HP M27 Webcam Monitor – Specs, Pros / Cons: More Than An Office Monitor
Do we really need another camera in our home or at the office? HP thinks we do, as we’re introduced to the HP M27 Webcam monitor. We’ve seen other manufacturers implement integrated webcams before, and we do understand the more paranoid folks, but nowadays every device records or listens in some way (whether you want it or not) so you can’t escape it.
The HP M27 is more than a recording device, however. It’s a competent office monitor that manages to become pretty accurate and cover a decent spectrum of colors. The former is only possible with our Display Profiles, which have the ability to transform the monitor in more ways than one. It even brings some Gaming DNA, with AMD FreeSync support, and a 75Hz refresh rate, so it’s not just a simple office monitor.
It also brings a good port selection, so it’s capable of being a pretty key component of your setup, with USB ports for peripherals and more.
You can check the current price of the HP M27 Webcam Monitor here: Buy from Amazon.com (#CommissionsEarned)
Contents
Specs sheet, What’s in the box?, Drivers, OSD, Design, Connectivity
Screen size | 27 inch (68.58 cm) |
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Refresh rate | 75Hz |
Response time | 5ms |
Panel type | IPS |
Backlight type | LED |
Screen finish | Matte |
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 (FHD) |
Technologies |
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I/O |
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What’s in the box? Assembly
Drivers and Software
You can find all downloadable files on HP’s Support Portal. There’s additional Software available for download, some of which isn’t monitor-related, like the Cloud Recovery Tool. There’s the HP Display Center, which can give you monitor control through the operating system. It’s available on the Support Portal, as well as the Microsoft App Store.
Design and Connectivity
The monitor has a unique design. We’ve got an absolute stunner of a double chin, which houses the speakers. It’s the first time we’re seeing front-facing speakers on a monitor and we’re super happy at the ingenuity that HP is presenting. It will make the 2x 2W speakers provide much more audible and crisp sound, firing directly at you. The rest of the bezels are very thin, while the Black and Silver color scheme goes a long way to give the M27 a sleek and modern look. The silver stand offers decent adjustments, with Tilt and Height. On the back, there are buttons for controlling the OSD menu, as well as the port selection.
It includes one HDMI port, one DisplayPort, a single USB Type-C port, two USB Type-A ports, and an audio jack. This means you can connect some peripherals or even a whole USB hub to the monitor, thus expanding the port selection even further.
Display quality, Buy our profiles, Verdict
The HP M27 Webcam Monitor brings a 27-inch Full HD screen (1920 x 1080p), which calculates to a pixel density of 81.59 PPI, a pitch of 0.3113 x 0.3113 mm, and a Retina distance of 42.14 inches or 107 cm. From this distance, the human eye can’t distinguish individual pixels.
The correlated color temperature on a white screen after a Factory Reset in sRGB mode is 6240 K (Luminance 150 cd/m2 at 20% Brightness). The average gamma value is 2.18.
Color coverage
Here’s an illustration (Fig. 1). The whole “sail-shaped” map below consists of all the colors we can see, while the black crooked line shows all the colors from real-world scenes and nature around us.
Then, we’ve drawn some of the most important and interesting color spaces, compared to the colors the panel of HP M27 Webcam Monitor can show:
Standard/For Web: sRGB – widely used color space for most consumer devices, ideal for Web design and development
For Print: AdobeRGB – used in professional photo editing, graphic design, and print
For Photographers/Video Editors: DCI-P3 – used in high-end film production, post-production, and digital cinema
Premium HDR: Rec.2020 – the widest consumer ITU color standard, covering a massive 75.8% of the visible spectrum, a benchmark for premium HDR content
HP M27 Webcam Monitor: the yellow dashed triangle (– – – – – –) represents the range of colors this monitor can display. In our tests, we calculated the total color coverage of the monitor at 92% of the sRGB color gamut.
(Fig.1) HP M27 Webcam Monitor covers 92% of the Web colors (sRGB)
This means that if the HP M27 Webcam Monitor tries to show any color outside of its triangle, it will show the closest color to it that’s inside the triangle.
Color accuracy
Now let’s see how big is the difference between the real colors and the one you’ll see on the HP M27 Webcam Monitor. We measure that distance in DeltaE – the bigger the number, the more different they look.
For the next illustration, we’ve chosen 24 common colors like dark and light skin, blue sky, green grass, etc.
Values below 2.0 are considered suitable for color-sensitive work. Before our calibration of the HP M27 Webcam Monitor, the Average color accuracy was 4.2 dE (Fig. 2), and with our Web Design and Office Work profile, it lowered to 1.5 dE (Fig. 3). Thanks to our profile, the monitor became nearly 3X more accurate, with a 2.8X increase, so you’ll be able to do plenty of color-related work on it.
Comparison in the sRGB color space (primaries and D65 white point specified in ITU-R BT.709, sRGB encoding curve).
Left: No Profile | Drag the slider to see the difference | Right: Design & Gaming Profile
Health-Guard eliminates the harmful Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) and reduces the negative Blue Light which affects our eyes and body. Since it’s custom-tailored for every panel, it manages to keep the colors perceptually accurate (they may seem strange at first but after a few minutes our brain will start recognizing them as accurate ones – that’s how Health-Guard differs from alternatives like f.lux).
Pro Tip: As the Health-Guard profile simulates paper and has as accurate as possible colors, it could be a great tool for prepress designers!
Left: No Profile | Drag the slider to see the difference | Right: Health-Guard Profile
Gaming and Movies
We also have a third Gaming and Movies profile, which regulates the black colors, making dark areas in games and movies appear more visible, thus giving you a better viewing experience. Shooting at your opponent first can be a make-or-break moment, so make sure you’re best prepared with our profile.
Left: No Profile | Drag the slider to see the difference | Right: Design & Gaming Profile
BUY OUR DISPLAY PROFILES
Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for the HP M27 Webcam Monitor.
*Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at [email protected].
Read more about the profiles HERE.
Here’s how to prepare thе monitor for our profiles:
1. Open the OSD menu (On-Screen Display)
2. Reset Settings: Go to Menu ➡️ Management ➡️ Factory Reset, and click ‘Yes’.
3. Set Colors: Go to Menu ➡️ Color ➡️ CustomRGB: Set the colors to R249, G243, B255
4. Brightness: Navigate to Brightness and set it to 80% for optimal viewing.
In addition to receiving efficient and health-friendly profiles, by buying LaptopMedia's products you also support the development of our labs, where we test devices in order to produce the most objective reviews possible.
Office Work
Office Work should be used mostly by users who spend most of the time looking at pieces of text, tables or just surfing. This profile aims to deliver better distinctness and clarity by keeping a flat gamma curve (2.20), native color temperature and perceptually accurate colors.
Design and Gaming
This profile is aimed at designers who work with colors professionally, and for games and movies as well. Design and Gaming takes display panels to their limits, making them as accurate as possible in the sRGB IEC61966-2-1 standard for Web and HDTV, at white point D65.
Health-Guard
Health-Guard eliminates the harmful Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) and reduces the negative Blue Light which affects our eyes and body. Since it’s custom tailored for every panel, it manages to keep the colors perceptually accurate. Health-Guard simulates paper so the pressure on the eyes is greatly reduced.
Get all 3 profiles with 33% discount
Verdict
While this is our first introduction to HP monitors, it won’t be the last, as we’re really happy with how good the HP M27 Webcam Monitor is. It looks good and is engineered pretty well (seriously, the speaker placement had our jaws on the floor). The port selection is rich and the only negative we can find is that the stand doesn’t offer as much adjustability as one might want.
In terms of color coverage and accuracy, the M27 brings a modest 92% sRGB coverage, which is still enough for web-based design work. All these colors are also quite accurate once we apply our Web Design and Office Work profile, lowering the dE value from 4.2 to 1.5, which is a 2.8X increase, if we have to be specific.
As for the rest of our profiles, you can get plenty of use from them. The Gaming and Movies profile will make your games and movies look better, as the black stabilization that it provides makes dark scenes more visible. Paired with the 75Hz refresh rate and the AMD FreeSync support, you can do plenty of gaming on this supposed “Office monitor”. Also, if you’ve thought about streaming, the available webcam is decent with a 5MP resolution.
Lastly, the Health-Guard profile minimizes Blue Light emissions and PWM (Flickering), both of which affect your eyes negatively and should be limited.
You can check the current price of the HP M27 Webcam Monitor: Buy from Amazon.com (#CommissionsEarned)
Pros
- Well-thought-out design
- 92% sRGB coverage
- 2.8X accuracy increase with our profile (4.2 => 1.5)
- Higher refresh rate
- AMD FreeSync support
Cons
- Stand doesn’t offer much adjustability