Re: Colorimeters and third-party developer support (Tom Lianza)
Re: Colorimeters and third-party developer support (Tom Lianza)
- Subject: Re: Colorimeters and third-party developer support (Tom Lianza)
- From: Rich Wagner <email@hidden>
- Date: Sat, 20 Aug 2011 05:16:48 -0600
Tom,
There is a lot of angst among X-Rite end users about exactly what X-Rite's policies are with regard to the "classes" or "flavors" of X-Rite colorimeters and the "quality" of the interactions between various software apps, monitors, and colorimeters. The HP-X-Rite colorimeter and the NEC-X-Rite colorimeter are probably the two most glaring and long-standing examples. The i1 Display Pro has just pushed the envelope further.
When I bought the HP DreamColor monitor, I certainly never expected (nor was I informed) that the $350 HP-XRite DreamColor colorimeter would *only* function with the bundled HP-XRite software, or that the software would not support the Eye-One Pro, or that the software would be so poor and feature-deprived, or that other software would not have DDC access to the monitor controls. In fact, I can't even calibrate/profile/verify this monitor with an EyeOne Pro. This expensive HP-XRite colorimeter is not supported by ANY other software - even XRite's Match, ProfileMaker 5, BasICColor Display, Argyll, etc. (Karl initially told me that BasICColor would support the device, but within a few weeks noted that it would not.) Software support for this color management "solution" is non-existent. HP tech support in India is clueless, and X-Rite says it's HP's problem - X-Rite was just the contracted developer - even though the software is downloaded from X-Rite's web site. Searching for the software on X-Rite's web site is futile, so it's not easy to look for updates. So who wins? HP... in the short term, as they got my cash and that of others. Certainly not the DreamColor monitor owner. It's not exactly the color management "solution" I was looking for. It's been a royal PITA. To run the software, I have to log into a clean OS X Guest Account then log out and back into a regular user account. At least that finally works.
As for the NEC-XRite colorimeter - the so-called "MDSVSENSOR2" that has matched filters for the wide-gamut monitors like the NEC PA271w I recently purchased. There is significant debate in the "user world" as to whether this device functions in "wide-gamut mode" using the "wide-gamut" matched filters/matrix *only* with "U.S. SpectraView" software, and reverts to a "retail" iOne Display 2 if used with other (non-US SpectraView) software, or whether it provides accurate data for wide-gamut monitors regardless of the software driving it. This particularly plays out with the "BasICColor vs SpectraView" debate, as there are some who claim SpectraView profiles are vastly superior, even though re-branded BasICColor Display software ships with NEC monitors in Europe.
Specifically regarding the function of the MDSVSENSOR2, I have been told by a very knowledgeable source that:
> The MDSVSensor2 has two calibration matrices in it, not one. If I use it with colormunki display, or eye one match, it functions just like an X-Rite branded colorimeter for non-wide-gamut displays, using the calibration matrix defined by X-Rite. When used with SpectraView II, again U.S., it specifically requests only from this colorimeter a calibration matrix defined by NEC and included in the colorimeter at the time of manufacture by X-Rite for NEC.
>
> My data is coming from the engineer who designed and coded the products.
Really? If it is true, how is the end user supposed to know that the accuracy of the data output by the device on a wide-gamut monitor with different professional-grade, industry-standard software has been reduced?!!! If this is not true (and I don't think it is), then why is this well-respected industry leader misinformed? Just because the device *seems* to work, should one make the assumption that it works as expected? Can you see why there is confusion?
In addition, there are NO specs published on these devices, unlike the certifiable EyeOne Pro. Are differences between devices really due to design, or just to poor quality control? Here are some recent comments:
> I've tested more than 15 EyeOne Displays now, and I estimate that more than 30% of them showed results that were unacceptable, with an average DeltaE over 10, compared to the measurements we got from our reference calibrator. I haven't tested any that was tuned to a specific monitor, so I don't know how good the results can be in that case. But I don't recommend any of the photographers that we are working with buying a generic EyeOne Display.
and
> The two OEM-adjusted sensors we have are a NEC sold with the Spectraview package and HP's DreamColor unit. Our assumption is that these two Eye-One flavors are adjusted differently. The NEC sensor performs well on the PA monitor, but is grossly inaccurate on either sRGB monitors, the HP (uses LED backlighting rather than CCFL), and even wide-gamut Eizo displays that are also CCFL lit. The HP puck has similar behavior: excellent performance on the monitor it is sold with, lousy on all others.
> If these two OEM flavors of i1 are actually identical, that would imply a truly worrying lack of consistency. We asked both HP and NEC for details. None were forthcoming. Without a reasonable sampling of OEM pucks to characterize there is no way to be sure. X-Rite, to the best of my knowledge, has not published accuracy and resolution specs for the Eye-One colorimeters like they do for the i1Pro spectros.
What about the "flavors" of X-Rite colorimeters, in addition to those already mentioned? Here's what the user base currently thinks:
> A. If you bought the X-rite version (not the OEM version) of the i1Display Pro then it will only work with the iProfiler software.
> It would appear to me that not all the facts are out there yet. While the information that Rich posted confirms what Jack Bingham at Integrated Color (Color Eyes Display Pro) had said about 3rd party support for a retail version of the i1 Display Pro, my email to BasICColor, and the announcement that Spectraview would support the i1 Display Pro (although I'm not sure if it was specified whether or not it would only support the model that they are going to sell, or if it would support retail versions as well) would seem to be in disagreement with the information Rich posted and suggest that X-Rite is indeed making exceptions. I'm not sure. I think we're going to have to wait and see to find out how this pans out.
Sorry, Tom, but there is a lot of confusion and misinformation out there about X-Rite's products, there are a lot of compatibility issues, and I feel that X-Rite is the root of the problem. X-Rite made the deals with NEC and HP and agreed with the terms of the contracts. X-Rite is also determining the policies of its own branded hardware and software. I have no axe to grind with X-Rite, I just haven't cared for the direction X-Rite has been going the past several years.
I don't want one custom $350 colorimeter for every monitor I ever own, with its own custom software, and with variable compatibility with other software I choose to use. I will no longer buy into a closed system. A clear and unequivocal public policy from X-Rite, along with, perhaps, a compatibility list with various software packages and hardware would go a long way toward eliminating the confusion and the angst. Then the consumer can make a more informed choice.
Regards,
--Rich Wagner
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