Question How to see the difference in Delta E of two monitors with the naked eye?

[devetimon]

I have two 4k monitors same brand, same model. The only difference is their Delta E as per their respective calibration sheet: one has Delta E 0.85, while the other one has Delta E 1.96

I have read technical articles stating that a monitor is fully "professional" when Delta E < 1 and in this case color accuracy, gamut and luminance have the lowest error rate.

But how can I see the difference practically? If I put my two monitors side by side, are there any specific programs, or images, or videos or games, or something specific I can use to see the difference between them?
I would like to be able to see the difference between them with the naked eye. Can you help me please?

Thank you in advance for your advice.

 

[mnewsham]

I believe the generally accepted human-perceivable Delta E is greater than 2.

Delta E ≦2 Color Accuracy (viewsonic.com)

If a Delta E number is less than 1 between two colors that are not touching, it is barely perceivable by the average human observer. A Delta E between 3 and 6 is usually considered an acceptable number in commercial reproduction, but the color difference may be perceived by printing and graphic professionals.

You wont be able to see a difference with the naked eye since your delta E is 0.85 and 1.96. They're close enough you'd need measurement equipment to discern a difference.

 

[KentState]

You would probably have to display a gradient on each monitor going vertically to see a difference.

 

[devetimon]

I believe the generally accepted human-perceivable Delta E is greater than 2.

Delta E ≦2 Color Accuracy (viewsonic.com)




You wont be able to see a difference with the naked eye since your delta E is 0.85 and 1.96. They're close enough you'd need measurement equipment to discern a difference.

according to this article:

What is Delta E? And Why Is It Important for Color Accuracy? - ViewSonic Library

When looking for a high-end monitor, you will ask yourself this: What is Delta E? Learn the answer here (and why it's more important than you think).

www.viewsonic.com

• <= 1.0: Not perceptible by the human eye
• 1-2: Perceptible through close observation

so about my two monitors, the one that has Delta E 1.96 I should be able to see the difference if looking with attention, while the other one with Delta E 0.85 it would not be perceptible by me. The question is how? Are there any details I should be looking e.g. in games/videos/images allowing me to see the difference?

 

[devetimon]

You would probably have to display a gradient on each monitor going vertically to see a difference.

you mean something like that perhaps:

LCD monitor test images

www.lagom.nl

otherwise, to keep things in the real world, is it possible to see that difference while watching a movie or playing a game? If yes, what should I be looking at?

 

[Dranoche]

Specific dE ranges and what they mean vary depending who you ask. Most monitor calibration or manufacturing companies say a dE of less than 2 is acceptable for most professional work. For most people there isn't a significant difference between a selected color on a reference card and the same color on a monitor with dE of 3. With a dE of 1 or less even a trained professional with perfect eyesight can't tell a difference.

The dE on both of your monitors is excellent. The monitor with a dE less than 1 would be indistinguishable from a reference color checker. Careful comparison of the card with the monitor with dE closer to 2 might show a difference. Monitor to monitor you're back down to a very low difference. You might be able to tell a difference between the two monitors if you filled both with the same solid color. I would guess that with careful comparison of solid colors you might be able to spot a difference. But you might also find that panel uniformity issues within each panel create more of a change than the difference in dE across the monitors, and it shouldn't be perceptible in any normal use scenario.

 

[KentState]

you mean something like that perhaps:

LCD monitor test images

www.lagom.nl

otherwise, to keep things in the real world, is it possible to see that difference while watching a movie or playing a game? If yes, what should I be looking at?

A gradient something like this.



It's going to be hard to tell any difference and even the angles of the monitors towards your eye can fool you. I don't think you will see anything, but that is probably the only way to visualize a difference.

 

[devetimon]

A gradient something like this.

View attachment 39468

It's going to be hard to tell any difference and even the angles of the monitors towards your eye can fool you. I don't think you will see anything, but that is probably the only way to visualize a difference.

so for instance, when playing a game if looking attentively you would be able to spot some additional nuances in colors when comparing a dE <1 monitor to a dE > 1 one. A very trained eye attentive to details could be able to spot them

 

[mnewsham]

so for instance, when playing a game if looking attentively you would be able to spot some additional nuances in colors when comparing a dE <1 monitor to a dE > 1 one. A very trained eye attentive to details could be able to spot them

I would very highly doubt it, especially in any sort of fast-paced gaming, the colors are going to change so fast that it won't really matter.

When they're saying a trained eye can see the difference, it's talking about comparing a still image, not a real-time game or movie.

If you were to take screenshots and compare frame by frame, sure you might be able to spot some differences, but DURING gameplay? No one would be able to notice, especially not with any degree of confidence.

 

[undertaker101]

All of this is mostly meaningless, get your own calorimeter to calibrate the screen and even then the measurements apply to the center only, most screens have a significant variation between edges and center unless they come with a uniformity compensation function.

Did AT review displays at some point in the distant past? It's been so long I cannot honestly recall. 4kmonitor.ru, Rtings.com, tftcentral.co.uk and pcmonitors.info are a good source for info...

 

[iCyborg]

so for instance, when playing a game if looking attentively you would be able to spot some additional nuances in colors when comparing a dE <1 monitor to a dE > 1 one. A very trained eye attentive to details could be able to spot them

You're mixing up color accuracy vs bitdepth. DeltaE is measured against a standard color like D65 whitepoint or sRGB red/green/blue. It's not about how many "nuances" you can see.
Maybe an example to illustrate - say you have a superb monitor that can display very fine grained colors, lots of "nuances", like native 10bpc or 12bpc. Now imagine the same monitor with red and green swapped. It would still show the exact same number of nuances, but the colors would be completely wrong, and DeltaE would pick up on that.

 

[devetimon]

I forgot to mention another detail: both my 4k monitors were factory calibrated (as per calibration sheet) using the HDMI connection, and those values Delta E 0.85 (for one monitor) and Delta E 1.96 (for the other one) refer to the factory calibration performed using HDMI connection. But I never use HDMI with them, I only use DisplayPort because it allows me to use true 10 bit depth. Is it possible that with DP, those Delta E values would be completely different? I don't have a colorimeter myself, and the factory calibration was not performed using DP connection

 

[Dranoche]

Accuracy should be the same on either connection.

Color accuracy (delta E) is looking at the edges of the color space. Bit depth is the potential fineness of the gradation across that color space and doesn't affect the calibration.