colour reproduction, which had a deviation within the measurement error range (1.3%) in the two measurements taken 3 months apart, can be judged as “it doesn’t get any better”.
The gamma curve lies on the ideal curve. Contrast is measured at 45,300:1 at 25% brightness, the white point (set to D65) had no significant drift in all measurements. In the colour range, the only area where there is any room for criticism is the brightness distribution – with a maximum measured DeltaE of 1.4 (in one quadrant in one of 36 test fields), this may be slightly noticeable to a very experienced viewer if they look closely (and have been made aware of this). Otherwise not.
In summary: an EIZO screen – there’s nothing to complain about when it comes to colours, and one of the best panels we’ve ever tested in a cross-manufacturer comparison.
Features
In terms of other features, the monitor has everything you could wish for: from an integrated colour sensor to sufficient and almost ideal anti-glare properties. Settings include brightness, contrast, gamma, colour saturation, colour temperature, gamut clipping, Rec. 709 colour space warning, brightness warning, zoom, markers (safe area marker, safe area size, format marker, format setting, frame colour), hue, signal input, resolution, OSD language, interpolation, DUE priority, hardware calibration of brightness, white point and gamma correction, where you can let off steam in the somewhat compressed menu.
The integrated sensor for self-calibration has a date function, which we simply set to “measure in the evening when switching to standby mode” – completely without user input. It’s nice when you can no longer forget to do this. And if you want to make sure in between, you can do so without interruption – the new generation of built-in sensors allows you to calibrate while you continue working.
A 24-bit 3D LUT and 3D LUT film emulation (10-bit log) are available as a look-up table. The safe area marker (when operating via HDMI) is very welcome when viewing footage, and the CMYK colour space emulation also helped us a lot during the production of the last DP – so much so that we have put this feature on our Christmas wish list.
We tested the gamut clipping and it works – especially if you connect sources other than a PC. Although lugging 31 inches onto the set is a bit of a challenge.
Criticism
It wouldn’t be a practical test if we didn’t also have something to criticise – some of it may be down to us. Well then, a scoop of mimimi. Even though the panel achieves a real, measured 350 cd/m² (not a matter of course these days!), we would have liked a little more from an EIZO screen with HDR features – preferably in the 500 – 600 nit range.
Of course, this is not really its job as a pre-grading device, but it would have been nice if we could have drawn our portion of daylight from the screen, especially in winter.
Other errors? The 31-inch screen diagonal is quite large if you like to sit with your nose against the panel. 27 inches would be perfect. And just at this point in time, EIZO introduces the CG279X, which is feature-identical except for the 16-bit LUT and the resolution of 2,560 x 1,400 pixels, but not yet publicly available during the test period.
Conclusion
To make the current HDR technology launch even more complicated, there are also intermediate stations in HDR pipelines where a 1,000-nit panel is not required, but support for the relevant standards is. This is exactly where the 319X comes in.
All features are designed for professional work today – with the precision typical of EIZO. If you’re a compositor, cutter, 3D artist, texture painter, modeler or similar and need an up-to-date display to work with accurate and often colour-critical results, and want to edit or at least view HDR material from time to time, you’ll be happy with this monitor. That’s a promise!
If you want to assess and grade HDR footage, you’ll have to move on to the EIZO Prominence or follow Michael Radeck’s trick (see box). And if you don’t care about HDR stuff, you have a flawless monitor.
