Samsung CFG70: Curved 144Hz Displays with Quantum Dot Backlighting and AMD FreeSync

Samsung was among the first television manufacturers to use quantum dot technology for its products, and this week the company has continued that trend by introducing the industry’s first curved monitors for gamers featuring quantum dots. The new 24” and 27” displays boast a wider color gamut and a very high contrast ratio, in addition to support for AMD’s FreeSync technology and a 144 Hz refresh rate.

Samsung’s CFG70 monitors are based on the company’s curved 8-bit VA panels with 1 ms moving picture response time (MPRT), as well as a 144 Hz refresh rate as well as the static contrast ratio to 3000:1, which is higher compared to many advanced displays on the market. As for brightness, the 24” CFG70 offers 350 nits, which is in line with other contemporary high-end displays. At present, Samsung does not share a lot of details about its CFG70 monitors, but we do know that the screens have 1800R curvature along with 178° viewing angles.

The purpose of using quantum dot technology is to expand color gamut of the display by increasing intensity of red and green wavelengths (you can read more here). Samsung confirms that in the case of the CFG70, quantum dots help to produce more accurate dark reds and greens, which increases the contrast. In addition, Samsung says that the use of quantum dot technology for the backlighting of the CFG70 has allowed the company to expand the color gamut to 125% of the sRGB color space.

However despite the monitors’ larger-than-sRGB gamut, at this point Samsung is only confirming that the monitors’ firmware supports the sRGB color space, listing nothing about the AdobeRGB or DCI-P3 color spaces. This is an important consideration due to the fact that it potentially limits the usefulness of having a color gamut over 100% of sRGB to begin with. With most monitor designs, manufacturers who offer larger gamuts also support color spaces that can use that gamut, which doesn’t appear to be the case for Samsung.

The catch then is that having a gamut that exceeds a particular standard will not produce an accurate result when using that wider gamut. Case in point, sRGB content would end up oversaturated since it’s meant for a smaller gamut, and the lack of support for larger color spaces makes it difficult to use the wider gamut with anything else. It is hard to believe that Samsung decided to develop a set of monitors that would produce incorrect colors out-of-the-box, so hopefully Samsung is offering a true 100% sRGB mode as well. This would negate the wider gamut of the monitors, but it would ensure their accuracy.

Moving on, the improved contrast ratio should give you the idea about the advantages that the quantum dot technology brings to the CFG70.

Besides being the first curved gaming monitors with quantum dots, the Samsung CFG70 are also among the first displays to use AMD’s FreeSync over HDMI technology (for maximum compatibility, the devices are also equipped with DisplayPort inputs). While we do not know the exact dynamic refresh ranges supported by the screens, 144 Hz maximum refresh rate implies on relatively wide dynamic ranges, more than enough to allow for AMD’s low framerate compensation to work.

The CFG70 displays currently do not have direct rivals: there are not of a lot of monitors that use quantum dots right now, and when it comes to gaming monitors with high refresh rates, Samsung is the first maker to use the tech. Moreover, the CFG70 are the first curved displays to feature quantum dots.

Samsung said that the CFG70 displays will be available worldwide, but did not mention their prices. Given the unique combination of characteristics, it is reasonable to expect Samsung to try to capitalize on it.

Gallery: Samsung CFG70: Curved 144 Hz Displays with Quantum Dot and AMD FreeSync

EIZO Launches ColorEdge CG2730 and CS2730 2560×1440 Displays for Professionals and Prosumers

EIZO has introduced two new 27” displays designed for professionals and prosumers. The ColorEdge CG2730 and the ColorEdge CS2730 monitors share a lot of technologies and have a lot of similarities, but a number of distinctions allow EIZO to position and price them completely differently.

The EIZO CG2730 and the EIZO CS2730 displays are based on 27” 10-bit 2560×1440 IPS panels with a 60 Hz refresh rate. Based on the specifications, the monitors sport a 350 nits typical brightness, 1500:1 or 1000:1 static contrast, 13 or 10 ms ms response time, and 178° viewing angles. As for I/O capabilities, both devices are equipped with a triple-port USB 3.0 hub as well as DVI-D, DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 1.4 inputs. In addition, both monitors come bundled with the company’s proprietary ColorNavigator 6 software, which can set the right brightness, gamma and other settings for photography, printing and web design with the help of calibration devices.

Apart from differences in static contrast and response time, the new monitors from EIZO have a number of other important differences. In particular, the higher-end professional EIZO Color Edge CG2730 can cover 99% of the Adobe RGB and 98% of the DCI-P3 color spaces. DCI-P3 is generally important for video editors and animation designers, who do post-production work, because the standard is used for digital movie projection in the U.S. and is expected to be adopted by television and home cinema industries in the future. In addition, the CG2730 is covered with a special retardation film, which ensures depth of dark tones when viewed from an angle. Moreover, to simplify calibration without using any third-party calibration devices, the monitor features a special sensor. Finally, the professional-grade display comes bundled with a shading hood that prevents glare.

By contrast, the EIZO ColorEdge CS2730 is aimed at entertainment enthusiasts and prosumers. It only covers 99% of Adobe RGB color space and does not support the aforementioned pro-level features of the CG2730 (yet, it has better response time and that is important for gamers). Realistically speaking, the difference between two displays should not be too dramatic for a non-professional eye in typical applications because both are based on 10-bit IPS panels with 16-bit look-up-table and have similar brightness. Meanwhile, when it comes to contrast and the quality of dark colors, the CG2730 is expected to be significantly better than its consumer-oriented brother.

EIZO did not announce MSRPs for its new displays, but said they would be available in November. Just like other ColorEdge monitors the new CG2730 and CS2730 come with a five-year warranty, which is longer than warranties offered by some other display manufacturers.

CEATEC 2016: Sharp Showcases 27-inch 8K 120Hz IGZO Monitor with HDR, also 1000 PPI for VR

While we’re not CEATEC, a Japanese technology show, news has come via PC Watch regarding a new publicly announced milestone in monitor production. For any journalist that has attended either IFA, Computex, CES or MWC over the past year, it would be hard going to miss one of the super large (80-inch plus) 8K monitors doing the rounds. While highly impressive in their own right, current 8K displays on show typically have a low pixel-per-inch value in order to achieve a good panel off the production line. So despite the fact we can get 4K panels on smartphones (Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is 4K in 5.5-inch, or 806 PPI), expanding the size at that pixel density is difficult with panel yields. Also, moving 8K down to a ‘monitor size’ has been hidden at the panel companies internal research divisions until now.

So this is where the Sharp monitor on display at CEATEC gets interesting. The IGZO display is down at 27-inches, marking a 326 PPI, just hitting at the door of large FHD smartphone displays. The panel is also listed at 1000 nit brightness. But to double down on specifications, the stand listed the display as supporting 120 Hz while in 8K mode, and also supporting High Dynamic Range, or HDR. This requires a large amount of data to be pumped into the display, and as a result a photograph of the rear shows eight separate DisplayPort cables being used in order to give the display the data it needs. 8K120 with HDR is no easy task, suggesting 7680×4320 at 10 bits per color channel (so 30-bit for RGB) at 120 times a second would suggest needing 120 gigabits per second of bandwidth at a minimum (or 15 GB/sec). That’s even before you discuss overhead, which will push that higher.

Needless to say, this is a prototype panel. Businesses with large enough checkbooks are free to try and estimate a figure for such a display, because it will be a while before a device of these specifications hits commercial availability.

Also in the display was a 2.87-inch display, offering 1920×2160 resolution and rolling in at over 1000 pixels per inch (1008 PPI). This was described as ‘4K to both eyes’, affording a combined display suitable for head-mounted units or virtual reality headsets. Compare this to the HTC Vive, which uses a 1200×1080 screen per eye at 3.62 inches per panel, making it 447 PPI. This gives the Sharp panel a specification of over double the amount of pixels in a given area. Of course, with that comes cost and the ability to feed that display with enough data either over cable or other means. Still, it’s an interesting prospect.