Imagine a billion colors. Now imagine a computer monitor that can display a billion colors.

Behold the HP DreamColor LP2480zx. It’s the result of an unusual collaboration between HP and DreamWorks Animation. The 24-inch LCD monitor can handle 30-bits of color (that’s 10-bits per primary color), which translates to more than a billion different colors. Previously, you had to pay as much as $23,000 for a comparable monitor.

The big news for people working in video/film production, animation, 3D rendering, game development, graphic arts, product design, and other color-critical industries is the price of this new monitor. It has a surprisingly low list price (given what you get) of $3,499.

The other specs include a native 1920×1200 resolution, wide 178-degree viewing angle, and extremely deep black level for an LCD screen (0.05 cd/m2). It can cover 97 percent of the stringent DCI-P3 color space standard — that’s the full range of colors possible for a digital cinema theater.

I had a chance to test drive the DreamColor display last month while visiting the DreamWorks studios in Glendale, California. I was very impressed with its performance. Keep in mind, you’ll need a 30-bit compatible graphics card, graphics card driver, and application software in order to take advantage of the 30-bit color gamut. You’ll also need to connect the monitor via its DisplayPort 1.1 or HDMI 1.3 input if you want to view your 30-bit content in its full billion-color glory.