Monitor calibration

[MajorFoley]

Hi guys so I've owned a Acer Predator X241H for about a year now (this specific model https://www.pccasegear.com/products/36955/acer-predator-xb241h-fhd-144hz-g-sync-24in-monitor) and i've been reasonably happy with it but there has been a question nagging at my mind for a bit now.

Are all TN panels but default usually this bright? This model came with the brightness settings turned up to 80 and contrast. Makes programs like hearthstones background show through the taskbar quite often when i alt tab a bit like colour bleeding.

Guess my question is when you get a high end monitor do you leave it as default or do you guys calibrate it? Is it usually worth the hassle if you do? I have a 2nd display your run of the mil monitor connected as well for a dual screen setup, sometimes the brightness differences is a bit startling

[SolarNova]

IMO, if u get a high end monitor you should spend that little extra to buy a Colorimeter, like a X-rite i1 or SyderX Pro.

Factory calibration 'can' be ok, but more often than not its bad, color can be out of spec, gamma curve can be wrong, and even color temperature can be way of the 6500 mark.

 

Using the DisplayCAL opensource software ..or the included software with the chosen hardware, you can calibrate a PC monitor in minutes (~30) with the faster calibration devices like the X-rtie i1 Display Pro., so its not much hassle.

[MajorFoley]

18 hours ago, SolarNova said:

IMO, if u get a high end monitor you should spend that little extra to buy a Colorimeter, like a X-rite i1 or SyderX Pro.

Factory calibration 'can' be ok, but more often than not its bad, color can be out of spec, gamma curve can be wrong, and even color temperature can be way of the 6500 mark.

 

Using the DisplayCAL opensource software ..or the included software with the chosen hardware, you can calibrate a PC monitor in minutes (~30) with the faster calibration devices like the X-rtie i1 Display Pro., so its not much hassle.

Uh as an Aussie how much would that set me back?

[SolarNova]

5 hours ago, MajorFoley said:

Uh as an Aussie how much would that set me back?

They tend to be around £/$ 100 - 200.

But can be used for all displays, not just monitors.

 

[MajorFoley]

11 hours ago, SolarNova said:

They tend to be around £/$ 100 - 200.

But can be used for all displays, not just monitors.

 

Hmm well looking here it looks like its just over 200 bucks. The X-rate seems way more expensive at least 200 US

 

https://www.amazon.com.au/Datacolor-SpyderX-Pro-Calibration-Photographers/dp/B07M6KPJ9K

That being said it seems like a lot of money to dump. How much of a difference are we talking here?

[SolarNova]

12 hours ago, MajorFoley said:

Hmm well looking here it looks like its just over 200 bucks. The X-rate seems way more expensive at least 200 US

 

https://www.amazon.com.au/Datacolor-SpyderX-Pro-Calibration-Photographers/dp/B07M6KPJ9K

That being said it seems like a lot of money to dump. How much of a difference are we talking here?

Depends on the standard of factory calibration. It can range from very dramatic, to minor.

 

For example

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/razer/raptor-27

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/asus/tuf-vg32vq

Both are good monitors but have rather poor factory calibration, one being overly cool, the other warm, with Color and white balance deltas over 5.

Any delta over 3 can be noticed by the average person.

 

However examples like below have great factory calibration, the vast majority of people would not need to calibrate further.

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/asus/rog-swift-pg279q

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/dell/u3818dw

[MajorFoley]

1 hour ago, SolarNova said:

Depends on the standard of factory calibration. It can range from very dramatic, to minor.

 

For example

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/razer/raptor-27

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/asus/tuf-vg32vq

Both are good monitors but have rather poor factory calibration, one being overly cool, the other warm, with Color and white balance deltas over 5.

Any delta over 3 can be noticed by the average person.

 

However examples like below have great factory calibration, the vast majority of people would not need to calibrate further.

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/asus/rog-swift-pg279q

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/dell/u3818dw

Hmm well unfortunately my monitor doesn't seem to be there so no general indication.

[SolarNova]

5 minutes ago, MajorFoley said:

Hmm well unfortunately my monitor doesn't seem to be there so no general indication.

https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/monitors/ryan-redfield/acer-predator-xb241h-180hz-g-sync-gaming-monitor-review/5/

 

Apparently its not great. Not the worst i've seen, but could be better. Average Delta of 3.4, which is ..okish.. but maximum delta of 7.6 is bad. 

I mean its a TN panel anyway so you never expect them to be good in that respect, they are not meant for that kind of accuracy or usage. But that doesnt mean they cant be calibrated to be better.

They do mention out of the box it comes with settings set to be very bright, leading to a somewhat washed out look. Calibrating down from 330nits to a more reasonable 120nits allowed them to maintain contrast ratio while lowering black level.

[Kalm_Traveler]

I've been using an xrite i1 display pro for a few years now and highly recommend it even if all you do is use its software to do a basic calibration. 

 

I've used it at home on 2 Samsung TV's, Asus PG348Q, Asus PG279Q, my new LG 38", two Razer laptops (which come with factory-calibrated color profiles already but still improved slightly with the xrite's generated profiles), my work MacBook Pro, ViewSonic 1080p and 2k screens at work, and will be using it to calibrate a pair of LG 5k Thunderbolt 3 screens I managed to acquire at work recently.

 

On pretty much every display, the brightness out of the box has been way too high, and most of them the color accuracy has been pretty off as well (the Razer laptop's factory calibration was not bad, but still obviously different after Xrite calibration).

[MajorFoley]

16 hours ago, SolarNova said:

Apparently its not great. Not the worst i've seen, but could be better. Average Delta of 3.4, which is ..okish.. but maximum delta of 7.6 is bad. 

I mean its a TN panel anyway so you never expect them to be good in that respect, they are not meant for that kind of accuracy or usage. But that doesnt mean they cant be calibrated to be better.

 

I know next to nothing with this to be honest hence why i asked like deltas and such are foreign terms to me as this is something i thought of after. I think it would be nice to have it properly calibrated but like i said seems expensive.

 

If in the future though i do get that are there any video guides would you recommend if i do go for it? I know next to nothing with colours like cooler whites or anything like that

16 hours ago, Kalm_Traveler1 said:

On pretty much every display, the brightness out of the box has been way too high, and most of them the color accuracy has been pretty off as well (the Razer laptop's factory calibration was not bad, but still obviously different after Xrite calibration).

I'll wait a bit before deciding and see where i go from there but i think i might just play around with the basic brightness settings in the monitor for now.

[SolarNova]

5 hours ago, MajorFoley said:

I know next to nothing with this to be honest hence why i asked like deltas and such are foreign terms to me as this is something i thought of after. I think it would be nice to have it properly calibrated but like i said seems expensive.

 

If in the future though i do get that are there any video guides would you recommend if i do go for it? I know next to nothing with colours like cooler whites or anything like that

I'll wait a bit before deciding and see where i go from there but i think i might just play around with the basic brightness settings in the monitor for now.

Youtube has plenty of videos about how to use DisplayCAL to calibrate displays.

For example.

 

 

 

 

[MajorFoley]

On 1/2/2020 at 1:41 AM, SolarNova said:

Youtube has plenty of videos about how to use DisplayCAL to calibrate displays.

For example.

Whoa long video! Thanks man. I do have one last little question

Do you know why games like to show some colour behind the task bar when you alt tab? Like hearthstone for instance is very visible thanks to the bright orange colour it likes to use.

 

 

 

 

[SolarNova]

2 hours ago, MajorFoley said:

 

Cant say for sure tbh, its likely due to windows Aero theme settings, possibly a bug with the game, or something has gone wrong with ur drivers or windows install. If it isnt causing any major problem i would ignore it tbh.

[MajorFoley]

1 hour ago, SolarNova said:

Cant say for sure tbh, its likely due to windows Aero theme settings, possibly a bug with the game, or something has gone wrong with ur drivers or windows install. If it isnt causing any major problem i would ignore it tbh.

Nah more of an annoyance really like the DP logo for display port coming up whenever i play a game that has a different refresh rate because it can't hit 144. But originally i thought it was backlight bleeding