HP z27x Review

The HP z27x is a display that pushes the limits of what a desktop display can do, but it has one serious drawback that will limit its acceptance. For people that want accurate color, larger color gamuts, and the ability to really have fine control over their display the HP z27x is hard to beat. The post-calibration and pre-calibration numbers are some of the best we have seen. The built-in management makes it easy to tie users down to the correct color space and to switch between them as needed. Self-calibration removes the PC from the equation when it comes to getting colors correct.

The uniformity of the display is a big deal to me, though. Professionals need the colors they see on the screen to be accurate, even if they are at the edge of the screen and not in the center. Having to reposition anything you are looking at to the center of the screen to know it is correct is something that most people will not want to do. That the uniformity of the HP is so far off is surprising to me.

It also limits whom I think the HP z27x will apply to. If you don’t need the larger color gamut, there are other displays out there with very accurate color but also fantastic uniformity. The NEC Professional displays let you switch between color spaces easily and their uniformity is the best out there. They don’t offer the same self-calibration or management that the HP z27x does, but that might not matter to you.

If you need the larger DCI or Rec.2020 color gamuts, then I don’t know what other choices you might have. The HP can do these larger gamuts but you need to look at the center of the screen for them to be accurate. Of course, there is the chance that my sample just has a uniformity issue and most displays are much better. That same logic could also apply to the quality of the calibration; maybe every other display is worse than mine, so I don’t like to make that leap. I can only go by what I see and measure and not what might be. Even if my sample is worse than average, it says something about quality control that this sort of unit could end up shipping to a customer.

The price is quite high compared to many other 27" QHD displays, but we expect that from a professional level monitor. While many would balk at the $1500 MSRP ($1400 online), given all of the features it's actually not too bad. NEC's PA272W has a $1300 MSRP and the PA272W SpectraView model has a $1550 MSRP, so considering the wider gamut and management features the z27x is pretty competitive. Except a professional display really needs uniformity.

If the uniformity on the HP z27x was better then I wouldn’t have a reason to really criticize it. The colors are accurate, the gamut is huge, and it is very nice to use as well. It has a specific target market, and it fits that well, but the backlight uniformity holds it back. As it is, I’m conflicted on what to do with the HP. The backlight bleed on the left side is a serious issue, but it doesn't take away for everything else the HP does right. The HP z27x is an impressive display, and if HP can improve the backlight uniformity on it, it might be the best display I've reviewed to date. As it stands, it does exceptionally well in most areas but it has an Achilles' Heel that needs to be addressed.