Monitor testing and Calibration

[**MaRVeL**]

********** This is just background on my choices ***********
I am about to purchase a new Monitor. I think that I am going to go for the BenQ GW2470H 24" AMVA panel as it is available at a decent price and I think that I will get 2 of them for dual displays which should allow me more pixels than a 2560x1440p monitor that I wanted for so long. Two 1080p VA displays will cost me about half the price of a 1440p VA display. The stands will have to go as they are crap allowing very little adjustment therefore I want a dual desktop stand. If anyone has any recommendations for a stand then I would appreciate a recommendation.

*********** Here is the important bit ************

Before I order the monitor(s), I would like a calibration device so that I can check out the monitor and adjust it for the best display and return it if there are any display faults.

I have no experience of calibrating monitors or the devices used to do so and therefore would appreciate some recommendations on devices and their benefits/strengths. I have seen the X-Rite ColorMunki Display recommended and also the X-Rite i1Display Pro recommended as a higher end solution which is supposed to offer display uniformity testing but maybe that is just the software and not a limitation of the hardware itself. The monitors cost just above £100 x2 whereas the ColorMunki Display costs £105.00 and X-Rite i1Display Pro costs £133.

I have seen some decent, none professional reviews of the Datacolor Spyder5PRO and that costs £101. There are some models below these but I doubt that they are worth considering.

So which would do what I need, check out the monitors as fully as possible without any further hardware? What models support display uniformity testing? If there are any faults with the monitors then I need to find them ASAP so that I can return them.

All advice is gratefully received.

Datacolor Spyder5EXPRESS £70 or so.

 

[Ocellaris]

If you are buying $160 USD monitors and then going to go hunting for faults and uniformity issues, you will definitely find them. Damn near all monitors have one fault or another, especially on cheaper monitors like these. The real issue is finding what faults you are comfortable living with.

 

[**MaRVeL**]

Quality control of the lower end monitors can be very poor, you cannot deny that. If what I receive is one of those then I will return it because I want something which has the least faults as possible or at least an acceptable amount. The monitor that I intend going for does require some colour/display correction but I do not want one that has big display faults.

I have looked through an enormous amount of monitors over the last 6 months so the one selected is not because of the low price. The display area using 2 monitors is important and should serve me better than one 1440p display. I was considering the Philips BDM3270 which is twice the price of the two selected monitors.

I am also having to give up my want for a more room friendly monitor colour as I really dislike black monitors, I would prefer white, silver or a metal colour. I might be able to part get around this by discarding the stands.

 

[MechanicalMan]

I use a ColorMunki Display and formerly used a DTP-94. They are both good meters. The i1Display Pro and ColorMunki Display are essentially the same meter, but some limitations were added to the ColorMunki through firmware or whatever. IIRC, differences are that the ColorMunki takes slower readings, cannot take ambient light measurements (?) and is blocked by commercial software like CalMAN and ChromaPure. Both meters are supported by free software. There might be rebadged "Display 3" meters that can be found cheaper, but I'm not sure. The DTP-94 is worth considering if you want to spend as little as possible. I've never bothered to sell mine because of how poor the resale value is; people are basically giving them away on eBay, and although it is old, it's not a bad meter. But I suppose that might be a more practical option for people living in the US. I haven't owned a Spyder, but all meter testing that I've ever seen has indicated that X-Rite meters are more accurate with less variation from meter to meter than Spyder products -- including the new Spyder5 (example). I recommend that you stick with X-Rite. If you aren't already familiar with software, this is what I use and recommend (all free):

Argyll CMS
HCFR
dispcalGUI
I do not use the X-Rite software that is included with the ColorMunki.

There may be software that has a uniformity walk-through, showing you where to place the meter, collecting the data and then displaying it in a user-friendly way..? I'm not sure; I haven't used anything like that. But if you really want to take uniformity measurements, then you could do that by just moving the meter around and taking manual readings in HCFR. But really, I don't think meters have a lot of value for that ability. A decision to keep or return a display based on uniformity is one that can be made with your eyes. The real value of a meter is that it will give you accurate white balance, gamma and color measurements. And if needed/desired, it will allow you to create a profile for better accuracy.

I don't have any experience with the GW2470H, but I'm extremely pleased with my new EW2750ZL. I'm using it without a profile, so a meter was basically only needed to set white balance. Aside from the gamut being a little wide, the color is very accurate. Uniformity is good; black uniformity looks better than white/color uniformity (I didn't measure either). The only things that I really perceive as flaws are the flaws inherent to VA displays and the aforementioned slightly wide gamut. Also, that model has a cheap stand and isn't even VESA mountable, but that's not a problem for me.

 

[fhoech]

The DTP-94 is worth considering if you want to spend as little as possible.

I wouldn't recommend the DTP94 at this point because it was developed in the days of CRT and standard-gamut LCD monitors with CCFL backlight, e.g. it doesn't have correction tables for white LED which is the most common backlighting technology these days.

There may be software that has a uniformity walk-through, showing you where to place the meter, collecting the data and then displaying it in a user-friendly way..?

dispcalGUI can do uniformity measurements (menu "Tools", "Measure display device uniformity...").

 

[MaZa]

I wouldn't recommend the DTP94 at this point because it was developed in the days of CRT and standard-gamut LCD monitors with CCFL backlight, e.g. it doesn't have correction tables for white LED which is the most common backlighting technology these days.



dispcalGUI can do uniformity measurements (menu "Tools", "Measure display device uniformity...").

Yeah, much like the popular in the past I1 Display 2 (and which I still use, will upgrade to Colormunki Display soon) its old tech colorimeter and it has issues getting correct readings on LED backlight. Temperature reading can be off few hundred K's but it will help you get into the correct ballpark. You can still get an accurate gamma reading though.

With old colorimeters there is also an issue of aging. The gelatin filters colorimeters use age and stop being accurate in time. Dunno if new Spiders still use them but the Display and Display Pro should not so technically they should last a lifetime. I'd get the cheaper Colormunki Display and use the Dispcalgui + ArgyllCMS. Dispcalgui can get very deep and technical if you want to but its presets are good too. For movies and games use the Video preset which uses the 6500K temperature and BT-1886 gamma.

 

[**MaRVeL**]

I use a ColorMunki Display and formerly used a DTP-94. They are both good meters. The i1Display Pro and ColorMunki Display are essentially the same meter, but some limitations were added to the ColorMunki through firmware or whatever. IIRC, differences are that the ColorMunki takes slower readings, cannot take ambient light measurements (?) and is blocked by commercial software like CalMAN and ChromaPure.....................

I recommend that you stick with X-Rite. If you aren't already familiar with software, this is what I use and recommend (all free):

Argyll CMS
HCFR
dispcalGUI
I do not use the X-Rite software that is included with the ColorMunki.

There may be software that has a uniformity walk-through, showing you where to place the meter, collecting the data and then displaying it in a user-friendly way..? I'm not sure; I haven't used anything like that. But if you really want to take uniformity measurements, then you could do that by just moving the meter around and taking manual readings in HCFR. But really, I don't think meters have a lot of value for that ability. A decision to keep or return a display based on uniformity is one that can be made with your eyes. The real value of a meter is that it will give you accurate white balance, gamma and color measurements. And if needed/desired, it will allow you to create a profile for better accuracy.

I don't have any experience with the GW2470H, but I'm extremely pleased with my new EW2750ZL. I'm using it without a profile, so a meter was basically only needed to set white balance. Aside from the gamut being a little wide, the color is very accurate. Uniformity is good; black uniformity looks better than white/color uniformity (I didn't measure either). The only things that I really perceive as flaws are the flaws inherent to VA displays and the aforementioned slightly wide gamut. Also, that model has a cheap stand and isn't even VESA mountable, but that's not a problem for me.

Thank you for your comprehensive reply because it is very helpful indeed. The different freewares available is also very helpful although I did already find dispcalGUI last night.

The GW2470H does have a cheap stand with only pitch adjustment which is why I intend to not use it as it will not provide sufficient adjustment. I intend using a dual desktop stand when I can find one which is stable enough without having to clamp to my desk which would damage my Oak table. BTW the GW2470H does have a VESA 100 mount.

With regard to the calibration devices, the accuracy is important and price difference is fairly narrow between all of the models that I listed and even narrower between the X-Rite and Datacolor and therefore your recommendation on going for the X-Rite models is helpful.

I didn't want to post links to sites selling products but it might help some who are looking for lower prices. I have found that wexphotographic.com have some low prices in Europe, lower than Amazon.co,uk where the i1Display Pro is only £3 more than the X-Rite ColorMunki Display@ Amazon.co.uk. Amazon.fr is currently the lowest but does not get close to wex for the i1Display Pro.

Choices choices.

Is the Pro significantly, as in more accurate and functional than the Display model? Readings are faster but is there anything else that would benefit me if I didn't use their software? The price difference isn't that large so I do not want to miss out if it provides anything that I can use either now or in the future.

 

[MechanicalMan]

Is the Pro significantly, as in more accurate and functional than the Display model? Readings are faster but is there anything else that would benefit me if I didn't use their software? The price difference isn't that large so I do not want to miss out if it provides anything that I can use either now or in the future.

I'm pretty certain that accuracy is exactly the same -- it will obviously vary some from meter to meter, but I don't think it varies between the two models. They're the same hardware. If you aren't wanting to use commercial software, then I don't think there is really any reason to get the Pro. I guess the speed of the Pro could be beneficial to people who are doing frequent calibrations, but that's not something that I'd pay extra for. However, if they're virtually the same price, then I guess you could just get the Pro anyway. I bought the Munki back in 2012 for $104 USD after rebate. That was a good price at the time and much less than the Pro was selling for. AFAIK, the Pro has always been much more expensive than the Munki here in the US -- I think typically around twice the price. I guess there is less price disparity between them in Europe.

Incidentally, I didn't know that the Munki had gotten so inexpensive in the US. It looks like it was available during Thanksgiving sales for ~$84 AR. That's really a bargain, IMO, considering how useful these are. A colorimeter is a must-own item for me, and considering how much use I've gotten out of the meter(s) and how much some of my displays cost, the cost of a meter is pretty minuscule.

Anyhow, whichever model you choose, it's definitely a wise investment, IMO. I personally wouldn't be willing to spend much more on the Pro since I don't really care about the speed difference and definitely have no intention of ever using commercial software or X-Rite software. I'm very happy with the free software available, and HCFR has improved a lot since I first started using it back in 2010.

Do you have other displays, televisions or whatever, that you'll use the meter on? Although I basically feel that everyone should own a meter, I honestly had little use for mine with the BenQ EW2750ZL that I mentioned. The high default gamma can be easily corrected without a meter, and the minor color (saturation) issues didn't improve with the profile that I created with dispcalGUI -- the profile actually appeared to make color a little worse (as measured by HCFR). The monitor had pretty good default color temp as well, but that is with brightness (backlight) at the default maximum setting, and lowering brightness made the temp significantly cooler. So the only thing I really used the meter for was setting white balance (which only involved lowering blue gain), and that's something that could arguably be done decently enough by eye. If the GW2470H is similar, then you may be surprised/disappointed by how little use you get from the meter. Since I don't speak Korean and haven't fully translated the review, I don't know why Playwares gave a lower score to the GW2470H than they gave to the EW2750ZL. But FWIW, my own measurements seem somewhat in line with theirs for contrast and color space on the EW2750ZL, and their measurements for both were better on the GW2470H. If the GW2470H doesn't have any bad issues with white balance or gamma, then it seems like it would be pretty easy to calibrate -- even without a meter, if you just have a decent reference for color temperature. FWIW, the only adjustments I've made on my EW2750ZL are lowering brightness to 34 (default 100), lowering gamma to 1 (default 3) and lowering blue gain to 92 (default 100).

 

[amenx]

+1 for colormunki display. Near 2 years with mine and hasnt let me down. The i1display pro is supposedly 5x quicker and I believe thats about it. Most critical part is the sensor which I believe is same, very accurate and better than the Spyder equivalents.. athough not sure if Spyder 5 has caught up with the x-rite products. CM can do ambient light measuring and has a diffuser for that purpose but never used it.

X-rite software is horrible and almost seems like it was written by another company. DispcalGUI (w/Argyll CMS) far superior to it with a wealth of calibration options. HCFR best for measuring the results.

But tbh I dont see the point for a colorimeter on sub-$200 displays. Would rather put the money on a better display and calibrate that by eye .

 

[**MaRVeL**]

I have ordered the i1Display Pro because the price difference was so little and I also found that I could get 3.03% cashback via TopCashBack which brought the price down to just under £130 inc delivery which was free. The TCB rate is meant to finish today, I was a bit surprised to find any cashback offered as the store does seem to discount quite heavily in comparison with other places.

I now have to order the monitors but this is the wrong time of year to be ordering as all the prices get raised at this time of year.

The software for the Pro model is different to the Display model at least according to the reviews of the Display & Pro that I read (see below). I have included them for anyone who might read this thread. There is also a review of the software for the Pro model available on the site.
http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/reviews/profiling/i1_display_pro.html
http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/reviews/profiling/colormunki_display.html

What you might be forgetting is that FullHD monitors are not the in thing so their price is much lower. By comparison there is a substantial price penalty by moving up to the 1440p displays which does not offer that much more IMO. I can get 2 1080p monitors for half the price of many 1440p monitors which is a far better value for money and provides a larger work area. I will also be able to connect 2 PC's at the same time which I will find useful, as it does have dual HDMI inputs.

 

[**MaRVeL**]

Back to this thread. I now have a GW2470H, I got the X-Rite i1Display Pro before Christmas and I have been using all the software mentioned including the X-Rite software.

First of all does anyone know what HCFR stands for? What the letters mean? I dislike not knowing, because it makes remember it more difficult.

I am having problems with HCFR which I cannot work out and the help is proving unhelpful at best trying to understand the English which is reasonable but still makes it difficult to understand.

I hope that someone can provide some assistance and answer my questions.

I have been attempting to calibrate my GW2470H and software shows an imbalance in the colours. HCFR seems as buggy as hell because I have been attempting to use the continuous measures so that I can adjust the colours however I cannot get it to show a patch on screen in order to measure the colours.

I worked out through the help that using View->test colors allows the setting of the test colour for continuous measures and free measures. Selecting this and selecting a colour and then using continuous measures shows a patch with the colour.......but that only lasts for a second or so, it then changes the colour to another colour, sometimes black or sometimes 64R64G64B. I can find no where where this colour is set or why it continually changes what is set. It seems like an old colour being remembered in some strange way. It is making HCFR totally unusable for me because I cannot do the most basic realtime calibrations. ATM I am messing around trying to learn what works best as this is not helping one bit.

Can anyone help me out with this and tell me how to get this working?

 

[**MaRVeL**]

Back to this thread. I now have a GW2470H, I got the X-Rite i1Display Pro before Christmas and I have been using all the software mentioned including the X-Rite software.

First of all does anyone know what HCFR stands for? What the letters mean? I dislike not knowing, because it makes remember it more difficult.

No one has replied or been able to answer my questions and I just found the answer myself.

This thread was originally started by JohnAd who had the nice idea of creating an open source fork of the original HCFR Colormeter software to integrate the existing GUI and all of it's calibration features, with the meter handling code of ArgyllCMS. Since ArgyllCMS is continually adding and improving meter support, HCFR benefits by staying current with these developments. The software is frequently referred to as HCFR or colorHCFR where HCFR is short for "Home Cinema-FR", a French forum where some of it's members originally developed the code to support their home-brew colorimeter in 2005. Along with the meter handling improvements introduced by ArgyllCMS, I have been working on improving and adding features to the color engine and internal pattern generator. Please use this thread for bug reports, usage questions and suggestions for improvement. Anyone wishing to help with code development should join the developers mailing list.

I am having problems with HCFR which I cannot work out and the help is proving unhelpful at best trying to understand the English which is reasonable but still makes it difficult to understand.

I hope that someone can provide some assistance and answer my questions.

I have been attempting to calibrate my GW2470H and software shows an imbalance in the colours. HCFR seems as buggy as hell because I have been attempting to use the continuous measures so that I can adjust the colours however I cannot get it to show a patch on screen in order to measure the colours.

I worked out through the help that using View->test colors allows the setting of the test colour for continuous measures and free measures. Selecting this and selecting a colour and then using continuous measures shows a patch with the colour.......but that only lasts for a second or so, it then changes the colour to another colour, sometimes black or sometimes 64R64G64B. I can find no where where this colour is set or why it continually changes what is set. It seems like an old colour being remembered in some strange way. It is making HCFR totally unusable for me because I cannot do the most basic realtime calibrations. ATM I am messing around trying to learn what works best as this is not helping one bit.

Can anyone help me out with this and tell me how to get this working?

I did solve this. I think part of the problem was a setting on the General settings tab "detect grey/primary colors during user measures" disabling this helped.

The other setting which helped is on the Measures menu, Generator->Configure. On the Display tab Display mode section there are a few options, GDI which is default was causing a problem, setting this to GDI (no background) helped as it made everything work while viewing the results in real time. This prevented the black background with colour patch in the centre covering the results screen. Still not working 100% as it would not display a test colour/image in the centre of the screen. To do that I found that using the View menu->Test colours shows a colour rectangle which can be resized to the desired size. Then any colour can be selected and when Continous measures is selected on the Measures menu or the Right green arrow button is clicked or [F8] pressed there is a continous update of the read colour. This allows realtime adjustment of colours and shows the dE error for the test colour. Selecting white allows quick adjustment of the luminance cd/m^2 by adjusting the brightness and contrast while selecting R G B allows quick adjustment of the monitor RGB channels in realtime.