Guide to: GREYSCALE CALIBRATION FOR DUMMIES

[kal]

Originally Posted by ballen_mmbm

Hi Kal,

What a great job you did with this guide. It is so rare to find someone who actually knows what they are talking about who is also willing to share their information. Especially with so much detail. I appreciate all of the time and effort that you spent in putting this together. After having only read through the first section I was 100% sure that the information you were giving was accurate and well put together. As a fellow AV professional it is refreshing to know that there really are others out there who care enough about the industry to share what they know for the betterment of the business.

So thank you for everything that you did and I look forward to any other contributions that you might make.

Bill Allen

Thanks for the compliments Bill! The writing of this guide come out my own frustration at trying to figure out the ins and outs of DIY greyscale calibration for home use. There's a lot of good information out there but it's all over the place. Glad I could help out others in the process!

Kal

[rex]

Originally Posted by Kevin Miller

The piece doesn't get anything right in its suggestions.

Kevin,
If any suggestions of this guide are wrong, all forum readers (myself included) would certainly benefit from any specific corrections you can offer (aside from your comment about colorimeter accuracy). As you know, Kal recommends professional calibration; but not everyone has access to it; and as Kal mentioned, not all "professional calibrators" are equally competent.

[kal]

By "piece" I'm assuming that Kevin means the Spyder2 colorimeter and not my guide (as he did not read my guide).

FWIW I agree with Kevin: The Spyder2 doesn't get most things right. Which is why I don't recommend it in my guide. I don't know any professional calibrators that recommend it.

Kal

P.S. I've now added Part 8: Advanced Colour Management (Primaries & Secondaries) to the guide which makes the thing complete in my eyes. I will of course continue to tweak the entire guide here and there when questions arise to make sure it's easy to follow.

[The Kipnis Studios]

Originally Posted by ballen_mmbm

Hi Kal,

What a great job you did with this guide. It is so rare to find someone who actually knows what they are talking about who is also willing to share their information. Especially with so much detail. I appreciate all of the time and effort that you spent in putting this together. After having only read through the first section I was 100% sure that the information you were giving was accurate and well put together. As a fellow AV professional it is refreshing to know that there really are others out there who care enough about the industry to share what they know for the betterment of the business.

So thank you for everything that you did and I look forward to any other contributions that you might make.

Bill Allen

I whole heartedly agree.

You have done a great service for both mainstream customers as well as serious professional calibrators.

Now, if you can just get the manufacturing industry to get the primaries right, with enough adjustment between BIAS and GAIN settings, we might actually see an accurate monitor or projector that truly tracks the signal to 100%

GREAT WORK!!!

[kal]

Thanks Jeremy! I'm familiar with your work so it means a lot coming from you!

As for getting the primaries right.... well, only time will tell. Too many of the manufacturers still value specs like high lumen output (by artficially boosting green/blue) more than accurate colours it seems.

A bit of a catch-22: They're only doing what the public asks and the public wants brighter projectors. We need to educate the public as to what boosting green/blue does and how it messes up the primaries. I hope my guide helps push more people to understanding this. Once the public starts to ask more for correct primaries (or at least a way to adjust them), the manufacturers will follow suite. Right now, I'm afraid they're just giving us what we ask for. So everyone please be careful what you ask for!

With so many incorrect primaries, the video processor/scaler manufacturers (such as Lumagen) I imagine are seeing a re-birth in their scaler products as they offer primary adjustments.

Kal

[kal]

FAQ: Which Meter is Right for Me?

Colorimeters, Spectroradiometers/Spectrophotometers? What's the difference and why do I care?

Figuring out which meter to use for calibration is often the hardest part of calibration, so I've put together a FAQ: Which Meter is Right for Me? It covers everyone from budget Spyder2 and Eye-One Display 2 / LT meters up to the the higher end professional grade Chroma 5, Eye-One PRO, and Hubble (Sencore OTC1000) meters.

The worse thing you can do is buy either a meter that is severly overpriced or underperforming for your specific needs. Give it a read and figure out which meter is right for you.

Hope it helps!

Kal