Monitor Calibration

CClub wrote on 3/25/2008, 10:20 AM
I've been trying to understand Monitor Calibration. I've read most postings here and various web links. My feeble mind doesn't get it. Does anyone have a SIMPLE summary or link? I understand that my monitor should be set to a standard. But then I deliver the product to a customer, who has totally different settings than my "calibrated" monitor, or he may be watching on a TV or a CRT vs LCD.

I use the Dell 2407 LCD, and I can't pull off purchasing a very expensive monitor right now, but I don't mind purchasing something like a Huey Pro (or someone mentioned that OnLocation or Adobe products have software inside to calibrate). I'm just not sure why.

Referencing http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?ForumID=4&MessageID=547185This posting[/link], Glenn states, "The levels on the color bars are wrong for calibrating computer monitors. Your Dell monitor probably has a DVI input, which does not need to be calibrated. Other aspects of the monitor can be calibrated (the primaries, transfer function)... though color bars aren't helpful there, and in practice there's no software that will apply a 3-D LUT to do this." Is there any benefit to calibrating, then, if you don't have a broadcast monitor?

Comments

TimTyler wrote on 3/25/2008, 4:52 PM
You'll really need a CRT or an expensive LCD to know what your video really looks like. I suppose you can use the scopes in Vegas too, but get yourself a cheap CRT like http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/376653-DEMO and you'll know for sure.
Goji wrote on 3/25/2008, 7:25 PM
I know that I won't get full-resolution HD on an SD monitor.

Is it possible to color correct HDV on an SD monitor, though?

Thanks!

G.


Cheno wrote on 3/25/2008, 8:50 PM
"Is it possible to color correct HDV on an SD monitor, though?"

Yes and it's done in production houses throughout the world.

cheno
Jeff9329 wrote on 3/26/2008, 11:55 AM
"Is it possible to color correct HDV on an SD monitor, though?"

Its just impossible to determine your real safe area. The safe area on LCD TVs is very close to monitors. The overscan on plasmas and RPTVs is still very large. A SD monitor pan & scanning 16:9 is no help at all here.

The 2407 is a fairly calibratable monitor. Search some in the DPreview.com PC forum and you will get a lot of information. Forget about that link to 3D Luts info. That's got nothing to do with a base monitor calibration.

Getting a monitor like the NEC 2490 WUXi SV is the best way to go for accuracy and ease of calibration. It is a little expensive, but worth it for any paid work. You just use the Broadcast Video calibration target intended for editing images and video to be displayed on televisions using the NTSC, PAL, or SECAM standards. The calibration is stored in the monitor with the NEC rather than a GPU profile with other monitors.

craftech wrote on 3/26/2008, 6:06 PM
You'll really need a CRT or an expensive LCD to know what your video really looks like. I suppose you can use the scopes in Vegas too, but get yourself a cheap CRT like www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/376653-DEMO and you'll know for sure.
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You can buy it new for around the same price.

John
Jeff9329 wrote on 3/26/2008, 7:00 PM
How do you calibrate those production monitors?

I have a ISF guy calibrate my home HDTVs every year and it costs $500 each and takes all day. I hope the production monitors have a magic calibration mode.
Cheno wrote on 3/26/2008, 7:23 PM
"How do you calibrate those production monitors?"

Colorbars - Here's an example tute http://www.spareroommedia.com/video/monitor_setup.html

Although I know that ISF is pretty dang accurate - I've never used them for HDTVs and think the calibration tools on some BluRay discs are, for the price, a better deal. My Opinion only - I'd never pay $500 to have my television calibrated when I can get 85 - 90% there with a $30 disc.
GlennChan wrote on 3/26/2008, 11:37 PM
The best solution I've seen is to get a broadcast monitor. For SD you can get a decent CRT broadcast monitor for ~$600 (and up for more expensive/better quality monitors). The colors will be good, it'll show interlacing right (computer monitors won't do this) so you can do things like spot field order issues, the professional monitors have an underscan button to handle over/underscan, 16:9, etc. It also won't be affected by video overlays, etc.
For things like showing interlacing correctly, a computer monitor will never do that. If you have about $600 to spend, a broadcast monitor is hands down the best option in my opinion. I wouldn't bother with a computer monitor... the colors will likely be off and you have some inherent issues that an external monitor would solve.

2- I wasn't clear in my original comments. There are various different kinds of calibration you can do. Color bars calibrate certain aspects of the monitor.
Beyond that, there are other calibration tricks that are possible (but they may not be necessary for all monitors). Generally speaking, broadcast monitors won't really benefit from third party tools. They are mostly correct. (For CRTs of course you should line them up to color bars.)

In the end, you can't calibrate a monitor to make it do things it's incapable of... you can't expand the monitor's color gamut, you can't make it show interlacing correctly, etc.
Grazie wrote on 3/27/2008, 12:00 AM
I use the JVC 15" : TM-H150C. It was suggested to me by a very very kind person(?) I do all my SD work on it, and when/if it should fail, I'll buy another one.

There is NO way I would give over/leave my CC-Grad work to an LCD, anyways, not one I could afford. I hate LCDs. They are rough with soft whites and the blacks are . . . well, just black!

My worry/concern is that we are having a whole heap of newbies doing their thing on LCDs, cc-ing on LCD for badly calibrated LCDs in living rooms. They aren't being "stretched" or made aware of the subtleties being missed out on. It is real sad . . . . But hey! As long as it is "HD-Ready"! the blacks are like those in "Reservoir Dogs" ( and which, might I add, were marvelous) - just who gives a toss!

LCDs plus HD/HDV - bad karma . . . unless you has truly deep pockets . .

Yup, not my normal cheary-cheekie-chappie here . . .

Grazie
Jeff9329 wrote on 3/27/2008, 9:22 AM
"How do you calibrate those production monitors?"
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Using colorbars as they describe in the link is really just eyeballing it. I used to think that worked too until my first ISF calibaration. However, the cost of a good calibration gets harder to justify as the cost of good HDTVs comes down. When a good plasma was $8000 the $500 cal didn't seem too bad. Now that they are much cheaper, it's a tougher call.

Using the $30 disc like Avia or similar, you are probably more like 75% calibrated unless you are also getting into the service menu to correct the geometry, then 80%.