ASUS ProArt PA246Q 24" Monitor

[Matthew Cairns]

Has anyone had (or plan to have) experiences with this monitor - particularly for colour correction? It appears to be similar to the Dell U2410.

[John Peterson]

Read the User Reviews here:

Newegg.com - ASUS ProArt Series PA246Q Black 24.1" 6ms P-IPS Height/Swivel/Pivot Adjustable LCD Monitor w/2 USB hub, Card Reader & Display port 400cd/m2 50000:1 DCR

Professional Reviews here:

ASUS PA246Q ProArt 24” IPS Monitor Review

Asus PA246Q ProArt 24-Inch LCD Monitor Review - HotHardware

John

[Matthew Cairns]

Cheers John,

I have read so many reviews of this product (including your suggestions) but no information from video editors. It's a pretty new product and aimed at graphic designers - hopefully someone may soon comment on its performance/ colour accuracy with regards to video.

[John Peterson]

Considering the price ($439 on sale here), it seems like it might be worth a shot. Personally, I use an external JVC CRT Professional 15 inch monitor for color calibration. It also allows me to see the effects of what I am producing on an interlaced display without having to use a television.

However, for computing I cannot stand 16:9 displays. This one is 16:10.

John

[Matthew Cairns]

I am a graphic designer (as well as working with video - currently working on a documentary with a dvd as output - not for broadcast) who has experience with a calibrated CRT monitor for print output. For what its worth I am also a musician with experience with audio monitors & their use for critical listening.

Due to budget I am working with my CRT as main graphic design/video editor display - I also have a 14" domestic CRT TV I use for basic check of image and then also check output on large LCD TV.

It's hard to know which display is best for critical judgements. DVD's these days can be watched on computers (LCD or CRT) or TV's (CRT, LCD, Plasma,3D....) so I'm looking for a good monitor that is going to help with judging colour & brightness (and of course resolution). The ASUS seems the one at this stage but would be good to hear of its performance in video.

Cheers

[Bruce Watson]

Originally Posted by Matthew Cairns

I have read so many reviews of this product (including your suggestions) but no information from video editors. It's a pretty new product and aimed at graphic designers - hopefully someone may soon comment on its performance/ colour accuracy with regards to video.

If it doesn't support the Rec. 709 colorspace (HDTV) or the Rec. 601 colorspace (SD) then it's not going to make a very good monitor for critical grading. There are a lot of reasons for this, including definitions of black and white points, gamma (contrast index), gamut width, etc.

There are a handful of computer monitors that support one or both of the digital TV colorspaces. There are several in the Eizo line IIRC, and the HP Dreamcolor monitor supports both. Unfortunately, none of the computer monitors that support TV colorspaces are, um, cheap.

[Ron Chau]

Hello Bruce.

Assuming the final output will be Blu-Ray displayed on an HDTV and a limited budget of under $1000, is it better to color grade on a consumer HDTV or a computer monitor ? I am using Adobe Premiere 5.5 which apparently outputs the correct color space without the need for a I/O box. One person suggested the Asus ProArt monitor, but your comment about the lack of REC colorspace support seems to indicate this is not a good choice.

I understand, neither is a good choice, but which is the lesser of 2 evils ? A consumer HDTV or a computer monitor that does not support REC 709 ? Is it feasible to calibrate or adjust the HDTV and/or computer monitor to make them work better for my application ?

[Brian Tori]

Ron,

Sometimes these forums can cause more confusion than is necessary. I'll try to help you the best I can in providing you with answers to your questions.

Your destination is HDTV which uses the 709 specification for color gamut. HDTV's are supposed to be calibrated at the factory to conform to this specification. This is where alot of variation can occur. Some panels like professional models are spot on in their color reproduction, and some budget models are not so accurate. This is where research into various models plays a role. Computer monitors on the other hand contain a native display gamut. This can be a wide gamut or the more common standard or sRGB gamut. Whatever the gamut though, to get it to confom to the 709 video gamut requires hardware calibration by a tool like the SpyderElite.

The answer to your question about what type of panel is best is that as long as it is properly calibrated to 709 it really doesn't matter. With a HDTV you'll be paying for a tuner which you may not need. And with a computer monitor, you'll need to purchase a calibrator.

[Ron Chau]

Thanks Brian.

My workstation with Adobe Premiere is still being built. Since I already have an small HDTV, I will try it as is before making a decision. I can view my finished video on several consumer HDTV's to see if there are any glaring problems.

Right now I am editing on Sony Vegas without an I/O box and I constantly have to render out to check color, contrast, brightness. What looks good in Vegas preview looks oversaturated and contrasty after render to HDTV.

I do need to upgrade my computer monitor too, so getting the Asus is a possibility. Maybe using the Asus for grading internet/Vimeo video and the HDTV for Blu-Ray.

Thanks again.

[Matthew Cairns]

So is it correct if using a computer monitor:

(i) download the 709 icc profile (Adobe calls it HDTV (rec 709) actual file is VideoHD.icc I think) and select it as the monitor color profile

(ii) don't save the project files with the color profile assigned (if working in Premier/ Affter Effects)

??

[Bruce Watson]

Originally Posted by Ron Chau

Assuming the final output will be Blu-Ray displayed on an HDTV and a limited budget of under $1000, is it better to color grade on a consumer HDTV or a computer monitor?

For the color grading to be accurate, you need to grade on a display that shows you the Rec. 709 colorspace. Hardly any computer monitors do this. But all HDTVs do this (to some degree or other). So I would think that an HDTV would be a better choice.

That said, if you get your HDTV professionally calibrated then it should be quite a high quality color grading solution, especially at the level we are discussing here.

[John Peterson]

If you are using any sRGB or AdobeRGB settings, the contrast is fixed on this monitor. Brightness is all that needs to be adjusted.

John

[Steve Kalle]

No matter which device used, you must calibrate to these settings for HD video:
Brightness=120cd/m2
Gamma=2.2
Color Temp=6500k (aka D65)
Color Space=Rec 709

Just because an HDTV is set to Rec 709 at the factory does NOT mean it is good for monitoring. For anything remotely accurate, I would only recommend professionally calibrated plasmas as large HDTV monitoring.

[Matthew Cairns]

Steve,

They are quite exact settings - can you explain their origin?

Thanks