News broke yesterday of an unannounced change with NVIDIA’s G-SYNC Ultimate certification process, which no longer requires displays capable of 1000 nits. OC3D reached out to NVIDIA and was given the following statement regarding the change.
Late last year we updated G-SYNC ULTIMATE to include new display technologies such as OLED and edge-lit LCDs.
All G-SYNC Ultimate displays are powered by advanced NVIDIA G-SYNC processors to deliver a fantastic gaming experience including lifelike HDR, stunning contract, cinematic color, and ultra-low latency gameplay. While the original G-SYNC Ultimate displays were 1000 nits with FALD, the newest displays, like OLED, deliver infinite contrast with only 600-700 nits, and advanced multi-zone edge-lit displays offer remarkable contrast with 600-700 nits. G-SYNC Ultimate was never defined by nits alone nor did it require a VESA DisplayHDR1000 certification. Regular G-SYNC displays are also powered by NVIDIA G-SYNC processors as well.
The ACER X34 S monitor was erroneously listed as G-SYNC ULTIMATE on the NVIDIA web site. It should be listed as “G-SYNC” and the web page is being corrected.
The HDR 1000 requirement was removed primarily because of OLED and edge-lit display technologies. The former features pixels that can individually change luminosity or turn off completely.
Since G-SYNC was designed long before HDR or 1000-nit displays were commonplace, it makes sense that the specification isn’t limited to those specifications. NVIDIA’s “Likelike HDR” description remains vague, however.