I recently got a new PC, upgrading from Windows XP to Vista 64bit. I kept my Monitor, which is a Samsung SyncMaster 245BW, and recalibrated it using Monaco Optix XR, with is a few years old. I noticed that my monitor is displaying much brighter now, not only Photoshop, but also my online galleries. Compared to my prints, which used to match pretty well, it is much lighter. I have the brightness all the way down to 40, and it is still bright. Any darker and it just becomes dull.
The question is, is it time for a new calibration system, like i1Display2? Is there anything about Vista that would cause this?
Have there been advances in calibration systems that would warrant the purchase of a newer system anyway? Help! Please!

Why not download the 10 day trial version of ColorEyes Display Pro and see if that will work better? http://www.integrated-color.com/cedpro/coloreyesdisplay.html

The Monaco Optix XR comes with the DTP-94 colorimeter which is regarded as the best consumer level colorimeter (its sold new for $150 because its no longer widely available). I use the same DTP-94 with the ColorEyes software on Windows 7 Ultimate with excellent results.

I didn't know you could use the DTP-94 colorimeter with other software... interesting.
So, would the colorimeter that comes with i1Display 2 be better, as advances have likely been made in the last few years? Or is the software simply outdated? It's just odd that I got such different results going from XP to Vista. The color is fine, it's just way too bright.

No, if you search around the Internet you'd realize that the consensus is that the DTP-94 that came with the Monaco Optix XR is better than the products that succeeded it. If you look here you'd see the DTP-94 alone is being sold for $150, which is about what the entire package sold for a few years ago: http://www.integrated-color.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=ICC&Product_Code=DTP-94&Category_Code=Display+Calibration

The ColorEyes software is developed for use with most popular colorimeters.

I assume that you are using the Vista 64 bit software for the Optix XR? Is that Samsung a CRT or an LCD? I'll bet that your profile is being overwritten by Vista during boot up. You need to put a delay in so your Optix profile loads after Vista has already booted. See this thread:

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/721073/0#7559162

Barry

Bearmann -- thanks for the response. I am using an LCD screen. I am not having an issue with the Optix profile leading after startup. It does not load until after Vista is completely booted, so the updated driver must already take this into account. I used the vendor driver update for Vista 64 and had no problem. It's just that it calibrated lighter than it did on XP. I used to calibrate by checking "moderate" ambient light. I changed it to "dim" and turned the monitor down to 35, and it seems to look a lot more like it used to. I think this monitor is just very bright to begin with, and a bit difficult to bring under control. I am hoping someone will come out with a good LED monitor. The LED TV's look a lot more natural when dimmed, as each cell is dimmable, unlike an LCD. In the meantime I think I have to process my images a bit lighter, knowing that they will look a bit darker in print. I don't like the guessing game when it comes to printing, which is why I calibrate and profile to begin with. I have a great local lab that works with me to get everything right, though, which is a plus.
Thank you all for your replies - I was going to swallow my pride and eat 200 bucks to buy i1Display 2, but since the consensus is that it really isn't any better, I will stick with my Optix XR.
I am going to be upgrading to Windows 7 in a few weeks, though - has anyone used it on the beta version and had success? I do hope the driver update for Vista will work on Windows 7 64bit.

I've been using Windows 7 Ultimate X64 (RTM version) since August 6 and it recognizes the colorimeter as soon as its plugged into the USB port...no need for vendor updates; the drivers are included in Windows 7.

Don't know about 64bit but I am using a 94 with X-Rite Pulse Color Elite on Vista 32 and Snow Leopard.

Duncan

James_N wrote:
I've been using Windows 7 Ultimate X64 (RTM version) since August 6 and it recognizes the colorimeter as soon as its plugged into the USB port...no need for vendor updates; the drivers are included in Windows 7.

Well there is some good news.

I just did a clean install of Windows 7 Pro. The drivers for DTP 94 will not load because they are not digitally signed. The colorimeter and Monaco Optix Pro worked well in Vista 64 home premium. Any suggestions or work arounds for Windows 7? J.

You don't need to install any drivers; Windows 7 automatically recognizes the DTP-94 when its plugged in.

If you're saying that you're unable to install the Optix software that comes with the "puck" then you can try right-clicking the install package and running it as Administrator. You can also right-click and set it to either Vista or XP compatibility then install.


jaye benjamin wrote:
I just did a clean install of Windows 7 Pro. The drivers for DTP 94 will not load because they are not digitally signed. The colorimeter and Monaco Optix Pro worked well in Vista 64 home premium. Any suggestions or work arounds for Windows 7? J.

Thanks James: Monaco Optix 2.0 loads and runs but The DTP 94 is not recognized . I get an error message saying that the selected device (DTP 94) cannot be found. Perhaps you did an upgrade rather than a clean install of Windows 7? Jaye

Nope, I did a clean install of Windows 7. I always do clean installs since I run several apps in the Adobe Master Collections and some like Acrobat tend to malfunction if they aren't installed on a clean system.

The first time I plugged in my DTP-94 I got a small pop-up saying the device driver was being installed and after that everything was fine.


jaye benjamin wrote:
Thanks James: Monaco Optix 2.0 loads and runs but The DTP 94 is not recognized . I get an error message saying that the selected device (DTP 94) cannot be found. Perhaps you did an upgrade rather than a clean install of Windows 7? Jaye

Thanks James for your thoughts. I have tried the new drivers. The computer recognizes them but refuses to install them. I have also allowed the computer to search for drivers. Same result. Explanations are sometimes elusive but I know there is one! May have to run vc simulating xp to get this thing to work. Any other thoughts are appreciated. Jaye