Re: HP dreamcolor screen, any opinions?
Re: HP dreamcolor screen, any opinions?
- Subject: Re: HP dreamcolor screen, any opinions?
- From: "Fleisher, Ken" <email@hidden>
- Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:25:35 -0400
- Thread-topic: HP dreamcolor screen, any opinions?
On 8/12/08 2:03 AM, "Jorgen Jansson" <email@hidden> wrote:
> I just came across this HP DreamColor LP2480zx Professional Display which
> looks very interesting on paper: Wide gamut, high bit LUTs and separate RGB
> LEDs! Tech specs here:
> http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF06a/382087-382087-64283-72270-444767
> -3648397.html
>
> User manual with some really in-depth colour stuff from page 37 forward:
> http://bizsupport.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c01491486/c01491
> 486.pdf
>
> And as an option you can get HP branded monitor calibration kit as well (based
> on x-rite?):
> http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF06c/A10-51210-330359-215153-330359-3
> 741514-3741564-3741565.html?jumpid=oc_R1002_USENC-001_HP DreamColor Advanc
> ed Profiling Solution&lang=en&cc=us
>
> Has anyone actually seen one of these? Any comments on how they compare to an
> Eizo, especially the calibration software and viewing angle/uniformity?
>
> Sorry for the long links, and thanks for sharing your thoughs/experiences.
>
> Jorgen
I had an opportunity to test one of these monitors for a week and a half. I
also have Eizo CG210 monitors and was able to make a side-by-side
comparison. Bottom line reaction--I loved the new HP and I believe it does
everything they claim it does.
I'll comment on each of the selling points one at a time.
1) LED backlight. You are able to set the white point and luminance from a
control panel. After setting it to 5500K and 120 cd/m2 (to match what my
Eizo was calibrated to) I measured the HP with an i1Pro and the HP was
exactly on 5500K and 120 cd/m2! I was surprised at the accuracy.
2) Wide color gamut. I calibrated the HP using an i1Pro and ProfileMaker Pro
to the same settings as the Eizo was calibrated to (using i1Pro and
ColorNavigator). I generated ICC profiles for each monitor and compared them
in ColorThink against sRGB, Adobe RGB (1998), and each other. The Eizo's
gamut was slightly larger than sRGB in most areas except in the red/orange
region where is was slightly smaller than sRGB. The HP's gamut was clearly
larger than Adobe RGB (1998) in all regions (by more than I was anticipating
even).
So on paper, it does have a larger color gamut. I next wanted to see if
these differences were visible/significant. I took an image that I knew had
colors that were outside of sRGB and even some that were slightly outside of
Adobe RGB (1998). I put the two calibrated monitors side-by-side and
compared the image. I was impressed with the increased color gamut. You CAN
see the colors in the extended gamut and the image was greatly enhanced. In
the areas of the image which were out of gamut for the Eizo, the colors did
look flattened and there was loss of detail (as expected), but this would
not have been obvious without the side-by-side comparison. My conclusion is
that the extended color gamut is real and is visually significant. The real
question now whether it is important to you or not. In other words, do the
images you work with and the reproductions that you make have enough colors
that fall outside of sRGB? If so, then this monitor is worth the money.
3) Deep Black. The monitor's black was significantly darker than the Eizo's.
I'm sorry that I don't have numbers to report. I can look later to see if I
still have the measurements. In any case, it was visibly much, much blacker
than the Eizo.
4) High bit-depth. The monitor accepts 10-bit data from a video card. I was
unable to test this because there are no video cards for the Mac that send
10-bit data. There is only one card right now for PC that outputs 10-bit
data (from ATI), but there are no drivers for the Mac yet. Hopefully this
will change soon. I have faith that this feature will help with banding
issues and will eliminate the need for high-bit internal LUTS like the Eizo
has. Of course, I won't be able to say for sure until I see it.
5) A small point but a nice feature is the LEDs on the front panel go out
completely when not needed. This way you don't have those little points of
colored light in your sight all day.
There was a problem with Macintosh compatibility. The monitor would continue
in an endless loop of restarting upon startup. There was a workaround where
you had to get into the OSD and select a particular setting, but you had to
do it fast enough before it recycled again. Sometimes it was hard to get to
the setting in time, so it took a few tries. This is a known bug and I
assume it will be fixed.
My conclusion then is that I loved the monitor and I think if you are
considering a new monitor purchase, this one should certainly be considered.
--
Ken Fleisher
Photographer
Imaging & Visual Services
National Gallery of Art
Washington, D.C.
Phone: (202) 712-7471
email@hidden
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