Vertical banding normal for NEC p221W?

[roger_smith4]

<p>I have a NEC p221w monitor and am trying to determine whether the banding I see in artificial gradients is normal behavior or not. The helpful NEC tech support staff tell me it's not what for an IPS display would look like (the p221 is a PVA) and are willing to exchange the monitor, but I don't want to do that if it's inherent to this type of screen. I don't see any such artifacts on an old CRT or cheap office TN display I use.<br>

<br />The monitor is calibrated using Spectraview II software and an Eye One Display 1 puck. I've also calibrated using the Eye One match software and looked at it after a factory reset and for gradients it looks the same to me.<br /><br /><br />I see bands with artifical gradients, both self-created in Photoshop, when using the vignetting tool in Lightroom and with the test images NEC ships Spectraview with. I don't see it on real world photographs.</p>

<p>Here are several files demonstrating the issue. Please ignore moire waves that I couldn't figure out how to avoid- the issue I care about are clear, sharp vertical bands.<br /><br />http://jingai.com/phototests/IMG_8678.jpg<br />http://jingai.com/phototests/IMG_8697.jpg<br />http://jingai.com/phototests/IMG_8698.jpg</p>

<p>Thank you for any insights. If you have a p221 yourself, open Spectraview and hit Control-T to go to the test patterns.</p>

[frans_waterlander]

<p>Roger,<br>

What is the test pattern you are using? If the pattern is not a smooth gradient than what you see on the monitor won't be a smooth gradient. In terms of this particular issue, you wouldn't see any difference between an NEC PVA or IPS monitor.</p>

[alan_goldhammer]

<p>I have the same monitor and I suspect the links you post are not a good test of the monitor. I have a number of test prints that show no such banding but they are high resolution TIFFs. See <a href="http://www.outbackprint.com/printinginsights/pi049/essay.html"><strong>Jack Flesher's</strong></a> test print for an example. When I open this in either Photshop or Lightroom the gradients are perfectly smooth.</p>

[roger_smith4]

<p>Thanks for weighing in. The test patterns are smooth grayscale and color wedges from NEC. I can also make my own wedge using Photoshop's gradient map tool, going from black to white. There are visible steps when viewed on this monitor but not a cheap TN one.<br /><br />I personally use Outback Photo's test print and have for years: http://www.outbackprint.com/printinginsights/pi049/essay.html<br /><br />I have it open in CS3. While there is no banding visible when printed I see vertical lines on the B&W gradient with this monitor. This is my first LCD monitor after a few CRTs and I didn't have any issues before.</p>

[alan_goldhammer]

<p>I just looked at the same image (which is what I linked to in my post) in LR3 and saw no banding in either the B&W gradient or any of the color gradients.</p>

[roger_smith4]

<p>Thanks Alan. So you don't see any banding even when you zoom in? I guess mine might be defective.</p>

[will_hollingworth]

<p>Some banding and crossovers (alternating red/green shading in a grayscale) are normal on the P221W, especially in the darker tones and when looking at an angle. This is an artifact of the PVA panel and 10 bit processing in the display. To get rid of banding you really need a display with 12 bit processing, and an IPS panel such as the LCD90 or PA series.</p>

[roger_smith4]

<p>To make things a bit weirder I notice less banding when using the VGA cable vs DVI.<br>

When in DVI mode switching expansion (under menu/tools) from "none" to "full" significantly reduces this problem, to the point that it isn't an issue anymore for me.<br /><br />I'm starting to wonder if my graphics card (aging laptop Mobility Radeon 9600) is also to blame.</p>