Colour calibration never works for me :?

[russ85]

This has been a real pain in the neck for me. I have used 2 calibration systems (Huey Pro and Colormunki Display). Both have made my display look much worse. I have found setting my monitor's colour profile to RGB 1998 and using Windows built in colour calibration to produce results much better then I'm getting with calibration hardware.

I have used Huey Pro on my laptop and Colormunki Display on my Samsung LCD TV (used as desktop monitor). Each has produced a display with dull colours and a rather murky look, a slightly brownish tone.

Am I missing something? I just don't understand why I am getting these results.

 

[Brian G]

I have used Huey Pro on my laptop and Colormunki Display on my Samsung LCD TV (used as desktop monitor). Each has produced a display with dull colours and a rather murky look, a slightly brownish tone.

Am I missing something? I just don't understand why I am getting these results.

No, you are not missing anything, that's the reality of calibration.
Most screens, out of the box, are too bright and often a little too blue.
When you calibrate the screen your immediate memory is of how it was, which compared to the calibrated output makes the adjusted version seem darker and browner.
This is exactly the same as I experience when calibrating.
Once your eyes adjust to the new colours the uncalibrated output then looks too bright and too blue.
It just proves how easily our eyes are fooled, and that we should not rely on them for calibration but we should trust a hardware calibration tool.
The fact that your two different calibrators both produce the same result proves that they are working correctly.
My "dull and brownish" calibrated screen produces images that look the same when shown on our (calibrated) club projector, and prints from online printing services are a pretty good match too.

 

[mart77]

Also i would add, that calibration tools dont work well in certain light sources, make sure the room you are in is bright enough to begin with, the results from them can be off in vague light. Give it something solid to work with though agree with everything brian says above too.

 

[Pookeyhead]

Using a TV is a bad move for a start, as there are so many things being adjusted dynamically. The colour and contrast are probably way too high to begin with etc. Then the calibration software is having to fight against that to try and restore order. As for the laptop, no idea... again, but most laptops have pretty awful screens fitted.

Ambient lighting is also a factor. If you're using a screen in very warm lighting, a calibrated screen can appear too cold, and in cooler lighting, too warm.. ambient lighting effects your colour acuity terribly.

The reality though, as others have said, is that your eyes get used to what you have, and if your screens were too saturated and had excessive contrast (almost certainly to be the case with the TV) then the calibrated display will seem duller in comparison. You'll get used to it.

Stop using a TV as a monitor though... they suck as a monitor.

 

[Fatheadedlizard]

Stop using a TV as a monitor though... they suck as a monitor.

Have to dis agree with you on that one. As like everything it comes down to the tv and laptop / PC. Granted in this case LCD tv ain't the best but you can have them calibrated professionally fairly cheaply. LED TV's Are much better but again you need to know what settings to adjust it to. Plus newer the technology is amazing. Try calibrating it even if you're not sure it looks right take it to your local printers and see how it comes out, and chat with the printers about the result.

 

[Pookeyhead]

Have to dis agree with you on that one. As like everything it comes down to the tv and laptop / PC. Granted in this case LCD tv ain't the best but you can have them calibrated professionally fairly cheaply. LED TV's Are much better but again you need to know what settings to adjust it to. Plus newer the technology is amazing. Try calibrating it even if you're not sure it looks right take it to your local printers and see how it comes out, and chat with the printers about the result.

First of all... it's not a LED TV at all.... there's not really any such thing unless you pay around 6K. Of course it can be calibrated... never said it couldn't. The problem is you will have to switch off ALL automatic and dynamic contrast, brightness and colour features otherwise the calibrator will be fighting against the TV during calibration and it will simply not be able to correct for it. You have to remember, you are not calibrating the TV, you're calibrating your video card's output. If the TV is dynamically altering it's gamma, luminance and colour, your GPU will have no idea this is happening.

 

[Fatheadedlizard]

Yes I did say it was a LCD but was putting a debate forward agianst TVs suck as monitors.

I agree with what you say about the settings that's why most tv's will let you have 2/3 custom settings so if you hook up the a pc or laptop or blu ray player etc you can change the to the settings that best suits for the device. So your comment of tvs suck as monitors is incorrect. Certain types of tvs suck and only if the correct settings are not used, like any piece of equipment it comes down to how they are used.

 

[russ85]

No, you are not missing anything, that's the reality of calibration.
Most screens, out of the box, are too bright and often a little too blue.
When you calibrate the screen your immediate memory is of how it was, which compared to the calibrated output makes the adjusted version seem darker and browner.
This is exactly the same as I experience when calibrating.
Once your eyes adjust to the new colours the uncalibrated output then looks too bright and too blue.
It just proves how easily our eyes are fooled, and that we should not rely on them for calibration but we should trust a hardware calibration tool.
The fact that your two different calibrators both produce the same result proves that they are working correctly.
My "dull and brownish" calibrated screen produces images that look the same when shown on our (calibrated) club projector, and prints from online printing services are a pretty good match too.

this could be right. Looking at my screen right now, I go see a blue-ish tone to it.

 

[Pookeyhead]

Yes I did say it was a LCD but was putting a debate forward agianst TVs suck as monitors.

I agree with what you say about the settings that's why most tv's will let you have 2/3 custom settings so if you hook up the a pc or laptop or blu ray player etc you can change the to the settings that best suits for the device. So your comment of tvs suck as monitors is incorrect. Certain types of tvs suck and only if the correct settings are not used, like any piece of equipment it comes down to how they are used.

The gamma curve of a TV preset at hardware level needs extensive modification by the profile when calibrated by something like the ColorMunki to bring it back to a standard 2.2 sRGB D65 or D50 standard curves, and because this is all happening at 8bit level it's very destructive, especially in the darker shadow regions. Unless you can provide something more scientific than an opinion, I maintain that TV's suck as computer monitors. I've tested fairly extensively... have you? There's a reason a high end computer display for photo or reprographics proofing is in excess of £2500 for a 30" screen.

I wile concur that a high end TV will be as good as your average consumer grade monitor (£200 approx), yes... but pretty much all consumer grade monitors suck in one way or another, and as a decent large TV is many hundreds of Pounds more than a decent consumer grade monitor, it's just makes no financial sense to use one... unless of course, it's the only screen you have, and you have no space or budget for another screen.

Another reason is that a large TV will still be 1920x1080 (the same as most 23" monitors), and at that size the pixel pitch is massive. If you sit close, the pixels are a distraction.

 

[Fatheadedlizard]

You have a valid point however if you adjust the settings and they look good whilst you're working, they print good and the recipient of the the picture is happy I don't see what the problem is, whether you use a top end monitor with calibration software and a massivle spec'd laptop / pc / mac it's still comes down to human input. The way you see a red won't be the same way I see a red regardless of what the calibration software says. Your opinion is don't use a tv as a monitor based on your experience and a respect your opinion I just disagree and think you can make equipment work to your needs until a point comes when it doesn't.