I have just upgraded my monitor to a NEC LCD2690WUXi wide gamut monitor. In doing the project, I learned several things that may be helpful to others.
A little background … I use my monitor for photo editing, photo soft proofing/printing, web development, and general (web, office apps). I need to have accurate colors when reviewing my web development on the monitor.
The bottom line: when using a wide gamut monitor you must be in a color managed application or your colors are going to be too saturated. Color will be unreliable if you are using applications that are not color managed.
Photo editing/viewing software is color managed can be used with wide gamut monitors to get nice results. The problem is if you are reviewing images on the web or doing web development. I have not focused on office applications (Microsoft Office), but I am assuming that they will have bad color. If you have spent any time looking at this issue, please share your observations. I produce .pdf documents out of office apps and would like to have color support here, but have not looked at this issue either.
I purchased a Dell 2407 HC wide gamut monitor a couple of months ago. But, could not solve the web support issues and had to return the monitor. In recent weeks, I ended up buying both the standard gamut NEC LCD2490WUXi and wide gamut NEC LCD2690WUXi.
Here is what I learned about web color support on a PC. ** Comments are for PC users. ** Current versions of MS Internet Explorer and Foxfire do not support color management and will give you incorrect color. The color will be unusable if you are doing web development or just want color that is reliable. Apple has released a browser called Safari for the PC that is supposedly color managed. It will look at color profiles in images and correct. But, the overall experience does not work on wide gamut monitors because they seem to be leaving all sRGB content (plus some other content) untouched. Basically, their browser will work on standard gamut monitors, but not wide gamut monitors. All other browsers (Opera, etc.) do not do color management.
Fortunately, there is an effort to develop the next version of Foxfire (v3). This updated browser is planned to be available in 2008. The open source effort has a working alpha code version of this browser up and going (alpha v7) for software developers. Since software development is one of my skill sets, I downloaded the alpha software. Color management is available in the software and it is implemented correctly. It uses your monitor profile and will present all content correctly (with the exception of plug-ins like Flash, that are not under the browsers control). It assumes that untagged content is sRGB and converts it correctly. Currently, the color management is turned off in the alpha version and you have to go into browser configuration code (not preferences, you need to some technical background here to go into the control code) to turn it on. This new browser will solve the web color management issues when it is released. I don’t know when the production release will occur, or even when the beta releases might become available. The alpha code seems stable to me and I plan to use it for my general web use (but, not for secure web apps at this time).
Anyway, since we have discussed this issue many times, I just wanted to let everyone know that this critical piece of the puzzle is on it’s way. With instructions, I think most non techie’s could easily flip on the color support in the alpha code.
Thanks Bill. I shall have to look at Safari until Firefox 3 and the subsequent IE are released. Firefox doesn't behave well at all web sites so I tend not to use it. Previously I thought that Safari was only for Apple computers. A colour managed web browser would make life much easier for photographers. A colour managed operating system would be better still as then the individual software would not need to be involved in the process at all. Don't hold your breath waiting for Mr Gates to fix that one.
I didn't realise that a wide-gamut monitor would make the non-colour-managed software look too saturated. Are you sure that the problem is not with your calibration (as distinct from profiling) ? Maybe you can tone down the saturation on the monitor or on your video cad as part of the calibration before you determine a suitable profile.
For the benefit of those who don't know the difference: Calibration sets the monitor or other hardware (printer, etc.) to a known configuration, and profiling allows colour managed software to show correct colours on that hardware so long as you do not alter the calibration. Calibration involves the hardware-settable things like brightness and contrast and so on and will affect the output from all software whether or not it is colour managed. The results may or may not look better than on uncalibrated hardware but are unlikely to look correct. Only calibration plus profiling gives nominally correct colours.
I presume that this NEC monitor, unlike some high-end Eizo monitors, cannot be profiled on its own independently of the computer.
I've tried Safari 3.0.3 for Windows XP but it does not seem to be using colour management and there seems to be no way to switch it on. I'll have to resort to chasing it up on the web because it is not even mentioned in the Safari help file.
[update] I found out that it only does colour management on photos that have the colour profile embedded within them. That's another reason why we should embed profiles. Firstly it lets Safari users see the right colours immediately, and secondly it lets other users load the image into their colour-managed software with the appropriate profile.
Alan ... When I purchased the 2690 I also picked up NEC's Spectraview II software. Spectraview II manages both the calibration and profiling processes. It maintains as many target configurations as you want and can load any target at any time. When you load a target it updates the 12-bit LUTs in the monitor hardware and activates the associated profile on your system. Spectraview II pretty much fully automates the calibration/profiling process because it handles all of the communication between the monitor, your calibration device, and the computer system. It is not cheap (~$170), but a highly recommended approach. I use my Eye-One Pro (part of my GretagMacBeth Photo SG system) for the calibration.
Wide gamut monitors will definitely give you bad color unless you are in a color managed application. It can't be used for photography, but is OK for word processing and similar apps.
Safari is not any benefit for wide gamut owners because it assumes you are using an sRGB monitor and only translates content with a different tag to sRGB.
The Spectraview software can be purchased (from many countries, but blocked from others) from the NEC web site. Also, there are some independent web companies that sell it. Check with NEC support to see status in your country.
Hope this isn't a dumb question, but for Mac users that use the current version of Safari - will web images be oversaturated or untagged and treated like a srgb?
UCSB wrote:
Wide gamut monitors will definitely give you bad color unless you are in a color managed application. It can't be used for photography, but is OK for word processing and similar apps.
Well that's clear enough but I would have expected any monitor that has a built-in 12-bit lookup table (LUT) to be profiled independently of the computer and hence not need colour managed software which applies a known profile before sending the colours to the monitor. If I have misunderstood this then I see less justification to spend the big dollars on such a monitor.
Could it be that you need to profile your monitor after specifically disabling existing default profiles that may be operating independently and doubling up on the effect ?
Safari is not any benefit for wide gamut owners because it assumes you are using an sRGB monitor and only translates content with a different tag to sRGB.
Which is partly why I'm disappointed with it. For a little while there I got all enthused about it but that has waned. It's not nearly as useful to me as I had expected.
Alan ... A little more information about how I have the 2690 setup. In addition to the 2690, I also own Spectraview II. This is a software package from NEC that uses your calibration sensor (an Eye-One Pro ... which came with my GretagMacBeth Photo SG system) to both calibrate and profile your monitor. The software allows you to have as many calibration targets as you want. You have the option to load any calibration at any time. When you load your target in Spectraview it loads the hardware LUTs on the monitor AND loads the profile associated with that calibration on your computer automatically. There is no chance of user error.
Spectraview updates the 12-bit LUTs in the hardware.
When you are actually performing the calibration/profiling, Spectraview does everything without any intervention on your part.
If you have been using software like Match3 or ColorEyes for traditional manual calibration/profiling, Spectraview II will be a huge step forward. The bigger $'s in my opinion is totally justified.
On a wide gamut monitor you absolutely need to be in color managed applications or content colors will appear bad. In fact, wide gamut monitors are really about careful and precise color management. Your idea of carefully calibrating the monitor and then not having to use color managed applications because the monitor has a very precise calibration is not how it works. If you take unmanaged content and send it to the monitor, it is going to look to saturated. Sort of the reverse of sending aRGB content into an unmanaged sRGB environment where it becomes dull looking.
Not all software is going to be color managed ... the computer operatng system, productivity applications, and even some applications that you would expect to be color managed. For example, I own Adobe CS3 Design Suite. All of the applications are color managed (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.) except Dreamweaver. So when I am in Dreamweaver doing web development my colors are not reliable. This is not as bad as it might seem because all of my content comes from either Illustrator or Photoshop (or C1, Lightrom, or DxO).
The monitor is completely worth the money. Every aspect from calibration/profiling to the wonderful color and resolution is a joy. Even the bezel on the monitor enhances your experience because it designed to virtually disappear when you are working.
On the other hand, a tool like this monitor demands that the user understand color management on their system and in their software. This is a real challenge.
but I would have expected any monitor that has a built-in 12-bit lookup table (LUT) to be profiled independently of the computer and hence not need colour managed software which applies a known profile before sending the colours to the monitor. If I have misunderstood this then I see less justification to spend the big dollars on such a monitor.