Just ordered U3011! Need help.

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PrpnNightmare

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Hey guys! Just ordered my U3011, and i'm totally stoked! This will be my first serious LCD, and my first IPS panel, so i'm really looking forward to it!

I've heard the quality control on these panels can be a bit iffy, so I need some expert guidance on what kind of things im looking for when I get this bad boy started, as this is my first real LCD, so it's all new territory for me!

Also wondering how calibration works, and what kind of money im looking at spending on a good calibrator; and furthermore, which one is recommended.

A huge thanks in advance for helping my newbie self into the world of REAL monitors. :)
 
Just look and see if it looks good. Seriously, I don't get the point in hunting for defects. If you don't notice something then it doesn't matter. I think too many people get a monitor that they are happy with, then go and hunt for every defect they can find info online. They become unhappy with it as they find minor defects and convince themselves it is a problem.

So when you get it just look at it. Look at text, look at pictures, look at games, look at movies. Do you like how it looks? If not, what's wrong? If you notice problems, well then they are maybe something to deal with. After all if you get a monitor and say "Oh man, this backlight looks all wacky," well then it is a problem, you noticed it. However going over it with a fine tooth comb only to say "Ah ha! There is one part of one red sub pixel out in the corner here! I never would have noticed except for extensive testing!" is silly.

In general make sure you are happy with the uniformity of the image, that you don't notice any dead pixels (don't go hunting, just see if there are any you notice), and that there don't seem to be any problems. Don't worry much about colour because that is something you'll need to adjust and if you are getting a calibrator, well wait for that and let it help you.

In terms of calibrators you are looking at $150-200ish for a good one. You can spend a whole lot more (professional grade stuff is thousands) but for a good calibrator like what 99.99% of peopel who use one use, that is the range you are in. The basic choices are the Datacolor Spyder 3 or the X-Rite i1 Display 2.

As for which I'd choose... Hmmm, probably the Spyder 3. The i1 generally has better inter-instrument agreement and so on, slightly tighter QC, but it isn't known to be so good with real wide gamut displays. It needs to be modified or corrected for them. So if you get one with the display, like NEC's rebadged ones, works fine. If not, it may not work as well. The Spyder 3 does pretty good on anything.

Also I'm not thrilled with the i1's software (I have an i1 that came with my NEC). It is ok, but I like the Spyder software better. So while I like and use my i1 with my NEC, it is for that NEC and I use the NEC software, which I like. For a 3011, I'd probably get a Spyder 3.

However the i1 is fine too, so don't feel like you can't get it if you'd rather. In either case, you can spend more and get 3rd party software like BasICColor. If that does a better job or not is somewhat up in the air.
 
Thanks for the advice. I know I shouldnt get caught up on looking for faults, I guess I'm just a little scared of getting less than I should be in this monitor, especially as its my first IPS. I'm pretty pumped though! I've only ever had TN panels, and not the greatest at that.

Is it worth purchasing a calibrator over borrowing one? How often can I expect to use it?
 
Well I suppose if you have on you can easily borrow then you could do that. You don't HAVE to recalibrate the display, but then you don't HAVE to calibrate it at all. In general it is a good idea to recalibrate it fairly often, once a month maybe. By default the software that comes with my NEC wants to do it every 2 weeks. I'm too lazy for that so I set it to bug me every 4 weeks.

Recalibration is useful because the property of the backlight does change with time, so for most accurate results, you need to re-do the calibration.

Personally I'll always own one and use it every month or so. I like to keep my displays in check, and there isn't an easy easy to borrow one, I wouldn't want to try and hut all over and beg and plead and so on.
 
Fire and forget man.

TRUST me, for everyday use set it to ADOBE RGB and you are done. It is factory color calibrated and done very well. That is one of the big draws of this Display.

I FULLY AGREE with the above poster..he just gets it. Dont go hunting for evry little defect becasue youll find something and then obsess over it.

Enjoy your U3011 they are great displays.
 
Do let us know about your impressions on the monitor. I'm planning on getting a 2nd monitor myself and have only had TN panels also.

*Edit: Whoops, mistook this monitor model haha*
 
Thanks alot for all the re-assuring comments guys. Really appreciate it. Though, I have heard this monitor benefits from a proper calibration, over the factory calibration. So, I think I'll buy a Spyder 3, and leave it at that! :)
 
Any monitor tends to benefit from calibration, however sometimes it can be rather minor. Personally I like monitor calibration, going to the extent of buying an NEC monitor which can be calibrated in hardware. Just recognize that is may not be a night and day improvement, just going from good to better.
 
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