p.1 #1 · Running 10 Bit monitor (wide gammut) with laptop (intel HD graphics card)
I am looking to add an external display to my laptop; specifically looking at the NEC PA series. My laptop has an Intel i3 processor and the standard graphics card that it came with (intel HD graphics).
My questions: Can this graphics card run a 10 bit monitor? Will I get any advantages over an 8 bit monitor given the basic graphics card?
If the answers to the above questions are no; what graphics card would you recommend to take advantage of the wide gammut display? I don't care about computer games; only a good display for photo editing.
p.1 #2 · Running 10 Bit monitor (wide gammut) with laptop (intel HD graphics card)
Hi there - I haven't received it yet, but I will be getting the NEC PA 24-inch model (on backorder at B&H). I can't answer your question here because I'm connecting with a Macbook Pro. If you go to the NEC web site they have all sorts of great info on compatibilities/issues and if you email or call them they are quite helpful. I am very impressed with their customer service.
p.1 #3 · Running 10 Bit monitor (wide gammut) with laptop (intel HD graphics card)
transplant wrote:
I am looking to add an external display to my laptop; specifically looking at the NEC PA series. My laptop has an Intel i3 processor and the standard graphics card that it came with (intel HD graphics).
My questions: Can this graphics card run a 10 bit monitor? Will I get any advantages over an 8 bit monitor given the basic graphics card?
If the answers to the above questions are no; what graphics card would you recommend to take advantage of the wide gammut display? I don't care about computer games; only a good display for photo editing.
You won't be able to run it in 10bit mode with that but don't worry as few people have the pro level graphics cards (most software doesn't work in 10bit either).
You will still get tons of advantages:
1. you will now have wide gamut (wide gamut has nothing at all to do with 8bits vs. 10bits, you could have 6bits per channel and wide gamut and 12 bits per channel and smaller than sRGB gamut, for instance)
2. you will have internal 14bit 3D LUT so you can calibrate it and still get full 8bit ramps without all sorts of banding
3. the sRGB emulation mode will be internal to the monitor so it will work with all programs
p.1 #4 · Running 10 Bit monitor (wide gammut) with laptop (intel HD graphics card)
Very helpful, thanks. One more question...I just purchased the spyder 3 pro and would prefer not to buy the additional calibration device that is recommended with the NEC. Any ideas if the spyder 3 pro will do just fine calibrating the monitor or are there real advantages to springing for the recommended device (don't remember the name).
p.1 #5 · Running 10 Bit monitor (wide gammut) with laptop (intel HD graphics card)
I'm curious, what are the actual requirements for being able to work in 10-bit color?
Does Windows 7/OSX support 10-bit color? (I am pretty sure OSX does not, unsure about Win7)
Does photoshop support 10-bit color? Lightroom/Aperture...?
Can you do 10-bit color over DVI/HDMI or do you need a displayport connection?
Do all/most graphics cards have 10-bit capability? Only some? Do consumer cards support it, or is it only implemented in the "pro graphics" series like the FirePro and Quadro cards?
If you use a 10-bit monitor in an 8-bit workflow, do you gain any visual advantage? Does the monitor have built-in interpolation algorithms that process 8-bit inputs into 10-bit color?
p.1 #6 · Running 10 Bit monitor (wide gammut) with laptop (intel HD graphics card)
I think the NEC system is quite crippled without the intended calibration device. Using the NEC-labeled SpectraView (a NEC-spec Xrite device) you get fully automated screen calibration before the profiling - which is a good thing to have.
Most openGL and DirectX driven interfaces have 10-bit+ support. Cabling: HDMI v1.3 and higher supports 10 bits+ of depth. DP does too.
PS and most rendering / CAD and video applications can give windows a 10-bit input natively, even without directX/openGL - they connect directly with the system CM.
A "ten-bit" monitor may imply either that the monitor has a 10-bit input capability (and then an at least 12-bit processing pipeline), OR that the panel has a ten-bit real range of levels, or that the monitor has a normal 8-bit input and a 10-bit processing pipeline. There's quite some difference between the interpretations.
A 10-bit (input or panel) monitor will most likely have better LUT compositions and image processing pipelines (with a 12-bit plus calculation accuracy), making them easier to calibrate - even from an 8-bit input. If you can calibrate a screen to a perfect gamma curve, then an 8-bit input is often more than good enough.
What really puts an end result into trouble is having a bad screen with low calibration accuracy, and thereby forcing the used screen profile to muck about to much with the linearity of the 8-bit signal. This is what makes for trouble.
The OSX ColorSync system has never actually supported a ten-bit throughput. They did at one time quite intentionally lie about it and fake a ten bit output (which was really an 8-bit output with two zeroes added at the end...), but some quite strong protests from companies like Adobe, AutoDesk, HP, LG, NEC, Samsung and other hardware/software suppliers seems to have put a stop to that.
p.1 #7 · Running 10 Bit monitor (wide gammut) with laptop (intel HD graphics card)
transplant wrote:
Very helpful, thanks. One more question...I just purchased the spyder 3 pro and would prefer not to buy the additional calibration device that is recommended with the NEC. Any ideas if the spyder 3 pro will do just fine calibrating the monitor or are there real advantages to springing for the recommended device (don't remember the name).
Thanks,
At the absolute least you want the NEC spectraview II software, the spyder software won't use the internal color engine and you throw some of the performance that you just spent a ton of money on by getting this monitor. You can use the spyder 3 probe with that software (although I would leave it set to use factory measurement for primary locations since I don't think that will measure them super well). An i1 display pro probe has less copy variation and reads the monitor more accurately so you have a much better chance of getting something to really close to correct if you use it but the spyder 3 is probably at least ok.
p.1 #8 · Running 10 Bit monitor (wide gammut) with laptop (intel HD graphics card)
transplant wrote:
Very helpful, thanks. One more question...I just purchased the spyder 3 pro and would prefer not to buy the additional calibration device that is recommended with the NEC. Any ideas if the spyder 3 pro will do just fine calibrating the monitor or are there real advantages to springing for the recommended device (don't remember the name).
Thanks,
ONly the ELite version of the software will manage wide gamut.
