Well true, but I'm not sure this is the answer to my question. Perhaps I should have said that to my knowledge I am grading to the standard (PAL for DVD), but I have no objection to real world pastel colours and don't seek to force my images to "pop" (other than the usual lighting controls). I have calibrated my grading monitor and am fastidious with black and highlight levels. Pretty happy that this matches broadcast, but broadcast also looks just as lousy on "cinema" setting.

Serena, unless I've misunderstood your question, I'm not certain there is an answer. You do what you have to do to get the best image and that's the way you send it out. How the audience has their TVs set up is beyond our control, as unfortunate as that is.

I agree with Jay.
I grade according to my (properly calibrated) CRT and can't/don't worry about where it'll be seen.
It was much easier when everyone else had CRTs but with the recent introduction of so many different viewing methods, I stick to my old-fashioned ways and hope for the best.

Mike

OK, thanks. I thought maybe features are graded to a different standard, so my query would have been rather better phrased in those terms. I did think this unlikely and thought it a dumb question, yet it is quite clear that my grading doesn't suit a "cinema" setting, and since I got the same results using default settings on two dissimilar display devices it isn't a matter of peculiar display setups. I'll have to investigate whether the two modes really are as incompatible as they seemed in my brief look.

Serena, I have a most difficult time conceiving of you asking a "dumb question."

Thanks for compliment -- guess I'm less assured because I know about all those questions I don't put in writing! And, as was famously said, knowing there are a heap of unknown unknowns.

Movies are re-graded for TV.

Regraded for TV, or regraded for DVD? Obviously grading for film-out has to be different than for DVD.

TV and DVD should be the same grade.

Yes, so I would expect.

I;m not so certain that movies get graded the same as TV, even episodic TV shot on film doesn't seem to be graded the same as something shot for cinema. I'm not saying they don't grade on the same monitors or any technical differences rather they try to preserve the cinematic look.
The problem is Joe Average might not like that, especially given the viewing conditions in his living room so he sets up his TV to compensate. That as you've noticed would be all well and good if he didn't leave it like that when watching the evening news or your latest creation.

Even given that what can you do about it, nothing. Perhaps your question might be better put as should you grade like film or grade like the evening news. Problem is no matter what a certain percentage of the population is going to see something quite unlike what you intended but you have no control over that. I mean it's hard enough getting the public to get the aspect ratio right. I'd give them another decade to get that sorted before worrying about them futzing with your grading.

Should I mention that Joe Average can also mess with your sound mix as well.

Bob.

"Cinema" setting is simply supposed to look very flat (almost dull) on a TV in normal viewing conditions.

When you're watching a movie in the theater, even though it's 100% dark there - the big screen's contrast is never as high, and the colours as saturated, as on a TV with standard (not to mention "vivid") settings....

What I want is my JVC Pro Monitor results to appear on my 40" Bravia. Guess what? They wont. They are very near, but as I can adjust the Bravia I am guessing "others" will do the same to my efforts.

I have accepted the "madness" that is/are LCDs and truly have to move on. Now, if I am doing this, sure as eggs is eggs the, "Man on the Clapham Omnibus" wont have a snowball in hell's chance of getting it right nor adjusting to my own levels of CG-ing.

Bob has brought up audio. Here's another one: WxH ratios. I have the BBC this morning broadcasting to me in something that the SONY calls WIDE. I have a music channel which is 4:3 and I have DVDs which are need to be in SMART but are a strip of Hollywood wide through the middle of the screen.

All I can do is grade my colours to my JVC and be done. What happens AFTER it leaves my front door I can not claim responsibility. The BEST I can do is to get the "client" to sit and accept my work at the nearest point to my grading.

Point in case: I presented my last piece to a client. It was accepted and we move on. I then WATCHED the same DVD on a colleague's HOME SONY. It was reddened up too much. Why? He watches American Football and doesn't switch the colour grades. What am I supposed to do?

Being more scientific, what can we do? Produce a list/table of "known" presets of CRT/LCD/Plassies out there and tell 'em you WILL watch this in SONY BRAVIA Cinema Mode or the Pioneer version of that or the Panasonic version of that? As has been suggested, are ALL these "presets" globally accepted and exchanged and AGREED?

I think, sometimes, we have to acknowledge that there may very well be, however unpalatable, a "dumb" answer.

Grazie

Even worse is the variation between TV broadcasters; a while ago the same event was broadcast here on 4 of the 5 networks simultaneously, from the same feed - flicking across the channels the variation in colour was extraordinary - from beautiful and natural ... to truly garish; audio quality and level suffered as well. Seems to me there is no adherance to any standard.

Speaking of broadcasters, someone just emailed me a link to this sendup of what's happening down here:



Bob.

This is why I will do almost anything to avoid going to a friend's house to watch television. If they don't have it set to what I think it should be, it's like going through a torture session. I just can't sit there and take it.

I think at least 90% of the newer tv's I see are oversaturated and overly bright. I think ever since color tv came out, people want what they paid for and that's color, lots of it. I had a neighbor who watched his Zenith color tv for years with the red gun out. He didn't know it till I told him. He had color ( lousy color) so he was happy.
My dvd's all look good on my monitor. That's all I worry about. What the client does with it is their problem.
My 11:00 news looks great, but as soon as Leno comes on, the colors are way up. News is local, Leno is network. I tried all the presets and wasn't really happy with any of them. I have mine set for custom which so far seems to be the best. I reset all adjustment to my liking.

Lynn