LCD Calibration

O

[omen]

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Hey guys. What's the best way to calibrate an LCD monitor?

I essentially have two sets of controls: those on the monitor itself and those in the software. Should I use both, or favor one over the other? Should I use stills or video? I have the Digital Video Essentials DVD which I used to calibrate my CRT TV. Would that be good to use on an LCD? I'm new to LCDs so any help I could get would be great. Thanks!
 
The easiest way to take the guesswork out of calibration is to invest in a Colorvision Spyder 2 express hardware colorimeter/software package. It can be found for around $70 and since the colorimeter itself is the same as the one offered in the much more expensive Pro version package.. it is a good investment. If you have a good eye for color/gamma then you can get similar results from a purely software program with a little time invested....but I would much rather just hook up the Spyder once a month and be done with it in under 10 minutes. :cool:

edit- the DVE dvd would only be useful if you have the neccessary inputs on your monitor to hook up a dvd player.
 
Cool. Thanks for the response. I have a new BenQ FP241W btw. I tried using the DVE disc (played off my internal DVD drive) and it helped a little bit in determining the blackest black. Everything else though was a little guesswork. I'll check out the Spyder packages. It seems like a lot of people use those for both monitors and home theater displays, which would come in handy. Thanks again!
 
joemama said:
The easiest way to take the guesswork out of calibration is to invest in a Colorvision Spyder 2 express hardware colorimeter/software package. It can be found for around $70 and since the colorimeter itself is the same as the one offered in the much more expensive Pro version package.. it is a good investment. If you have a good eye for color/gamma then you can get similar results from a purely software program with a little time invested....but I would much rather just hook up the Spyder once a month and be done with it in under 10 minutes. :cool:

edit- the DVE dvd would only be useful if you have the neccessary inputs on your monitor to hook up a dvd player.
Click to expand...

Will the spyder 2 automatically calibrate the colour? How does it work? What's the difference between the consumer version and the more expensive professional version?
 
Color calibration devices/profilers such as that are almost always meant to calibrate your monitor to a specific printer profile or to attempt to match your monitor to another devices output capabilities or to match your monitor to a standard color specification so that you can accurately proof photos before sending them to your printer, or so that you can trade media between differing devices and get consistant results when editing among disparate systems. The profile they create will not necessarily be visually pleasing (or even color accurate for video depending on your printer!), nor will it necessarily be good for cinematic viewing or gaming. Typically, when your monitor is calibrated to a printer, the white point will be very low so as to more closely match "paper white." If ColorVision advertises a product or profile that is ideal for gaming or video use, I would try that if you haven't already. If you notice a color cast with your monitor, that device may be helpful to color balance it.

What I do in my calibration technique link that I posted is to match the output of my video card to the capabilities of my own monitor (we aren't trying to match our monitors output to anything else... we just want to get the most out of our display by itself) . We don't really need a hardware calibration device for this, other than our camera to tell us about our panels minimum luminance. Once our output device (video card in this instance) is outputting at or above your monitors minimum luminance, we calibrate by finding when our panel begins clipping and adjust the display's settings and call it a day. This gives you the maximum contrast possible on your own display without clipping values.

Do not calibrate your monitor in the manner I have outlined in that post if you are trying to create a color match to another device or published color space. I am basically calibrating my monitor and video subsystem to itself.
 
I know people here keep recommending the Spyder color calibrator, but it is poorer performing compared to the competition when reviewed by professionals. The only advantage that they have is that they are cheap and easier to use.

Look into the:
- ColorEyes Display (software has a steep learning curve)
- Monaco Optix XR Pro
 
i have a Gretag Macbeth Eye-One Display 2. Its easy to use and from what i hear is pretty good at calibrating. The LaCie ones uses the display 2 colorimeter and their own packaged software.
 
Sgt_Strider said:
Will the spyder 2 automatically calibrate the colour? How does it work? What's the difference between the consumer version and the more expensive professional version?
Click to expand...
This is how it works:
1. reset your monitor to factory defaults for color/brightness
2. plug in colorimeter to a usb port
3. start the software program and the colorimeter takes grayscale/color readingings directly from the screen
4. adjustments are automatically made to the videocard for gamma, color, saturation etc..
5. a "Spyder2 icm" profile with the corrections is set as your default color profile.

And thats it. :cool: Of course you could produce the same results manually but it would require a very good eye for correct color/gamma and back and forth tweaking of settings that affect or offset each other. My eyesight and patience don't allow for that. :p

edit- the only difference between the Express and Pro package is the software. The Pro package has adjustments for rgb cuts and gains through the service menu and printer profiling...only useful if you are extremely picky or use the monitor for professional photography/graphics work.
 
Ricey said:
i have a Gretag Macbeth Eye-One Display 2. Its easy to use and from what i hear is pretty good at calibrating. The LaCie ones uses the display 2 colorimeter and their own packaged software.
Click to expand...

Yup, thats another good one. I believe it uses a compatible sensor as the other two solutions that I listed only the software end is different.
 
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