Monitor calibration devices and Eizo and BenQ monitors

[billtils]

For various reasons that don't matter here, I'm considering changing my editing computer from an iMac to one of the new Mac Mini M1 units, which means I have to also purchase a monitor since Apple killed off the ability to use iMac screens as displays for another computer.

First step was to look at the Eizo and BenQ offerings and I noted that they both claim to come straight out of the box accurately calibrated to sRGB and Adobe (and for some models, other) colour spaces and to be stable for a year or more. That being the case, what's the point of using a Spyder or ColorMunki for calibration and regular checks?

The only thing that seemd to fit was their ability to compensate for changes in ambient light, but would this matter given both makes have (or can have) screen hoods?

[Manfred M]

Bill it has been a few years (just over 3, if I remember correctly) when I bought my BenQ SW2700. It was supposedly profiled as well.

If came out of the box and was far too bright for my work, so I had to bring that down to a more usable level. I work at 80 cd/ sq m, which means that my prints come out at the correct brightness. I have no idea how linear the display is and when I use my i1 Display Pro to set the brightness, it will run through the profiling process as well.

I did call tech support at BenQ, but they were of little help, so I just went ahead and profiled and calibrated and it works. I did re-do this process as well as I have no idea if there are any issues with the any "burn in" process with new screens versus what we saw with the old CRT units that definitely had a period when they were new that there were noticeable colour changes.

In my case I re-profile and re-calibrate about 3 or 4 times a year. Under Canadian Association of Photographic Art (CAPA) rules I have to certify that I have re-calibrated my screen within 2 weeks of judging a competition. I typically judge 3 or 4 times a year and frankly see no noticeable changes from one calibration to the next, but I just follow the rules...

I can't comment on your working environment, but I am in a dark room where the light levels are very consistent throughout the day and night, so ambient light changes do not affect me. My hood serves the same purpose as a lens hood on a camera lens; if blocks stray light from hitting the screen and reducing contrast.

[DanK]

I no longer can recall the reasons, but when I purchased my NEC wide-gamut monitor, the company recommended recalibrating rather than relying on the factory presets.

One consideration is that at least in the case of NEC, you can't use the calibration software that comes with anyone else's calibration device, although you can use at least one brand of tools. the reason is that most monitors don't control color directly, and the standard software therefore controls color via the graphics card. NEC's own software controls color using the monitor's internal hardware and is therefore needed to get full control of color. Unfortunately, NEC sells the software separately. Manfred can let you know about BenQ, but I would check this in the case of Eizo. I suspect it too will require it's own software, but I don't know if that's right.

Re a hood: you need to control both the brightness of the monitor and the brightness of ambient light. The balance between the two is critical. If you use the factory presets, you should check what monitor brightness they are set for. Re ambient light: as far as I know, a hood only partially addresses this, by avoiding reflected light. However, in any case, that's not a matter of calibration. It's a matter of controlling the lighting in your editing workspace.

[Manfred M]

. Unfortunately, NEC sells the software separately. Manfred can let you know about BenQ, but I would check this in the case of Eizo. I suspect it too will require it's own software, but I don't know if that's right

When I bought my screen, BenQ included the Palette Master Element software, which is apparently based on the x-Rite calibration engine. A second USB port is required to plug in the profiling device. For it to work one has to have both a video cable and a USB connection between the computer and screen. The software uses the USB port to communicate with the screen and write the profiling data to the screen's internal storage.

[ST1]

I have a BenQ SW270C, it was supplied with a print out of the factory calibration report. The monitor can be calibrated with a stand alone device i1 or Spyder using those manufacturers software. However BenQ have their own calibration software (Palette Master Elements) using their software produces a Hardware Calibration (in my case 26 bit LUT) this Hardware calibration method still requires a i1or Spyder or similar device to read the calibration colour patches.
I recently had a conversation with Spyder technical help asking their advice wrt Software versus Hardware calibration. The advice they gave me was to use the BenQ palette master and calibrate the Hardware, as it would produce a better calibration that the Spyder software approach. They also advised me to uninstall the Spyder Utility.


Sent from somewhere in Gods County using Tapatalk

[DanK]

The second USB connection it’s something I don’t understand. The instructions for my NEC note that as well. However, I called NEC tech support (no hold time!), and they explained to me that in the case of NEC monitors, the software will alert you if it needs the second connection. Mine seems to work fine without it. I think the bottom line is that you should carefully follow the instructions from whatever manufacturer you purchase the monitor from and don’t expect the calibration to be the same as it would be for a standard narrow gamut monitor


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Manfred M]

The second USB connection it’s something I don’t understand. The instructions for my NEC note that as well. However, I called NEC tech support (no hold time!), and they explained to me that in the case of NEC monitors, the software will alert you if it needs the second connection. Mine seems to work fine without it. I think the bottom line is that you should carefully follow the instructions from whatever manufacturer you purchase the monitor from and don’t expect the calibration to be the same as it would be for a standard narrow gamut monitor


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

To calibrate and profile one of the BenQ screens:

1. The screen must be connected to the computer via a digital cable. Typically these are DVI, Display Port or HDMI;

2. The calibration device must connect to the computer via a USB cable (and obviously on the screen to measure its output); and

3. The computer must be able to communicate and write to the screen's LUT. This is done via a second USB cable from the computer to the screen.

Items 2 and 3 are only required during the calibration & profiling process, although there is some useful functionality if one leaves them connected. My screen has a built in SD port as well as two additional USB ports. The profiling / calibration device can be left in to track and modify screen brightness to compensate for ambient light level changes.

[DanK]

That's the logic of the NEC also, so they specify a downstream USB port. However, the tech indicated that with some connections, the software can communicate with just one cable. I don't know whether this is accurate or not. The software hasn't notified me of problems when I've calibrated in the past, but I think I'll plug in a USB next time to play it safe.

[davidedric]

When I got my EIZO monitor a couple of years ago I was disappointed to discover that my ColorMunki is not supported by their Color Navigator software. I can still calibrate, but the results aren't stored in the screen's LUT - in fact you can see the calibration kick in part way through booting up. Exact colour isn't important to me, so I haven't splashed out on a more expensive device, but someone may want to know.

[DanK]

That's true of my NEC as well. Color control via the monitor's hardware, if you don't use the presets, is controlled by their "Spectraview" calibration software, which comes up during the boot process and loads the last calibration used. It also shows all of the other stored calibrations, in case you want to switch. The hardware displays "spectraview" as if it were a preset, but you go to the spectraview software to deal with stored profiles created by user calibration.