ASUS PG329Q has raised black levels after calibration

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  • #30970

    provanguard
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    Hello,

    I am attempting to perform calibration using DisplayCAL (lastest official release) for my new ASUS PG329Q wide gamut monitor. This results always in raised black levels – blacks become grey.

    I have tried the sRGB setting in DisplayCAL and tried both of these corrections:

    • LCD PFS Phosphor WLED Family
    • LCD White LED family

    Using advanced settings I have switched output level from Auto to Full Range RGB after seeing the raised black levels but it did not help. Black point compensation has been always unchecked.

    I don’t know what else I can do to fix the issue.

    The raised black levels are clearly visible when compared to the ASUS ICM profile that came with the drivers and the profile created by i1Profiler, so I assume that the issue is with the DisplayCAL calibration.

    My software and hardware:

    • ASUS PG329Q (IPS, wide gamut, 160% SRGB, 98% DCI-P3) in User Mode, brightness target 120. I am guessing it is LCD PFS Phosphor WLED.
    • Nvidia RTX 3080, lastest studio drivers, tried both default color settings and Nvidia color settings with full RGB output. 165 Hz with 8 bpc output.
    • Windows 10, 20H2
    • i1Display Pro (non Plus)

    Please kindly provide me with some pointers on what settings should be used in DisplayCAL in order to fix the issue.

    Calibrite Display Pro HL on Amazon  
    Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    #30972

    provanguard
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    I did more calibration attempts and found the following:

    • the ASUS ICM profile and the i1Profiler “Standard” profile have deeper blacks (and look quite similar)
    • the DisplayCAL sRGB and i1Profiler sRGB setting have elevated blacks (and look quite similar)

    It seems like in general I am not familiar enough with the topic to be able to tell what calibration results are correct and how to properly perform the calibration. I am still learning.

    Please kindly suggest how to proceed in this case. I would like to maximize the color accuracy of my new monitor.

    The applications I use:

    • Davinci Resolve Studio
    • Capture One 21
    • DxO Photo Lab 4
    • Adobe Lightroom 6
    • Nikon NX Studio
    • Affinity Photo

    Can I use the wide color gamut in any way and is there anything special I should do during calibration to achieve it?

    Should I create separate profiles for sRGB and WCG? Should I create separate profiles for 8 bpc and 10 bpc color output (configurable in nvidia driver settings)?

    • This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by provanguard.
    #30982

    Vincent
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    DisplayCAL is unlikely to raise BLACK COLOR (0,0,0) levels, likely to raise dark greys (NOT BLACK) to match *your* sRGB TRC calibration *choice* because by defintion sRGB TRC is ligther on dark grays than 2.2 and usually when callibrating app will try to match chosen TRC on a relative way to avoid clipping on finite contrast display.
    Instead of appaise it visually, measure BLACK (0,0,0).

    Use g2.2 as calibration target for your sRGB/non color managed app (games) settings. Color managed apps don’t care about your calibration TRC choice so 2.2 is a goof choice too as it will be close to native gamma loosing a minimum number of unique grey levels when calibrating grey in GPU.

    #32989

    Lionheart
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    Hi,

    I recently got the same monitor and trying to calibrate it.

    Did you manage to fix the raised “black” (dark grays really) issue?

    I’m using Tone Response Curve = Gamma 2.2 but still the darks are elevated compared to the default ASUS icm profile from their website.

    By the way, the panel is a Quantum Dot one, so you should use a Quantum Dot correction in Displaycal.

    Using the attached black level checker – you should barely be able to see bar 17 in a dark environment and the gradations of grays to the bars on the right should be a smooth one. That’s what I normally get with the ASUS profile, but my calibration through Displaycal TRC Gamma 2.2 results in a steep drop after 18.

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    #32991

    Vincent
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    Priority is do not clip, grey color=white color, requested TRC.

    Also results will vary depening on color management, since even without GPU calibration, TRC reported by these 2 profiles will be different.
    Since factory profile may not match actual out of the box behavior, it’s useless for compare it with other (unless verified thsi first).

    #33112

    Raj S
    Participant
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    Your issue may be with Black Output Offset. Ensure it’s kept at 100%. Setting it to 0% lifts blacks = clearer gradations, but worse accuracy (not preferred).

    Also ensure you’re using Gamma 2.2 (relative) and NOT the sRGB tone curve, which further lifts blacks.

    #33114

    provanguard
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    I should have replied to my original post with my findings, when I had all the things fresh in my memory.
    I will try to give you a short summary.

    The post was created before I new the different between sRGB tone curve and Gamma 2.2. For my typical usage, Gamma 2.2 is the way to go.

    The main problem turned out to be the wide color gamut of the monitor, and no sRGB simulation that would allow proper brightness controls. If I knew this is an issue, I may have investigated other monitor models.

    But a miracle happened and at the same time a developer on github created a tool that can enable sRGB simulation in nvidia drivers! This is what I am using now: https://github.com/ledoge/novideo_srgb

    I also tried his other tool, but it used to cause issues with gaming and VRR (I don’t know the current status): https://github.com/ledoge/dwm_lut

    The challenge with this calibration topic is that it is very “sciency” sounding and difficult to understand based on few thread replies here, even for a person working in IT.

    I should have documented all the steps I took along the way, but I did not. I am afraid I will be back to square one when I need to re-do the calibration.

    #33127

    Lionheart
    Participant
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    Thanks. Will try the sRGB simulation tool and see how it goes.

    Also noticed banding issues using anything other than “As measured” TRC on the green channel (black-green gradient image).

    I’m at about 70-100hrs usage on this monitor and starting to see some banding issue (DEFAULT with no calibration/profile) at 25% gray and above at the right 1/4 of the screen (see attached). Clear vertical line/complete colour shift noticeable from where the mouse cursor is located.

    Wondering if you’ve run into any issues with the panel yourself? (I had to go through 3 units before this one as they all had dead pixels out of the box).

    What would be causing this (hope it’s not from me trying to calibrate so many times – 15 profiles trying to tweak settings so far…) And is it fixable? I know OLED TVs can have banding issues out of the box which clear up after usage and running their inbuilt ‘pixel refresher’ setting from TV menu, but not sure in this case.

    Thanks guys

    Thanks

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    #33131

    Vincent
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    Also noticed banding issues using anything other than “As measured” TRC on the green channel (black-green gradient image).

    Non color managed: GPU banding. You’ll need to use an AMD card to avoid this for sure. Without and AMD you can try DWMLUT since it has dithering (or nvidia registry hack for dithering).
    Color managed (non color managed smooth gradient): try to use 1curve+matrix profile. These are rounding errors from color managed image editor.

    I’m at about 70-100hrs usage on this monitor and starting to see some banding issue (DEFAULT with no calibration/profile) at 25% gray and above at the right 1/4 of the screen (see attached). Clear vertical line/complete colour shift noticeable from where the mouse cursor is located.

    Wondering if you’ve run into any issues with the panel yourself? (I had to go through 3 units before this one as they all had dead pixels out of the box).

    What would be causing this (hope it’s not from me trying to calibrate so many times – 15 profiles trying to tweak settings so far…) And is it fixable? I know OLED TVs can have banding issues out of the box which clear up after usage and running their inbuilt ‘pixel refresher’ setting from TV menu, but not sure in this case.

    Thanks guys

    Thanks

    Low cost widegamuts have these issues. If it bothers you try a new unit or if you wish to avoid relying on “luck” get an 32″ UHD Eizo CGX or NEC PA.

    • This reply was modified 2 years, 3 months ago by Vincent.
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