Monitor Specs Questions

question 3
Panels are usually something like 6 bit, 8 bit etc. The extra bits are made up by dithering(FRC is one method).
i.e. 6 bit panel is often quoted as 8 bit (effective) or something like that.
8 bit panel as 10 bit (effective) and so on.
Obviously a native 8 bit panel has a greater range of colours without dithering, but this dithering is barely discernible in practice with a 6 bit + 2 bits of dithering.
Unless you are a specialist with very large monitors, it is all rather trivial detail.

The DPI is far more of importance for practical use for most people.
Dell UP2516D
120 DPI which is OK, not too high.

"Is response time of 14ms (typical)/6ms (GtG) acceptable?"
This is a Dell thing, (others call it OC mode) they have a "fast mode" i.e. the 6mS which is just a switch to overvolt the pixel/sub pixel transitions to give a faster response time with a slight loss in quality, you may get "ringing" colour response along edges if you look with a highly critical eye.
To me no problem in use it is fast enough on the "normal mode"(14 mS). A fanatical gamer would say different.

"Are you saying that a monitor that shows 1.07B colors is officially 10-bit even if it doesn't advertise itself as such?"
At a guess the Display Panel would be 8 bit with 2 bits of dithering, making 10 bits effective. Manufacturers like to quote the latter of course.
Some of the references given may give more detail to confirm that.

The one I got is a Dell and rather similar to that one, though slightly smaller 24" same brightness, AG coating, response times etc.
No speakers on mine only an audio output to feed an external amp/speakers. Don't think it has fittings for Dell attachment speakers. My old speakers could be used by simply placing behind or under the monitor anyway.

Great info, Helmut, thanks. I may bother you with some follow-up questions later when I have more time. Gotta go to work now. Thanks again.

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Helmut[or anybody who wants to answer], you mention placing the speakers behind the monitor. Wouldn't that degrade the sound?

What is color calibration, and how important is it that it be done at the factory as opposed to the buyer doing it? I'm a little color vision-deficient and can't be doing anything like that myself.

vanp said:

What is color calibration, and how important is it that it be done at the factory as opposed to the buyer doing it? I'm a little color vision-deficient and can't be doing anything like that myself.

Color calibration is setting the system so that the colors it produces are the correct ones. Of use to professional photographers and other graphics pros.

I am neither. I acquired a tool to do that a few years ago. It was sort of a fantasy thing; I never went anywhere with it. However, I still use it from time to time, more or less because I can.

There are a number of products for the purpose. This is the one I have: i1Display Pro Monitor Calibration Device | X-Rite

There's also a simple built-in color calibration feature in Windows 10, but I haven't used it. How to Calibrate Your Monitor Color in Windows 10 (I have a wide color gamut monitor, and the Windows utility does only standard gamut.) If your color vision is off, getting the right color balance may be difficult.

You can access Color Management as one of the old-style Control Panels, rather than going through the settings windows.

bobkn said:

Color calibration is setting the system so that the colors it produces are the correct ones. Of use to professional photographers and other graphics pros.

Thanks for responding again. I guess I'm stoopid, but shouldn't this be an expected condition of any monitor, right out of the box? And wouldn't everybody be interested in accurate colors, not just people in particular professions?

I'm raising this issue because some monitors come with a color calibration report, but most specs don't mention the issue. Does this imply most monitors leave the factory with wrong colors? I've had 2 monitors, neither of which had anything special done to them as far as I know, and as far as I can tell, the color's fine. Nobody else who ever looked at the monitors said the colors didn't look right.

How seriously should I take this 'color calibration report' business when I'm choosing a new monitor?

Thanks again.

vanp said:

(snip)

How seriously should I take this 'color calibration report' business when I'm choosing a new monitor?

Thanks again.

Depends on your use. If it's common stuff like Web browsing, watching YouTube videos, gaming, etc., then you might be hard pressed to tell a perfectly calibrated monitor from one that isn't. The colors in the sources may not be accurate to begin with.

For most people (including me), having a good-looking image is more important than having a perfectly accurate one. I play with calibration simply because I already have a tool to do that.

vanp said:

Thanks for responding again. I guess I'm stoopid, but shouldn't this be an expected condition of any monitor, right out of the box? And wouldn't everybody be interested in accurate colors, not just people in particular professions?

I'm raising this issue because some monitors come with a color calibration report, but most specs don't mention the issue. Does this imply most monitors leave the factory with wrong colors? I've had 2 monitors, neither of which had anything special done to them as far as I know, and as far as I can tell, the color's fine. Nobody else who ever looked at the monitors said the colors didn't look right.

How seriously should I take this 'color calibration report' business when I'm choosing a new monitor?

Thanks again.

Your questions boarder on color management and to understand it, I would HIGHLY urge you to read this article to get a basic understanding of how it relates to your questions - Color Management - NEC Display Solutions of America.

Simply speaking, monitors don't leave factories (manufacturers) with "wrong colors". They're shipped with a default monitor color (device profile) which sets gamut (color range) the monitor is capable of producing. Within that color gamut are what's known as color spaces - sRGB, Adobe RGB, NTSC. Take note that sRGB has the least amount of shades of colors than Adobe sRGB, and compared to NTSC, has less greens, and reds, but more blues.

In keeping things simple, most monitors out of the box are set to default to the sRGB color space. Note that sRGB is considered a universal color space as most browsers and devices support this space which allows for images to look the same across a myriad of browsers and devices. Thus the reason most use sRGB. A monitor also usually defaults to a brightness level of around 150 cd/m2 (brightness / luminance level), which for most photographers, or graphic artists is simply too bright. They also shy away from the sRGB color space as it produces the least amount of shade of colors, which usually shows up as a lack of vibrancy (or brightness) in the image when printed.

Generally speaking (and keeping things simple)… calibrating a monitor is a good thing as it hones in your color profile as well as brightness/contrast level. This is especially useful if you plan on printing or sharing your work for print. However, If you're strictly going to stick with jpegs using the sRGB color space, you could get by without having to calibrate your monitor. And you certainly don't need any calibration equipment to tone down the brightness of a monitor. You might also consider the expense of a calibration kit with a colorimeter (puck).

Bottom line is if you don't print or plan on sending your work out for printing, you don't necessarily need to calibrate a monitor. For the record, I've a wide gamut monitor I calibrate every 120 days as I also print my own work for personal use as well as sells.

Again, I would highly suggest you read the link I posted as it would help you to understand some of what I've said.

Monitor Specifications - TFTCentral

Thanks to bobkn, sygnus21, and FreeBooter.

I've taken a quick look at the provided sites/documents and will look more thoroughly later. Honestly, all this technical detail is a bit much for 'average' me, but I appreciate the education. A few thoughts/questions (again, for reference, my computer use is what I would call 'standard'):

1. I've seen references to nits/brightness = 120/150, but most monitors are in the 250-350 range. If even 120/150 is "too bright," why are monitors made in this larger range?

2. A computer store salesman told me that changing scaling will take a monitor out of its K-ness. Is this correct?

3. A co-worker says that he uses magnification to increase text size. Whether he's talking about Settings>Ease of Access Display or Magnifier I'm not sure.

4. The Screen Size/Common Resolution chart at TFT Central shows (let's call it) 1K for 24/25'' and 2K for 27".
Does this mean 2K should not be attempted on 24/25"? And there are lots of 4K 27" monitors.

5. If I adjust the brightness/contrast using the controls on my monitor, am I changing any of the stated specs (like nits/brightness) of the monitor?

If I get a 2K monitor, I want it to display everything as close as possible to what things look like on my 1K monitor, but with more clarity and detail. Don't think this is a lot to ask for. Another co-worker says he gets the monitor he wants and then makes whatever adjustments are required to make it look the way he wants it to look.

As for color calibration, if a manufacturer says it calibrates and includes a report, that implies that company is performing a step that others don't. As bobkn says, as a practical matter, maybe it doesn't make a meaningful difference.

Thanks again.

1. Depends on the situation the Monitor is used in. A brightly lit office would require a higher brightness screen. Back home in your "man cave" it is probably a much lower light level therefore a lower brightness screen is OK.

2. Computer store salesmen (comments censored...).

3. and 4. are basically the DPI. Though viewing distance and screen size does come into that.
I never need to use a magnifier as DPI and viewing distance and hence size of monitor are all calculated to be roughly correct for my personal situation.

5. No, the backlight and LCD are the same all the time. All you are doing is adjusting the backlight up to a maximum and the characteristics of the LCD cells in front of which are colour filter layers, polarizers, AR coatings and so on.

"If I get a 2K monitor, I want it to display everything as close as possible to what things look like on my 1K monitor, but with more clarity and detail. Don't think this is a lot to ask for."
It is not quite that simple. Take small 1 pixel wide text fonts. Those even if the same size on a higher resolution screen will appear thinner because of smaller pixels.
That is more clarity, but a reduction in text readability
Maybe they will show as 2 pixels wide but is that greater clarity, you are basically back to square one, ignoring any anti-aliasing that maybe taking place.

If you are watching say video or playing games then the extra clarity maybe of some use on a very large monitor.
"As for color calibration, if a manufacturer says it calibrates and includes a report, that implies that company is performing a step that others don't. As bobkn says, as a practical matter, maybe it doesn't make a meaningful difference."

Dell may print out part of the quality control stuff but that does not mean it has done more than any other manufacturer. Mine is just filed away along with the CD supplied.