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| How to Calibrate an NEC SpectraView Monitor |
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Article Details
Last Updated
19th of March, 2012
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NOTE: This guide only applies to older certified NEC SpectraView monitors (of which there are very few in the market), not to NEC MultiSync 90 Series or NEC PA Monitors - with those monitors you want to use the guide to SpectraView 2. If you're not sure which applies to you, it's almost certainly the Spectraview 2 guide.
In addition to this guide, you can download the full manual to SpectraView Profiler using the link in the attachments below. It's actually pretty good!
You still need a monitor calibrator.
First, you do still need to have a compatible monitor calibrator. Here's a list of the supported calibrators:
Hardware Support List SpectraView Profiler 4.1.9
================================================
May 2009
Colorimeter:
- basICColor SQUID
- basICColor SQUID 2
- DataColor Spyder 2
- DataColor Spyder 3 (we recommend this one as the best performing with wide gamut panels like the SpectraView monitors)
- Monaco OPTIX XR
- X-Rite Eye-One display
- X-Rite Eye-One Display 2 (also often recommended and pretty much the industry standard calibrator)
- X-Rite Eye-One Display LT
- X-Rite DTP 94 USB
Spectraphotometer:
- X-Rite Eye-One Pro (available in Eye One Basic or Eye One Xtreme)
- X-Rite Eye-One Monitor
- JUST Color Communicator 2
Connect the monitor & install SpectraView Profiler (SVP)
Connect the monitor using a DVI connection for best results. If you are using a 30" monitor, you will need to connect the monitor using a DualLink DVI cable (included with the monitor) to your DualLink capable video card. About monitor connectors.
Make sure your operating system is outputting the correct native resolution for your new screen (check the individual product pages for the monitors to find out the correct native resolution).
Uninstall all previous calibration software you might have installed, and (in on a PC) make sure Adobe Gamma is not running. This is crucial as other calibration software can interfere with SVP.
Now, install SpectraView Profiler (SVP) that came on disc with your monitor. This disc also has drivers for all the different calibrators on it, so if you're plugging your calibrator into your machine for the first time, it may prompt you for a driver disk - you can use this one.
How To Calibrate
First, you must connect your calibration device to SpectraView Profiler. Plug your calibrator in, and click on the device button in the top left corner of the SVP window.
You will now get a window with a connect button. Click 'connect' and SVP should connect to the device and confirm it is set up and ready to go.
Now, we must define our calibration settings. You can define (and save) different sets of calibration settings. Once defined, you choose choose the settings you want and hit 'Express' to calibrate to those settings. But in this case, we're going to define some new ones first.
In this case, you can ignore whatever it says next to the red arrow above as we're going to change them anyway. Make sure your screen type is set to LCD and that you are using direct Hardware Calibration and a LUT based profile as per the screenshot above. Choose 'Next' to move on to the next screen.
On this screen, we are setting the white point. Because I am setting this screen up for photographic editing and I use fine art, warm tone papers, I have chosen 5800 kelvin as the whitepoint. In the photographic industry, 6500K is standard but I find I get a better print match with the monitor at 5800K. You can of course experiment to find the best whitepoint for your scenario and the papers you generally use. Once you've set the whitepoint, hit 'next'.
Now we need to set the gamma. Here I have chosen the industry standard gamma 2.2. You can use L* which is becoming more popular but I find I get a better match with 2.2 and that's the photographic industry standard, so I've chosen 2.2 - n.b. do NOT use 1.8, even if you are on a Mac - this is a myth - the gamma you are setting is all about mimicking the tonal response of prints - and 2.2 is generally regarded as giving the best match. Move on to the next screen.
Here I have chosen to set the white luminance and the desired contrast ratio. There is no absolute standard for what luminance to use, but I find given my lighting scenario and the way I look at prints, that 100 cd/m2 is about right for me. You may have to recalibrate several times initially to find the best luminance for your print viewing conditions.
I have also chosen a desired contrast ratio of 220:1 which is just a bit higher than can be achieved on gloss prints. I also sometimes calibrate to just 160:1 when using fine art matte papers. These figures give me the best screen to print match - they mean I am not staring at the monitors native, very high contrast when working on my prints, but rather at a contrast level much more in tune with the final print contrast level. I find this makes it much easier to make very subtle adjustments to images with accuracy.
Here I have set the profile type to 16 bit LUT for best accuracy.
I give my profile a sensible name that summarises the settings I have used in this calibration. Hit 'Start' to start the measurement phase of the process.
Physically place the calibrator in the center of this window, and hit 'measure'. You can now go away and make a cup of tea while the system automatically physically adjusts the monitor (calibration) and measure and corrects the colour (profiling). When the process is complete, you will get a results screen:
The profile is automatically set as the system default and placed in the right spot. You will need to re-start any software you're using (such as Photoshop) to get it to pick up the new profile.
We suggest REPEATING this entire process at this point. This is because SpectraView Profiler iteratively improves the calibration (3 times per session), particularly the grey balance - and results after a second session are often significantly better than the first session (because 6 total iterations result, rather than just three from one session). This is an especially good idea if this is the first time you are calibrating to new settings as the monitor will be further away from your desired result so repetition of this process is useful.
You can use the 'validate' function to validate your profile. We'll leave this as an exercise for the reader - it's very simple!
For further information regarding Spectraview II, take a look at the FAQ section on the NEC website.
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