I have always loved a big screen. I mean, who doesn't. It was one of those things I always negotiated at my various workplaces. "Nah, I don't need one of those fancy Aeron chairs, but I do need a 21" monitor!" So, when, a few months ago, HP offered to send over a Dreamcolor LP2480zx display for me to try, I was quite excited! Especially since it was developed in collaboration with the DreamWorks Animation team. I LOVE their movies! :)
Now, I'm not a designer and generally the most I do in Photoshop is add a texture or text, maybe crop a picture or two (oh, though I did just learn how to use an inverse selection to make circular photos!), so I was concerned that I might not have a full appreciation of the Dreamcolor monitor. But I thought, hey, even I can appreciate how seeing a billion colours can make a difference!
Unpacking and Setup
The Dreamcolor arrived in a GIANT box. As you would expect. And it included every video cable known to humankind. Because it has 6 different video outputs: DVI-I (2), DisplayPort 1.1, HDMI 1.3, Component (YPbPr), S-Video, Composite. I'm on a MacBook Pro, so I'm using the DVI. It also comes with a USB cable because the monitor itself is a USB hub with 4 USB ports. SWEET! All the ports on my MPB are full w/ keyboard & mouse.
The setup was pretty easy. I definitely needed someone to help me attach the monitor to the stand. But once that happened, I just plugged that baby in, attached the DVI and turned it on.
Yay, it worked. We have display!
First, to get it adjusted to the right height. This was trickier than I thought. I read the quick start guide a couple of times and just could not figure it out while sitting in front of the monitor. I had to take the monitor off of my desk, put it on the floor and then by peering OVER it I could figure out how to adjust it. But once I did that, I could adjust it from its position on my desk. So this may speak more to the operator than the equipment :)
Fine-tuning
Remember how I mentioned I wasn't a designer? Yeah, well, the Dreamcolor comes with 7 color space presets - one that is user programmable plus six factory programmed: sRGB, Rec. 709, SMPTE-C, Adobe® RGB, DCI-P3 emulation (97%), full gamut. Now frankly, these don't mean anything to me. But apparently, if you're a production designer, these are a big deal! There is a great review of the Dreamcolor over at Trusted Reviews that goes into all of this in detail for those of you who are keen.
One thing I did appreciate, even as a novice, was the smartly-placed, easy-to-use adjustment panel. Nice and subtle set of buttons on the side. No fumbling around on the bottom of the monitor - finally, clearly marked buttons and intelligent menus. (Image from TrustedReviews)
Performance
Once I got the Dreamcolor all hooked up, I could not believe the amazing display. I was seeing things on interfaces I had never seen before - either because my current monitor (an Acer AL2223w) wasn't bright enough or its colour distinction wasn't sensitive enough.
To show the difference, I took external pictures of each monitor showing the same things. I have four test shots: a movie, my calendar and two different web pages. The conditions aren't perfect and I'm not the best photographer, but I think you'll see some of the differences. Oh, the one other differing factor in the two monitors was the resolution. I used the Dreamcolor in a 1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz setting; my Acer I use in a 1680 x 1050 @ 60 Hz setting. The Acer shot is on the left; the Dreamcolor is on the right.
This is a freeze frame from KungFu Panda. Obviously, the color is much richer and brighter. This is where I saw the biggest difference.
This is a shot of my laptop bag review site funchico.com Here I think you can really see the brightness of the Dreamcolor. Shows up in the contrast and in the brightness of colours like the pinks and greens. So many more subtleties.
This is my dashboard over at Squidoo. I could really see the contrast between different shades.
This is my calendar in Entourage. With the Acer, I never saw that the current day was a different colour than the other days.
Oh, the other amazing thing about the Dreamcolor - it let's me go vertical, baby! This, was AWESOME!
Photo from HP's "PersonalAgain" Flickr Account
Sum-Up
Now, since having experienced the Dreamcolor, I have tinkered with my Acer and have improved some of the brightness and contrast issues. But it doesn't come close to the Dreamcolor. But of course, it doesn't cost as much as the Dreamcolor does either. I think I paid $250 for my Acer; the Dreamcolor is over 10 times that cost. HOWEVER, if I were a designer, I wouldn't hesitate to pay it. It is a stunning, beautiful, visually dreamy display. I do miss it, pretty much every day. The prices have come down by about 1/3 in the US, but not in Canada yet. I'm hoping once they release the next model, I can pick up an older version at a lower cost. But, in any case, I loved this monitor - many thanks to the folks at HP who lent me a copy to try. You've ruined me for all other monitors now :)
Note: the very kind and generous folks at HP also sent over a workstation (we were concerned I wouldn't be able to sufficiently test it with my Mac), but I didn't really have the space or time to set it up the additional workstation. But many thanks to HP for thinking of it!