To return to the topic, I've suggested in earlier posts that an NEC or Eizo owner might want to consider the standard or pro versions of basICColor display 6 as either a substitute for NEC SpectraView II or Eizo ColorNavigator or for use alongside their proprietary calibration/profiling software. I'll detail a few of the reasons below that I have not yet mentioned. I'll start first with the standard version capabilities.
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basICColor display 6 (
standard version - $89) works with multiple brands and types of displays. It can be used to hardware calibrate and profile both NEC and Eizo displays. It
may also be able to hardware calibrate other displays (Dell/HP/LG etc.) thru the display's
DDC/CI (Display Data Channel/Command Interface) depending on the individual model of display. Additionally, it can be used with other displays which do not offer external control of hardware calibration to manually pre-calibrate and then profile the display, like a laptop or iMac for example.
- basICColor display 6 supports a wide range of colorimeters and spectrophotometers. It supports proprietary sensors from NEC and Eizo. It also supports the relatively new competitor to the X-Rite i1Pro spectrophotometer series from Konica Minolta, the
MYIRO-1. (the MYIRO-1 is not supported in SpectraView II or ColorNavigator) One note: Konica Minolta
includes basICColor display 6 with the MYIRO-1, but this bundled version only works with that instrument.
- basICColor display 6 has recently been rebuilt for 64-bit only macOS systems like Catalina/Big Sur and the latest hardware. It has been developed by
Franz Herbert with a long history in engineering color management solutions.
In summary, basICColor display 6 is a reasonably priced solution which can provide hardware or software calibration/profiling for a variety of displays with a wide range of measuring devices. basICColor display 6 Pro expands on those capabilities with additional features. Whether those additional features are of value to you depends entirely on your individual requirements (and possibly other equipment used) for your work. According to the current
display 6 pro datasheet you can upgrade the standard version to the pro version for the $240 difference in their usual stand alone price.
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basICColor display 6 Pro includes some of the
advanced features found in Eizo ColorNavigator like sensor correlation; CMYK soft proofing evaluation for specific press standards (FOGRA/GRACOL/SWOP/etc.);
ISO 14861/12646 soft proofing display compliance measurement and evaluation; and automatic viewing booth brightness matching to display with
JUST Color Communicator series viewers. (not included in SpectraView II)
- basICColor display 6 Pro can additionally
calibrate brightness and color when using the
JUST moduLight or LacunaSolutions
SmartLightningSystem (SLS) LED color proofing lights using a spectrophotometer. (not included in SpectraView II or ColorNavigator)
- basICColor display 6 Pro can measure uniformity across the display to monitor any changes over time. (not included in SpectraView II or ColorNavigator)
- basICColor display 6 Pro can measure and produce a spectral evaluation report of your viewing light or booth using a spectrophotometer. (not included in SpectraView II or ColorNavigator)
- basICColor display 6 Pro also includes manual white point editing as do SpectraView II and ColorNavigator. (not included in basICColor display 6 standard version)
What I'm NOT suggesting: I'm not suggesting that basICColor display 6 is a better choice than the NEC or Eizo software as that depends on your individual desires and requirements. I'm also not suggesting that basICColor display 6 (standard
or pro version) includes every feature which may be contained in SpectraView II or ColorNavigator; though you may find other features that make it useful as an
addition to their proprietary software.
What I AM suggesting: I suggest looking at all of your options. I suggest carefully looking at precisely what features are supported (or
not supported) for any given display or measuring instrument in addition to operating system and hardware requirements. There are a lot of variables and not all combinations provide the same level of features or support, if supported at all. I would suggest downloading and reading the manuals for each option as website information is often abbreviated and may not contain all of the information you want or need to know. If you have specific questions on a product, I suggest contacting the manufacturer; as you can generally obtain accurate answers in a more timely fashion than posing those questions on an a web forum—plus, it will give you some impression of how effective their support might be should you need it after a purchase.
Manuals are available to download:
here for NEC SpectraView II and
here for Eizo ColorNavigator 7. For the basICColor display 6 manual, you can download the demo version of the software
from Chromix here. The manual is included and can be accessed without activating the software which requires a demo license. There is a single manual for both standard and pro versions.