Dell P2422H quick review – Reaching great color accuracy with a $180 monitor?

Display Quality, Buy our Profiles, Verdict

Dell P2422H uses an IPS panel with Full HD resolution, at 60 Hz. The pixels become imperceptible to the human eye at a distance of 94 cm, so the picture appears perfectly detailed when viewed from a distance of 1 meter. Chances are you’re closer but that’s okay, given the price tag of this model. However, there is something else that we didn’t like – the Mediocre max brightness (250 nits). Most monitors in this price range have a maximum brightness of about 300 nits. In other words, you have to provide well-thought-out lighting conditions in order to use the P2422H comfortably. Avoid direct sunlight or strong, directional lighting. Use ambient or overhead lighting in the room to create a soft, even illumination. Position the monitor properly to minimize reflections.

On the bright side (hehe), the contrast ratio is good – 1000:1.

Also, Dell P2422H covers 99% of the sRGB color gamut. This is a very good result which means that the monitor could be of use for learning Photoshop, especially for web design/development since this is the standard colorspace for the Web.

Look at the illustration below (Fig.1). The whole “sail-shaped” map below consists of all the colors we can see, while the black crooked line (Pointer’s Gamut) 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 Dell P2422H can show:

Standard/For Web: sRGB – widely used color space for most consumer devices, ideal for Web design and development
For Print/Photographers: AdobeRGB – used in professional photo editing, graphic design, and print
For Movie/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

Dell P2422H: the yellow dashed triangle (– – – – – –) represents the range of colors this monitor can display

(Fig.1) Dell P2422H covers 99% of the Web colors

Color accuracy (dE 2000)

So how big is the difference between the real colors and the ones you’ll see on the Dell P2422H? We measure this difference in DeltaE – the higher the number, the more different they look. Scores below 2.0 are considered good for content creation, while values below 1.0 are indistinguishable to the human eye.

We’ve chosen 24 of the most common colors found in nature and compared them to the colors displayed on the Dell P2422H’s screen.

On the left (Fig. 2), you can see Dell P2422H in its factory state. On the right (Fig. 3), is the Dell P2422H with our display profiles. As you can see, our team of display engineers has managed to improve dE color accuracy by an average of more than 3 times!

All you have to do is enable the Web Design and Office Work profile in the LM Profiles app.

(Fig.2) Dell P2422H in its factory state.

 (Fig.3) Dell P2422H with our display profiles.

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

BUY OUR DISPLAY PROFILES

*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.

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.

• $9.90 BUY NOW

Buy Now Checkout Added to cart

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.

• $9.90 BUY NOW

Buy Now Checkout Added to cart

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.

• $9.90 BUY NOW

Buy Now Checkout Added to cart

Get all 3 profiles with 33% discount

• $19.90 BUY NOW

Buy Now Checkout Added to cart

Verdict

The Dell P2422H offers a very high value for its price point. Despite being categorized as a budget monitor, it doesn’t compromise on essential features, as evidenced by its broad port selection, sleek design, good contrast ratio, and impressive color accuracy with our profiles. With the Design and Gaming profile activated, the color accuracy improves by an average of more than 3 times (dE 4.0 -> 1.3), making it an attractive choice for those planning to learn web design or Photoshop. However, we should note its limitations in the brightness aspect which requires appropriate lighting conditions for optimal use.

You can check current price of the Dell P2422H here: Buy from Amazon.com (#CommissionsEarned)