How do color calibrators work?

[Freekshow22]

Like the title says how do they work? suck as the LaCie Blue Eye Pro colorimete.

Do these calibrators actually change the color settings in the menu like the brightness, sharpness, ect. ?

If i only console game is there a point in buying one of these or is it just for PCs?

 

[Sycraft]

Depends on what you mean. They function at a basic level by taking brightness measurements form different sensors, which have different colour filters over them. From this they can learn what colour is displayed on the screen.

Now as for adjustments, depends on the monitor. If you have a monitor that supports them in hardware, like an NEC 90 series or a LaCie monitor, the software interfaces directly with the monitor and makes all changes there. You just hit go and it happens. In the event of a normal monitor, it will walk you through adjusting various monitor settings like brightness and colour balance. Then once that is done, it'll take readings and adjust the lookup tables on your videocard.

Now as for console gaming, depends on the monitor largely. If you have a monitor with hardware calibration, then sure it'll help. The calibration is stored in the monitor and thus applies to all inputs. If you don't, well it still can help with some things, like balancing the white point, but that's it, it can't do correction curves since those are stored on the PC, not the monitor.

 

[RadXge]

Calibration is useless for consoles (or gaming) since games developers do not follow any standard (such as REC 709).

I never use automatic software calibration tool since there not very accurate.
CalMAN ($$) and ColorHCFR v2.0 (free) are two softwares that can help you performing a manual calibration with a meter.
Basically, I setup the parameters in the following order.
1) Brightness
2) Contrast
2) Greyscale
4) Primaries
5) Secondaries
It should be noted that there is an interdependency between the parameters so the work is iterative.

 

[Freekshow22]

ok so basically if im not using a computer with the monitor theres no point in getting a calibrator? if the calibrator changes the actual color setting in the OSD menu why would people spend 200$ to buy one when u can just ask a person what the color setting are for a particular monitor.

The monitor im getting is the Acer H243H.

 

[kllrnohj]

ok so basically if im not using a computer with the monitor theres no point in getting a calibrator? if the calibrator changes the actual color setting in the OSD menu why would people spend 200$ to buy one when u can just ask a person what the color setting are for a particular monitor.

The monitor im getting is the Acer H243H.

Because every monitor is different and correct colors can also vary slightly depending on ambient lighting. If a single calibration worked for everyone then don't you think they would just set it at the factory?

 

[Freekshow22]

Because every monitor is different and correct colors can also vary slightly depending on ambient lighting. If a single calibration worked for everyone then don't you think they would just set it at the factory?

No they wouldnt set the right calibration at the factory because some people like there colors brighter or darker than others. I want the perfect colors (deltae) on my monitor, so if somebody used a calibrator for the monitor im getting (Acer H243H) couldnt i just ask that person to tell me what the color settings are in the OSD menu, after they used the calibrator???

 

[Sailor_Moon]

ok so basically if im not using a computer with the monitor theres no point in getting a calibrator? if the calibrator changes the actual color setting in the OSD menu why would people spend 200$ to buy one when u can just ask a person what the color setting are for a particular monitor.

The LUT of the videocard is also altered to achieve calibration target and neutrality (exception: Hardware calibration). And: Calibration ist only the first step. In the profilation the display is measured and gets "colorimetrical described" in the ICC profile. With the help of a CMM color aware sofware can then execute the appropriate transformations to obtain correct color representation.

Best regards

Denis

 

[Jospeh]

No they wouldnt set the right calibration at the factory because some people like there colors brighter or darker than others. I want the perfect colors (deltae) on my monitor, so if somebody used a calibrator for the monitor im getting (Acer H243H) couldnt i just ask that person to tell me what the color settings are in the OSD menu, after they used the calibrator???

That is a TN panel that will never get anywhere near perfect colours (crappy colours is the best it can do) no matter how much you calibrate it.

 

[Cyberbeing]

Because every monitor is different and correct colors can also vary slightly depending on ambient lighting. If a single calibration worked for everyone then don't you think they would just set it at the factory?

No they wouldnt set the right calibration at the factory because some people like there colors brighter or darker than others. I want the perfect colors (deltae) on my monitor, so if somebody used a calibrator for the monitor im getting (Acer H243H) couldnt i just ask that person to tell me what the color settings are in the OSD menu, after they used the calibrator???

As kllmohj said, every monitor (even those of the same make/model) vary from one to the next. At times, the needed settings for brightness, contrast, and RGB gains could vary very significantly.

Unless you are using the monitor with a computer, all a color calibrator would do is assist you in making a half-ass attempt (manually, by hand) at achieving your desired gamma and color temperature, which very well could be an effort in futility if the monitor was nowhere close to your targets to begin with.

So, if you are going to buy an Acer H243H for use as a TV with a console, you would be better off just borrowing a calibrator for an hour from a friend if only in an attempt to get your color temperature close to 6500K at your desired brightness, and then never touch the settings ever again.

 

[poco]

calibration can make a huge difference, especally if you're running multiple displays.. nothing more annoying then colors being different on your monitors that sit side by side. I am ISF certified and did calibrations for a living several years back. My experience is limited to mostly tvs and projectors however i have calibrated all my monitors and some of my friends. In my experience with monitors they are usually a lot more limited compared to TVs. Keep in mind that not only do you have to calibrate the panel itself but you also need to adjust the settings in your video card. If i was only running a single monitor I don't know if i would buy a calibration tool if your main focus was gaming. However, if you watch movies on your monitor or are in to photography etc.. i would probably look into it

 

[Sailor_Moon]

Keep in mind that not only do you have to calibrate the panel itself but you also need to adjust the settings in your video card.

The corrections are applied automatically and loaded into the videocard LUT (software calibration). Very accurate because there are many "points of support" (in German that means "Stützstellen" - I'm not sure if this is the right English word). But as I said: We must keep in mind that calibration is only the first preliminary step in an ICC workflow (which is the way to go for PC usage). Central step is the profilation that "fills" the ICC profile with colorimetric data (if we look at a simple matrix profile this means basically the tristimulus values of the primaries (adapted to D50) and the gradation for each channel). A CMM can then transform in display RGB via a PCS (XYZ or Lab). If the display behaves linear, the profile reflects the actual state of the display and the source color space is covered completely, these transformations are very accurate.

For TVs we are using a completely different approach because we are facing an unmanaged environment here. Of course we have unmanaged applications on the PC too. A possible solution are fixed, color space limiting modes or (best approach) a flexible color space emulation.

Best regards

Denis

 

[sethk]

I've spent a lot more time calibrating my TVs and my front projector than I have my computer monitors. I have an i1 Pro. I wouldn't say that it's not worth it if you don't plan to use it as a monitor, quite the opposite. Although game mode is where it's least appreciated, IMHO.

 

[Freekshow22]

That is a TN panel that will never get anywhere near perfect colours (crappy colours is the best it can do) no matter how much you calibrate it.

NO SHIT, i no it wont be "accurate colors" i just want the best colors i can get for the H243H.

can someone tell me, if im not going to be using a computer with the monitor, and will ONLY be CONSOLE gaming, is there a point in getting a calibrator? will i need a computer to use the calibrator? if so after i use it, can i unhook the computer and never have to worry about calibrating my monitor again? thanks in advance.

 

[poco]

NO SHIT, i no it wont be "accurate colors" i just want the best colors i can get for the H243H.

can someone tell me, if im not going to be using a computer with the monitor, and will ONLY be CONSOLE gaming, is there a point in getting a calibrator? will i need a computer to use the calibrator? if so after i use it, can i unhook the computer and never have to worry about calibrating my monitor again? thanks in advance.

If it were me I wouldn't, save your money and buy some games!!!

 

[kllrnohj]

NO SHIT, i no it wont be "accurate colors" i just want the best colors i can get for the H243H.

can someone tell me, if im not going to be using a computer with the monitor, and will ONLY be CONSOLE gaming, is there a point in getting a calibrator? will i need a computer to use the calibrator? if so after i use it, can i unhook the computer and never have to worry about calibrating my monitor again? thanks in advance.

Hey look, someone already answered your question in detail - first response no less.

Depends on what you mean. They function at a basic level by taking brightness measurements form different sensors, which have different colour filters over them. From this they can learn what colour is displayed on the screen.

Now as for adjustments, depends on the monitor. If you have a monitor that supports them in hardware, like an NEC 90 series or a LaCie monitor, the software interfaces directly with the monitor and makes all changes there. You just hit go and it happens. In the event of a normal monitor, it will walk you through adjusting various monitor settings like brightness and colour balance. Then once that is done, it'll take readings and adjust the lookup tables on your videocard.

Now as for console gaming, depends on the monitor largely. If you have a monitor with hardware calibration, then sure it'll help. The calibration is stored in the monitor and thus applies to all inputs. If you don't, well it still can help with some things, like balancing the white point, but that's it, it can't do correction curves since those are stored on the PC, not the monitor.

 

[Freekshow22]

Hey look, someone already answered your question in detail - first response no less.

OK whatever...If these calibrator things only change the settings in the OSD menu im not paying 200$ for it when i can go on a forum and probably find someone with a Acer H243H with it calibrated, using one of these clibrators, then i'll just ask him to tell me the color setting so i can do it myself.

Thanks everyone for the help =)

 

[sethk]

That would be useful if all the monitors were out of tune in the same way and were being viewed in the same lighting conditions. But it is better than nothing.
Secondly the calibrators don't just ask you to make OSD changes, they also generate ICC profiles. Of course you can download someone else's ICC profiles, but the above comments still apply.