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Film Standards – Settings for Monitor, Project Properties, and Nvidia
Hello. My work is mostly in film, and I wish to follow film standards for distribution. Aka, not youtube.
Camera: 10bit capable
Monitor: BenQ PV3200PT with 100% Rec. 709 color accuracy
Video Card: NvidiaI know monitors work in 0-255 range and most TVs and cameras are 16-235. I need help in choosing my monitor settings, nvidia settings, and Vegas project settings.
Monitor (attached screenshots)
Set at Rec.709 color mode. What should my Gamma be set to?
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1cAD4ctmlQ33ICNy-CuZFHpKmq6lKYvJp
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1x0jUVf2ilrRxdi8AVyFGlincDEDqnUYGNvidia Settings
Should my “Output dynamic range” be set to full or limited? I understand my video final distribution will be watched in 16-235, but do I need to change this setting to “limited” if my monitor is already in Rec. 709 with the appropriate gamma setting?
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1GjNUA-HQmLx4iPodKsoOO3EVSBG8EmvxVegas Settings
32-bit video levels or 32-bit full range? I’m guessing this is going to be video levels. I’m unfamiliar with “compositing gamma”, but 2.222 says (video), so I’m guessing that’s what I should choose. Is the 2.2 also corresponding to the 2.2 gamma I should set on my monitor? ACES color space. If choosing full range, should I set “View transform” to Rec. 709 or Rec. 709 D60 sim. or just leave it off?
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1SlfSHh2hA7T6jyJAiMOm8HUh-eranJVhMy confusion is, does it matter what my monitor settings or Nvidia settings are if Vegas is already set to video levels at 16-235. Meaning, won’t Vegas already limit my project to display the right color space? Or does it even matter what my Vegas settings or Nvidia settings are, if my monitor is already set to Rec .709 and the correct gamma space? My concern is I’m “tripling” the 16-235 color space setting and it would be like wearing 3 pairs of sunglasses with the amount of shade multiplied 3x. The settings are so redundant. I’ve chosen the best hardware I could afford, and I just want to make sure I have the right settings down on the software end.
Thanks,
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5 Replies
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There is lot in this question. To keep it a little shorter and simpler:
1) If you are working in rec 709, then by definition you should be working 16-235 ( or 10 bit equiv.)
2) As you have intimated, if you start changing settings all over the place you are going to be at risk of making a big mess. Just leave everything a 16-235, then test your pipeline. Don’t change colours, gamma, etc, at the graphics card level. You may want to consider using a Blackmagic decklink card to avoid the possibility of someone changing a setting on you graphics card that messes you up.
3) Video setup is different than photo (for print) setup. You calibrate the monitor to Rec 709 ( or just leave it alone); you DO NOT make a colour profile through the windows GUI as this is unreliable.
4) Working in 32 bit is painful. At least edit in 8 bit then switch to 32 bit for colour work/ final render.
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4) “Working in 32 bit is painful. At least edit in 8 bit then switch to 32 bit for colour work/ final render.”
I read this a lot, but don’t really understand why. Although, this is actually what I am doing (editing in 8bit and color grading in 32bit). What is the reason for needing to do this? If I’m going to render at 32 bit, why do I need to be editing at 8bit? If it’s a performance reason, I am not concerned about this.
“Just leave everything at 16-235”
I can follow this, but I just want to clarify my understanding.
If my monitor at rec. 709 is showing 16-235, will leaving my graphic settings at 16-235 create a duplicate effect of 16-235 and further limiting my color space? Or should I set it to full 0-255 since my monitor is displaying 16-235 anyway?
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1) Yes, performance issue. You may not be concerned now, but you probably will be ☺
2) No. Not processing anything. Just DEFINING what is the white point and black point. Doesn’t change the underlying data in any way.
Sounds likes you are undertaking this journey for the first time, so be sure to TEST to make sure your process is working the way you want before you commit huge amount of time grading your footage.
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Thank you, btw for taking the time to tackle my misunderstanding.
“2) No. Not processing anything. Just DEFINING what is the white point and black point. Doesn’t change the underlying data in any way. “
I understand this part. The data itself doesn’t change.
What I’m confused about is if my monitor is already set to 16-235, meaning what I see is black at 16 and white at 235, will having my graphics setting (defaulted) at 16-235 double this effect? Meaning what I’m actually seeing is black at 32 and white at 215? I know the math doesn’t actually work that way, but that’s my example for simplicity.
If my monitor is already showing me 16-235, shouldn’t I have my graphics setting at full 0-255 to feed my monitor the “full” color space, which then my monitor will translate to 16-235?
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No, it won’t “double” the “effect.” There is some variation, however, in what you monitor “expects” to see. ie, Does it expect white at 16 or zero? In my experience, usually computer monitors expect to see RGB 0-255 and TV’s expect to see YUV 16-235. That has changed a lot now that there are computer monitors that are designed for video editing and TV’s that are designed to be used as computer monitors. So you have to check.
So, back to TESTING. Set your Vegas scopes to 16-235 and throw a NTSC test pattern on the timeline. The pluge will be wrong in the Vegas preview window (expected) but (hopefully) right on your secondary monitor when you select the RGB output checkbox in preview device preferences. (Google NTSC pluge if you aren’t sure what it should look like.)
I know, there are too many switches in this chain, and of course the monitor and Graphics card “talk” to each other on driver install – so generally you can leave these alone.
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