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FAQ: SpectraCal C6 vs. ChromaPure Display 3 PRO

 
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kal
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Location: Ottawa, Canada

TV/Projector: JVC DLA-NZ7


PostLink    Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2014 3:56 pm    Post subject: FAQ: SpectraCal C6 vs. ChromaPure Display 3 PRO Reply with quote

We get asked all the time what differences exist between the SpectraCal C6 and the ChromaPure Display 3 PRO.

There is a lot of misinformation out there, so this article is meant to clarify the differences by providing only factual information without any 'marketing fluff'.

Both meters use the exact same X-Rite i1Display Pro hardware:


ChromaPure Display 3 PRO on the left (looks like the stock i1 Display Pro), SpectraCal's C6 on the right with the red stripe


ChromaPure Display 3 PRO above (looks like the stock i1 Display Pro), SpectraCal's C6 below with the name change

When the i1Display Pro was first released the manufacturer (X-Rite) touted that it is up to 5x faster than their less expensive ColorMunki Display, so the same holds true for all versions, including the C6 and ChromaPure Display 3 PRO. Neither is faster than the OEM or retail i1 Display Pro since they are in fact the same hardware. They are identical in this respect. The only differences in speed will come from how the meter is supported in the software as the software can choose to slow things down to enhance repeatability.

Unfortunately SpectraCal's comparison table on their site would let you believe that the C6 is faster then the stock i1 Display Pro (since they sell both) but that is misleading/incorrect as there is a trade-off between speed and repeatability at low light levels, so the extra speed isn't generally used. Edit: SpectraCal seems to have removed this table that said that the C6 was 5 times faster than the OEM i1Display Pro as the comparison obviously isn't correct.

Many have done speed comparison tests between the C6 and OEM i1Display Pro (these are posted all over the 'net on various forums) to show there is no difference in speed. In some cases the C6 has been shown to be slightly slower, likely because of the way the software is using it to enhance repeatability to obtain better results. This is a good thing. So both meters are just as fast as the stock i1Display 3 which is very fast indeed. Neither meter takes advantage of the full 5x speed difference as compared to the ColorMunki Display. To do so would undermine the meter's repeatability and general usefulness. This is also a good thing.

The accuracy of both the C6 and ChromaPure Display 3 PRO are enhanced over the stock i1 Display Pro. How it's done is different however, more details below....

So as of this writing, there are five real differences between the SpectraCal C6 and the ChromaPure Display 3 PRO:

1. The corrections in the C6 are generic (the same corrections are used for all C6 meters), and thus do not accommodate meter-to-meter differences. Although this means that the C6 corrections can be upgraded in the field, it also means that they will be less effective because they are generic, rather than tailored to the specific meter. This is reflected in their documentation. The C6 comes with a general NIST certification that shows how far off your C6 is to the standard (these error corrections are not applied to your meter):


(Note that the C6 report states that a "Calibration was performed" when in fact the C6 meter itself is not calibrated at all. The certificate is to show that they deem the performance of the meter to fall within a tolerances range that they deem acceptable.)

The ChromaPure Display 3 PROs on the other hand are all individually calibrated against 10+ different displays (4 LCD, 3 LED, plasma, CRT, LED projector, UHP projector, laser, etc). The meter is read and offset tables are created and used to increase the accuracy of the specific meter (more information). Every meter will have different offsets as every meter will have different errors. The ChromaPure Display 3 PRO comes with a calibration report that is specific to that meter that shows the actual corrections that will be applied to make your specific meter more accurate:


(These offsets are different for each Display 3 PRO and are applied through software when ChromaPure is used. The improvement can be significant with LED displays, less so with front projectors and LCDs. Plasmas are somewhere in between. New correction modes are added as new technologies come out as well - Laser is one of the newest ones that is included and is not shown above)

2. Both come with additional accessories. The C6 comes with a hard case and a tripod extender-holder. The ChromaPure Display 3 PRO comes with a calibration disc of patterns, 10' USB extender cable, and a tripod extension.

3. The C6 is locked to SpectraCal software. It will not function at all (it will not return any colorimetric data) with any other software package. The Display 3 PRO will work with any software that supports the i1 Display Pro. However, when used with software other than ChromaPure, you would lose the error corrections shown above, because these are built-in to the ChromaPure license file. With other software the ChromaPure Display 3 PRO behaves as a stock i1 Display Pro.

4. X-Rite (the manufacturer) offers custom labeling at added cost to any reseller who chooses to brand the stock i1 Display Pro meter to suite their needs. The C6 includes such custom labeling (the red stripes and "C6") to brand their meter, while the ChromaPure Display 3 PRO does not to keep costs down. The Display 3 PRO looks like a stock i1 Display Pro.

5. The C6 is more expensive than the ChromaPure Display 3 PRO.

Kal

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Last edited by kal on Wed Mar 20, 2019 2:14 am; edited 5 times in total
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