MBP, External Display, and Calibration

Jaytron · Apr 28, 2010

Hi all,

I'm new to the mac world and I have a MBP on order. I plan on using an external display for part-time editing. Will I run into issues calibrating my monitor if I get a cheaper third party display? I don't really want to shell out $900 for an Apple display.

Any advice as to how to get calibration right on both the laptop and the display itself?

Village Idiot · Apr 28, 2010

Make sure the monitor has an IPS panel and not a TN. That's going to be the biggest factor. That and good calibration hardware. I used the Spyder Pro 3.

And for a little more than $900, you could get a 30" HP, so don't waste the money on an ACD.

Jaytron · Apr 28, 2010

Village Idiot said:
Make sure the monitor has an IPS panel and not a TN. That's going to be the biggest factor. That and good calibration hardware. I used the Spyder Pro 3.

And for a little more than $900, you could get a 30" HP, so don't waste the money on an ACD.

Sorry, I'm a bit ignorant when selecting a "good" monitor. What is IPS and TN? I'm looking for something around 24" and hopefully around $200~$300

I have a Spyder3Express, will that be sufficient? I'm guessing not, since the Pro can support multiple displays, whereas the express cannot.

Village Idiot · Apr 28, 2010

It should work fine.

IPS and TN are panel types and they're easy to spot in the wild. TN and similar panels have usually very fast refresh rates but very bad viewing angles. Move your head 6 inches in any direction and you'll see color shift. They're also impossible to truly calibrate from what I've read.

Price is usually noticable as well. A 24" IPS display will probably run you $300-$400, iirc.

Jaytron · Apr 28, 2010

Village Idiot said:
It should work fine.

IPS and TN are panel types and they're easy to spot in the wild. TN and similar panels have usually very fast refresh rates but very bad viewing angles. Move your head 6 inches in any direction and you'll see color shift. They're also impossible to truly calibrate from what I've read.

Price is usually noticable as well. A 24" IPS display will probably run you $300-$400, iirc.

One thing that bugs me:

If I calibrate the laptop for the external display, will I have to recalibrate again if I want to use the laptop on its own?

Village Idiot · Apr 28, 2010

Unless the software will support 2 monitors. I don't recall if it does or not.

Jaytron · Apr 28, 2010

Village Idiot said:
Unless the software will support 2 monitors. I don't recall if it does or not.

Ah ok, the express doesn't. I may have to shell out extra money for a new one then.