HP DreamColor Monitors Top the Display Market

In most fields, now more than ever especially, visual concepts are the most important thing. Graphic designers, video editors, even artists in a low-tech medium all rely on visuals to further their project. Of course now they rely on computers and their display monitor to allow those visual ideas to be molded into those end products. It's an easy upgrade if your old monitor is a bit outdated and arguably the most important component when building a custom rig. This being such a factor most companies usually advertise the display monitor more than any other feature. Some in the industry feel that HP is taking the lead in that aspect having teamed up with artists at DreamWorks to make a monitor that suits their needs. This article by Joe Herman for nycppnews.com goes through the specs of the HP DreamColor monitors and also features a video with Greg Staten, HP's chief DreamColor architect.

Originally developed with the help of artists and techs at DreamWorks Animation, the HP DreamColor monitors came out of a real need: by the mid ‘00s, cathode-ray type displays (CRTs) were on their way out. With no inexpensive, color-critical LCD monitors available – well, you could pay $25K for a tricked out Sony LCD but that cleans out the budget quickly – graphic and visual effects artists were at a loss.

But the artists’ insights backed by HP’s renowned engineering R&D, the company was able to create affordable, color precise monitors for much less. Those first devices came in at $3,499, and offered consistent 10-bit color precision, out-of-the-box color calibration, and coverage of the then important standards: sRGB, BT709, and Adobe RGB. (HP describes its DreamColor monitors as offering 30-bit RGB coverage, 10-bits per each color.)

Click here to watch the video on YouTube.

In the Z31x Studio DreamColor display, HP has taken a big leap ahead by working up a design that can compete with pro monitors costing much more. But how much will it cost? Expect it to go for under $4,000 when it ships this fall.

HP’s DreamColor line of displays were specially designed for those who want the highest color fidelity and accuracy, namely those who work in post production, visual effects, animation, matte painters, photo-retouchers, high-end colorists, illustrators, video editors and so on.

According to HP, since 2011, 80% of Academy Award nominees for outstanding visual effects have used HP DreamColor displays.

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