So what they have now is a decent IPS panel, using a blue led as backlight plus phosphors to alter the wave-lengths generated, which results in a wide gamut display with satisfying power efficiency.
Conceptually, having a wider gamut than the common Rec.709 and sRGB is interesting because the human eye can perceive colors so much more intense than sRGB gamut, around in an approximate fashion since CRT monitors.
But let's hold back here: what's a display?
It's a rendering device, reproducing colors previously encoded into numbers or voltages in the old days.
So a good display is what reproduces the colors as they're supposed to. Typically, as the graphic artist intended or as a camera encoded them from what hit its sensor.
As a result what's desirable is both a camera (or artist) and the display agreeing on how to record, encode and present again those colors.
Well that's the basics of display calibration.
Sony has an interesting technology, allowing to reproduce more intense colors and most people craves those, they produce emotions.
But today's content usually are not encoded in a way that can represent those colors intensities.
It's just not here anymore!
Colors that are in nature, that also can be perceived by your eyes but can't be stored in the mathematical encoding of sRGB (computers) or Rec.709 (HDTV) gamut (both share the same)
Sony has this display on the Z2 but unfortunately didn't implement anything to display images according to how their colors are encoded.
Instead, they'll simply let the display stretch colors intensities, and also show the wrong color hues because the Z2 panel RGB primaries are not aligned with sRGB gamut.
That's the typical issue when you're lacking color management.
Instead of converting a color space to another, you're not processing anything and show un-corrected colors.
And then here comes the marketing department, who made this page that totally baffles me by the quantity of bulcrap it contains.
It's pretty much feeding readers lies about color reproduction and accuracy to convince them the oversight is actually not only a good thing, but also right and accurate.
Quoting:
With IPS technology, the Xperia Z2 offers an improved viewing angle. So you get super sharp images and accurate colours, no matter which angle you’re looking at your device from.
All things considered, if you compare to the Xperia Z or Z1 yes the colors are indeed more accurate.
It doesn't make Z2 display a color-accurate display tho.
TRILUMINOS™ technology uses LEDs, which emit purer reds and greens, creating a brighter and more uniform light that captures the true colours of the source. From lush landscapes, to natural skin tones – Sony delivers a significantly wider colour range. So you can view every moment in astonishingly authentic colour and breathtaking quality.
Wait wait wait.
Sony, are you really saying that the display is actually a camera? capturing the true colours of the source.
A camera captures colors. Not a display.
See, that's the rhetoric used to pretend that the display knows (!) what were the colors when captured, and thus can reproduce them accurately.
Needless to say, it's complete nonsense.
Then continuing on, Sony tells you the display renders authentic colour
Science check: that's absolutely wrong. Remember I told you sRGB gamut is far from covering what your eyes can perceive. So if your camera records image in sRGB, those intense colors are gone. Like an intense red will be recorded as a less intense red, that's all.
So how could a display know what the authentic colors were.
Was the display here with you? What does that even means.
No, the display will only render colors encoded to be a specific tone and intensity to another color. Because.
Of course it won't be the real color, unless you get 16.7 millions against one lucky, assuming this color was even part of Z2 reproducible colors.
This new innovation combines red and green phosphor with blue LEDs and customised colour filters to produce a brighter and more uniform light. Capturing true colours without the risk of oversaturation.
The marketing here using a formulation optimized to trigger the placebo effect. And believe me placebo (at any price point) sells with almost no limit when it's about display or sound quality.
Even medicine. But people rightfully take this a little bit more seriously 🙂
So yes colors are over-saturated, it's a measurable fact.
But maybe if Sony tells you they're not you'll believe them. No harm trying right?
The Intelligent Image Enhancer reproduces the vividness of the image in its original colour
Again, same thing. Boosting colors not as selectively as described here won't get you anywhere near the original color.
More nonsense.
If you actually watch video content today on a Z2, the color processing might make you uncomfortable.
They take standard content, stretch colors to the wide gamut of the display, and on top of that boost colors some more.
The result looks simply ridiculous, even on skin tone which is a big no-no.
But well, this is Sony's marketing so nothing new here, I think it's a tradition of theirs for consumer products.
Personally, I really don't like abusive usage of "color accuracy" mentions.
That's why I'm working on measurement tools allowing to verify claims, because color is actually a science.
Also, there's a lot of progress to make thanks to wider gamut displays.
Those are undoubtedly the future, but today's ridicule usage made of them mostly discredits their benefits.
#supercurioBlog #color #display #critic #marketing
Xperia™ Z2
Sony’s best phone camera is the Xperia Z2 which features a 20.7 MP camera and 4K video recording – all packaged inside a gorgeous aluminum frame.
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