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Archive notice: This article was originally published on January 15, 2019. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The world between computer and video monitors has now finally merged. Apart from the fact that SDI was previously considered the standard interface in professional video processing and HDMI was more of a consumer standard, HDMI is technologically capable of more than SDI. The only drawback of HDMI is that the high data rates require high-quality cables, and not all cable-device combinations lead to stable image transmissions. Once you have found the right cables and distribution amplifiers/converters etc., HDMI is in no way inferior to SDI.
On the contrary: you only need one cable instead of 4 with SDI to transmit 4K 50p, for example. HDMI therefore even offers several advantages over SDI, as it can, for example, achieve higher colour depths and frame rates than SDI at present. Consequently, SDI can also be dispensed with for cost reasons. And this is what EIZO has done, creating the 4K DCI HDR reference device with the best price-performance ratio that you can currently buy.
The dual-layer, high-contrast IPS panel technology
The new dual-layer technology makes it possible to achieve high contrast and, above all, perfect black levels that were previously impossible with LCD technology without ABL (Automatic Brightness Limiter) or zone-based brightness controls. Zone-based brightness controls are used, for example, by the Dolby reference monitor, which at around 600 nits already exhibits very strong so-called blooming effects as defects – for example with white lettering on a black background, such as in film credits. However, you can accept such a shortcoming if you know how to differentiate between them. So far, only OLED monitors such as the Sony BVM-X300 have been able to achieve a perfect black level because no more light is emitted when the pixels are no longer receiving power, i.e. when RGB=0. However, OLEDs have another problem: they can only achieve high light levels of perhaps around 800-1000 nits on the smallest surfaces, i.e. at perhaps 5-10% of the screen area (L20 test pattern type).
But even this amount of light cannot be sustained for any longer. To avoid overheating, all consumer devices have an ABL function, and you can sometimes observe live that the brightness is automatically reduced immediately and within a few seconds. The Sony BVM-X300, for example, displays a red warning LED as soon as it can no longer provide the required amount of light over a certain area.
A horror for a colour grader if the display has such limitations. On a few consumer devices, however, this can be switched off with hidden commands. Another problem with OLEDs is burn-in – for example, users of the Sony BVM-X300 have reported that a kind of bar becomes visible, especially at the edge from UHD to 4K (i.e. 3,840 pixels to 4,096 pixels), sometimes after just 2 years – although Sony has always said that its OLEDs last 10 years. Now, however, Sony has just presented the new BVM XH310 at the IBC in September, which uses the same dual-layer LCD technology as EIZO. You might well ask yourself why.
With conventional LCD technology such as the CG319x, single-layer IPS panels still allow (too) much light to pass through the LCDs. For example, you can always see a difference between the black of the monitor frame and the panel, which always glows a little dark grey. The darker it is in the room, the more noticeable the problem becomes. Accordingly, monitor contrasts to date have usually only been around a contrast of 1,000 to 1 with perhaps 100-300 nits (nits = cd/m2). Dual-layer displays achieve a contrast of up to 1,000,000 to 1, and that at up to 1000 nits. And LCDs generally do not have a burn-in problem. With the EIZO CG 3145 and the BVM-XH310 now announced by Sony (coming in Q1), at least 5 manufacturers have already jumped on the dual-layer bandwagon.
Another problem with OLEDs is that even the most expensive measuring devices do not make it possible without tricks to calibrate the white value so correctly that they look exactly like the white values of the LCD-based reference monitors or even the old CRT monitors. This is due to the very specific spectral properties of OLEDs, which deviate from the empirically determined colour models used to date. The problem is less pronounced with consumer OLEDs. One more reason to opt for LCD technology.
Dolby certification and Netflix’s blessing
EIZO has received both for the CG 3145 Prominence, and it can be said that it rightly bears its additional title of “Prominence”. The fact that EIZO can deliver almost perfectly calibrated devices from the factory should be well known by now. With the two new CG319x and CG3145 devices, however, I once again measured top values. Even though the CG3145 that I last had had some demo time behind it, it was a little “off” with an average (avg) Delta E of 0.8. If you recalibrate it, you can definitely get below 0.5. And shortly before going to press, the colleagues from IRT measured the screen and also gave it a “Class 1/reference device” rating. However, this alone is not enough for Dolby certification and the blessing of Netflix, as they both insist on the ability to display HDR in Dolby-specific gamma. The EIZO can do this as well as the new broadcast standard HLG/Rec. 2100:
However, the HDR presets in the colour menu should definitely be changed from Rec. 2100 / Rec. 2020 to P3 Colorspace. As described in the HDR monitor comparison article, neither the EIZO CG3145 nor any other HDR reference monitor fully achieves the Rec. 2020 colour space – the use of Rec. 2020 is therefore currently pointless. In fact, reference device manufacturers should not even offer a function that cannot establish reference suitability. Otherwise, inexperienced HDR users run the risk of grading completely incorrectly or even checking incorrectly. This can result in drastically different colours and different incorrect colours for each monitor.
The CG3145 processes a wide range of formats, including 10-bit 4:2:2 at 50/60p via HDMI and up to 10-bit 4:4:4 at 50/60p via Displayport. The resolution is 4,096×2,160, which corresponds to the cinema format. UHD TV content is displayed correctly with black bars on the left and right.
Professional calibration required
Unlike the CG319x, the CG3145 does not have a built-in sensor for drift correction, which is due to the fact that the monitor gets warm with its enormous luminosity and therefore the measurement results of the probe directly on the screen are no longer reliable. However, professional calibration with higher-quality measuring devices by the customer or corresponding service providers should not be a problem for people who work with the monitor.
In my experience, you also have to recalibrate with higher-quality external devices, and anyone who produces films for Netflix has to provide measurement reports for monitor calibration on a quarterly basis anyway. Such measurement reports can only be obtained using external calibration software that shows what was used for calibration. In order to meet the quality level of the CG3145 or the Netflix requirements, measurement equipment worth around 25,000 euros must also be used. This would roughly double the investment.
The CG3145 – as a demo device that is often transported and set up in all kinds of environments – was already a little “off” with a Delta E of O.8, but already top. When calibrated, the CGs from EIZO are already down to O.3 – an avg dE of O.32 is the best value I’ve ever measuredThe CG3145 “only” costs around 24,000 euros net. However, the price is not currently openly presented on the Internet. This certainly promises room for negotiation and shows that the company does not want to expose the device to the sometimes ruinous internet price war. An end customer has nothing to gain if neither the retailer nor the manufacturer earns enough – and realistically speaking, the price is already a fighting price compared to the competition.
Conclusion
As a reference monitor for the broadcast and film sector, EIZO has launched the second device on the market after the CG232W that does not have to fear serious competition in the Class 1 sector. If there is one criticism to be made, it is that the amount of energy in a 1,000-nit monitor cannot be dissipated without a fan. However, they are barely audible. As soon as a programme with sound is played, the quiet noise from the monitor goes unnoticed. Most workstations, on the other hand, are louder if they have not been banished to a central equipment room. Incidentally, the Dolby also has a lot of fans and is louder at 600 nits than the EIZO at 1000 nits.
