Colour gamut (Rec.709, DCI-P3, BT.2020)
How much of the HD/SDR colour space the projector reproduces.
- Unit
- %
- Standard
- ITU-R BT.709 primaries · ISO 21118 item 14
- ISO 21118
- ISO 21118 optional
- Better
- ↑ Higher
How to compare it
Rec.709 gamut(%)
≥100% coverage is table stakes for accurate SDR. Anything above that is irrelevant for SDR content.
DCI-P3 gamut(%)
Coverage of the cinema/HDR mastering gamut. Store `p3_white = dci | d65`.
The meaningful wide-gamut number for HDR content, since nearly all HDR is mastered within P3 inside a BT.2020 container.
Standard: SMPTE RP 431-2 (DCI) / EG 432-1 (P3-D65)
BT.2020 gamut(%)
Coverage of the UHD container gamut. Only RGB-laser designs approach it.
A nerd bragging spec. Content rarely uses colours beyond P3, so P3 coverage matters more in practice.
Standard: ITU-R BT.2020
Measured / stated primaries
The chromaticity coordinates of each primary and of white.
Lets us compute any gamut metric ourselves, consistently. It's the honest substitute for marketing percentages.
Standard: CIE 1931 xy
Marketing traps
- Rec.709 gamut: '>100% Rec.709' can only be an *area* metric: coverage maxes at 100%. Area can exceed 100% while missing chunks of the target.
- DCI-P3 gamut: Many 'X% P3' figures need a filter mode that costs a big share of lumens. Check whether the gamut and brightness ratings come from the same mode.
- BT.2020 gamut: '110% BT.2020' is an area metric in xy, which over-weights green.
Across the catalogue
Rec.709 gamut
3 of 24 projectors list it- BenQ W5800100%
- BenQ TK710STi95%
- BenQ X3100i95%
DCI-P3 gamut
6 of 24 projectors list it- BenQ W5800100%
- BenQ X3100i100%
- XGIMI AURA 299%
- Sony VPL-XW5000ES95%
- Sony VPL-XW7000ES95%
BT.2020 gamut
5 of 24 projectors list it- Hisense PX3-PRO110%
- Valerion VisionMaster Pro 2110%
- XGIMI Horizon S Max110%
- Formovie THEATER107%
- Hisense L9H TriChroma Laser TV107%
Deep cut
Rec.709 gamut. BT.709 primaries in xy: R 0.640/0.330, G 0.300/0.600, B 0.150/0.060, with D65 white at 0.3127/0.3290.
DCI-P3 gamut. DCI white is a greenish x 0.314 / y 0.351 (theatrical). Consumer HDR uses P3 primaries with a D65 white. A gamut % without the white stated is ambiguous for area metrics.
BT.2020 gamut. BT.2020 primaries: R 0.708/0.292, G 0.170/0.797, B 0.131/0.046. They're spectral-locus monochromatic primaries, which is why only lasers get close.
Measured / stated primaries. With primaries, we can render our own gamut diagram (u′v′) and compute coverage of 709/P3/2020 uniformly across every model.
Terms on this page
Rec.709 / BT.709
The HDTV and SDR color space. 100% coverage is the minimum for accurate SDR. ⚖ color.gamut_rec709_pct ↑
DCI-P3
The cinema color space, used as the HDR mastering container in practice. ⚖ color.gamut_dcip3_pct ↑
BT.2020 / Rec.2020
The UHD/HDR container gamut. Only RGB-laser projectors approach full coverage. ⚖ color.gamut_bt2020_pct ↑