NEC Spectraview 3090 Users Manual

							51	 |	SPECTRAVIEW	II 	- 	USER’S 	GUIDE
10	
Mul\fiSync	PA	Series	Informa\fion
The  SpectraView  II  software  supports  the  MultiSync  PA231W,  PA241W,  PA271W  and  PA301W  monitors.  These 
models  feature  a  custom-designed  color  processor  called  the  SpectraView  Engine. This  sophisticated  processor, 
combined with internal luminance, temperature and time monitoring of the monitor, and individual characterization 
and calibration of each unit during production, results in an unparalleled level of color control, accuracy and stability.
When SpectraView II is used to calibrate these models: 
•	The 5th of the 5 selectable Picture Modes is always automatically selected and used to store the 
calibration made by SpectraView II. 
•	The Custom 3 memory location is always used to store the calibration.  This location will be automatically 
named SpectraViewII. 
•	The Color Gamut of the display can be adjusted by configuring the Target and re-calibrating.
•	The SpectraView II software can be used together with the NEC MultiProfiler software. When MultiProfiler 
is used with SpectraView II, the ICC/ColorSync profile generated by SpectraView will always be activated by 
MultiProfiler when the Picture Mode calibrated by SpectraView II is selected. For all other Picture Modes, the 
ICC/ColorSync profiles generated by MulitProfiler will be used.
•	The number of Calibration and Profile steps (set in the Preferences) does not increase or decrease the 
accuracy of the grayscale calibration or ICC/ColorSync profile when calibrating the display . This is because 
the monitor’s internal calibration is used. 
•	Communications with the display can be via either DDC/CI or USB. To use USB, connect a USB cable 
between the host PC and one of the USB inputs on the display. Make sure the correct USB input is selected 
on the OSD, or using the MultiProfiler application. On the Mac OS version of SpectraV iew II, the USB 
connection will automatically be used when detected. On the Windows version, the USB connection can be 
manually selected using the Display Configuration dialog.
The MultiProfiler software is available for free from NEC at www.necdisplay.com/multiprofiler. 
  
						

							52	 |	SPECTRAVIEW	II 	- 	USER’S 	GUIDE
Glossary
Achromatic – Neutral in color (having no hue).
Additive Primaries – Red, green, and blue light that when combined in different relative inten-
sities produces different colors. (See also Subtractive Primaries)
Backlight – the internal light source for a Liquid Crystal Display, such as fluorescent lamps or 
array of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes).
Black body – A hypothetical object that absorbs all incident radiation, thus any radiation (e.g. 
light) coming from a blackbody must be emitted from it and not reflected.
Blackbody Radiator Locus – The curved formed when the color of light radiated from a black-
body is plotted at different temperatures on a color space such as CIE xy. 
Black Level – The luminance or “brightness” of black when displayed on the screen. 
Calibration – The process of bringing a device such as a display monitor to an absolute stan-
dard to ensure consistency over time and with other similarly calibrated devices.
Candelas (cd) – An international unit of light intensity. Luminance can be described in units of 
Candelas per meter squared (cd/m²) but is often referred to as just Candelas or Nits for sake of 
brevity.
CIE – The Commission Internationale d’Eclairage (International Commission on Illumination). 
An organization that sets many of the standards used in color and color measurement.
CIE Lab – A color space that is relative to a reference white point. The L value represents light-
ness, a represents Red/Green and b represents Yellow/Blue. Lab is almost perceptually uni-
form in that differences between colors expressed in Lab correlate to equally perceived color 
differences.
CIE uv chromaticity coordinates – Coordinates in the CIE uv color space which are derived 
directly from CIE xyY color space. CIE uv is more perceptually uniform than CIE xy.
CIE xy chromaticity coordinates – Coordinates in the CIE xyY color space representing color 
independent of luminance. 
CIE xyY – A standard color space in which the Y component represents luminance. The x and 
y components represent color.
Color Gamut – (See Gamut)
Colorimeter – An optical measurement device used to measure color that responds to light by 
separating it into red, green, and blue components.
Color Management System (CMS) – Software used to control the handling of color between 
scanner, monitor, and printer. ColorSync is an example of a CMS used on the Macintosh. Mi-
crosoft Image Color Management (ICM) is an example of a CMS used on Windows systems.
  
						

							53	 |	SPECTRAVIEW	II 	- 	USER’S 	GUIDE
Color Separation – The separating of a color image into the cyan, magenta, yellow, and black 
color layers used for printing.
Color Separation Tables – A set of conversion tables used to calculate the separating of RGB 
images into the CMYK layers necessary for printing.
Color Space – A three dimensional representation of colors. Examples are RGB, CIE xyY, and 
CIE Lab.
ColorSync – The Color Management System built into the Macintosh Operating System (Mac 
OS).
Color Temperature – The color of light given off by an object, known as a blackbody, as it is 
heated to a given temperature in degrees Kelvin. Low color temperatures such as 5000K are 
reddish, whilst higher color temperatures such as 9300K are bluish.  A color temperature of 
6500K is considered to be “neutral” white.
Contrast Ratio – The ratio of the white luminance (Intensity) and black luminance (Black 
Level) of the display. 
Correlated Color Temperature – The closest matching color, expressed in Kelvin, of a white 
point that does not lie exactly on the blackbody locus. 
CMYK – The subtractive colors used in printing: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black. Note that 
Black is referred to using “K” to avoid confusion with “blue”.
D Illuminants – CIE Daylight Standard Illuminants based on approximating daylight.  The 
subscript denotes the correlated color temperature of the illuminant. For example, D50 has a 
correlated color temperature of 5000K.
Delta-E (Δ-E) – A measurement of how different two colors are to each other. In SpectraView, 
Delta-E values are derived by calculating the distance between two colors in Lab color space 
using the CIE 94 formula. A Delta-E value of 1 indicates a just perceptual difference between 
two colors.
Delta-uv (Δ-uv) – A measure of how different two colors are, irrespective of luminance. In 
SpectraView Delta-uv values are used to indicate how far a white point is from the blackbody 
locus. CIE uv color space is used instead of CIE xy because it is more perceptually uniform or 
linear.
Device Dependent Color – A color space that is tied to the color rendering capabilities of a 
specific device. Examples are RGB color spaces that depend on the phosphor or filter colors 
used on the display. Another example is CMYK color spaces that are dependent on the types 
of inks and paper used.
Device Gamut – The range of colors that a device can produce.
Device Independent Color – A color space that can describe color independently of the capa-
bilities of a specific device. An example is the CIE xy color space.
DDC/CI – Display Data Channel Command Interface is a two-way communications link be-
tween the video graphics adapter and display monitor using the video signal cable. 
DICOM – Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine. 
Foot Lamberts (fL) – A unit of luminance. One foot Lambert is equal to 1 Candela per meter 
squared divided by 10.76/π (approximately 3.43) .
  
						

							54	 |	SPECTRAVIEW	II 	- 	USER’S 	GUIDE
Gamma – The relationship between the input video signal to a display monitor and the screen 
output luminance. Typically the screen luminance follows a mathematical power function of the 
input video signal, the exponent of which is called the gamma.
Gamut – The range of colors that can be reproduced on a particular device such as a monitor 
or printer, or that can be distinguished by a sensing device such as a scanner or the human 
eye.
Hue – The basic attribute of color such as red, green, yellow, blue or purple.
ICC – International Color Consortium, a color industry group working on standards for color 
management technology.
ICC Profile – A file conforming to the standards set by the ICC that contains a description of 
the color characteristics of a device such as a monitor, printer, or scanner. In Windows ICC 
profiles have the file extension “.icm”.
Image Color Management (ICM) – The Color Management System built into the Microsoft 
Windows operating systems.
Intensity – Intensity specifies the luminance or brightness of white when displayed on the 
screen.
Kelvin – An absolute temperature scale denoted by K. Zero Kelvin (0K) is equivalent to –273° 
Celsius.
Lab – (See CIE Lab)
LED – Light Emitting Diode.
LCD – Liquid Crystal Display.
Lightbox – An enclosure with controlled lighting conditions used to evaluate proofs, transpar-
encies and other printed materials. Typically a lightbox is illuminated to approximate a standard 
illuminant such as D50 or D65.
Luminance – A measure of the brightness or intensity of light, usually expressed in units of 
Candelas per meter squared (cd/m²) or foot Lamberts.
Look Up Table (LUT) – A table used to translate input values to output values.  SpectraView 
displays use 10 or 12 bit internal LUTs to apply Gamma corrections and Tone Response 
Curves.
MCS (Monitor Calibration Settings) file – A file used by SpectraView II to store the results of 
the calibration, including the monitor settings and measurements.
Metamerism – A phenomenon in which two color samples appear to match in color under cer-
tain lighting conditions but not in others.
MPCD (Minimum Perceptible Color Difference) – A unit of measure, developed by the CIE, 
to define the change in light and color required to be just noticeable to the human eye.
Nit – A unit of luminance equal to Candelas per meter squared (cd/m²).
NTSC – National Television Standards Committee. A standard for encoding video signals used 
widely in North America and Japan.
  
						

							55	 |	SPECTRAVIEW	II 	- 	USER’S 	GUIDE
PAL – Phase Alternation by Line. A standard for encoding video signals used in Western Eu-
rope and parts of Asia.
Phosphors – Materials that emit light when struck by radiation of certain wavelengths.  CR T 
displays use phosphors that give off red, green, and blue light to display an image on the 
screen.
Profile – A file containing a description of the color characteristics of a device such as a moni-
tor, printer, or scanner.
Refresh Rate – The number of times the display screen is electronically scanned or “painted” 
each second. Expressed in Hertz (Hz).
Saturation – An expression of the amount a color deviates from being achromatic (neutral in 
color, such as gray). For example, red is a saturated color, while pink is less saturated, and 
white has no saturation.
SECAM – Sequentiel Couleur Avec Mémoire (Sequential Color with Memory). A standard for 
encoding video signals used mainly in France and Eastern Europe.
Soft Proof – Previewing on a display monitor what an image will actually look like when print-
ed on a particular printer.
Subtractive Primaries – Cyan, magenta, and yellow colors, such as dyes or inks that subtract 
light reflecting off objects giving the appearance of color. For example magenta ink subtracts 
green light. When combined together, cyan, magenta, and yellow produce black.
Tone Response Curve – A graph representing the relationship between the input and out-
put of a system or device. In SpectraView, Tone Response Curves represent the relationship 
between the intensity of a color within an application and the light intensity displayed on the 
monitor.
USB – Universal Serial Bus. A communication bus used to connect up to 127 devices such as 
keyboards, mice, scanners, color sensors, etc.
Viewing Booth – (See Lightbox)
White point – Specifies the color of pure “white” on a display, usually as a Color Temperature 
expressed in Kelvin or as CIE xy chromaticity coordinates.
  
						

							Copyright © 2003-10 NEC Display Solutions, Ltd. All rights reserved.
USA and Canada: www.necdisplay.com 
Australia: www.spectraview.nec.com.au