Our TV Picture Quality Tests

HDR Color Accuracy

Our white balance test shows how accurately a TV can display shades of gray ranging from white to black. We measure the white balance for each shade of gray between white and black in 5% increments, and once we have these measurements, we calculate the average inaccuracy of all shades.

Poor Pre-Calibration HDR Color Accuracy	Outstanding Pre-Calibration HDR Color Accuracy

By looking at the two examples above, you can see that the TCL QM8/QM851G QLED has too much red throughout its shades of gray. You can also see exactly which shades are most affected by inaccuracies by looking at the length of the bars on the left side of the graph. In the case of the TCL, you can see that shades ranging from 5%-85% have significant inaccuracies. On the other hand is the Panasonic Z85A OLED. Although it still has some minor inaccuracies in some shades, the bars are significantly shorter and don't come close to the red vertical line, so most people won't notice its minor inaccuracies. You can also see on the right side of the graph that blues are slightly over the horizontal target line and reds are slightly below it in some areas, but since the red, blue, and green lines are very close to the target, you can easily determine that the TV has outstanding white balance.

Decent Post-Calibration HDR Color Accuracy	Outstanding Post-Calibration HDR Color Accuracy

By looking at the same two TVs after we've calibrated them, you can see just how much calibration can fix their white balances. In the case of the TCL, you can see that reds were able to be pulled down, which helps grays in the 25%-45% range. However, despite making numerous adjustments, the TCL's white balance just can't be fixed entirely. On the other hand, you can see slight improvements on the Panasonic. By looking at the pre-calibration results, you can easily see that the QM8 just doesn't have very good white balance, and even though calibration helps a bit, it isn't a great model for color purists. However, the Panasonic TV's pre-calibration white balance results are so good that even the most ardent color purists will be pleased with it, and although calibration makes it a tiny bit more accurate, the difference is negligible.

The color temperature of a TV significantly contributes to how colors look. A color temperature that's too warm means colors are redder than they should be, while a color temperature that's too cool means colors are bluer than intended. The vast majority of content is mastered with an industry-standard D65 white point, which correlates to 6,500K (or 6,504K, to be exact).

Using our Calman workflow, we can measure the exact color temperature of a TV in its most accurate out-of-the-box picture mode to see how close it is to 6,500K. Below 6,500K is too warm, while above that number is too cool. Even the most keen eyes won't notice a color temperature that's off by 100K, but color grading professionals will start to notice a difference of around 200K. When a TV's color temperature is off by 400K or more, it's noticeable to almost anyone, especially if it's next to a nearly perfect display.

The Color dE is a measurement of how accurately a TV can reproduce reds, blues, greens, cyans, yellows, and magentas. Generally speaking, if a TV can accurately display the target colors we test, it should have accurate colors across the board.

Poor Pre-Calibration Color dE ITP	Fantastic Pre-Calibration Color dE ITP

If the black dot falls inside the white square, it means the TV has great accuracy with that specific color. By looking at the DeltaE ITP area on the left side of the graph, you can also determine how far off each tested color is. The image on the left above shows the poor out-of-the-box HDR color accuracy of the TCL QM8/QM851G QLED. You can easily see that most of the dark dots fall well outside the white squares, and you can see what the TV displays instead of the targeted area. You can confirm this by looking at the bars on the left side of the graph and seeing that most of the color bars far exceed the red vertical line, which indicates that these color mapping errors are noticeable.

The right-side image shows the Panasonic Z85A OLED, and you can easily see that the small black dots mostly fall within our targeted areas. By looking at the length of the bars on the left side, you can also see that despite some mapping errors, nothing comes close to the red line, so the minor errors with colors aren't noticeable to most people.

Satisfactory Post-Calibration Color dE ITP	Fantastic Post-Calibration Color dE ITP

The results after calibration in HDR are above. The TCL fares better now, and if you specifically look at the dark dots in the yellows and greens, you can see they now fall within the area of the white squares. However, you can see that the blues remained mostly unchanged, so calibration doesn't fix their accuracy. By looking at the left side of the graph, you can see a lot of the color bars are now much shorter, but several colors still exceed the red vertical line, so there are still noticeable inaccuracies present.

In the case of the Panasonic, which has fantastic color accuracy before calibration, you can see that calibration doesn't do much to improve it. However, some of the bars are a bit shorter now, and some of the dark dots fall a bit more firmly within the white squares, so you can see that the calibration did slightly improve accuracy. These are just two examples, and on some TVs with bad pre-calibration, calibration can significantly increase the accuracy of colors in HDR.