LCD Monitor Colour Calibration Featuring X-Rite ColorMunki & i1 Display Pro NCIX Tech Tips

If you've ever wanted more accurate colours on our PC, this is the product for you! Here's an idea: get together a few friends an each chip in part of the cost, then you can all calibrate all your monitors!
CA: www.ncix.com/se...
US: www.us.ncix.com...

[@NCIXcom]

Since there's so much debate, here's the whole story: Cameraman had these colour calibrators lying around in his office. I actually don't even know where they came from. I borrowed the colormunki to calibrate my monitors at home and found it to be easy to use. I've wanted to do a vid about calibration for a while, so off I went.. I've never used a Spyder2, and I don't really like suggesting products that I've never used. Neither NCIX nor I took a penny from X-Rite to make this video.

[@BlindFury]

This really works. The blue really shows up nicely on my BSOD now.

[@lwfeagan]

Most people that own a colorimeter use monitors that cost notably more than the device. For those dealing with color in a serious way, a monitor typically costs between $1k and $2k (with a few around $4k). And as a side note, both of the devices in the review were colorimeters. Another common type of measurement sensor is a spectrophotometer. There are pros and cons to each type of sensor. There are good reasons to own both if you are dealing with printing.

[@Mark13376]

Wow even in his NCIX days, Linus's dialog was pretty good. I don't think he said "um" even once.

[@N1k37ick]

that is the most unique response to one of these comments... I SALUTE YOU!

[@stevejacobs1593]

On cheap monitors with limited gamut, calibration can make it look worse: the colors outside the range the monitor can reproduce will get clipped to the same pixel value as the nearest perceptual value it can reproduce. (so basically trading range for limited accuracy) Also on consumer panels with 6~8 bit per channel, calibration can cause some pixel values to skip (because it has to remap to nearest integer) and manifest as banding artifacts. Recommended only on nicer monitors.

[@TalesOfWar]

Also there's more software available for working with media on OS X. Final Cut, Logic for example, even things like Pro Tools, despite also having a Windows version will require you to use the Mac version if you ever hope to get into the audio engineering world as most studios use Macs, and the files aren't easily interchangeable between the Windows and OS X version (mostly due to the fact the OS X version uses the OS API's for more efficient playback and so on that doesn't exist in Windows).

[@TalesOfWar]

The best solution is to get a bunch of profiles for different times of the day over say a week, then put it in a drawer somewhere lol. Or... if you're really serious and have the cash, have a light controlled room where it's always identical. A lot of studios have rooms with no windows that use daylight bulbs so it's always at the same light temp so you get no (or VERY little) variation. The only time you'd need to re-calibrate is when you have to change bulbs, just to be sure.

[@Imortist]

yes. It wil work on ANY monitor. ANY means that you simply do what manual says and it will work just fine :)

[@TalesOfWar]

It'll use the same preset, it'll just make sure it's showing it as accurately as possible to how those colours look when physically in front of you and when you print them.

[@yellllowbear]

I see you react very maturely to criticism. Good for you!

[@hachitech]

the key point is every monitor loses colir accuracy over time. even for precalibrated displays. the question is whether you would just get a new monitor or recalibrated yourself (where most of the product's value is)

[@AttackOfTheThumbs]

I used to rent units like these in Germany for a day for like 50 bucks. They had clamps for the monitor edges and you had to manually adjust. Damn it has come a long way. Now this would be cheaper. But I'd use it once and then put it away for so long that it seems like burned money. If I could get one for around 150, I'd probably just buy it.

[@radixex]

dude the reason why they use it is because mac's designer programs like adobe etc. are more conpatible for mac also mac has a very nice designer look and designers are more used to it (not considering the price of course) its hard for people to change but looking at windows8 i might stick to my macbook...

[@davidgoodliffe5268]

GEEZ what a Linus throwback

[@MsTihsllub]

but even in the other channel (linustechtips) he didn't gave the more affordable alternatives, we are thankful and all but giving objective criticism and being positively receptive to its regard won't harm anybody.

[@JoshuaDay]

What I would like cleared up is how much it improves certain levels of monitor. Say the scale of monitor quality is from 1-10 (1 being terrible) how much would this improve, for example a #3 quality display? just a bit to #4 or quite a lot, to around #6?

[@TalesOfWar]

How do you know? It may not "do more" but it can very easily be more accurate.

[@thedevo01]

It's as if the pricetag somehow has something to do with the physical qualities of the monitor. I know that - amongst reputable brands - there are qualitative differences between less and more expensive models, but -- and please correct me if I'm wrong -- if you take an Achieva Shimian QH2700-IPSMS Lite Edge, which has a better IPS panel than the Apple Cinema Display and calibrate it, then you just saved yourself hundreds of dollars (>$500).

[@ec1ipse14]

wouldn't you full screen the software and thus put the device in the center of the monitor?

[@mattabesta]

If you really need a calibrated display this is awesome and the prices are good but for the general user this seems still a little bit too expensive.

[@CRANKYONE100]

good demo man..How would you rate the Spyder pro compared to this one? - they're cheaper arn't they?

[@TGamer36]

When will the Acer touchscreen monitor going to be released and for how much in the US?

[@kjetilsenNOWAY]

Wow, dude. You're a great guy.

[@Bennyino]

@UnleahsedGraphicsHD its a corsair k9 and a k60 with an intel extreme mouse pad i think confirm the mouse name on corsair web site

[@TalesOfWar]

The current Mac Pro's using 2010 CPU's still beat their more modern, moderately (not massively) faster generation brethren in most day to day content creation scenarios because of the way OS X handles them, and the GPU's in them get full professional driver support on the same kind of level as the Quadro series does on Windows, despite them being "consumer" cards. They lose in some areas of course, but the performance gap isn't that great. Now, imagine them with the next gen Ivy Bridge Xeons?

[@newbzor52]

Will this allow me to get 2 monitors to look the same.

[@lrmcatspaw1]

I am more interested on what happens if you have two displayed hooked up to the same gpu and you want to turn both of them on at the same time. Can you have each one calibrated individually? Or will you have to have 2 profiles and use only one display at a time.

[@stevejacobs1593]

I'm not sure why Dell is listing its display gamut in CIE - usually people use primaries defined within CIE space such as sRGB/REC709 or Adobe RGB. Without such information, the numbers are meaningless. Anyway, I personally think it's not worth calibrating unless the monitor is capable of close to 100% coverage (of whichever colour space you're calibrating to - cheaper calibration tools are locked to sRGB, I think), but opinion differs. At only €35, it's worth a try.

[@mightyzinho]

Hey thats sensor is cool good video, just curious but what mouse and keyboard is used on the desk?

[@JMAlovera]

I'm focusing my eye to the reflection on the lower monitor bezel and see Slick clearer :) ohhh..wait is that slick?

[@StylusEcho18]

TN will be absolutely fine.

[@williamoneill5498]

Been 10 years since this was made, but todays calibrators are exactly the same. It's one thing to calibrate the monitor, but does the x-rite also create an actual profile that works with your printer, or it just calibrates the screen. Lets say you're having you prints come out way too dark. Decreasing the luminance of the monitor wont fix the problem, what you need is a reference profile that the printer can use to make the print. So my question is, if anybody knows, do you an actual profile generated by the software that you can select for printing?

[@ledbea]

those could also be used for tvs, right?

[@fuzonacid]

I think you mean most production houses use Mac Software so employees have to know how to use a Mac. I see film editing jobs advertised and they are all Mac based. Basically a company pays big bucks for the software so expensive to change to a new OS.

[@paddytokey]

I'd guess he got this by the company to unbox, he liked it and decided to make a video about it^^

[@Tonic137]

Great episode.

[@thegreatga]

its only 200bucks? What kinda monitor are you using? An etch a sketch?

[@MakerofThingss]

does it still work with a 1080p led monitor? like, does it have to be IPS?

[@TheTpointer]

I have a question: if i use a BenQ XL2420T, which isnt famous for his good colour, make it any sence to use this calibrater??

[@marcioguilhermed]

Please place your caption in the video for Portuguese Brazil

[@BMF123321]

i want to calibrate the monitor in the hardware settings . because i use a monitor on 1 hdmi port and my tv on the second port (780Ti card) so if i use this on my monitor it will change my tv also.

[@whisperingwind7]

Bought X rite,..do i have to unplug the usb once i am done downloading the software..? or just leave the usb connect all the time into the port..? thanks

[@darkmessiahuk]

i have the same one and yes it helps

[@gravity257]

How is it on adjusting black level?

[@Th3James]

I like my U3011 on the AdobeRGB preset

[@TalesOfWar]

It's still a POS for colour accurate work at that price, and judging by the 2ms response it's almost certainly a TN panel. IPS is vastly superior, even the lower end ones are better than the higher end TN panels. I'm sure it's great for what you use it for, but to suggest it's good for colour accuracy is just wrong.

[@RetroAmateur1989]

would this work for a 37 inch tv monitor which im using with my pc

[@TalesOfWar]

Also don't mix up graphic designers with audio and video engineers. There's clear overlap in areas, but the toolsets are quite different. You wouldn't get an audio engineer to create your print branding with Logic of Pro Tools would you? Modern hardware allows you to do far more than you seem to be giving it credit for too. A MacBook Pro is more than capable of fairly complex video and audio work. Of course you'll need more if doing something like a CGI heavy movie. Pro means good at your job.

[@TheCodesterr]

I have three VN248H-P and two have a yellowish tint. One looks perfect. Will this make them all look the same?

[@danielekirylo]

Why is youtube suggesting me to watch young Linus?

[@yogman10]

Hey Linus, are there any Nvidia 3D Ready Monitors with light boost that aren't TN?

[@maninthevan53]

we need this for tv too

[@dzsemx]

i have a 200$LG monitor and after calibration barely changes the colors :) it's just greatly calibrated out of factory!!!

[@TheGarvito]

Will this work with led lcd tvs?

[@mrjohnallen]

Not sure if I'm happy because the videos are looking a lot more professional now, or sad because the half-baked editing before gave these videos its own character. Either way, way to go.

[@mohamedbenbah5343]

Hello, tahnk you for your video, and pls can I know waht is the best device for callibration (Imac) thank you

[@spencerknifes5260]

can you pit this on a tv screen

[@a58742]

does this work with multi monitor?

[@XeroJin84]

Is it worth it to use it on non-IPS monitors?

[@metals2546]

I cannot get my color munki photo to work with window 7 64bit. Initially it installed without any issues, but when I tried to calibrate the monitor, it got stuck half way through with 4 minutes left. Did this several times, and always stuck half way done. I then deleted it completely, re-installed, and then it had an update available which I downloaded, then I tried it again and it seemed to get through it all, but then had an error, "could not save the previous profile, and then "could not load new profile". Did a full delete again, re-install. And then overtime I tried to start it after that, I would get this,..."ColorMunki exe. shut down". 8 hours latter and countless searching for a solution brings me here. Any help would be much appreciated.

[@0000kris0000]

If the monitor can change quite often, then how do you know that the calibrator hasn't changed as well?

[@rich1051414]

+Kris Drake Its the color temperature of the back-light that changes primarily. But i get your point lol. Perhaps we also need calibrators for our calibrators :P

[@M.C.D.Technologies]

Do some research on the Datacolor SPYDER products and you will find people who do this stuff for a living say 1/3 off all there sensors can't calibrate correctly. I was going to buy one but I have no way to know if it works 100%. Trust me you can buy higher end sensors. The X-Rite are very well known to give good results and not be all over the map with the calibration.

[@Richter.Belmont]

It's around $170 US

[@TheTrio3331]

will on of these work with multiple displays

[@503appie]

I would like to have a device like this but I can't find one for under 50 euro. Does anyone know a cheaper color calibrating device?

[@TileWonder]

Would you recommend getting something like the Spyder 2 Express for €35 for a Dell S2230MX that has a colour gamut of 82 % ( CIE 1976 ) / 72% ( CIE 1931 )? You seem to have quite a bit of knowledge about this subject and I would really appreciate it if you could help out.

[@jhizzh2]

will this work on LG's FLATRON E2381

[@rooneye]

Is that mouse mat glowing or is it just me? If it is glowing, where can I get one and how much do they cost? xD

[@ShMartinJo]

I dunno if it was cheap but I'm using Samsung's SS22B300 . Either xrite is not working right with it or the monitor is that bad (too bright, even with the brightness down to zero). Trailled and error many times to realize this monitor is a bust. I need help getting a better monitor (or the one this guy has on this video). Please Private message me.

[@BroderElg]

at 1:15 u can see the camera man (i guess) in the bottom thing on the screen!

[@radixex]

remember they are also advertising products not just tips but well... of course expensive stuff helps.

[@AttackOfTheThumbs]

Examples would be nice.

[@TheLighters100]

can i use this on a laptop???

[@Cryvosh]

What monitor is that?

[@miguelangelv7]

well technically nxic is a big business and big business is suppose to try to make as much money as they can and he is told what to advertise and it's his job so you can't really blame him,he's just doing his job.

[@kwanbkk]

how about SPYDER?

[@morgohill]

I've worked at game dev studios and they just buy dell 23in 1920x1080 monitors. 2 on each desk plus a cheep tv full hd tv. ok the some of the artists have pretty expensive graphics tablets with integrated displays. they don't calibrate them.

[@TalesOfWar]

If you think that's expensive then I'd hate for you to have to buy something like a house. For what it is, $200 is middle of the road. You can spend far FAR more on these things. It's based on your needs. If you do a lot of colour work like design or photography and so on then these things are invaluable to your work. The more accurate your results the higher quality your work is, and the more you can charge for your services. Price is always relative.

[@dynamitmsk]

Spyder2 is quite old...there's Spyder4 on the market already.

[@psalmxider]

what acer monitor model is that?

[@playful1510]

:D LOOK AT THE REFLECTION AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MONITOR! ITS THE CAMERAMAN! YAYYYYYY

[@tomo8910vids]

Why don't people lease them out. I only need to use it once.

[@W0ND3RB0Y1]

Dont like the white shade it got when linus turned the profile on... Hate when it looks like theres tape on the screen... Lol... It was better without the sensor at least looks like it on that camera taping it...

[@AlfaPro1337]

Did anyone get seizures when the colours flickers?

[@Imortist]

it will work with every monitor. Even with CRT :)

[@darkwarriordk]

Does this do anything with tn pannels like the Benq xl2520t?

[@Taxemicshadow]

Why do you assume that they were being paid? (They werent) Linus reviews some serious hardware. Like took at the fraking mars2 gpu. That thing costs a SHIT ton of money

[@PescaitoFrito]

Does this work with monitors Without "USB PORT" ?

[@smokey267]

You need a USB port on your computer the monitor itself does not require a USB port

[@JMUDoc]

ICC profiles can turn even the worst monitor into something close to perfect. Just a pity you can't do the same thing to a TV!

[@OufTarek]

whats a blue shell

[@AlfaPro1337]

Windows 8 on that Monitor please?

[@tool15233]

I know you guys price match but the price match should match the Tax free value that newegg offers. I reallllllllly want to support ncix with my cash from time to time but not at the much higher prices with tax on top.

[@AyooJake]

im guessing no since you need the software but maybe im wrong.

[@Dam13nL]

I think this is a little overkill for the common gamer, used the software calibrize for mine, its free and simple.

[@EluciaDeLuteIma]

Search results doesn't show anything.

[@2kingmr]

i want that mouse pad!

[@madsfriedstrup1507]

well it is ncix tech tips and not linustechtips u are watching remember ?.. looking past that i agree that it's kinda sad..

[@JordanDillon965]

You forget he's a salseman and a tech enthusiast. He is here to recommend products and links you to NCIX. You wouldn't go to the Newegg channel and call them greedy, they are just earning their pay. While this comment isn't spam, it misses the point of this channel. Unmarking as spam.

[@Flipside-_-]

Ic what you did thar

[@AzimSobri]

nice great solution >>