Widescreen Gaming Forum

Color variations in a TripleHead2Go Setup

I just setup TripleHead2Go with 3 brand new 19 inch LG L1970HR monitors. Each monitor has a different color cast associated with it even though they are all identical. I’ve never worked with multiple identical monitors before and I was wondering if this is common or whether there’s something wrong with these monitors and I should return them. All tests were done in a controlled lighting environment and only after the monitors had been on for an hour or more. The angle of view was also constant.

I use a neutral gray desktop for the array and the 3 desktops are very different looking. One has a purplish cast, the next has a greenish cast, and the third has a bluish cast. The TH2G device has nothing to do with this. If I hook up any two of the monitors to my 2 head nVidia 9750 GT videocard the same disparities exist. Each of the monitors is running at its default settings and no videocard color adjustments are being applied.

I visually calibrated each of the 3 monitors using my Apple 30 inch Cinema Display as a reference. It took some time but I eventually got all 3 desktops closely matching the Apple and each other, having to use a different set of brightness, contrast, and color settings for each one. Once I had the desktops looking alike, I then set up a flight in FSX with TH2G and applied some nVidia color correction settings as some final tweaks.

Is this just par for the course when trying to use 3 monitors or is there something wrong here? If I should get different monitors, recommendatiolns would be appreciated.

Thanks, Robert

Every monitor is slightly different.

Thats why no one tells you what you should put your monitor's settings at since they are all different.

AFAIK this is normal. I think you're pretty lucky that you were able to get everything looking the same. If you're happy with what you've achieved I wouldn't worry about it.

19 inch LG L1970HR monitors.

That is a tribute of low price tn panel who vary in their visual quality...

Starfighter, I don't think these were so cheap - US$330 each. In your opinion, what do you have to spend to get uniformity - and what monitors would you recommend if I were to switch to new ones?

Thanks, Robert

I actually have gone thru 5 LG19" monitors to come up with three that i could match up close enough to go with.

Paddy and other Parhelia user's will remember this...
when you first installed a Parhelia card there was a calibration util that showed colours on two monitors to match (mon1, mon2) then (mon2, mon3) and at the end of it you had calibrated your black, white, tints etc etc it was spot on, but TH2G doesnt have it?

wonder which of you genius coding types can pull the Parhelia util apart and get it on WSGF for us TH2G user's to use....

think it could be something to do with Parhelia knowing there was 3 monitors in streched mode and TH2G just see's one monitor input?
It's all smoke and mirrors to me.

or just a thought, what about a test pattern type jpeg to set your colours and black white etc using the monitors controls then move it to the next monitor then the next?

like they have in nvidia config that has a white box with a colour in the middle you adjust your contrast brightness to and then do the same with red, green, blue adjusting the monitor until the inner and outer of the box show the same colour...
come on there must be someone that can do it... Paddy?

I have no idea how to "pull the Parhelia util apart" ... and haven't really thought about doing this ...
I usually just put up a picture as my wallpaper and then tweak each monitor until they are all about the same.

tarfighter, I don't think these were so cheap - US$330 each. In your opinion, what do you have to spend to get uniformity - and what monitors would you recommend if I were to switch to new ones?

1. it is a tn panel that varies in its color quality from model to model.
2. it is a cheap panel in a design bezel that makes to lcd more expensive.

I would recommend pva panels for 430 there is the eizo 1931, I had the opportunity to compare 2 and they had the same subjective picture (color) quality.
Other cheaper VA panels like benq 91gp and acer are also recommendable but there is difference in their background lightning which is annoying.

"all about the same"?

Having seen some of the stuff you have done Paddy your "all about the same" means +/- 0.000000000001% hahahahahaha

You have an eye for colour so yours would be spot on, the rest of us mortals need a calibration pattern or util.