CRT monitor brightness/contrast question

MrMikeC wrote on 3/1/2004, 7:50 PM
Without use of an external television monito, how can I set my CRT that I'm editing on to be closest to that of a TV...i.e., what should I have my brightness/contrast on when I'm editing the brightness and contrast of a video in Vegas?...Hard to ask the question, but basically, say I have my brightness and contrast way down low on my monitor then I'd be increasing the br/cntrst in vegas for it to look good, but would obviously be increasing it too much to compensate for the low setting on the monitor....please advise?

Comments

TVCmike wrote on 3/1/2004, 9:00 PM
This is a tough question. The short answer is that you really can't get your monitor to look exactly like a TV, nor should you trust a monitor to give you an accurate representation of appearance for your final product. Besides the differences in the appearance of color that NTSC is infamous for, the interlaced format of television can't be readily duplicated on a computer monitor to the extent that the interlacing acts as a filter of sorts for the image. That's why captured files always look a little strange on your monitor but just fine on a television.

However, all is not lost. Spot did a review of the Calibug where he got his computer monitor to closely approximate his television monitor.

Again, I'd advise anyone to never fully trust their computer monitor unless your final output is going to another computer monitor with the identical color profile. I tell all my clients to output color bars and use a real calibrated television or monitor to check their final output.
MrMikeC wrote on 3/1/2004, 9:23 PM
yeah calibug, someone else mentioned that, that's hardware tho, not softare right?
RBartlett wrote on 3/2/2004, 3:42 AM
Calibug relies on the TV-out of your existing hardware. A good number of laptops and some desktops have TV-out ports (SVIDEO/composite, some component YCrCB/RGsB).

Calibar was an NTSC precursor, you can get them on ebay for about $600, they were $300 when they were originally made. It just went into your pocket. There are a few SDI based testers which also fit in your pocket (not listed).

For PAL/NTSC, build it yourself, composite/SVIDEO (+ either RGB-15kHz or 31.25kHz VGA on some models):
D-Gen/MultiGen
CRH Electronics Design
For ready built, PAL, composite only, programmable, this:
RTRussell TCC Gen


There are lots of things to consider when calibrating and using desktop video software. Make sure you are doing the right thing for your position in the hierarchy of programme makers. Don't spend too little or too much for your target. Certainly don't burn your fingers on a soldering iron for the first time just to attempt calibrate your TV-monitor/PC-monitor to represent video as best it can.