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I initially started looking to replace my two DELL 2005FPW's bordering my Samsung 30" 305t (which I felt had an acceptable display quality), however, after seeing the Samsung PX2370 (and considering the energy consumption) I knew there was a different level of quality out there, and it would make my 305t look like garbage. Thus began my quest to replace three of my four monitors (Sharp LL-151-3D is irreplaceable).
I do underwater and nature photography in addition to general use and gaming, so I would like sRGB compliance and calibration.
I initially looked at the tech specs for the EIZO CG303W, LaCie 730, NEC LCD3090W-BK-SV and HP Z30W.
The EIZO kinda scared me with its finely stipulated warranty, which when calculated out (if you stay within the crazy parameters) is about 1.2 years for an average 12 hour on-time per day. Not to mention that it seems to have sparse distribution in the US and is about $5000. It uses an IPS (not S or H) panel with a 16 bit lookup table and 8 and 10 bit DVI signal support.
From a technology standpoint, LaCie is using the most ancient (S-PVA), but backs it up with (the only that I found) RGB LED backlight. The combination of S-PVA and LED backlight should make contrast remarkable, and indeed it boasts 123% of Adobe RGB and 125% of NTSC (not clear on how you get more than 100%, but I'm assuming they are at least getting complete coverage in x and y). It also includes a colorimeter and software to calibrate non LaCie monitors, which is cool. Although the LaCie claims 14 bit processing and lookup table, it can only display 16.7mil colors, suggesting 8 bit signal support.
The Nec is a bit more affordable at about $2200 and also has a colorimeter (but it appears to only work on the NEC). It uses an IPS (no S or H) panel with a 14 bit lookup table (which is another important point) with 8 bit signal.
The HP, lowest cost of the bunch at about $1200 uses an H2-IPS panel (twist on S), with a 12 bit lookup table and 8 or 10 bit signal support.
So if we're talking about colors, it comes down to conformance to sRGB (if you're doing photos), and total color capability. In that realm, only the HP and ENZO really compete with 10 bits resulting in 1.07 billion colors simultaneously (vs. 16.7 million).
The other question is can your graphics card support 10 bit color? I use dual NVidia Quadro 3800's, so yes for me, check out nVidia or your card's site for support, it is scarce.
Finally, considering cost of $5000 for the Enzo vs. $1200 for the HP. The HP Z30w wins. I will also complement it with two HP ZR24w's to round out the symmetry and avoid color shifts when dragging across monitors. I figure I can get true calibration with either the Spyder 3 Colorimeter ($150) or the LaCie Colorimeter ($350).
Having never seen any of these color correct monitors, from the specs it would appear for photography and general hi-end use, the HP Z30w is the best quality/value.
Has anyone seen any of these?
