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Asus VG278Q - GameVisual presets,is there no way to disable?

Posted: 04 Mar 2019, 17:48
by FireMarshallBill
I recently bought an Asus VG278Q monitor and trying to configure it for proper black levels & white saturation using Lagom.com 's LCD test images.

The monitor has 7 "GameVisual" picture presets to choose from such as Scenery , Cinema , RTS , FPS etc. the problem is each of the modes have a big impact on gamma, black level, white saturation etc. for example Scenery mode has severe white crush to where only the 1st test image is visible on the White Saturation screen, Cinema mode has severe black level crush etc. Ive tried choosing one of the modes (FPS preset) and then tweak it using the Nvidia control panels display settings but im still left with improper gamma, every mode seems to have problems in one or more areas.

The only mode that looks proper is the sRGB preset but this one has most of the monitors settings locked down so you can't adjust brightness, contrast, saturation, sharpness etc. and so although you're left with a very accurate picture it's VERY dim, the brightness setting is locked at almost the lowest level.

Im confused why Asus didn't allow us to disable the GameVisual presets altogether and let us adjust it monitor from more of a 'flat' scenario?

I also have a Dell D2719HGF which has several picture presets but within the preset menu theres an "Off" setting which is how it comes from factory and made it easy to tweak for proper black / white saturation & gamma.

Re: Asus VG278Q - GameVisual presets,is there no way to disa

Posted: 04 Mar 2019, 18:14
by Chief Blur Buster
Yes, my favourite test pattern for adjusting this is Lagom Contrast and Lagom Black Level. It takes practice to see how wide a contrast range you can achieve without crushing the top/bottom.

Cinema Black mode may be a difference between full range output mode and limited range output mode. 0 IRE mode and 7.5 IRE mode (HDTV Black Levels) which means blacks below roughly ~7.5% bright are are clipped to black. Make sure you are using full range output before you adjust.

- Adjust contrast / brightness / color saturation until you're not crushing bright colors
- Try a default middle color saturation setting
- Now adjust settings until you make the crush disappear at the bottom (blacks)
- Now adjust settings until you make the clip disappear at the top (whites). Sometimes adjusting one and the other (e.g. contrast and brightness) requires re-adjusting the other in an annoying "interacts-with-each-other" game.
- If your monitor has a "Black Level" versus "White Level" setting or a histogram adjustment, that may be an easier combo to adjust with these patterns than the "Contrast"-vs-"Brightness" setting.

You are going to have to practice and focus only on one end of the range /first/. Once you've nailed that (ignoring the other end, e.g. white), you can begin figuring out how they interact. For example, you might have to increase one setting by 1 notch while decreasing the other setting by 1 notch, to keep black level stationary while you modify the white level. Or you may have to adjust the other setting in opposite direction by 2 notch when the other setting is adjusted by 1 notch. Once you nail this interaction, you can keep adjusting in bigger steps at a time. This is the hardest part, but if you focus on calibrating only one end first, it becomes simpler.

Write down adjustment numbers. When you mess up, rewind to a known base, and start again. Eventually you nail the art of calibrating the black level and white level via the Brightness-vs-Contrast interactions, right up to the clip point of the blacks and whites.

Remember this will be impossible if your color saturation is too high.

Also, don't forget to adjust your gamma curve if things are too dark/shadowy for your needs. e.g. 2.2 might look best for a lot of things be too dark for some eSports needs, many people have preferred a 2.4 gamma or even a 2.6 gamma but this can wash out colors for games and movies; though it does bring enemies out of the shadows in FPS games easier. Though many games have a gamma adjuster.

Re: Asus VG278Q - GameVisual presets,is there no way to disa

Posted: 08 Mar 2019, 02:57
by FireMarshallBill
It turns out the Racing mode GameVisial preset is the easiest to work with and is also closest to sRGB's overall gamma characteristics, I was able to get the PQ looking pretty much identical to the Dell even when comparing Resident Evil 7 side by side which is a very dark game and a challenge for displaying proper shadow details (especially w/ TN panels), I was close to returning the Asus but glad I didn't, Thanks for the helpful detailed response :o

Re: Asus VG278Q - GameVisual presets,is there no way to disa

Posted: 17 Mar 2019, 08:28
by karavanasam
I have Vg258QR.Racing mode also gives me best performance and image quality.I also am surprised there is no off setting.:)