Monitor Callibration

[Glenn Chan]

Calibrate them to color bars first.

These instructions will work for you:
videouniversity.com/tvbars2.htm

2- For the CRTs, throw a black and white image onto it. The best image would be some real world footage or still, except you take the saturation out. The black and white image should be black and white, without color casts.

Depending on your monitor, the mid and high-end Sony PVMs and BVMs will let you adjust the “bias” controls to get the black level for each channel correct.

For LCDs, they should ideally be pre-calibrated at the factory and not drift. So they don’t really need calibration. I wasn’t impressed with Sony’s older Luma series displays… their colors are visibly off and the raised black level will never be calibrated away (that is inherent to the display). LCDs are better now.

3- The highest-end CRTs have calibration probes that will automatically calibrate the monitor… I haven’t played with them much myself or know how well they work.

The big picture is not to worry about it too much… many high-end editing facilities have poor monitoring practices (e.g. tungsten or no lighting for surround illumination) and QC reports, as anal as they are, will almost never ding you for color inaccuracy issues. The only color issues they will ding you on are ones that show up on scopes (and you won’t see these issues on a monitor, perfectly calibrated or not). You just don’t notice small color inaccuracies (the real world is inherently color inaccurate, and there isn’t much point in noticing that).

4- If you have the training/know-how, you can get the convergence on the monitor a lot nicer. Convergence = how straight lines are. In BVM series monitors you do this via menu adjustments and by taping magnets onto the tube.

The other solution is to use a computer LCD monitor for your graphics to see that your lines are straight.

[Fiona Fuchs]

That’s fantastic.

Thanks so much for your efforts.

[Robin Probyn]

What about PAL bars that dont have those 3 little bars at the bottom right? for BW and color.Anyone know?

Thanks

[Glenn Chan]

Use a version of PAL bars that do have those 3 bars. Your NLE should be able to generate them.

[Robin Probyn]

Thanks