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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Consumer Hardware & Components > 4K versus 2K & Adobe RGB versus sRGB

4K versus 2K & Adobe RGB versus sRGB
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Anto39x
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Feb 5, 2019, 05:23 AM
 
Hello all...

I'm in the market to purchase a new monitor. I have only ever bought Apple Monitors so I have been doing extensive research and now I'm being told 27" and Adobe RGB is the only way to go for my business type.

I'm an old school graphic designer, I do logo design, brochure design, signage design with some lite Adobe After Effects and Final Cut Pro X usage. I have a MacPro 12 Core -Mid 2010 (2 x 2.93 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon) and I recently upgraded to a Sapphire RX580 8GB PULSE Graphics Card so I could run macOS Mojave.

I currently have a two screen setup: QTY 1 x Apple 30" Cinema Display plus QTY 1 x Apple Cinema LED Display (Not Thunderbolt). My main screen, the 27" giving me intermittent black out issues that are annoying more than anything, it can happen many times a day... or just once or twice and with a very helpful app called Display Maid, my window locations all get restored to normal without issue which has been a huge help.

I settled on the BenQ PD3200 as it had great specs for a great price... but last night I was informed that without Adobe RGB I was really not buying the correct product, so I started looking around and the options are baffling.

These are the latest two that I have selected:-

https://www.dell.com/en-ie/shop/dell...or-accessories

https://eu.aoc.com/en/products/u2777pqu

Should I be as hung up about 4K instead of my current 2K monitors... and is having 100% Adobe RGB a must for my type of work.

The more I research the more confusing it gets. I used to just buy Apple as I trusted them, but with this fault 27", I'm thinking I should try a standalone brand, but which one..?

Also factor in the fact the new MacPro 2019 is on the way... with a possible new standalone Apple Monitor... I'm not 100% sure if I should go all out on the budget... maybe a reasonable stop gap monitor that will get me on for another 2 years or would be perfect.

Any comments... most welcome...
     
Thorzdad
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Feb 5, 2019, 08:55 AM
 
...and is having 100% Adobe RGB a must for my type of work.
Not really. I mean, sure, if it appeals to you, but it's not a big deal. I don't know any graphic designer using an "Adobe RGB" monitor. What's most important is you have whatever monitor you use correctly calibrated and you have a color-managed workflow.

As for 4k v. 2k...are you doing any 4k video production?
     
Anto39x  (op)
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Feb 5, 2019, 09:12 AM
 
I met someone on a Facebook MacPro Upgrade Group who was militant about Abobe RGB, saying it was the widest colour gamut and an absolute must-have when being a person in my business... I was just about to buy the BenQ PD3200U monitor... but backed off when he was so detailed about the superiority of Adobe RGB 1998.

I use Adobe 1998 RGB for my workspace in Photoshop and the same with the Monitor settings in InDesign.... but I only do that as I have had it like that for decades... I have only ever owned and worked on Apple monitors, so a part of me just 100% trusted what they supplied was geared towards my profession in the graphics business and never really understood the colour specifications.

The beauty about the BenQ PD3200U is that if I was upgrading to it I would be getting a screen that is about half what I spent on my now faulty Apple 27" Cinema LED Display and I would be getting a 32" screen, more space and 4K and the reviews are all generally positive.

But like I said... was chatting on Facebook in a group and Adobe RGB was really pushed to me by a specific contributor that sent me back into the world to research a new possible screen purchase.

As for 4K... I have three 4K TVs in my home and I suppose if just love the quality... so assumed when upgrading, I should go with the latest tech and resolution and that's again when I selected the BenQ PD3200U....

Apologies for my lack of expertise... I'm in the graphics business since I was 19... 50 now... but suppose as I said... I trusted Apple really to cater for my needs... and now that I need to step away from the brand... I'm finding it so hard to know what I want and need... nobody seems to be a brochure designer anymore... it's all video editing and photo editing... I'm an old skool graphic designer really... InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom and very occasional Final Cut Pro X and After Effects.

Regards,
Anthony
( Last edited by Anto39x; Feb 5, 2019 at 09:24 AM. )
     
Anto39x  (op)
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Feb 5, 2019, 09:56 AM
 
My daily key apps that I use are: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Lightroom, QuarkXpress 2018. The main work that I do is logo design work, brochure design work, bespoke signage design, large format design, PowerPoint template design, Web Design, light Final Cut Pro X and Adobe After Effects.
     
reader50
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Feb 5, 2019, 05:20 PM
 
A 4K monitor is nice for Retina. Really makes things look better. In Display prefs, hold down Option while clicking on the (*) Scaled radio button, and Retina resolutions will appear in your list.

Note that I'm not a graphics designer, so no comment on your color space questions. I have a pair of BenQ 32" 4K monitors (BL3201PH), and am pleased with them.
     
P
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Feb 5, 2019, 06:46 PM
 
Adobe RGB is exactly like sRGB (the most common color gamut in computer displays) when it comes to the red and the blue colors, but it extends significantly further in green. This is because an Adobe engineer made a math error 20 years ago, and not for any intentional reason. It is used in the print industries to describe a wider color gamut, as it is possible to print things that are greener than what a display can use.

Adobe RGB is a bit outdated. A lot of newer displays use DCI-P3, a color gamut defined for digital cinema. It uses the same blue point as sRGB and Adobe RGB, but extends further into red and green than sRGB. This means that the gamut goes further into red than Adobe RGB, but not quite as far into green. Newer Apple displays, both on the iMac and the MBP, and lately in the iPad and iPhone as well, use this color gamut. The truly aspirational color gamut is Rec 2020, which I don’t think any display today can cover.

Adobe RGB is not the biggest color gamut, by the way. Both DCI-P3 and Rec 2020 are bigger.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
Anto39x  (op)
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Feb 6, 2019, 03:41 AM
 
That is very helpful and useful information P.... so in your opinion... for the type of work that I do (as per mentioned in my original post) and the outdated monitor technology that I currently use (Apple 27" Cinema LED Display) that the proposed new BenQ PD3200U would be more than accurate for my graphic design needs... ? And that I'm overly hung up on the whole sRGB versus Adobe RGB debate ?

https://www.benq.com/en/monitor/designer/pd3200u.html

I just want to avoid buying something that dramatically changes the way I currently create and visualise my work.

Thank you again for your informative comments and contribution.
     
P
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Feb 11, 2019, 10:13 AM
 
I think that Adobe RGB is only relevant if you do print. If you work for the web or for video, sRGB is fine. If you want to uphgrade, I think DCI-P3 is a better route than Adobe RGB.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
Anto39x  (op)
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Feb 11, 2019, 12:09 PM
 
Thank you again, Mr. P and I have asked BenQ direct and they have confirmed the PD3200U supports the Display P3 setting.... so hopefully that's the same as the DCI-P3 that you mentioned above.
     
Anto39x  (op)
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Feb 11, 2019, 12:11 PM
 
They also said it was the same colour gamut as my 2017 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. So I suppose I gotta trust them on that.
     
P
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Feb 11, 2019, 03:42 PM
 
I checked some reviews, and it looks like a good display. Color accuracy and grayscale tracking are very good, out of the box calibration looks solid, and the display hits 105% of sRGB at the one site I saw that tested it. I don't think that display can hit hit 100% of DCI-P3 (in fact I can't see how they ever could), but even 100% of sRGB is better than the vast majority of displays on the market. It looks like a good buy. A display that boasts 100% Adobe RGB is going to cost at least three times as much, if not four.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
   
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