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Our HDR benchmarking uses Portrait Displays’ Calman software. To learn about our HDR testing, see our breakdown of how we test PC monitors.
HDR Brightness & Contrast
If you want super bright HDR, VA isn’t quite there yet. But the MAG272CQR isn’t the dimmest HDR monitor in our comparison group, and 376 nits is enough to get the job done. With black levels that are similar to what we measured in SDR mode, contrast isn’t any higher. There is no dynamic contrast feature available here.
The top three screens are IPS but feature variable backlight control, where effectiveness depends on content, so in some cases they will look better than the VA-based MSI. But since there is no modulation of the backlight going on, you’ll never see any artifacts either.
Grayscale, EOTF & Color
The MAG272CQR’s HDR grayscale tracking exhibits similar behavior to SDR with a slight blue tint visible through most of the brightness range. There are no adjustments available to tweak it, so the HDR image is a tad less dimensional than it could be. The EOTF luminance curve is right on the money though with tight tracking below and above the tone mapping transition point at 65% brightness.
HDR color is very good with all measurements on or near their targets. MSI has bumped up the inner saturation points to provide more punch and that tweak can be seen when playing games or watching HDR video.
