HP 2311xi IPS Monitor
by Chris Heinonen on August 13, 2012 12:15 AM ESTHP 2311xi - Color Quality and Color Gamut
Straight out of the box, I set the color mode on the 2311xi to sRGB mode and then set the brightness level to 200 nits. I didn’t do any other adjustments, and I also didn’t use the HP .icc profile, as HP only allows this to be downloaded from their website as a Windows .exe file and I do the monitor testing on a Mac. Since this is a file that can be used on all OS platforms without an issue, I see no reason to only have the download as an .exe file, so I just decided it was appropriate to not use it.
Despite this, the performance of the 2311xi in sRGB mode was very good. The average dE on our Gretag Macbeth test was 5.87, which is the second best monitor out of the box that I have tested so far. The grayscale performance was pretty good, and color performance was even better. Since most users that purchase a $200 display are not going to be calibrating it I imagine, being this good out of the box is a big benefit for users. You’ll get better color than almost any other display without any adjustments, and that’s a really nice thing to see.
Since the HP was so good out of the box, I expected it to perform really well once it was properly calibrated. After using ColorEyes Pro, with a target of D65, 2.2 gamma, and 200 nits, we see that the average dE drops down to 1.74. This is good but not exceptional. The most noticeable difference is that the grayscale goes from being one of the best to one of the worst. It’s still at 1.0 or below, so the differences are incredibly small, but other monitors do wind up being better after calibration.
Targeting 100 nits instead of 200 nits for calibration, the results were almost identical. Grayscale errors were about the same, and so were the numbers for the colors. With how consistent the contrast ratio numbers were for different light output levels, I would expect the color results to be the same at different levels of light, and it proved to be that way. The HP was fantastic out of the box, but only decent once calibrated. I place more importance on the out of the box numbers here because of the target audience for the display, so I’d say it’s a very good performer in that regard.
The color gamut of the HP 2311xi can only be sRGB, as white LEDs can’t do greater than sRGB; you need to move up to RGB LEDs for an AdobeRGB or larger gamut. Right around what we would expect, we see the 2311xi can manage 69% of the AdobeRGB gamut, very close to what it is specified for. This explains the issues with certain blue tones that fall at the edge of the sRGB space on the Gretag Macbeth chart as well, since it can’t produce those at all and can only try to come close.
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kyuu - Monday, August 13, 2012 - link
What? External power bricks are quite common. You can make the monitor significantly thinner, and you don't have to worry about the additional heat generated by the power brick. Honestly, this is a weird complaint anyway.cheinonen - Monday, August 13, 2012 - link
I completely agree with disliking the external power brick. I understand it makes it thinner, and easier to design, and possibly easier to ship around the world as you just replace the brick by region, but it makes wiring my desktop more of a pain. The trade-off in thinness isn't worth it to me, but I know some people don't mind, but some do.Impulses - Monday, August 13, 2012 - link
It's definitely not for me... Poor stand w/no VESA mounting, 1080p res, and no DP are just too many compromises... But having decent IPS displays like this one available at $200 is great for the consumer in general, two years ago you were looking at $300+ for a display like this, three or four years ago it would've been $400+. Low cost IPS displays are finally in the same pricing realm of rock bottom TN displays, and that's not bad at all.Olaf van der Spek - Monday, August 13, 2012 - link
Isn't the U2412M more like a $300 monitor? Even the U2312HM is $260 on NewEgg.No DP & no VESA sucks. :(
cheinonen - Monday, August 13, 2012 - link
I mention that the U2412M is more expensive and that the U2312HM might be a better comparison, but as I haven't reviewed the 2312 but have reviewed the 2412 it was the best comparison I could make.mikato - Thursday, August 16, 2012 - link
You can buy the U2412M for $270 right now from Dell with free shipping -http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/78498/dell-small-b...
mikato - Thursday, August 16, 2012 - link
U2312HM is $210 at Dell Small Business right nowhttp://slickdeals.net/permadeal/78498/dell-small-b...
ananduser - Monday, August 13, 2012 - link
Chris, when are you guys gonna review some 120Hz monitors ?StickerLover - Monday, August 13, 2012 - link
...needs more stickers !Oh, and more glossy plastic !
DanNeely - Monday, August 13, 2012 - link
Would it be difficult to reorder the labels for the curves so that the upper left label was in the top left position, the lower right was in the lower right position, etc?