Just an update on a thread where I asked for some help on Monitors.
Gone are the days when Apple's monitors were fabulous compared to the competition it seems. Although in enclosed devices they still lead in resolution, but there probably hasn't been success in colour accuracy even there.
However, for my Mac Pro, I just wanted a comfortable monitor to use, with some performance and the ability to match colours, from an amateur's requirements.
Well, it ain't so simple.
Firstly, I don't enjoy the text size of a 27", and it gets worse with a matt screen. Now, I like a matt screen ... my 24" iMac had a very decent matt finish. And that unit is now over 6 years old, and boy has it worked hard. But I know why Apple has gloss on their 27" iMac and Thunderbold and 27" display screens - because if its matt, things just get too furry with the small size of things like headings.
So Apple compromised there, and I think it was worthwhile. The Apple 27" looks crisp and nice, and it ships with speakers, camera etc.
For a Mac Pro though - well - the 27" thunderbolt it leaves a lot to be desired. And really, it will never sell second hand, because it lacks Thunderbolt.
So ... its either 30" or 24" for me.
So, I looked at the Dell. And they are cheap in Australia, the deal ending today.
And, I asked Dell for their minimum brightness level. Well - they just cannot seem to find out. Its taken more than a day for them to find out, and they don't know. They even seem to think the maximum brightness of the U2711 and the U3011 are the same. Hmmm ... and they said so in print.
I cannot view one in a store in Australia either.
And - errhh - what about the quality?
Well - they do calibrate the centre of the screen, and print out some reports.
But ... they measure a circle, two inches across, in the centre of the screen. If the screen varies in colour outside the centre, they allow a 25% drift in colour, and that amount, is up to them. Hmmm ..
On Dell's support pages, they said about the U3011:
From sided to side or corner to corner there might be some tint differences. We are not going to list a matrix of numbers saying this is acceptable and this is not.
Uneven Backlight Dell monitors do not have 100% backlight uniformity specification. As long as the center 2" circle*meets our manufacturer specifications, it is acceptable. If the Brightness and Contrast are maxed to 100 and you measure the brightness difference of any two points on the monitor, the difference will never be greater than 25%.
Uneven Color Dell monitors do not have 100% color uniformity specification. As long as the exact center 2" circle*meets x=0.313 and y=0.329 (6500K), it meets our specifications to the manufacturer. So, the center point may be 6500K, but the sides and corners may not which is why you may see that one side or corner is different than the others.
And NEC don't seem to measure their whole screen either. But ... I think they must, because of the technology behind the screen. But Eizo most certainly do, and they warrant the colour across the screen. But only for 12 months. Despite their standard 5 year warranty. I guess they measure throughly at Eizo, because the Eizo is made in Japan, and they have the on ground expertise to fully test. I guess too, some Japanese culture there ... But, I am not sure if its only the Eizo CG series that is measured comprehensively.
And as far as NEC goes - our distributers say in Australia, we get the best monitors ... that the NEC PA's for the USA, are a lower grade of selected LG screens (yes - the screens all vary despite coming from the one producer, and QC picks out differing quality levels from typically LG for IPS, and the best quality PA NECs go to Europe and Australia etc, but not to the USA. But ... Europe doesn't get the best NEC calibration software, so I was told. But Australia does get that. Strange. So ... NEC says our higher prices are worthwhile.
But ... our screen prices are close to the USA, in 30" screens. But the 24", is double the price. So ... I reckon the 24" NEC is overpriced here in Australia. Probably in Europe too.
I guess that is due to Eizo's very high prices, in monitors that take some time to understand. And they are over priced here too ... in some cases, by very large amounts.
It should be easy, but it isn't really.
Gone are the days when Apple's monitors were fabulous compared to the competition it seems. Although in enclosed devices they still lead in resolution, but there probably hasn't been success in colour accuracy even there.
However, for my Mac Pro, I just wanted a comfortable monitor to use, with some performance and the ability to match colours, from an amateur's requirements.
Well, it ain't so simple.
Firstly, I don't enjoy the text size of a 27", and it gets worse with a matt screen. Now, I like a matt screen ... my 24" iMac had a very decent matt finish. And that unit is now over 6 years old, and boy has it worked hard. But I know why Apple has gloss on their 27" iMac and Thunderbold and 27" display screens - because if its matt, things just get too furry with the small size of things like headings.
So Apple compromised there, and I think it was worthwhile. The Apple 27" looks crisp and nice, and it ships with speakers, camera etc.
For a Mac Pro though - well - the 27" thunderbolt it leaves a lot to be desired. And really, it will never sell second hand, because it lacks Thunderbolt.
So ... its either 30" or 24" for me.
So, I looked at the Dell. And they are cheap in Australia, the deal ending today.
And, I asked Dell for their minimum brightness level. Well - they just cannot seem to find out. Its taken more than a day for them to find out, and they don't know. They even seem to think the maximum brightness of the U2711 and the U3011 are the same. Hmmm ... and they said so in print.
I cannot view one in a store in Australia either.
And - errhh - what about the quality?
Well - they do calibrate the centre of the screen, and print out some reports.
But ... they measure a circle, two inches across, in the centre of the screen. If the screen varies in colour outside the centre, they allow a 25% drift in colour, and that amount, is up to them. Hmmm ..
On Dell's support pages, they said about the U3011:
From sided to side or corner to corner there might be some tint differences. We are not going to list a matrix of numbers saying this is acceptable and this is not.
Uneven Backlight Dell monitors do not have 100% backlight uniformity specification. As long as the center 2" circle*meets our manufacturer specifications, it is acceptable. If the Brightness and Contrast are maxed to 100 and you measure the brightness difference of any two points on the monitor, the difference will never be greater than 25%.
Uneven Color Dell monitors do not have 100% color uniformity specification. As long as the exact center 2" circle*meets x=0.313 and y=0.329 (6500K), it meets our specifications to the manufacturer. So, the center point may be 6500K, but the sides and corners may not which is why you may see that one side or corner is different than the others.
And NEC don't seem to measure their whole screen either. But ... I think they must, because of the technology behind the screen. But Eizo most certainly do, and they warrant the colour across the screen. But only for 12 months. Despite their standard 5 year warranty. I guess they measure throughly at Eizo, because the Eizo is made in Japan, and they have the on ground expertise to fully test. I guess too, some Japanese culture there ... But, I am not sure if its only the Eizo CG series that is measured comprehensively.
And as far as NEC goes - our distributers say in Australia, we get the best monitors ... that the NEC PA's for the USA, are a lower grade of selected LG screens (yes - the screens all vary despite coming from the one producer, and QC picks out differing quality levels from typically LG for IPS, and the best quality PA NECs go to Europe and Australia etc, but not to the USA. But ... Europe doesn't get the best NEC calibration software, so I was told. But Australia does get that. Strange. So ... NEC says our higher prices are worthwhile.
But ... our screen prices are close to the USA, in 30" screens. But the 24", is double the price. So ... I reckon the 24" NEC is overpriced here in Australia. Probably in Europe too.
I guess that is due to Eizo's very high prices, in monitors that take some time to understand. And they are over priced here too ... in some cases, by very large amounts.
It should be easy, but it isn't really.
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