We have
discussed recently how important calibration can be when setting up your new
monitor. For truly accurate colour rendering, a hardware colorimeter device is
required and that is where the Pantone Huey Pro comes in. Pantone's information
states that: "The new Pantone huey Pro is ready to bring your display to life
with a new level of colour clarity and precision. Designed with the world’s
first built-in ambient light sensor, Huey Pro provides increased colour accuracy
combined with the ability to calibrate multiple monitors, delivering the
solution you need to turn your computer into a digital darkroom. With its
customizable White-point and Gamma combinations, enhanced LCD calibration and
advanced help, the Huey Pro is the answer to your colour needs and the perfect
addition to the Pantone Huey family."
Product Features:
-
World’s first built-in ambient light sensor enables consistency never seen
before in any lighting condition.
-
TRUE COLOR. From monitor to print.
-
Multiple monitor calibration increases colour fidelity from
monitor-to-monitor-to-print.
-
New
colour patches added.
-
Advanced Help built in provides step-by-step instructions through
calibration and beyond.
-
User-defined White-point and Gamma combinations provide substantial control
over the calibration and output matching.
-
Zero in on shadow detail and highlights with the enhanced LCD calibration.
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Professional-grade Optical Sensors
-
Easy-to-use & Affordable
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Lightweight & Portable
-
Free Technical Support
Pantone is actually part of the X-rite brand, and
this device comes in two versions. The Pro version, which was sent to me for
review, includes some added features that the normal model does not. A quick
look at the back of the packaging shows that the Pro version can be used to
correct brightness and contrast on both CRT and TFT screens, whereas the normal
version is limited to CRT only. The Pro edition can also be used to calibrate
multiple screens, allows profile naming, offers a user defined reminder and
advanced help; all of which the standard version lacks. The Huey Pro retails for
£85 GBP or $129 USD, making it almost half the price of the
X-rite i1 Display 2 device we tested recently ($249 USD). Let's see how it
compares in practice.
Package Contents
The Huey Pro device comes packaged with a desktop
cradle which is designed for you to sit the device in when not in use
calibrating the screen. By positioning the cradle next to your screen and
connecting via USB, you can tilt the device at the same angle as the monitor's
stand. The built in ambient light sensor then detects variations in your working
environment and automatically adjusts the screen brightness setting. There is a
USB extension cable provided for those who need it, along with the usual
software installation CD and quick-start guide. The device is also packaged with
a colour matching stick, with 20 pages, and 100 chromatically arranged colours.
Each of these includes a unique Pantone name, sRGB and HTML values allowing for
consistent matching of colours across devices.
The device itself was quite small and sleek
looking, and while it is pretty sturdy and solid, you probably want to be
careful if you are carrying it around as it could potentially snap if you
weren't careful. The back of the device has 8 mini suction cups to attach to
your screen, and also provide some padding to your precious monitor coating.
Calibration Methods
The aim of this review is really to discover how
effective the Pantone Huey device is in calibrating monitors. We shall use the
LaCie Blue Eye Pro device and software package as a control in these tests,
allowing us to verify and compare the results of the calibration process. I will
use the reporting feature of LaCie's software, which will show us several
things, including luminance, gamma and colour temperature values reached by
calibration. It will also show us the DeltaE (dE94) values for 16 colour shades,
helping to show us how accurate the colours shown on the screen are. The Pantone
Huey software package does NOT come with this reporting feature which is part of
the reason the cost is lower than for LaCie's package.
Initial Control Tests
The calibration process and tests will be
conducted on the Samsung XL20 display, and we will use the LaCie Blue Eye Pro
software as a control. We won't go into too much detail regarding the screen
itself, since this will appear in a review very soon. For the purposes of this
test, we do not need to explore too many of the difference colour settings the
screen offers. The 'Color Mode' setting was left on 'Custom' for now. First of
all, I calibrated the screen with LaCie's software and device (actually a
re-branded Gretag / X-rite Eye-One display 2 device), allowing us to get an idea
of what was achievable with this screen and their software. The calibrated
results are shown below:
Samsung XL20 - LaCie Calibrated Results
|
LaCie Blue Eye Pro
Calibrated Settings |
luminance (cd/m2) |
120 |
Black Point (cd/m2) |
0.27 |
Contrast Ratio |
444:1 |
During the calibration process, the RGB settings
in the OSD were altered to 48, 43 and 50 respectively, with contrast left at the
default 80% and brightness set at 45%. The automatic calibration process alters
values at a Look Up Table (LUT) level and produces the above report to validate
the results. On the left hand side the CIE diagram shows a triangle representing
the monitor colour space, its gamut. In the case of the Samsung XL20, it's LED
backlighting unit offers an enhanced gamut covering 114% of the NTSC colour
space. You can tell that the monitors gamut triangle stretches considerably
outside the sRGB colour space, particularly in green hues.
Below the CIE diagram the gamma, colour
temperature and luminance of the screen are shown in turn. We aim for a gamma
value of 2.2 which is the
default for computer
monitors, and the standard for the Windows operating system and the
Internet-standard sRGB colour space. After calibration, the screen matches this
exactly. The colour temperature we aspire to is 6500k, the temperature of 'day
light'. The screen is correctly calibrated to 6483k, hardly any variation from
the desired value (<0.5%). Lastly we aim for a luminance of 120 cd/m2
which is the recommended luminance for an LCD display in normal lighting
conditions. Again, the screen is corrected to this level, and is calibrated to
120 cd/m2.
Black depth was also recorded at a fairly average level of 0.27 cd/m2
and this gave a usable static contrast ratio of 444:1, admittedly a little off
the specified 700:1 of the screen by the manufacturer.
The
graph on the right shows the DeltaE (dE94) values for colours tested by the
LaCie Blue Eye Pro. This shows us how accurate the colour shown on the screen
is, compared with the colour being requested. As a reminder, the lower these
bars down the Y-axis, the better, in terms of colour accuracy. For reference,
LaCie describe the DeltaE readings as:
-
If DeltaE >3, the color displayed is significantly different from the
theoretical one, meaning that the difference will be perceptible to the
viewer.
-
If DeltaE <2, LaCie considers the calibration a success; there remains a
slight difference, but it is barely undetectable.
-
If DeltaE < 1, the color fidelity is excellent.
After calibration, the Samsung XL0 showed
excellent colour accuracy with an average DeltaE of only 0.4, and a maximum of
only 0.8. LaCie would consider the colour fidelity to be excellent, and this was
obvious from the even and vibrant shades visible to the eye. An excellent result
from this panel.
So the above shows what the screen is capable
of with correct calibration. I then returned the screen and graphics card to
their default settings and tested again. The RGB levels in the 'user' menu of
the OSD colour control were now all set at 50, and the ICC profile created
during our initial calibration was discarded. Brightness in the OSD was also now
back at the default level of 70%.
Samsung XL20 -
Default Settings
|
Default Settings |
luminance (cd/m2) |
186 |
Black Point (cd/m2) |
0.34 |
Contrast Ratio |
547:1 |
At default settings, the performance of the screen
was still good! Gamma was averagely set at 2.0, being a little way out from the
desired level. Colour temperature was recorded as 6493k, which was pretty
accurate to our requirement (<0.5% out still), but luminance was recorded too
high at 186 cd/m2. With a black depth of 0.34 cd/m2, this
gave a contrast ratio of 547:1. The DeltaE graph shows that colour rendering was
now less accurate, with an average dE of 1.6 and a maximum of 3.2. Clearly the
screen is capable of much more, but this goes to show you need correct
calibration to achieve it. However, at default settings for the XL20, the colour
accuracy was still pretty good, and certainly better than we have seen from
other screens we have tested out of the box. As such, I wanted to give the
Pantone Huey a bit more of a challenge!
I altered a couple of the OSD settings as follows:
RGB values were set to 60/50/70 respectively, producing a noticeable pink tint
to grey shades and an obvious colour discrepancy. Brightness was also set
to 100% making the screen very difficult to work with, and almost painful to
view. Here are the results of LaCie's test and report once settings had been
fiddled with:
Samsung XL20 -
Manually Worsened Settings
|
Manually Adjusted Settings |
luminance (cd/m2) |
283 |
Black Point (cd/m2) |
0.51 |
Contrast Ratio |
555:1 |
Now that's much more interesting! Something we can
really work with! Gamma was now considerably out at 1.8, and luminance was far
too high at 283 cd/m2. DeltaE was now an average of 9.3, and a
maximum of 31.8!! Miles out from accurate colour rendering, which was obvious to
the naked eye as well. Only colour temperature remained pretty good at 6557k.
This gives us a good starting point to really see how good the Pantone Huey Pro
is. Let's go through the calibration process and then look at the results.
The Calibration Process
The software is intuitive and easy to use. There
is a tray icon which is placed in your system start-up folder for those who want
to use it. This gives easy access to the software package features including the
calibration process, ambient light sensor and user preferences.
Within the preferences section you can control
whether you want to enable the ambient light sensor, designed to adjust the
settings of the screen at set intervals while monitoring the lighting in your
user environment. You can also control a couple of settings for colour
temperature (D50, D65 and D75) along with gamma levels (1.8, 2.2 and 2.4). There
is also an option to switch between your uncorrected (default system settings)
and corrected (ICC profiled) settings, and a reminders function for tracking how
often you calibrate your screen.
The first stage asks you to place the device in
the supplied cradle in order to measure the ambient lighting conditions.
Once this is done, you are presented with probably
the only point in the software where you are able to manually adjust screen OSD
settings if you want to. If you choose "yes" to the above question then the
software jumps straight into the automated calibration process. If you choose no
(and we'll look at this shortly), you are asked to change brightness and
contrast settings via the OSD to help set up the screen correctly.
You are asked to place the device on the screen.
The Pantone Huey Pro is nice and light and the suction cups do a good job of
sticking to the screen. It's easy to position properly and there's no need for a
counter-weight behind the screen to keep it in place.
The calibration process is all automated and takes
approximately a minute. The background is switched between the red, blue and
green colours; before cycling through several shades of grey from a full black
to a full white. After this process you get a message saying the calibration was
successful and you are asked to put the device back in the cradle so it can
continue with the ambient light checks.
You are presented with the option to switch
between uncorrected and corrected states, so you can see yourself what
difference the device has made. The whole process is easy to follow and quick,
and I was pleased with the apparent correction the device had carried out.
Already the screen looked better to the naked eye in terms of colour levels, but
it still felt bright and over-bearing. You are presented with the option to name
and save your new calibrated ICC profile.
Testing The Success Of
The Calibration
Now we will test the screen with LaCie's device
and software again to establish how successful the calibration was:
Samsung XL20 -
Pantone Huey Calibrated
|
Pantone Huey Calibrated |
luminance (cd/m2) |
275 |
Black Point (cd/m2) |
0.51 |
Contrast Ratio |
539:1 |
The above result is pretty impressive! We have
gone from some quite shocking colour accuracy (thanks to my OSD fiddling) to
some very good results. Gamma had been adjusted to 2.1 from 1.8 previously, and
was close to the required 2.2 level. Colour temperature was fine before, and
remained within 2% of the desired 6500k here. Only luminance remained far too
high at 275 cd/m2, still way off the required 120 cd/m2.
The ambient light check hasn't really done much to adjust the brightness of the
screen and during calibration, nothing was altered at a LUT or profile level to
correct this. Black depth was still pretty poor at 0.51 cd/m2, and
contrast ratio was now 539:1.
While the Pantone Huey had not done much to
correct the luminance of the screen, it had worked wonders with the colour
accuracy. The average DeltaE was reduced from 9.3 to 1.0, which LaCie would
consider to represent excellent colour fidelity. Maximum DeltaE was only 1.9, a
vast improvement from 31.8 which we had recorded thanks to our messed up
settings before. A very promising result here, with only the lack of luminance
accuracy letting the package down.
The Calibration Process - Attempt 2
I wanted to see if it was possible to correct the
luminance of the screen as well now, so I returned to the calibration process.
This time when asked if the circles were well defined in the above image I chose
"no", and entered the manual adjustments stage of the package.
Here I was asked what colour temperature and gamma
I was aiming for, and if I wanted to enable the ambient light sensor. I now
chose to disable this function as I wanted to adjust the settings myself to see
if I could improve things.
I was guided through a couple of stages which
asked me to adjust the brightness and contrast settings. Contrast was set to
100% and brightness 50% in the first instance, before I was then asked to lower
contrast until two circles matched. This was a calibration process by eye, so
took a little bit of fiddling with the OSD settings. When I got to the next
stage, with contrast now set at 90%, I was asked to adjust the brightness (as
above shows) until the top and bottom half matched. This was not actually
possible, so I resorted to the recommended 75% as an alternative. Contrast was
now 90% and brightness 75%. I then proceeded through the rest of the automated
calibration process as before.
Testing The Success Of The Calibration -
Attempt 2
Now we will test the screen with LaCie's device
and software again to establish how successful the calibration was with some
manual configuration of the brightness and contrast settings:
Samsung XL20 -
Pantone Huey Calibrated with Manual OSD
Adjustments for Brightness and Contrast
|
Pantone Huey Calibrated |
luminance (cd/m2) |
192 |
Black Point (cd/m2) |
0.35 |
Contrast Ratio |
544:1 |
With my new manually configured brightness and
contrast settings, gamma was now corrected to 2.2 perfectly, and colour
temperature was adjusted a little and was now only 1% out from the required
setting (6587k). Luminance still remained a problem, but was improved a little
to 192 cd/m2, mostly because the OSD brightness was set now at 75%
instead of 100%. Black depth was improved from 0.51 cd/m2 to 0.35
cd/m2. Colour accuracy was improved slightly on average from 1.0 to
0.9 (dE 94).
The manual adjustments stage helped a little, and
should be used if you find the brightness of your screen to be too high. I
decided to adjust the brightness further and went through a further
calibration with the Pantone Huey device. I set it down to a much more
comfortable 45% (which I also knew to produce a luminance of ~120 cd/m2)
and tested the screen again with LaCie's software:
Samsung XL20 -
Pantone Huey Calibrated with Brightness @ 45%
|
Pantone Huey Calibrated |
luminance (cd/m2) |
144 |
Black Point (cd/m2) |
0.27 |
Contrast Ratio |
533:1 |
With a simple manual adjustment of the OSD
brightness setting to 45%, the luminance was corrected to a much more
comfortable 144 cd/m2 with colour accuracy remaining very good at dE
of 0.8. Gamma and colour temperature remained at a good setting as well.
Samsung XL20 - LaCie Calibrated Results
|
LaCie Blue Eye Pro
Calibrated Settings |
luminance (cd/m2) |
120 |
Black Point (cd/m2) |
0.27 |
Contrast Ratio |
444:1 |
As a
reminder of the results achievable with the LaCie device and software I have
copied the results from earlier on in this review above. While the Pantone Huey
did a good job of correcting the colours from a frankly appalling starting point
(deliberately), the LaCie device is capable of taking it just one step further.
dE can be adjusted from an average 0.8 to 0.4 with a higher end device and more
importantly, luminance, colour temperature and gamma can be easily and
accurately corrected.
Conclusion
I was impressed with the device itself as it was small and compact and easy to
use. The Hujey Pro did a very admirable job of correcting the colours from our
deliberately appalling starting point, something which I was impressed by. We
had carried out similar tests with the
DataColor Spyder2Express before and found the results to be less favourable
than with Pantone's colorimeter. The one problem with the device seemed to be
the difficulty it had in adjusting the luminance of the screen properly.
However, it's easy enough to get round this with some manual adjustments of the
OSD settings before you carry out the calibration process. I would recommend
setting the screen to a comfortable level for your eyes and then carrying out
the Pantone process from there.
Overall, it has been shown above that this is a quick, easy and successful
process and the device is capable of some decent results. Obviously the software
package lacks any reporting feature to allow you to verify this more clearly,
but you can be fairly confident that the calibrated settings are a nice
improvement to your screen, and colour accuracy is very good afterwards. For a
retail price of £85 GBP / $129 USD, the Pantone Huey Pro is well worth a look.