Pantone huey Pro MEU113, A required tool for PCs and..

Overall Rating55555

A required tool for PCs and MACs

I have used other similar but far more expensive products but they always ended up in one of my junk drawers, filed under “another waste of money”. The Huey Pro is exactly what it claims to be - a simple and accurate monitor/graphics card calibration tool.

Every PC/MAC monitor is grossly out of calibration ‘out-of-the-box’, just as is the case with TVs (HD or SD). Every video card has a different output balance from ‘true’ (just like every DVD player for home theater), and factory settings on LCD displays are far from proper. If you care about decent image quality (such as with digital photography, watching DVDs, accurate online catalog images, etc.) you must buy a tool to correct the video driver settings for your specific combination of monitor and graphics card (even even for the VGA vs. DVI port on the same card - they are different).

Even on the general case of the majority of monitors that are only able to achieve a 76% color accuracy level (6-bit panels, low contrast ratios, limited brightness - most laptops and low-mid priced LCDs), they still respond quite well to calibration with the Huey Pro. If you buy a higher grade of monitor (8-bit panels, high contrast ratios: Samsung 226BW, LG L246WP or L226WP, etc) where there is a potential for 94% color accuracy, then the Huey Pro calibration improvement is stellar.

For PC’s with XP, if you run more than 1 display (or dual graphics cards), you need to download the XP “WinColorSetup.exe” file from MS. This allows for control of multiple monitor .icm files in Windows (have to use the same icm file for all monitors on that system otherwise).

Make sure you get the Huey Pro version (or buy the Pro firmware/software upgrade for the standard Huey), as it has a more refined set of tests and yields a much better .icm file. It takes about 3 minutes to calibrate a warmed up monitor correctly (well, as much as your hardware choices will support anyway). The automatic background light adjustment feature is quite useful as room lighting (especially with sunlight passing through the windows) changes as you work from day into evening.

Highly recommended!

Update (5/19/2012): This item is currently on sale here for the lowest price I’ve seen.

The featured review for this product, Pantone huey Pro MEU113 Electronics Apr 6, 2007, was written by A. W. Benway.

The average rating for this item is 5 out of 5 stars, according to 3 reviews.

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Reviews (3)

Morris

March 10th, 2010 at 10:30 am    


Overall Rating55555

Huey Pro. from 1 Star to 5 Stars, no longer in the pink
I have 2 independent computer/monitors, CRT and LCD. Running Win XP with a 128 MB video card. Since Photoshop CS3 no longer ships with Gamma calibration software,(shame on Adobe), I felt I should invest in calibration hardware. Not wanting to spend a fortune ,I first tried spyder 2 express. I returned it almost immediately. It did not install properly, (string error messages) and had very few features,no ambient light adj.,no variable Gamma setting,etc.
I then took a chance with the Huey Pro @ about $85. At first I was again dissappointed. Although it has many features (not really a stripped down calibrator) and was easy to install,it created a pink hue across my monitor.Some calibration! Called tech support,toll free & quickly got through. They recognized the problem, and shipped out a new one,no hassle,no fuss, and it works like a charm,with a caveat,monitor calibration and printer calibration,or profiling are related but seperate issues,with monitor calibration a good starting point. Oh, go with the Huey Pro version,it has features and more calibration points than the basic Huey has and is only a few dollars more.
Unless you are prepared to spend a lot more time and money,I would recommend this product. Although you probably wouldn’t need the manual, none the less print out the very informative user manual from the installed program. The provided quick start guide is sparse at best.


R. Holliday

March 27th, 2010 at 2:36 am    


Overall Rating55555

Easy to use
Very easy to use. I have two monitors, (1 LCD and 1 CRT). I used the Huey to calibrate both. Had only one problem… One of the first steps in Huey is to ask what type monitor you have. All the calibrations were done and when it was finished with the LCD, it asked if I wanted to do the next monitor. If so, then drag the Huey Application to that monitor. Ok, all good… except it begins the next monitor with the step AFTER asking what type monitor you have. I guess it assumes you have two of the same type monitors. No problem though as you can hit the “back” button to get back to the “what type monitor do you have” section and start from that point.

One tip… If you use Photoshop, turn off (remove) the Abode Gamma before running Huey. This is mentioned in the Adanced help of Huey. Photoshop installs this Gamma program that resides in your start-up folder, so it auto starts when you start your computer. Removing this Gamma program is described in the Advanced help. It’s fairly easy… just open your start-up folder and delete the Abode Gamma program.

Probably the best thing to do before running the Huey tests, is to read all the Advanced Help. Very useful information for people just learning.

Overall, very pleased with this product. Finally, a easy to read help manual. You just have to start up Huey to access it.


A. W. Benway

April 2nd, 2010 at 6:38 pm    


Overall Rating55555

A required tool for PCs and MACs
Rated 5 stars.


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