Philips Blade 2 C-Line 239C4QHSB Monitor - Going Green

Performance II

Thorough Testing

Data Color Chart

With the Data Color Chart we can compare the color reproduction of the Philips 239C4QHSB against the industry standards of sRGB, Adobe RGB and NTSC.

It is easily evident that the monitor performs admirably well with the greens, going well above and beyond the sRGB levels. In fact, the monitor is capable of reproducing the warmer spectrum of colors well and even exceeds the requirement for maximum red levels demanded by sRGB slightly. However, it falls short of the sRGB levels when asked to handle blues and cooler hues.

Displaymate Tests

Using our Displaymate tests, we run through a few sequences to further ascertain the color properties of the Philips 239C4QHSB.

As you can see from the gradients for the different color bands, the performance in displaying the different shades of green is quite good. The shades are well differentiated and can be discerned with ease. This corroborates with our findings from the Data charts as well.

Response Times

In order to test response times, we use the free software PixPerAn. Using a camera with a high shutter speed, you can see how well the panel does with regards to reproducing moving objects. A trace free setting of 60 is an accurate gauge of approximating everyday use scenarios and the 239C4QHSB’s performance for this level can be seen below.

From the image, ghosting is very clearly apparent. The text is also duplicated. As mentioned earlier, this Philips monitor has a response time of 7ms which is slightly on the high end (lower response times are better). While the advertised response time is still below the 8ms response time required to handle DVD content, the level of ghosting observed should not be this extreme.

Viewing Tests

After getting a gauge of the Philips 239C4QHSB’s properties we tested it out with a range of DVD and full HD materials to see how it stands up to regular everyday usage. For the most part, we were not entirely disappointed.

The monitor did best when tasked to display content which required good reds and greens. Nature and landscape photography were especially well rendered. A particular high point was how the Navi home world in Avatar was reproduced with a particularly pleasing vibrancy to the foliage on the planet. In addition the warm colors of Vantage Point were reproduced with a certain degree of proficiency. However, the overall green tinge to visuals meant skin tones and yellows in general looked a bit off.

Similarly, the blacks had a slight aura of green to them and were not as dark as we would have liked them to be. When tasked with reproducing Corpse Bride, the monitor struggled with the animation's cooler color scheme as well as the interplay between light and shadow.

Some artifacts were also observed during our play through of X-Men: The Last Stand during high motion sequences. On the whole though, the Philips 239C4QHSB put up a respectable show.