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Calibrating a TV Logic LCD monitor
Hi Everybody,
Sorry if this is off-topic, but I thought this the best place to pose this question.I recently got my hands on a TV Logic 24″ monitor (older model 240) and I’m looking for some advice about it.
I use a Sony 14L5 CRT and a Panasonic 42″ plasma in my main studio, fed via component from the kona Lhe. These monitors I’ve calibrated with the bars from FCS, and with some tweaking (especially on the plasma), I’ve been able to get them to agree with each other, and I have come to trust them. Now I’m hoping to calibrate the TV Logic for use in my 2nd suite, but I can’t get it to match my other monitors. When I look at bars, the color and contrast seems to match very closely, but real-world images are off. In particular, skin tones look quite a bit darker. I adjust brightness and contrast against the bars (as usual) but it looks like the gamma is attenuated compared to the other monitors.
Does this sound normal to you guys? Is this something I should expect from LCDs?
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Bob PierceMac Pro 2.66 – 8GB memory – Mac OS 10.5.2 – Quicktime 7.4.5 –
Mac Book Pro 2.33 Duo –
FC Studio 2 (Final Cut 6.0.3) – Kona Lhe
Adobe Production Suite CS3 –
Sony Multiformat 14″ – Panasonic 42″ Plasma –
Ikegami HLDV7 – PVW EX-1 -
5 Replies
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TV Logic has a probe that can be connected to that monitor and will calibrate it in seconds.
What ND filter is applied to the front of that monitor? The 32% or the 64%?
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
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Hi Walter,
Thanks for responding. As a matter of fact, I’m not using any ND filter – do you recommend it? I definitely notice that the blacks aren’t really black, especially in dark rooms, and was wondering if the ND helps with that.How are you using the probe? It involves some kind of software, I guess. Very curious about that.
I’m also using a TV Logic 7″ field monitor (lvm 171w) which I also found difficult to calibrate, but finally arrived at a user setting that I trust in the field. The 24″ (lvm 240w) doesn’t have as many calibration offerings in the menu, and so haven’t been able to adjust nearly as much.
Thanks again for the advice,
Bob PierceMac Pro 2.66 – 8GB memory – Mac OS 10.5.2 – Quicktime 7.4.5 –
Mac Book Pro 2.33 Duo –
FC Studio 2 (Final Cut 6.0.3) – Kona Lhe
Adobe Production Suite CS3 –
Sony Multiformat 14″ – Panasonic 42″ Plasma –
Ikegami HLDV7 – PVW EX-1 -
[Bob Pierce] “As a matter of fact, I’m not using any ND filter – do you recommend it? I definitely notice that the blacks aren’t really black, especially in dark rooms, and was wondering if the ND helps with that. “
Yep, if you have an older model, it may not come with the ND filter, I’m not sure when they started it. Without the ND filter it doesn’t come close to matching a CRT monitor.
[Bob Pierce] “How are you using the probe? It involves some kind of software, I guess. Very curious about that. “
No, we don’t have a TV Logic display actually installed at this time, we have only tested them. I was very close to purchasing several of them this year, but now we’re going to be testing out the new FSI monitors.
[Bob Pierce] “The 24” (lvm 240w) doesn’t have as many calibration offerings in the menu, and so haven’t been able to adjust nearly as much. “
Actually the newer ones have a ton of adjustments on them. Not really sure what to tell you other than to contact the folks here in Georgia who service them and ask for advice on manually calibrating. But you definitely want that ND filter. Probably the 64%.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
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Another thing to consider is to have your monitors ISF calibrated. ISF is a national organization of certified calibrators. Popular in the high-end home theater community. Here’s a link to find one. They have the gear to calibrate all types of monitors and projectors. Well worth the $300.
https://www.imagingscience.com/isf-trained.cfm
Ernie Santella
Santella Productions Inc.
http://www.santellaproductions.com -
Thanks Guys,
I spoke with Dan Desmet at Desmet Associates in Atlanta (formerly the TV Logic distributor). He was amazingly helpful, and took quite a bit of his time to explain all of this to me. In a nutshell, the issue is that the gamma for these monitors (any plasma or lcd) cannot be adjusted without the help of probes and software. The TV Logic software costs $1000, the probe is more. The next problem is what exactly to set the gamma to – there are not standards for these things. Most are set to 2.2 at the factory, but most of us are still using CRTs which have a gamma of god-knows-what (CRTs gamma cannot be adjusted). To get my monitors to match, I’d have to analyze my Sony CRT to establish its gamma, then use the probe and software to conform the LCD to match. I can get them to match, but are they accurate?Someday, I hope all this will be sorted out – a standard gamma for everyone and some kind of reasonable way to objectively measure our monitors to know that what we’re doing is close to what the end-viewer sees. A man’s gotta dream…
BobMac Pro 2.66 – 8GB memory – Mac OS 10.5.2 – Quicktime 7.4.5 –
Mac Book Pro 2.33 Duo –
FC Studio 2 (Final Cut 6.0.3) – Kona Lhe
Adobe Production Suite CS3 –
Sony Multiformat 14″ – Panasonic 42″ Plasma –
Ikegami HLDV7 – PVW EX-1
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