[Tim Stannard]

I’ve not really had issues with colour before experimenting with a bit of grading, but I was having a few problems creating DVDs which is what led me here.

So let me check I’ve got this right. For creating DVDs and uploading to youTube/Vimeo.

I should check my grading by previewing on Windows Secondary Monitor (calibrated) with a Computer to Studio RGB levels Filter preset applied to the master (Video Output FX) and switch ON the Adjust levels from studio RGB to computer RGB option. Correct?

As I understand it, the Computer to Studio RGB option should ensure that my levels are between 16 & 235 when I render, but the conversion for the secondary monitor effectively reverses that to show what will happen after it has been mangled by YouTube.

When i render with these seetings I should therefore be rendering (a) within the “studio” range of 16-235 and (b) therefore at the correct levels for domestic DVD players.

If I’ve got this wrong, please stop reading at this point and please correct me 🙂

However, when I do the above the output looks decidedly more contrasty (and overall darker) than it did in the preview window (either in a media player or on my TV/DVD setup). What’s more, if I import the result into a new Vegas project and open up the Waveform monitor, it is clearly outside the 16-235.

What have I missed?

And if you’ll allow me a supplementary question, would anyone care to recommend me a 19″-20″ > 1920×1080 monitor which is pretty accurate (will calibrate with Spyder). My current one no longer goes bright enough for the Spyder software to consider perfect 🙁