NEC P221W Calibration Dilemma

[kitjv]

I hope that my question is appropriate for this forum.

I plan to purchase an NEC P221W monitor for post processing. Although NEC offers their SpectraView II hardware/software bundle to calibrate this wide-gamut monitor, I would prefer to have a colorimeter that I could use on my other monitors as well.

Has anyone used a 3rd-party unit (e.g. the i1Display2 or the Spyder3) to accurately calibrate the P221W? If so, is it preferable to use the puck w/ NEC's SpectraView II software?

Thank you so much for your help.

 

[Iron Flatline]

All I can add here is that I like the Spyder, but color calibration is a big issue... once you start, you never really have the sense you're getting it right. Get it close, I assume the other tools will work if the monitor has decent adjustment systems.

 

[Soocom1]

NEC is not known for making a bad product. keep in mind that color calibration is not just with the monitor either. Think about the room, windows, printer output, etc.

As for 3rd. party calibration, Spyder is decent enough, and I am sure there are probably others that do as well. bottom line, go with what you feel you can afford and work with. But as I always warn, just because you read a good review, doesnt make it so for you. Youll have to play with it.

 

[wiredhernandez]

I just went through the same.. Picked up the spyder3 express... There is nothing fancy it will run through some tests and build a profile to run on your system. The app will always run in the background as it adjusts for you (builds a profile).. No user tweak of the monitor settings.. I have used the same on all my monitors... It will want to re calibrate periodically. I think it is good enough for 95% of users who dont want to spend big bucks for even more reliable results...

 

[kitjv]

Thank you, everyone, for your comments.

After contacting NEC, Datacolor & Xrite, here is the info I received:

Xrite: their Eye One Display 2 is not designed for wide-gamut displays like the NEC P221W.

Datacolor: their Spyder3 is compatible w/ the wide-gamut NEC P221W display, especially when used with NEC's SpectraView II software.

NEC: their proprietary SpectraView II hardware/software combination is recommended (of course!).

So, for me, the big question is this: Can I expect the same calibration accuracy results with the Spyder3/ SV II software combination as with the SV II hardware/software?