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Author Topic: NEC 2690 Monitor: do I need its SpectraView Calibration package with HP z3100ps with APS?  (Read 7310 times)

Edhopkins

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I am getting ready to purchase the following system (Upgrade from a G4 with a 20" Apple LCD)

MacPro, 16 gb memory, much internal disk space, 8 core 2.26 "Nehalem" processors with the standard NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 graphics card. I will be running with the latest version of Leopard. (And don't expect to be able to upgrade to Snow Leopard any time soon after it comes out.)

I have a HP Z3100ps with APS (which uses Eyeone hardware for display calibration)

I am going to purchase a NEC MultiSync 2690WU to go with the MacPro.  Looking at the B&H site, I can get one with or without "color calibration hardware and SpectraView II software". The calibration stuff adds about $190 to the price.  

We do fine art photography and our own printing.

My questions

1)  Do I need to get the Calibration package to be able to calibrate the NEC monitor?  or would it be advisable to get it since it adds only a little to the price.  (But $200 is money.)

2)  Does anyone have this combination of hardware working?  if so, I would love to hear that.

3)  Does anyone know whether there is something in this combination that currently does not work?

thanks for any help anyone can give me.

Ed in Baltimore

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howardm

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the spectraview software is the only way to access & set the NEC's internal LUTs and calibrate the monitor directly.  Otherwise
you end up tweaking the LUTs on the video card for calibration, not the monitor.

djcsmith

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So does this mean that you can use purchase the Specraview software separately, and use an existing Monaco Optix DTP-94 sensor?

David
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howardm

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dunno re: DTP sensor but you can purchase the software from NEC directly via their online website.  It's very! hard to find elsewhere.

Bill Koenig

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Don't but all of that memory from Apple,  just get the minimum amount and buy the rest from Crucial or New Egg
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Bill Koenig,

Edhopkins

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Quote from: Bill Koenig
Don't but all of that memory from Apple,  just get the minimum amount and buy the rest from Crucial or New Egg

Thanks for the advice; I am in complete agreement.  I was planning on getting the minimum system and then getting  the memory from OWC (Other world computing) and the hard drives from MacMall.  (would you recommend Crucial or New Egg over OWC?)

I will also be getting the Spectraview calibration package--thanks to the advice from howardm

One absolutely dumb question on my part, which I suspect has an obvious answer.  Does it matter if I calibrate my monitors with one package (Spectraview) and my printer with another (APS)  Indeed I might have to calibrate my second, much smaller monitor--an old Apple 17" flat screen with APS too?  How DO different packages manage to calibrate to the same standard?

thanks

ed, Baltimore
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peteh

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Quote from: Edhopkins
Thanks for the advice; I am in complete agreement.  I was planning on getting the minimum system and then getting  the memory from OWC (Other world computing) and the hard drives from MacMall.  (would you recommend Crucial or New Egg over OWC?)

I will also be getting the Spectraview calibration package--thanks to the advice from howardm

One absolutely dumb question on my part, which I suspect has an obvious answer.  Does it matter if I calibrate my monitors with one package (Spectraview) and my printer with another (APS)  Indeed I might have to calibrate my second, much smaller monitor--an old Apple 17" flat screen with APS too?  How DO different packages manage to calibrate to the same standard?

thanks

ed, Baltimore
I used both the APS and the spectraview, but now with the NEC 2690 WUxi I USE JUST THE NEC setup.I bought the NEC puck but Digitaldog said the pucks are the same, Eye one, and the Hp APS and the NEC GAMMACOMP md ARE SUPPOSSED TO BE THE SAME pucks.Ask Digitaldog just to be sure.Both pucks look the same but HP APS is White and the NEC is Grey.You need the spectraview 2 software though.
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picman

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Save yourself a little money and order just the software. I'm calibrating a 2690WUXi with the puck that came with the APS it works fine.
The software can be hard to find, but the NEC site shows it to be in stock for $99.
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Edhopkins

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Quote from: picman
Save yourself a little money and order just the software. I'm calibrating a 2690WUXi with the puck that came with the APS it works fine.
The software can be hard to find, but the NEC site shows it to be in stock for $99.

I found the following on the NEWEGG.com website while searching for a good place to buy the NEC:

Other Thoughts: I'm a Professional Photographer. I purchased this monitor bundled with NEC Spectraview Color Sensor and software. There's a great deal going on in this monitor, it is professional grade kit. It uses very sophisticated hardware calabration, passed through your video card. The NEC Spectraview color sensor is made by Gretagmacbeth, but is modified by NEC to accept the expanded dynamic range of the monitor. None of this is apparent in the descriptions or on the NEC website. I spent over 6 months researching monitors, talking to graphics professionals, and this was the best match of value/quality. Purchased it two months ago.
***WindowsXP Pro, Intel QX6700 oc'ed to 3.47 GHz, 2GB OCZ DDR2 PC2-8500 Platinum SLI RAM, Evga 680i MoBoard, Evga GeForce 8800GTX, 2 ea Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000 Hard Drives, Antec Nine Hundred Case, PC P&C Silencer Quad 750, Thermalright Ultra-120, Artic Silver***

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16824002169

This suggests that the pucks are not the same.

I have no clue as to whether this is good information. I pass it along as just another data point.

ed
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