30 inch HP monitor. What do you think?

Newegg.com - HP ZR30w Black 30" 2560 x 1600 7ms Height &Swivel Adjustable Widescreen LCD Monitor w/USB Ports 370 cd/m2 DC 3,000:1

I was wondering what you guy's think of this monitor? Is it good quality? From what i read it seems to be really good but i don't know what else is on the market. I am looking for a 16:10 or soemthing with atleast xxxx:1200+ Also will this monitor have bad ghosting? Also i was looking into an image calibrator and came across this review. What do you guy's think about it?

Monitor calibration tool reviews

 

Read the full review.

 

It's a very good display. One of the best ones out there. If you get it, you should make sure you also have the hardware to run it... it won't run right off of a VGA input, and I think you need at least a DL-DVI output to drive it at that resolution, or DisplayPort. That's not terribly common on most laptops.

 

cool thx for the review also what about ghosting? does it have good enough response times?

 

Check the reviews. Many of them say it's good for gaming, and as an IPS it should be great color accuracy. The reviewers on Newegg tend to have very good comments. Just search those reviews for "game" or "gaming"

 

thx will do. Also is there anyother monitors that contend with that?

 

Not sure. I know Dell makes some good IPS displays last I heard, but I haven't really been in the market so I haven't done any research lately.

 

oh isn't there a dvi-hdmi convertor that i can buy?

 

As long as your HDMI output is version 1.3 or higher you should be ok, and you'll probably have to get an HDMI->DL-DVI cable.

 

Your laptop output has to support dual link DVI output, or DisplayPort. Not sure if HDMI supports anything above 1920x1200.

 

If your laptop has HDMI 1.3 then you should be able to do WQXGA, 2,560×1,600 but your laptop might still not support more than 1920 x 1080p over HDMI. So you'll definitely have to get a HDMI to Dual Link DVI as HDMI to DisplayPort converters seem a tad expensive.

 

gotcha also i read that doign converting like that adds processed lag right? If so i will just wait a while longer and get this/the next best thign when i build a desktop in the coming year or so

EDIT:Also i got a g51j and it has horrible ghosting. I am blind as a bat and i cna see it clear as day when in an RTS liek supreme commander and i am scrolling. I assume this is much faster than the LCD screen on my g51j right? if so can anyone ball park a %?

 

Simply put, your 15.6" LCD doesn't compare to a 22" LCD not to mention a 30". They use different tech so that would be apples to oranges.

However, a 30" LCD is usually top of the line everything. So i'd expect to not see those issues you have a cheapo 15" LCD.

 

I just checked Nvidia's site, and they list the maximum resolution output of the GeForce 260M in your g51j as 2048x1536. So no matter what you won't be able to use that 30" monster.

If you need a new monitor now, I'd check for something in the 20"-25" range that's inexpensive and has good reviews, and buy that 30" behemoth when you get your desktop if you still even need it. That thing will run at 100DPI, which given your "blind as a bat" comment means that it may be huge overkill. For just gaming, you really don't need IPS. IPS is mostly beneficial for photography work and wide viewing angles. If you want a big screen, you may consider just getting a big TV instead of a computer monitor.

 

true but i am a fan of buying quality and going overboard ^^
edit:also i remember back in the day cards even budget cards supporting higher resolutions higher than that

 

The chip itself is more than powerful enough to support it. But the connections it has aren't able to, due to it being a mobile GPU. A GeForce 205 bottom-rung, OEM-only desktop card supports 2560x1600. Even the GeForce 9300 desktop motherboard integrated GPU will push it. The problem is that you're trying to get a mobile GPU to do something it doesn't have the interfaces to handle.

 

HDMI can't support that?

 

Not the way they have it implemented. HDMI doesn't have that kind of bandwidth until at least version 1.3, and you still need the BIOS and various other clocks and such on the card to support it. HDMI was and is designed to be used for A/V transfer for movies and audio, a single-cable connection. As current video is pretty much limited to 1080p, HDMI was designed to that.

For computers, that's not enough. That's why DL-DVI, DVI and DisplayPort were invented. Some laptops have those connections, like my business-centric Dell E6410, various Macs that are often used by graphics professionals who use screens like that, and so on. Your gaming-centric, consumer-grade g51j does not.

It's like being upset that you can't haul a 5000lb trailer with a Ferrari, even though it has a bigger engine than most trucks. The rest of the system just isn't designed for it.

 

gotcha...i just don't understand why they even made HDMI when DVI was already better.....

 

HDMI sends audio along with the video. DVI is video only. HDMI gives you a single cable for pushing 8 audio channels along with high-def video, and they also bunged HDCP on top of it. HDMI is also a superior design for a connector that's designed for being plugged and unplugged multiple times. Different cables and connections for different purposes.

 

DVI also does audio too....i have seen it send audio too but i think its a little quorky though. Like only if a video card supports it

 

No, it doesn't do audio. DVI is video only, period. Some older cards used to do it, but it wasn't DVI standard, it was a proprietary hack that required a proprietary adapter to split it back out to an HDMI connector, which was the only way to get the audio back out.

 

interesting....

 

The only contender and perhaps superior to the HP ZR30W that is readibly available in the USA is the Dell U3011, which is the latest revision of the Dell 3008WFP.
(There is the Hazro 30" IPS that uses the same panel as the 3008WFP/ZR30W/U3011, while the U311 is better then the Hazro revision the Hazro monitor has far tighter quality control, HOWEVER is unavailable in the USA and is European only (though I believe I've heard of them SOMETIMES coming up in Canadian resellers).

The Dell U3011 uses the same panel the 3008WFP and HP ZR30W, however it uses the latest version which added slightly better specifications and has better factory preset modes (better calibrated) compared to the 3008WFP, though if I am not mistaken the better preset modes are on behalf of Dell, not LG.

Personally between the ZR30W and the HP U3011, I would go for the Dell U3011* because of it's better factory calibrated settings.

Just to be clear all, once again, all three: the Dell 3008WFP, HP ZR30W, and Dell U3011 use the same panel by LG, only difference is the U3011 uses a newer revision.

 

Dell ZR30W?

Not clear at all.

 

U3011* shush you, honest mistake =[

 

Honest and funny!

Now comes in 'accurate' and 'clear' too!

 

wow thx for that info thats good to know. I always wanted to buy a color calibrator but never had a good enough reason to blow 400 bucks... :/ If/when i buy this i will buy a calibator for sure. Maybe subsidize it by offer others to use it for 5-10 bucks a monitor ^^

 

KSD, you could do that, but as far as I know, against the Terms of Use of most consumer level calibrators.

 

To make it more clear the biggest issue would be the software which will likely be licensed to original purchaser, which would not be against the law to break just against EULA.

 

So i can't take the ColorEyes Display and use it to calibrate my friends monitor for 10 bucks?

EDIT:if i had a friend with one i would pay him ten bucks in a heartbeat to calibrate my stuff. Unfortantely, I am the geekiest person i know :/

 

If you do it personally, you can bypass Eula since YOU are the purchaser and the Eula will more then likely not limit you to one monitor (whether yours or not).

 

Whats the point of buying a new one for every monitor? Who would sell such a worthless product? How does anandtech calibrate theirs? buy a new product each time?

 

You can calibrate as many monitors as you own. Connected to your own systems.

To charge for installing the software and then to calibrate the monitors on other's systems is what is questionable.

And correct; maybe not technically 'illegal', but contrary to the EULA nevertheless.

The sticking point is that many hardware/software calibration systems need to be activated/registered before you can perform any calibration with them.

On the 5/6th system you activate, you may find that the software may not work on your own systems anymore. (Just guessing - I do not know what they will actually do).

 

Which is why he can calibrate his friend's external monitors on his own computer, and for laptops tell them their SOL (like they are most of the time anyways).

Also he can use the calibration device for ANY monitor, whether he owns it or not. This is something under USA courts, just because you buy a wrench doesn't mean you can't use it on your friend's car. The software it self is a little different in terms of how many times you can install it, and where (some software has unlimited installs, most however don't).
Now as far as software goes, Tiller is 100% right, all calibration software I have encountered needed activation and the SOFTWARE is not actually yours but is licensed therefore installing it on another computer could break EULA, and maybe some laws if you are charging.

However if you were to leave it installed on YOUR computer and calibrate other's monitors with your computer it is 100% safe and without breaking EULA. Even if it says in the EULA that you cannot use it on other monitors but your very own, that would NOT hold in court and you will be allowed to use it even if it is licensed software thus the EULA's terms would be negated.

 

Crimsoned, while you are technically correct, the profile generated on a monitor attached to my system is worth $0.00 on any other system it will be used on - except unless it exactly matches my hardware (and even then there will be differences - that's why calibration is necessary!).

Also, you still need the calibration software to properly load the profile you created - so again, a big (big enough!) show stopper that will make paying even $10 the rip-off of the century.

Finally, a monitor needs to be re-calibrated over time. Most quality monitors do not show a difference over a few weeks, but over a 4, 6 or 12 month period, a monitor that is being used daily will need re-calibration to give the best output it possibly can.

(Although most users would see it as a waste of time if they did a before/after comparison on the monitor itself; to anyone needing accurate tonal values - especially across different media (screen, print, etc.) this re-calibration is recommended at least weekly on a heavily used monitor).

 

Last I checked calibration should be saved in ICC profiles, the actual hardware of the computer should not matter once you load up an ICC profile. Hm it's been a while since I have dabbled in calibration, and I mean a while but I am fairly certain the profiles should be saved as ICC. What really matters is that individual monitor.

Yeah monitors do need to be calibrated once in a while, but I don't think it's every a few weeks. Specially if you left the monitor to warm up for at least 30 minutes before calibrating it as you are suppose to.

Also I think it too would be a waste of time, most people do not appreciate the difference between calibrated and non calibrated. In fact I have noticed people prefer saturated colors over natural colors.

 

you both make good points but i thought when you calibrate it it just sets the colors to green 80 blue 85 red 75 or whatever. Also why would the monitor change from computer to computer? unless it saves the calibration on the computer and it calibrates it by changing colors in the gpu and not the monitor. Now i can see that with the HP Zxxxx whatever because it has no OSD so i think it just adjusts the gpu settings and not the monitor. Also if it changed from computer to computer does that mean u can't calibrate a HDTV? or is it situational. If it has an OSD and rgb color control does it save the settings on the monitor/TV? but if it has no OSD does it set the settings in the gpu? Also does this work on CRTs? Also would that work on my laptop? If so i would also calibrate that too ^^

 

You are not calibrating just the monitor (no such thing).

You are calibrating the video card, the drivers and the monitor - along with anything else in-between those.

Yes, it is saved as an ICC profile, but the profile generated is specific to the system it was generated on.

 

ok....so what about HDTVs and CRTs?

 

That doesn't make sense at all actually.
You do not need to calibrate using the video card if you are using ICC on an external monitor.
If you calibrate using the video card's settings, that will screw up the ICC and enable the video card's own color adjustment system. While you could set up the ICC to do some adjustments then the video card to use other adjustments to finalize the calibration, why would anyone do that (complicated much) when just using the monitor's built in controller (adjust contrast/brightness, sometimes other touches here and there) and ICC profile would be far easier.
For laptops this isn't always the case because the laptop's LCD is limited in options so the video card becomes the best way since using ICC is near impossible since you cannot adjust contrast/brightness via the LCD's own control, so the only thing left is the video card from which to my understanding does not yield as good of results, however I am unsure as to the accuracy of this statement.

In the end if you are indeed using the ICC profile, you will only be touching two things: The ICC profile, usable in any Windows computer (XP and newer iirc) and the second is the monitor's own settings through it's menu (Brightness/contrast).

 

Doesn't the color eye display auto adjust everything for you? or is it a manual adjustment process? Also the HP Zxxxx doesn't have an OSD so it can only do contrast and brightness so does the Color eye display just adjust the gpu/windows?

 

Oh that's right, so I guess video card settings will need to be configured. However point still stands you should be fine with most other monitors if you were to calibrate them for friends.

 

ok thanks....still what about HDTVs....if i bought this 400 dollar thing i would calibrate my dads HDTV and my friends

 

Most HDTV's have certain settings locked, and can only be access by a certified technician. Calibrating a TV is possible, and you can get more natural colors but there is a limit.

 

Crimsoned, you're way off in left field here.

You do not calibrate a monitor - you calibrate a monitor on a specific system, with a specific driver and a specific video card.

I said nothing about using the video cards drivers software settings for calibration.

Try to follow this example:

A program (lets say PS CS5), outputs 128, 128, 128 to the screen.

That output is fed into:

1) the specific driver installed,
2) passed onto the video card and
3) then transferred to the monitor
4) which then attempts to output the original PS output desired.

1-4 above are all part of the chain of the system that needs to be calibrated.

Any one of those cannot be switched out at whim and still expect the monitors output to be 'calibrated'.

1) The driver takes the display request from PS and indicates to the video card what it wants.

2) The video card then takes that request and outputs what it thinks PS requested.

3) The monitor's electronics then accepts the video card's requests and drives the monitor as best as it knows how.

4) The monitor's screen now attempts to display what PS originally requested, as requested with as little deviation as possible with the multiple translations the original request has gone through (but note, the monitor itself does not know that PS asked for '128,128,128').


Each of the 4 simplified steps above are variables that the calibration process tries to even out.

When you change one or more of these variables, then the system as a whole is not calibrated. No matter if it makes sense to you or not.

As to calibrating HDTV's, the monitor/drivers/OS/video card is all in one and not in-separable, like a computer system is.

You will need a specific (to TV's) calibrator software and/or a hardware 'puck' though. Just because you can calibrate a computer monitor does not mean that that same software/device will calibrate a TV also (at least, it won't calibrate it optimally, if it can at all).

 

Very well I will see if I can borrow my friend's color calibrator, again and I will test this out, even though I know it to be true since I've used my Dell U2211H with multiple setups. Honestly the only fair point that can be brought up in uniqueness is the environment in which it is calibrated, but this isn't something that can be matched 100%, and your environment is bound to change as your light source begins to loose it's efficiency.

1. Driver=ICC profile. Not sure if you knew this but the driver is typically a config file that comes with a few ICC profiles that tells the computer what ICC profile to use for what input. (See this dell "Driver"- which if there is no driver or if the icc is not setup it uses a generic one from who knows when)
2. As far as I know the video card will not do diddly squat to color settings unless it is configured to do so, it will simply relay that same signal to the LVDS (In other words the GPU does NOT do any color processing, which is exactly why there is certain lag in LCD's due to the LVDS board on the monitor when using VGA DVI HDMI compared to using Display Port (Bypasses LVDS and goes straight to the controller, really cool stuff, not that it's perceptible to the eye anyways lol).
3. The monitor does not have an image board as a TV does, so it does no "Color processing", if you mean LVDS (FDP or FPD I forget the right term) making errors that is something it will do calibrated, or not and is irrelevant to the topic since it is moot point. Typically the controllers/parts used in higher end panels are very good, and I have yet to hear it become a problem in calibration.
4. You mean the LVDS? Then the controller(I forget if LCD's utilize multiple controllers for different functions as most TV's I have seen use) used for controlling the a few functions/pixels (Something which is absolutely UNTOUCHABLE, well not absolutely but pretty damn near difficult).

In the end what matters in the settings on the monitor itself (typically brightness/contrast), and the ICC profile.

 

I can't find any information, whether my notebook has hdmi 1.3. I have an Asus V1V-AK008E with a ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650. My Notebook has a VGA and a HDMI Output.
With a DVI - HDMI adapter i can't get the max resolution (oh my new HP ZR30).

Do you know, whether I can do something, to get the max resolution with my notebook?

When I buy a 30'' Dell screen with 2560x1600 that has hdmi connection - would this work with my notebook?

 

Have you tried the VGA connection? I know it's old tech and blasphemy to speak of those here, but you might be surprised. I didn't notice much of a difference at all when I went from having my 23" monitor connected via VGA to having it connected via DVI.

 

Hmm, I just got a 23 inch monitor, using vga right now. I was thinking of getting a displayport -> hdmi adapter and trying it, but if the quality difference wont be noticeable, might not be worth it then... I don't know what the difference between hdmi and dvi is though quality-wise, they are both digital.