Product Description

Huey PRO gives professionals and photo enthusiasts better control over the colors they see. With its multiple-monitor calibration and customizable profiles, you'll produce brilliant life-like colors in the photos you print, sell or share with others. A color-managed workflow is essential to good photographs and graphics, and a calibrated monitor is the first step. HueyPRO allows you to trust the colors you see on the screen.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1304 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Pantone
• Model: MEU113
• Released on: 2007-04-06
• Platforms: Mac OS X, Windows Vista, Windows XP
• Format: CD-ROM
• Dimensions: 2.00" h x 6.00" w x 9.50" l, 1.00 pounds

Features

• Correct the color on virtually any computer monitor for in photos, gaming graphics, movies and web-browsing
• Professional-grade results - Begin seeing true colors, using tools the professionals rely on
• Sensor measures surrounding lighting conditions to ensure accurate, up-to-the minute color settings automatically
• Revolutionary wizard-based Software guides you through the entire process, with help at every step of the way

From the Manufacturer

It's all about the color. Color in your photos, color in your designs, color online and more importantly, color on your display.

Features & Benefits

• World’s first built-in ambient light sensor enables consistency never seen before in any lighting condition
• True Color. From monitor to print
• Multiple monitor calibration increases color fidelity from monitor-to-monitor-to-print
• New color patches added to the calibration process for precision accuracy
• Advanced help built in provides step-by-step instructions through calibration and beyond
• User-defined Whitepoint and gamma combinations provide substantial control over the calibration and output matching
• Zero in on shadow detail and highlights with the enhanced LCD calibration
• Professional-grade optical sensors
• Easy-to-use and affordable
• Lightweight and portable
• Free technical support

After Color Calibration

System Requirements:

• CRT and LCD Monitors
• Windows 2000, XP, and Vista
• Mac OS X 10.3 or higher
• USB port

Customer Reviews

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!

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.

Think Pink
I've been using the Monaco OPTIX XR colorimeter for a couple of years to successfully calibrate several monitors for my photography studio. When I happened to read about the Pantone Huey Pro I thought it might be a good option for a light weight, travel colorimeter for my location jobs.

I purchased one at the end of December and tried to calibrate two different monitors. In each case the monitors suffered from the same pink cast as described in many of these reviews. I created new profiles with my Monaco OPTIX XR to have a basis of comparison and yes the Huey Pro was definitely biased towards a pink cast.

After contacting Pantone technical support they did indeed admit to a manufacturing problem and promised that they would replace my colorimeter after a delay of two weeks while they filled backorders. After three weeks (and one telephone call to remind them) I did receive the replacement Huey Pro.

I installed the software on a clean OS, plugged in the new unit and guess what... exactly the same pink color cast. I once again created a new profile with my Monaco OPTIX and the monitor was back to normal.

Obviously this product is relatively inexpensive for a good reason - It doesn't work!