Asus ProArt PA32DC OLED Review

[rand thompson]

Asus ProArt PA32DC OLED Review: Premium Contrast, Color and Flexibility for Creative Pros


by Digitaltrends

Article
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/asus-proart-pa32dc-review

Asus Website
https://www.asus.com/displays-deskto...y-oled-pa32dc/

 

[rand thompson]

[4K HDR] World’s first OLED monitor with auto calibration - ProArt Display OLED PA32DC | ASUS


By ASUS

 

[rand thompson]

The Ultimate OLED Monitor?

by Techtesters

 

[rand thompson]

[4K HDR] Virtual production made easy with an OLED monitor - Jacob Schwarz X ProArt | ASUS


by ASUS

 

[Jon Pais]

It only hits 500 nits, so not for HDR mastering. Since Schwarz mentions Netflix, then he should be aware that they stipulate 1,000 nits for the reference display.

 

[rand thompson]

It only hits 500 nits, so not for HDR mastering. Since Schwarz mentions Netflix, then he should be aware that they stipulate 1,000 nits for the reference display.

Yeah, I thought it sounded great up until the 500nit for HDR, however it's only $3200 for an Oled display so their was always going to be some drawbacks. I'm sure he understands the need for a1000nits HDR Display, he did mention in the video at about the 1:32 minute mark foward the Netflix 1000nit mastering requirement.

 

[Jon Pais]

"Asus did an incredible job at trying to take this technology and allow you to properly represent up to a thousand-nit count image within that 500-nit retainer." Reference monitors hard clip beyond their peak brightness, so if you want to grade anything brighter than 500 nits, you're just guessing. In another Komodo AF video I shot today, the highlights in my hair exceed 500 nits. Schwarz is spreading misinformation if you ask me. He shouldn't even be mentioning Asus and Netflix together in the same breath.

 

[rand thompson]

"Asus did an incredible job at trying to take this technology and allow you to properly represent up to a thousand-nit count image within that 500-nit retainer." Schwarz is spreading misinformation if you ask me. He shouldn't even be mentioning Asus and Netflix together in the same video.

Jon,

I understand what you're saying, this is the same type of marketing you would expect from most companies. However since I haven't used this monitor and I can at least respect that he does seem to possess a reasonable knowledge of how to produce HDR content at a professional level, I have to give him the benefit of the doubt.

 

[Jon Pais]

Jon,

I understand what you're saying, this is the same type of marketing you would expect from most companies. However since I haven't used this monitor and I can at least respect that he does seem to possess a reasonable knowledge of how to produce HDR content at a professional level, I have to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Have you seen the dance performance video he produced with the Asus? It is the very antithesis of the film look. The excessive sharpness and complete lack of motion blur nearly made me physically ill. His popular Costa Rica video that's gotten hundreds of millions of views is also an example of how not to shoot and grade HDR, even if it was captured with a $50,000 RED and mastered on a Sony BVM-X300. The colors are grotesquely over-saturated, it's too bright, there are blown out highlights everywhere and the lighting (much of the video looks like it was shot at noon) doesn't exploit HDR's capabilities at all.

 

[rand thompson]

Did you have a look at the dance performance video he produced with the Asus? It was the very antithesis of the film look. The excessive sharpness and complete lack of motion blur nearly made me physically ill. His popular Costa Rica video that's gotten hundreds of millions of views is also an example of how not to shoot and grade HDR, even if it was captured with a $50,000 RED and mastered on a Sony BVM-X300. The colors are grotesquely over-saturated, it's too bright, there are blown out highlights everywhere and the lighting (much of the video looks like it was shot at noon) doesn't exploit HDR's capabilities at all.

Jon I can't say I've seen any of his videos except the samples in the video. Since you mentioned it, I will take a look at them later on my 4K HDR TV. I think for all the talk and attention filmmakers are giving to HDR content, there really hasn't been a clear universally accepted definition of what HDR content should or should not look like. And I think everyone is still trying to master it as well as Rec709 and the industry as a whole is just not there yet.So one person's HDR cup of Tea may not be someone elses.

 

[rand thompson]

I think I remember there being some discussion a couple of months ago on this forum about how " The Matrix Resurrections " and a year or so ago with the movie" Anihaltion" where mastered in Dolby Vision and how they didn't look all that great. The complaint were in both cases the excessive brightness of the Highlights. Maybe it was due to a improper Dolby Vision Trim for the lower unit brightness included metadata ...etc. But it really showed to me that even multiple million dollar studios with all of the most expensive technical equipment available are still having some HDR growing pains.

 

[Jon Pais]

Jon I can't say I've seen any of his videos except the samples in the video. Since you mentioned it, I will take a look at them later on my 4K HDR TV. I think for all the talk and attention filmmakers are giving to HDR content, there really hasn't been a clear universally accepted definition of what HDR content should or should not look like. And I think everyone is still trying to master it as well as Rec709 and the industry as a whole is just not there yet.So one person's HDR cup of Tea may not be someone elses.

Excessive saturation, clipped highlights, and lack of motion blur are pretty much universally accepted as being defects, whether in SDR or HDR.

The extended brightness of HDR is not to increase the overall light level of the entire picture but to allow headroom for specular highlights. The APL (average picture level) of HDR movies is usually the same or even often less than SDR content, which is why we don’t need to jump for the remote to adjust brightness when switching between SDR and HDR content on Netflix or YouTube. A picture that is too bright will cause eye strain in the viewer, especially since HDR content is intended to be watched in a dark viewing environment. Making the entire image brighter would be perceived as being of poor quality and would also risk triggering the ABL (auto brightness limiter) feature on OLED displays whose average picture level is <20% of peak brightness.

In addition to the technical limitations, there is also the aesthetic element - as you raise the APL, there is less and less headroom for specular highlights and they’re no longer impactful.This is why you’ll often see diffuse whites in dramas lower than the recommended 203 nits. Exceptions to the rule are when filmmakers use the extended brightness of HDR when a character goes from a dimly lit interior to the sunny outdoors, a technique that is not used nearly often enough; or to intentionally create discomfort in the viewer (e.g. flashing strobe lights).

 

[Jon Pais]

When Dolby conducted a study of viewer preferences for luminance levels of specular highlights and emissive sources to determine the dynamic range needed to display HDR content, it was found that the average preferred maximum luminance for highlight reproduction satisfying 50% of viewers is ∼2,500 cd/m2, increasing to just over 20,000 cd/m2 when catering to 90%. Fewer than 20% of participants in the study were happy with 1,000 cd/m2. 500 nits was much lower than that.

 

[rand thompson]

Excessive saturation, clipped highlights, and lack of motion blur are pretty much universally accepted as being defects, whether in SDR or HDR.

And yet multi million dollar film mastered in Dolby Vision get pass Q&A with some of those same issues. It's not so much about him or anyone else not knowing these same criteria as you do, It's about them due to maybe production time constraints or trying to preserve some other aspect of the graded image that they let the highlights blow out or any other deemed detrimental asoects remain. You and Jacob Schwarz both believe you know how to produce HDR content of a certain specification, those colors and brightness levels where acceptable to him and not to you. Are you saying you know more and better than he does about how to produce acceptable HDR content?

 

[rand thompson]

When Dolby conducted a study of viewer preferences for luminance levels of specular highlights and emissive sources to determine the dynamic range needed to display HDR content, it was found that the average preferred maximum luminance for highlight reproduction satisfying 50% of viewers is ∼2,500 cd/m2, increasing to just over 20,000 cd/m2 when catering to 90%. Fewer than 20% of participants in the study were happy with 1,000 cd/m2. 500 nits was much lower than that.

I've heard and read about that test before.And yet the Dolby Vision Specification allows for up to 10000 nits of brightness and with usual Reference Mastering monitors of from 1000 to 4000nits.

 

[Jon Pais]

And yet multi million dollar film mastered in Dolby Vision get pass Q&A with some of those same issues. It's not so much about him or anyone else not knowing these same criteria as you do, It's about them due to maybe production time constraints or trying to preserve some other aspect of the graded image that they let the highlights blow out or any other deemed detrimental asoects remain. You and Jacob Schwarz both believe you know how to produce HDR content of a certain specification, those colors and brightness levels where acceptable to him and not to you. Are you saying you know more and better than he does about how to produce acceptable HDR content?

When it comes to excessive saturation, clipped highlights and motion blur, these are nearly universally accepted concepts among filmmakers. Clipped highlights in HDR are regarded by professionals as unsightly and to be avoided if at all possible. As for how to use the extended brightness of HDR, I already explained in detail the reasons why the APL should not differ greatly from that of SDR. Many of the first concepts I learned about HDR were from Matthew Bilodeau, who used to work at Mystery Box with Jacob Schwarz.

 

[rand thompson]

When it comes to excessive saturation, clipped highlights and motion blur, these are nearly universally accepted concepts among filmmakers. Clipped highlights in HDR are regarded by professionals as unsightly and to be avoided if at all possible. As for how to use the extended brightness of HDR, I already explained in detail the reasons why the APL should not differ greatly from that of SDR.

Jon,

I'm not trying to be an asshole, there's enough of them on any forum, the main point I'm trying to make here is that we on the internet are first to critique someone else's work without knowing the other person we are criticizing. instead of complementing them on what they did do right, we hammer them with our critiques. I don't know if you have ever reached out to Jacob in the form of constructive criticism since you seem to have a strong opinion on his work.

I would do the same thing if someone came on this forum as some Dolby Vision aficionado who uses a $50,000 plus Studio reference monitor who looked down on members or other individuals whom produced HDR content for YouTube and used an LG CX TV with modified factory settings. I mean if he wasn't going to use his knowledge to help those who weren't as knowledgeable as he was and instead used it to shit all over them, what was the point?

 

[Jon Pais]

Jon,

I'm not trying to be an asshole, there's enough of them on any forum, the main point I'm trying to make here is that we on the internet are first to critique someone else's work without knowing the other person we are criticizing. instead of completing them on what they did do right, we hammer them with our critiques. I don't know if you have ever reached out to Jacob in the form of constructive criticism since you seem to have a strong opinion on his work.

I would do the same thing if someone came on this forum as some Dolby Vision aficionado who uses a $50,000 plus Studio reference monitor who looked down on members or other individuals whom produced HDR content for YouTube and used an LG CX TV with modified factory settings. I mean if he wasn't going to use his knowledge to help those who weren't as knowledgeable as he was and instead used it to shit all over them, what was the point?

I’m afraid I don’t understand your comment at all.

 

[rand thompson]

I’m afraid I don’t understand your comment at all.

And that's my point

 

[Marc Wielage]

I've heard and read about that test before.And yet the Dolby Vision Specification allows for up to 10000 nits of brightness and with usual Reference Mastering monitors of from 1000 to 4000nits.

The definition technically allows it, but the client specs say something different. I know of cases where the facilities are using LG 32EP950 (which I prefer to the Asus) or the Asus PA32, and just being careful about average Dolby Vision levels not getting too high. As one example, I know of a major -- think $100 million+ -- 2022 feature where the director came in and said, "ya know what... I prefer the SDR picture. Don't make it much brighter than that. You can let the specular highlights stray up to 300, 400 nits, but other than that, keep everything about where it is." Huge movie, already shipped, nobody cared or noticed. And this is a huge A-list director nobody was going to argue with.