Monitor Calibration tools

[PurdueRy]

Hello everyone.

I just swapped my monitor from a NEC 1760NX(nice monitor in its day) for a Acer 2216W.

The backlight was dying on the NEC and hence it had to go. I really loved the monitor as it still has(had) some of the best black levels I have seen of any computer monitor.

I didn't want to spend a lot and couldn't justify the Dell 2407 but still wanted widescreen so I went with the aforementioned model.

I got to try it out yesterday and for the most part I am satisfied. The initial settings it shipped with were pretty poor and so I played around with them a bit, lowering contrast wayyyyy down(with the default settings I lost a lot of white detail).

On the monitor there are also brightness and individual RGB controls. I tried using a copy of AVIA that I own for my home theater but I can't seem to correct colors very well using the individual RGB controls.

So I am considering buying a Spyder2. I noticed on one website that it said the spyder2 Suite was capable of doing individual RGB controls but the express was not able to. Since I have control over this is it worth getting the "suite"?

I also noticed they make a "tv" model which is more expensive but made to play in a DVD player. As mentioned, I already have AVIA and feel it does a pretty decent job with at least brightness/contrast and tint/saturation. However, I am willing to consider investing in the TV version if it can also do computer monitors just as well as the express model. It would be an added bonus if it could get my TV's calibrated even closer than I can get with AVIA.

I have seen there is a couple of threads on monitor calibration. However, I am mainly interested in the differences between what I could do in my situation with the "Suite" the "express" or the "TV" models of the spyder2.

I am not THAT interested in printed calibration as I usually don't print much that I am that critical over. However, I am a stickler for having colors be correct and brightness/contrast correct as well. So overall I want my monitor displaying colors as accurately as possible.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Viper GTS]

The "individual RGB controls" that you're talking about is a hardware pre-calibration using the monitor's menu and controls. The goal of course is to get the monitor as close as possible to correct prior to profiling. I owned a Spyder2Pro prior to upgrading to CEDPro, IMO the hardware pre-calibration was one of the most useful features of the package.

There is a free/open-source TV calibration package out there that will work with the Spyder2 sensor (any version).

http://www.homecinema-fr.com/colorimetre/index_en.php

Worth a shot at least, I haven't used it but a lot of people on various AV forums have. It would be much, much cheaper than the SpyderTV package.

These days I'm using ColorEyes Display Pro with a DTP-94. The results are definitely better than the Spyder package, though they have been VERY slow to support Vista and x64 OS's properly.

Viper GTS

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
The "individual RGB controls" that you're talking about is a hardware pre-calibration using the monitor's menu and controls. The goal of course is to get the monitor as close as possible to correct prior to profiling. I owned a Spyder2Pro prior to upgrading to CEDPro, IMO the hardware pre-calibration was one of the most useful features of the package.

There is a free/open-source TV calibration package out there that will work with the Spyder2 sensor (any version).

http://www.homecinema-fr.com/colorimetre/index_en.php

Worth a shot at least, I haven't used it but a lot of people on various AV forums have. It would be much, much cheaper than the SpyderTV package.

These days I'm using ColorEyes Display Pro with a DTP-94. The results are definitely better than the Spyder package, though they have been VERY slow to support Vista and x64 OS's properly.

Viper GTS

Thanks for the reponse Viper. I was going to PM you as I read some of your responses in previous threads.

So are you saying that I should get the "Suite" as I believe it allows for "Hardware precalibration" as you say?

These RGB controls I should specify are on my monitor. Obviously there are controls via the graphics card drivers as well. However, I don't like using those too much as getting video overlays to work properly and consistently is very difficult(at least in my experience).

 

[Viper GTS]

Yes - Hardware whitepoint first, then deal with the profiling.

Depending on what the Pro suite runs these days it might be a better deal to pick up a sensor for cheap (even one from an Express package) and then jump straight to CEDPro. I would think you could end up with both for around $225 ($175 for CEDPro and $50 maybe for a bare sensor?) which is what I paid for my Spyder2Pro. Granted that was a long time ago so the Spyder2Pro packages are probably cheaper now.

The Spyder2 is a fairly capable sensor, the software it's bundled with is the limiting factor.

Viper GTS

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
Yes - Hardware whitepoint first, then deal with the profiling.

Depending on what the Pro suite runs these days it might be a better deal to pick up a sensor for cheap (even one from an Express package) and then jump straight to CEDPro. I would think you could end up with both for around $225 ($175 for CEDPro and $50 maybe for a bare sensor?) which is what I paid for my Spyder2Pro. Granted that was a long time ago so the Spyder2Pro packages are probably cheaper now.

The Spyder2 is a fairly capable sensor, the software it's bundled with is the limiting factor.

Viper GTS

I checked out CED pro. It's price seems pretty decent but the only online dealer that it lists doesn't appear to offer the Spyder2 sensor as a choice(even though it describes it in the product details). I could buy the spyder2 hardware+software for $60-90. But if I was going to do that I would purchase that first and see if I felt I wanted more accurate results.

Do you know other places(hopefully besides ebay) where I could get a bare spyder2 sensor? If I can't I might just go with the spyder2 suite so I can get the RGB calibration it supposedly has.

 

[Viper GTS]

I don't know that Datacolor is in the habit of selling them bare. Integrated Color has the Spyder2 listed in their store but it's outrageously expensive ($179, which is more than the cost of the DTP94 if you buy it bundled with CEDPro.

If I were trying to do this at a low cost I would do a sensor from ebay. CEDPro also supports several other sensors, so you don't need to limit yourself to finding a Spyder2.

There's a list (in a screenshot) at the bottom of this page:

http://www.integrated-color.co.../coloreyesdisplay.html

Spyder2 is probably the most affordable off the list, but it couldn't hurt to look for all of them.

Viper GTS

 

[The Bakery]

If you are very severe about accurate colors on your monitor, you may want to consider a hardware color calibration tool.

There is a very good deal on the Pantone Huey with free shipping here - http://www.buy.com/retail/Product.asp?sku=202220755

The buy.com website has the pantone Huey listed in error for $1,136,362.99
--
It is actually $54

This has come to me through recommendations for graphic design, however it will calibrate for your purpose. It also monitors the
light conditions as the day changes, and adjusts calibration to ensure that colors display properly at night and day - very important
for print, and important to you if you are very attentive to color changes.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
I don't know that Datacolor is in the habit of selling them bare. Integrated Color has the Spyder2 listed in their store but it's outrageously expensive ($179, which is more than the cost of the DTP94 if you buy it bundled with CEDPro.

If I were trying to do this at a low cost I would do a sensor from ebay. CEDPro also supports several other sensors, so you don't need to limit yourself to finding a Spyder2.

There's a list (in a screenshot) at the bottom of this page:

http://www.integrated-color.co.../coloreyesdisplay.html

Spyder2 is probably the most affordable off the list, but it couldn't hurt to look for all of them.

Viper GTS

I ordered a Spyder2 express package. What exactly does the CED software do differently than the software included in the spyder package. If I install the CED software will I be able to put it on multiple computers?

So far my plan is to try out the spyder2 software. If I am unhappy with the results I will order(probably download) the CED software.

 

[Viper GTS]

I believe a single CEDPro license can be used on 3 systems, but I'm not sure how heavily that is enforced (ie does it phone home).

I got started with colorimeters when I was running multiple CRT's. In spite of the fact that all my monitors were the same make & model I found it nearly impossible to manually adjust them to look the same. The Spyder2Pro package helped considerably, but there were still noticeable differences between displays. Gray tones, in particular, were very bad. The same black & white image would have a different colored tinge on each monitor. That was with hardware whitepoint calibration and profiling using the Spyder2Pro package. CEDPro with the Spyder2 sensor was able to get them close enough that it didn't bother me for daily use. The DTP-94 was even better, but a much smaller difference than the jump to CEDPro + Spyder2.

If you're calibrating just one monitor you may not see a substantial difference, the Spyder2 software is definitely an improvement vs uncalibrated/profiled but the limitations become apparent when using multiple problematic displays (all of my monitors were somewhat older, I imagine it would have been better if they were new).

Viper GTS

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
I believe a single CEDPro license can be used on 3 systems, but I'm not sure how heavily that is enforced (ie does it phone home).

I got started with colorimeters when I was running multiple CRT's. In spite of the fact that all my monitors were the same make & model I found it nearly impossible to manually adjust them to look the same. The Spyder2Pro package helped considerably, but there were still noticeable differences between displays. Gray tones, in particular, were very bad. The same black & white image would have a different colored tinge on each monitor. That was with hardware whitepoint calibration and profiling using the Spyder2Pro package. CEDPro with the Spyder2 sensor was able to get them close enough that it didn't bother me for daily use. The DTP-94 was even better, but a much smaller difference than the jump to CEDPro + Spyder2.

If you're calibrating just one monitor you may not see a substantial difference, the Spyder2 software is definitely an improvement vs uncalibrated/profiled but the limitations become apparent when using multiple problematic displays (all of my monitors were somewhat older, I imagine it would have been better if they were new).

Viper GTS

Just a quick update. I went ahead and purchased CED pro. When I was reading the reviews one thing that I knew was going to bug me about colorvision's software was that it didn't give you any "review" measurements. I hate taking "their word" that its now accurate. I need the data to back it up. So that in itself will help me sleep easy. It's better measurement ability is just a bonus.

I get my spyder2 tomorrow so I will report back on the results. However I noticed when I go into the software now that it doesn't let me select the spyder2. I am assuming that I need it connected to select it as its not recognizing its there. Is this true?

Thanks for your assistance.

P.S. I find it weird that the colorvision software is 100+MB and the CED pro software is only 15ish

 

[PurdueRy]

Well I calibrated. It's so fun to see CEDpro adjusting the colors in realtime. One thing that I am confused about is the profile settings page. What is the difference between a V2 and V4 profile? Also, what monitor profile type should I pick...16 bit, 8 bit or matrix. If they are talking about my monitor its 6 bit so I don't understand which to pick. Also, the white calibration(pre-profile) is really hard to get perfect. I find that my monitor has way too high of contrast as its defaults. So in order to see changes here in white color I have to lower that greatly which is fine. I wish they included a tool to set contrast correctly. I don't see the brightness meter adjusting at all...which is weird. I can do whatever I want to brightness but the meter doesn't move. Adjust the colors does adjust the meters, its just really delayed. The closest I Was able to get it was -1 0 0. I assume that's perfectly close enough.

Anymore tips? I am happy with the results, just looking for some clarity on the settings I am not familiar with.