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    VASC options, or, Practical screen quality tests

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by dandv, Feb 17, 2011.

  1. dandv

    dandv Notebook Consultant

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    Notebook review sites conduct all sorts of sophisticated screen tests, but I found four problems with these:

    1. It's often impossible to reproduce these tests on a laptop in a store without high-tech equipment
    2. Can't really relate to them unless you carry around a list of reference values or a mental image of what a value looks like to you
    3. They're not that relevant. If you like a screen, that's more important than its cd/m^2 number or Adobe RGB percent.
    4. Other tests are prone to subjective interpretations (e.g. how "vibrant" colors are), and useless unless the same person compares notebooks side by side with the same settings (maximum brightness at the very least).

    My question is: what are your practical ways of testing the quality of a screen in a store? Putting the same image in full screen would be one (which image?).

    I posted in this thread about a neat test I found for vertical viewing angles. It's a yes/no test (no subjective interpretation), very easy to conduct, and doesn't require any special hardware. If a screen fails this test, that can be quite (financially) relevant if you use certain applications and don't see a particular color.

    What other tests do people use?
     
    dandv, Feb 17, 2011
    #1
  2. tilleroftheearth

    tilleroftheearth Wisdom listens quietly...

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    Go to this site:

    See:
    test images for printing and lens resolution


    Download a B/W and Colour test image (full resolution).

    DO NOT EDIT THESE IMAGES IN ANY WAY.

    Take to a professional printer (camera store) and make an 8x10 image from each file. Tell them to 'PRINT AS-IS, NO 'AUTO' ADJUSTMENTS NEEDED'.

    When you get the prints back; take a usb stick with the images you downloaded, along with the prints you just got back and go and compare monitors. :)

    This test is an eye opener for many people on what they thought was a 'good' monitor before they compared to the printed output.

    Keep in mind that no monitor will look identical to the prints (a factor of reflected light (print) vs. projected light (monitor)). But it will be easy to see gross irregularities in screens within a few seconds.

    When doing this test, ensure that the screen you're comparing the print to has been on for at least 20 to 30 minutes (60 minutes + preferred).

    Good luck.
     
    tilleroftheearth, Feb 17, 2011
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