We have an Eizo ColorEdge CG318-4K which is a thing of beauty but I'm looking for something a little cheaper for lighting/comp artists. We have a couple of Asus ProArt PA329Q and they are not without their issues but the BenQ looks great on paper. Has anyone had any experience with these?

BenQ sw320

No BenQ can presently be 3D LUT calibrated - no matter what their PR says...

Steve

To update this thread with some potentially good news!
BenQ have provided us with new software for their display, and initial tests suggest the problem we found has been corrected!
We need to run a lot more tests, but the initial test results are far better than the previous results, which were totally wrong!

So, finger's crossed, BenQ could have a fully working 3D LUT capability within their displays soon!

Steve

Any updates on providing a working solution for 3D LUT ?
A friend of mine got one Benq with "so-called 3D LUT" and when I tried to calibrate with their software I found out it offered a very limited number of colour patches for profiling which puzzled me.

Also at the end it created an icc profile to be installed on the operating system which confused me (?!?).
I always thought that 3D LUTs have nothing to do with icc profiles.

BenQ are still working on the 3D LUT implementation.
At the moment there is no working 3D LUT - for any calibration method.
It should be available via LightSpace in the neat future - but we are waiting for BenQ to finish their development.

Steve

Thank you for the info.
Two questions please:

1. To clarify: a real 3D LUT implementation would not use an ICC profile ?? I mean I am not supposed to install any ICC profile in my system when I upload a 3D LUT on an EIZO for example. I am discussing here only monitors attached to computers.
Because when Benq own software creates the calibration at the end of the routine saves an ICC profile to be used.

2. Concerning only PC monitors here: EIZO is the only one which has a real 3D LUT implementation? I need to buy a very good PC monitor used mainly for Photoshop and one of my goals was to have a monitor with 3D LUT, to get rid of ICC management.
But my impression is that at this moment (January 2018) all so-called professional monitors from Benq, Dell, Asus (ProArt) have a "fake" 3D LUT implementation requiring the use of Windows colour management (ICC).

A true 3D LUT implementation within any display would not use ICC profiles.
And the displays we support with true 3D LUT capability are shown here: https://www.lightillusion.com/tech_info.html
(Eizo and NEC basically - with BenQ being added as soon as it works as it should.)

Steve

I am currently using the BenQ SW271W with the Blackmagic Design Teranex Mini SDI to HDMI box. The Teranex has 3D LUT capability which I am using for a calibration LUT. I'm getting a dE of less than 2 across my greyscale in Rec.709. It's not perfect in the primaries, but I am using it principally for 4K pixel checking, and LCD sanity checks - my primary reference is an FSI OLED.

I like the BenQ. It looks quite nice, calibrates well, the menus are easy to use, and the uniformity seems to be decent.

I am eagerly awaiting the 3D LUT capability on the BenQ, as well.

Steve, any luck with BENQ PV270? Is it moving forward at all?

We have been trying to get BenQ to finish the required work to make the 3D LUT work...
They seem to have stopped.
We have had no update from them for some months, even though we have chased a number of times.
Please feel free to contact them directly to ask when the 3D LUT will actually work.
The best contact is Scread Liao <Scread.Liao(at)BenQ.com>

Steve

Thanks Steve, I've wrote them but my guess is I will never hear back from them or it will be just another promise or excuse. I honestly wouldn't mind paying for the upgrade if they would make the 3D LUTs work. Without the calibration it makes it a really expensive monitor for what it is...

A new update, and unfortunately, bad news...

We have just received a new software update from BenQ.
It doesn't work.

To be specific:
We have a very accurate LightSpace 3D LUT calibration for the BenQ display we have.
When tested in LightSpace, using our Active LUT capability, it is a near perfect calibration.
But when loaded into the BenQ hardware the gamut is wrong - very wrong.
Gamma is ok, but gamut – saturation – is very inaccurate.
This means it is not a LUT scaling issue (for example, data vs. TV legal), but is an incorrect implementation of the uploaded LUT.
(It makes no difference how the LUT is loaded - it is the implementation of the LUT that is in some way wrong.)

We have made some progress over the past year or so with BenQ, but we have been stuck at this point for some time.

We've reported our findings again, and really hope BenQ can use our feedback to fix their outstanding issues with 3D LUT implementation.

As the LUT does perform its basic function, it should be possible to correct the gamut error.
At that point there really should be viable 3D LUT capabilities for BenQ displays!

Steve

Thanks for the update Steve. Fingers crossed they will do it right this time.

We have reached yet another stumbling block with BenQ integration... the information BenQ have provided is not matching with our own in-house testing. The reasons are still unknown.

So, we are looking for existing BenQ users to run their own tests.

We have a Beta version of LightSpace available with BenQ integration, that BenQ says should work.

Our testing produces exactly the correct result when the LUT is evaluated using the 'Active LUT' function within LightSpace, but shows an incorrect result when the LUT is uploaded into the BenQ display.

We are wondering if the display we have been provided is in some way 'faulty'?

So, some external beta testing would help.
(We are waiting for further feedback from BenQ, but additional testing may help speed things up.)

If you have a BenQ display, and would like to runs some tests, and know calibration in practice as well as theory, please contact me directly for download link.

Steve

Just ordered a SW320, trying to win the panel lottery. It will arrive next week and maybe I can help.