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Author Topic: Spectraview going pink!  (Read 9365 times)

artobest

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Spectraview going pink!
« on: February 28, 2010, 01:18:43 pm »

Hi

Another monitor calibration question here - perhaps this is a new one, as I've searched for solutions on the forum without success.

I have an NEC Spectraview Reference 2690 - the most recent version - calibrated with an i1 Display 2 (the HP branded one from the APS package). I can't seem to get the calibration so that grayscale images don't have a pink tinge in certain gray values. This pink tinge is visible as posterization in ordinary black and white images, and as pinkish banding on grayscale gradients.

For the record, I'm running Windows XP and I currently have the monitor set up for white point D50, tonal response curve L*, white 100cd/m2, contrast 200:1, 16-bit LUT-based profiling. I have tried many different settings, including Gray Gamma 2.2, and always encountered the same issue, albeit manifesting at different gray values. Can anyone please help me understand and/or eradicate this issue?

Thanks very much in advance

Peter
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Paul Sumi

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Spectraview going pink!
« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2010, 02:40:06 pm »

Quote from: artobest
Hi

Another monitor calibration question here - perhaps this is a new one, as I've searched for solutions on the forum without success.

I have an NEC Spectraview Reference 2690 - the most recent version - calibrated with an i1 Display 2 (the HP branded one from the APS package). I can't seem to get the calibration so that grayscale images don't have a pink tinge in certain gray values. This pink tinge is visible as posterization in ordinary black and white images, and as pinkish banding on grayscale gradients.

For the record, I'm running Windows XP and I currently have the monitor set up for white point D50, tonal response curve L*, white 100cd/m2, contrast 200:1, 16-bit LUT-based profiling. I have tried many different settings, including Gray Gamma 2.2, and always encountered the same issue, albeit manifesting at different gray values. Can anyone please help me understand and/or eradicate this issue?

Peter

I know that NEC pushes a specially tuned hardware puck with Spectraview II for their wide gamut monitors.  That said, I use a X-Rite DTP94B puck with XP SP3 with no problems on my 2690.  My default setting is 6500K, gamma 2.2, 110 cd/m2, contrast is monitor default.

Have you tried D65 or 6500 deg?  

Also, what is the lighting environment in which you calibrate?

Paul
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artobest

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Spectraview going pink!
« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2010, 02:47:22 pm »

Thanks Paul

I haven't calibrated to D65 because that's too cold for my purposes. The closest I've got was 5800 K, and I got the same problem with that. I calibrate in a very low light - often near dark. At the very least, I try to keep ambient light away from the panel during calibration.

Do you not experience these pink gray tones?

P
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Paul Sumi

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Spectraview going pink!
« Reply #3 on: February 28, 2010, 07:33:03 pm »

Oops, I didn't notice before that you are in the UK.

Which leads me to ask, what software are you using to calibrate your monitor?  I believe that SpectraView II (which I use) is only for the U.S. market.

Thanks,

Paul
« Last Edit: February 28, 2010, 08:14:40 pm by Paul Sumi »
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Marco Ugolini

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Spectraview going pink!
« Reply #4 on: February 28, 2010, 10:57:02 pm »

Quote from: artobest
Hi

Another monitor calibration question here - perhaps this is a new one, as I've searched for solutions on the forum without success.

I have an NEC Spectraview Reference 2690 - the most recent version - calibrated with an i1 Display 2 (the HP branded one from the APS package). I can't seem to get the calibration so that grayscale images don't have a pink tinge in certain gray values. This pink tinge is visible as posterization in ordinary black and white images, and as pinkish banding on grayscale gradients.

For the record, I'm running Windows XP and I currently have the monitor set up for white point D50, tonal response curve L*, white 100cd/m2, contrast 200:1, 16-bit LUT-based profiling. I have tried many different settings, including Gray Gamma 2.2, and always encountered the same issue, albeit manifesting at different gray values. Can anyone please help me understand and/or eradicate this issue?

Thanks very much in advance

Peter
I would check the colorimeter, first of all. Try using an i1 Pro spectrophotometer, if you have access to one. The point would be to see whether using another measuring tool eliminates the pink cast.

If it does, it's then likely that, though the software is working properly, the i1 Display 2 provided with SpectraView is defective.
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Marco Ugolini

artobest

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Spectraview going pink!
« Reply #5 on: March 01, 2010, 03:58:08 am »

Thanks all

I am using Spectraview (not II) to calibrate the monitor. Spectraview II seems to have a lot more configuarability, which might resolve the problem, but it's not free, unfortunately!

I don't have access to another colorimeter, either. The i1 D2 is an HP-branded one that originally came with my HP Z3200ps. I don't know whether that means it has been tweaked in such a way that renders it useless for the NEC ...

P
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Marco Ugolini

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Spectraview going pink!
« Reply #6 on: March 01, 2010, 01:08:28 pm »

Quote from: artobest
Thanks all

I am using Spectraview (not II) to calibrate the monitor. Spectraview II seems to have a lot more configuarability, which might resolve the problem, but it's not free, unfortunately!

I don't have access to another colorimeter, either. The i1 D2 is an HP-branded one that originally came with my HP Z3200ps. I don't know whether that means it has been tweaked in such a way that renders it useless for the NEC ...

P
Do you have access to an EyeOne Pro spectrophotometer? It would stand to reason that that device should work too with that software, though I'm not certain.
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Marco Ugolini

Pat Herold

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Spectraview going pink!
« Reply #7 on: March 01, 2010, 03:51:14 pm »

X-Rite has a free download called i1Diagnostic, which is a simple program that will run your i1D2 through its paces and give you a determination whether it is working properly or not.  
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artobest

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Spectraview going pink!
« Reply #8 on: March 01, 2010, 04:07:59 pm »

Thanks Patrick. I downloaded that app and it seems the i1 is working as it should.

It may not be a calibration issue, as the pink tinge appears to a greater or lesser degree in the display's selectable default states as well. I updated to the latest revision of the Spectraview software and my new profile (D50, 100cd/m2, 200:1, L* gamma) is giving slightly better results in some instances, but is still far from perfect. Grayscale images on the Web look especially bad (in both Firefox and Safari).

Switching to sRGB helps greatly ... could it just be the wide gamut playing havoc with the image?
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Paul Sumi

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Spectraview going pink!
« Reply #9 on: March 01, 2010, 04:24:09 pm »

A long shot - did you previously have a calibrated monitor on this same PC?  Or do you have Photoshop installed and previously used the adobe gamma utility?

If so, either would have installed a monitor profile loader and this would miost likely conflict with the profile loaded by SpectraView's loader.


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artobest

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Spectraview going pink!
« Reply #10 on: March 02, 2010, 06:10:23 pm »

I checked, and there are no previous profile loaders in my start-up. Thanks for the suggestion though, I hadn't thought of that. I wish it were that easy!
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loonsailor

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Spectraview going pink!
« Reply #11 on: March 05, 2010, 11:54:19 am »

I'm not sure if it relates to what you're seeing, but I cleared up a bunch of issues with my 2690Wuxi (older version) / spectraview by turning auto-brightness & auto-luminance (not sure if they're the same thing exactly) off.  I did this both on the monitor itself, in the advanced menus - reach them by powering on with the input button pressed - in the regular menu, and in spectraview.  In spectraview, you need to change this in the preferences, not in each individual profile, at least on my Mac version of SV2.  Lots of my profiling issues started to make sense and get resolved once I did this.
« Last Edit: March 05, 2010, 11:56:11 am by loonsailor »
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artobest

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Spectraview going pink!
« Reply #12 on: March 05, 2010, 04:21:27 pm »

Hi Loon

Thanks, Auto Brightness is off on the display, and unfortunately I don't have SV2, just the SV that came with the display, where AB isn't an option. I can see how having it switched on would screw with your profiles though.
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jalfano

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Spectraview going pink!
« Reply #13 on: March 17, 2010, 01:41:53 pm »

Hi,

i had the same issue with my 2690 wuxi2. NEC tech support had me access the advanced menu, make sure auto-luminance was on, and increase the setting to 5. i did so with an image onscreen so i could see if it made a difference, and it sure did! i actually liked the 4 setting best. re-calibrated with the new setting, and it worked like a charm. btw, i'm using a spyder3 with the spectraview 2 software.

ja
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artobest

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Spectraview going pink!
« Reply #14 on: March 18, 2010, 05:03:14 am »

Thanks Ja

Sounds promising, but I don't seem to be able to replicate this - I can't keep Auto Luminance on when using a custom calibration. (Also, my Auto Luminance, when I can use it, only goes up to 3!)

P
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Marco Ugolini

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Spectraview going pink!
« Reply #15 on: March 18, 2010, 01:09:55 pm »

Quote from: jalfano
Hi,

i had the same issue with my 2690 wuxi2. NEC tech support had me access the advanced menu, make sure auto-luminance was on, and increase the setting to 5. i did so with an image onscreen so i could see if it made a difference, and it sure did! i actually liked the 4 setting best. re-calibrated with the new setting, and it worked like a charm. btw, i'm using a spyder3 with the spectraview 2 software.
I don't mean to sound preachy, but here I go:

A well-made monitor profile, in essence, accurately describes the display's known, predictable and repeatable calibrated behavior by means of its internal lookup tables or matrix (depending on its chosen basic structure: I recommend the use of LUTs, since, based on my experience, I find them to be far more accurate than matrices).

"Known, predictable and repeatable" means that the device's behavior will not change, compared to what it was at the time it was profiled — or that, if it does fluctuate (because of voltage spikes, etc.), it will do so only within a very minimal range, hopefully small enough not to be perceivable.

Think of profiles the way you'd think of a snapshot: the likeness remains good only as long as the portrayed subject doesn't change hairstyle, doesn't age too visibly, or doesn't undergo plastic surgery, and so on.

If the device's behavior changes, the profile is no longer valid. Period. The "snapshot" no longer resembles the subject portrayed in it. It is no longer a reasonable likeness. That's why, for example, inherently unstable devices cannot be profiled at all, because their behavior always is essentially unknown, unpredictable and not repeatable.

It follows that, if you have any sort of "automatic" device behavior going, by definition the device's behavior becomes effectively...yes, you guessed it...unknown, unpredictable and not repeatable.

At the risk of repeating myself once too often, you can only profile a known, predictable and repeatable state. Which means: turn off any "automatic" settings of any kind, and only then your profile should work just as intended.
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Marco Ugolini

artobest

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Spectraview going pink!
« Reply #16 on: March 18, 2010, 01:17:05 pm »

I fixed it, and here's how: I went in and manually deleted all existing monitor profiles, including some from an earlier monitor. Bingo! No pink tinge. Just lovely neutral greys and flawless gradients. I don't know how the rogue profile or profiles were being loaded, but they're gone and so has my problem.

I'm tickled ... well, pink.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.
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Marco Ugolini

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Spectraview going pink!
« Reply #17 on: March 18, 2010, 01:58:21 pm »

Quote from: artobest
I fixed it, and here's how: I went in and manually deleted all existing monitor profiles, including some from an earlier monitor. Bingo! No pink tinge. Just lovely neutral greys and flawless gradients. I don't know how the rogue profile or profiles were being loaded, but they're gone and so has my problem.

I'm tickled ... well, pink.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.
What about automatic settings? Are any of them still active?
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Marco Ugolini
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