ColorVision Spyder

Before running DisplayMate and our subjective analysis of the LCD, we ran ColorVision's Spyder and OptiCal software. Not only does this accurately calibrate the monitor on the DVI and analog interface, but it also gives us specific luminescence information not obtainable though subjective analysis. Special thanks to our friends at ColorVision for providing us with both a ColorVision Spyder and their OptiCal software.

Our test bed uses a Radeon 9800 XT video card. We use the factory-included analog cable for this portion of the benchmark. Resolutions are on the native 1280x1024.

Just like our last ColorVision benchmark, we have one expectation:

1. There is a severe bluish tint on this monitor.

And here is what our Spyder and OptiCal software have to say:



Not much to our surprise, the OptiCal software reports show a severe blue shift. Keep in mind that since this LCD uses a 6-bit panel and dithering techniques to achieve 16.2M colors, we are not seeing truly native 16.7M colors as we would with an 8-bit panel. Side by side with the Dell 2001FP, we see a large difference in color vibrance.

However, since the monitor is using an analog connection, we have extra room to play around with the calibration (granted, using a DVI connection, we could only adjust the color calibration on the computer). We were able to fine-tune the LCD into normal curve bounds, but none of the standard presets would set our color range at the optimal setting. We used these settings in the next portions of this benchmark.

On Screen Display Full Screen Application
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  • tfranzese - Tuesday, May 18, 2004 - link

    Very good review. I could not get the two mpegs to work at the end of the review... not sure if this is isolated to just me.

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