XG27AQDMG - When using HDR Brightness 100, shadow details become lost.

[hamzta09]

Using as a PC Monitor. Connected with DP 1.4, 240hz.
Color profile doesnt really make a difference but I either use Racing or User.
Gamma 2.0 as 2.2 crushes blacks completely in lagoms black level test. Though none of the color settings seem to have any impact on HDR since everything gets disabled in the OSD when HDR is turned on. (Why?)


When viewing HDR content and the HDR brightness is set to 90, everything looks pretty much fine, theres plenty detail in dark areas, you can see the strands of hair and so on.

When the HDR Brightness is set to 100, details disappear, and the skintones look unnatural and wrong.

I dont think this is how the brightness slider should work. Maybe it is a bug or something. I dont know. Kind of a bummer to have a monitor that can reach up to 1150 nits for a 2% window but when you enable the feature that lets it do so (brightness at 100) everything near black goes on holiday and the colors start to look off.

Changing Console to Gaming or Cinema makes no difference when its at 100.
Only at 90 does Cinema look the most normal. But theres no real issue at 90 in either mode.

Two sample images from the movie Dune 2021, in HDR on bluray.
https://imgur.com/a/vMfrg7D

[hamzta09]

So it turns out that HDR on this display is practically unusable for movies and tv series that offers HDR. Because all shadow details go away, since the EOTF tracking or monitors Tonemapping is whack. In a HDR Black level test you should see the individual shades blink down to level 64, my monitor cant see below 116. (watch in HDR, in a browser that supports it)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAhxR-gMU_U

Im sure a firmware update could potentially fix or improve some of this.

Though Im not sure it can be fixed when the displays HDR Brightness is set to 100, since the tonemap changes entirely (as the warning says when you enable the Brightness Adjustable feature) and crushes shadow detail even further. Making it unusable unless you play a game that is mostly just very bright, like fortnite.

[Aureliannn_ROG]

Hi @hamzta09 ,

Thank you for reporting the issue you're experiencing with your XG27AQDMG monitor when adjusting HDR brightness while watching HDR content. 

To better assist you, we would like to gather some additional information:

1. Firmware version: What is the current firmware version of your monitor? Did this issue start after updating to a specific firmware version?
2. Factory reset: We suggest you try resetting the monitor to its factory settings to see if the problem is resolved.
3. Signal cable testing: Please try using different HDMI or DP cables to see if the issue changes.
4. Comparison images: To better understand the issue, please provide comparison images of the screen with HDR brightness set to 90 and 100.

Additionally, please provide the following information:

• Monitor model: XG27AQDMG
• Graphics card model:
• NVIDIA/AMD driver version: (Please provide the version for either NVIDIA or AMD driver)
• Windows version:
• Detailed problem description: Please describe in detail the circumstances under which the problem occurs, such as what type of HDR content are you watching?

Here are some possible causes and suggestions:

1. Monitor settings: In addition to HDR brightness, please check other monitor settings, such as color mode and contrast, to ensure they are set correctly.
2. Graphics card driver: An outdated graphics card driver may cause compatibility issues. We recommend updating to the latest version.
3. Windows settings: Please ensure that your Windows display settings are correct, especially the HDR settings.
4. HDR content quality: Differences in the quality of HDR content may result in different display effects.

Your detailed information will help us locate the problem more quickly.

Thank you.

[hamzta09]

Firmware 102
I already tried factory reset, makes no difference
Ive tried DP 1.4 and HDMI 2.0
Ive already provided a comparison image. I suggest you read the thread before replying.

Already provided monitor model.
GPU is a 4070 Super not that it matters.
Latest Nvidia driver
Windows 11, latest version.
I already described the problem in the thread.

You cant tweak monitor settings when HDR is enabled.

You should read the rtings review aswell as the comments on there.

The monitor is simply not intended for HDR. The HDR 100 setting changes the PQ to the tpoint of black crush aswell as changes everything into posterization.

HDR 90 is the only decent HDR mode on the monitor. But even then some characters skintones become spraypainted in silver in Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 6, at night, especially Saurons face towards the end when he walks among the chaos in the night. Looks fine in SDR.

Again you cannot make any kind of changes in the OSD when HDR is enabled in regards to Color modes, Gamma or presets.

4 more pictures of HDR 90 vs 100 on this monitor.
Notice the silver like shine on Saurons face in Rings of Power in HDR 90. I checked on a QDOLED TV and it doesnt look like this at all in HDR. So its a monitor issue with the PQ curve or something. In SDR it looks like a normal skintone.

https://imgur.com/a/jS4Qx56

In SDR everything looks a lot better in dark scenes, but only if the monitor is set to 120hz since the monitors gamma curve seems to be calibrated for 120hz.

[Nemor]

Same problem here.

Also, with Lagom Test http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/black.php  you can only see the first row if you have 120hz. With 240hz the blacks got heavily crushed.

[hamzta09]

Yeah for SDR you have to use 120hz or 144hz to solve the black crush issue as seen on Lagom, and use Gamma 2.0 (atleast on my sample). I can then see down to block 3. Otherwise I can only see down to block 9, at 240hz with gamma 2.0. I think the gamma seems to be inverted. On the gamma test, maybe its not applicable for oled. The left most bar should be the highest value and the right most bar should be the lowest value. On my sample the leftmost bar is the lowest value and the rightmost bar is the highest.

On another note:
I just watched: The Penguin, Season 1, Episode 1. In HDR.
Theres lots of posterization or banding in this show in dark scenes.
During the driving scene in the rain, you see the interior view of the Penguin himself. His face looks spraypainted in silver again.

This monitor have a really bad PQ or something. I dont know what the real cause is. Either way, HDR 100: unusable. HDR 90: Usable to an extent, but you still get some posterization and silver skintones in the dark. But you are also limited to 720-750 nits peak brightness in highlights.

If there is anyone else out there with this monitor. Please take a look at this video below while in HDR (both 90 and 100) in Chrome.
https://youtu.be/fAhxR-gMU_U
How many levels do you see blinking? You are supposed to see down to 64 or 68.

[Nemor]

I can only see 72 - 76. 

Yeah gamma is inverted for sure. And if I use 120, 144 or 240 hz, I have horrendous flicker, but with 180hz its flicker free...

If Asus doesnt fix this shortIy, I think I would return this monitor and try MSI. Too many problems for the price.

[Ok-Nose]

yeah this monitor needs a firmware to fix HDR badly, the 1000 nits mode seems really bad and the accuracy is  way off on all the new LG monitor panels. and the 700 nits mode here needs some tweaking, dark scenes and shadow details are off

[hamzta09]

Since Asus does not seem to care very much about their OLED line of monitors, as others like the PG models aswell have various levels of posterization and black crush issues due to bad PQ.

Im probably going to return the monitor and just get something else.

MonitorsUnboxed, Rtings and PCMonitors all mentions the black crush issues with HDR, check MonitorsUnboxed calibration results in HDR (see pic). Its surprising that Asus does not seem to pay attention to reviewers that go very indepth on the products, and take in that information (information Asus should have known about when factory calibrating the units) and improve what can be improve through firmware. Im not going to wait potentially months for a firmware fix though.

https://imgur.com/a/KYaq35q

[Aureliannn_ROG]

Hi @hamzta09 ,

thank you for the information you've provided. 
We've passed your details on to our relevant backend team for analysis. 
Please be patient and wait for any updates or messages from us. 
Thank you.