Calibrating a TV Monitor at DVinfo.net

Jack Robertson · November 20th, 2003, 08:43 AM

Hello Guys,

I have been working on a project recently and have run into a bit of a problem. I edit via a PC, and use Premiere 6 along with Pinnacle's DV500Plus editing card.

Now I never really look at the monitor within Premiere (on the PC screen) when editing, I use an external 34cm flat screen TV monitor. As you may know, this gives a much more true representation of the final product.

All is good but when I take the final product and view it on another TV monitor the brightness is a bit too high! BUT on my TV monitor it looked great. This is where I think calibration plays a vital part.

My question to you is, how can I calibrate a TV monitor so that I get consistent results, and avoid the above problem?

Thanx in advance!
Jack

Jeff Donald · November 20th, 2003, 09:20 AM

You can't unless you want to calibrate every monitor in the world, or at least your market. Individual monitors may have the brightness, contrast, saturation, and hue all set improperly. There is no way to assure your image will look perfect on every monitor.

Jack Robertson · November 20th, 2003, 09:45 AM

Yes I agree and I know I cannot make my video look perfect on every TV, BUT what I was trying to calibrate my TV monitor as close to the "color bars" (for example) so that I would be at least comparable to say TV broadcasts.

I know most TVs have their settings set to "non standard", but people do watch TV on their sets along with DVDs and so I guess making it close would make sense.

Anyway we have gotten off track, my aim is to calibrate my TV, I have heard of different DVDs (one called video essentials I think) that enable you to do just that, in fact they do a whole lot more including sound calibration and other neat things.

Has anyone had the experience with these?

My mistake was that I had set the TV on a "standard setting" which looked quite fine and still does, but since discovering my problem I have had a close look at proper color bars and all blacks and grays look black!

Since then I have "custom" set the contrast and brightness settings to a stage where I can easily distinguish grays and blacks without the blacks looking gray (if you know what I mean).

I guess I'll stick with this setting from now on until I find more info about other calibration methods.

Cheers,
Jack

Jeff Donald · November 20th, 2003, 11:04 AM

There are many threads here that cover calibration of monitors. Use the search button in the upper right corner of this window. This search should get you started.

The DVD you refer is also a good means of calibrating consumer TV's. But the last I looked it was fairly expensive. It contains numerous test patterns to check many performance parameters. Some adjustments are user accessible while other require technical knowledge and disassembly of the monitor. The audio features are also helpful for surround sound etc.

Martin Garrison · November 20th, 2003, 11:13 AM

You will need a piece of full blue gel.

Run color bars to your monitor(tv). Turn the "color" all the way down until the image is black and white. Hold your gel up in front of the tv and adjust your contrast until the sweep from lightest blue to darkest blue is even. There are three black bars in the bottom right corner. Now adjust your brightness until the first two appear to be the same, but the third shows up as a bit lighter(numbered from left to right). Now raise your "color" back up until the grey and the blue on the far left or the far right (they are convienently stacked) match. Finally adjust your hue until the cyan and the magenta (third in from the sides) match. When I say match I mean still under the blue gel. This may be confusing, I'm sure there is an website with pictures somewhere.

With this done, you can be fairly confident that if your image looks wack on someones tv, everything else must look a little wack too.

Boyd Ostroff · November 20th, 2003, 12:35 PM

Here are a couple links you might find interesting...

http://www.videouniversity.com/tvbars2.htm
http://members.accessus.net/~090/awh/how2adj.html

Jack Robertson · November 20th, 2003, 08:15 PM

Guys you are life all savers! :)

Martin, thanx heaps for the info!!! I recall reading this a looong time ago and this is the info I was after.

Boyd, thanx for the links, they reinforce Martins explanation.

I can edit now in confidence!

BTW, Jeff like you say, the DVD test disc is something worth having, I will look into getting one soon.

Cheers,
Jack

Dale Nicholson · November 20th, 2003, 10:08 PM

Would there be anything wrong in using Video Essentials or Avia to set-up your ntsc monitor--even though home theater is a different thing altogether and a PC and receiver are apples and oranges, correct?

November 20th, 2003, 08:43 AM	#1
Jack Robertson Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 125	Calibrating a TV Monitor Hello Guys, I have been working on a project recently and have run into a bit of a problem. I edit via a PC, and use Premiere 6 along with Pinnacle's DV500Plus editing card. Now I never really look at the monitor within Premiere (on the PC screen) when editing, I use an external 34cm flat screen TV monitor. As you may know, this gives a much more true representation of the final product. All is good but when I take the final product and view it on another TV monitor the brightness is a bit too high! BUT on my TV monitor it looked great. This is where I think calibration plays a vital part. My question to you is, how can I calibrate a TV monitor so that I get consistent results, and avoid the above problem? Thanx in advance! Jack

November 20th, 2003, 09:20 AM	#2
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	You can't unless you want to calibrate every monitor in the world, or at least your market. Individual monitors may have the brightness, contrast, saturation, and hue all set improperly. There is no way to assure your image will look perfect on every monitor. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

November 20th, 2003, 11:04 AM	#4
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	There are many threads here that cover calibration of monitors. Use the search button in the upper right corner of this window. This search should get you started. The DVD you refer is also a good means of calibrating consumer TV's. But the last I looked it was fairly expensive. It contains numerous test patterns to check many performance parameters. Some adjustments are user accessible while other require technical knowledge and disassembly of the monitor. The audio features are also helpful for surround sound etc. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

November 20th, 2003, 09:45 AM	#3
Jack Robertson Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 125	Yes I agree and I know I cannot make my video look perfect on every TV, BUT what I was trying to calibrate my TV monitor as close to the "color bars" (for example) so that I would be at least comparable to say TV broadcasts. I know most TVs have their settings set to "non standard", but people do watch TV on their sets along with DVDs and so I guess making it close would make sense. Anyway we have gotten off track, my aim is to calibrate my TV, I have heard of different DVDs (one called video essentials I think) that enable you to do just that, in fact they do a whole lot more including sound calibration and other neat things. Has anyone had the experience with these? My mistake was that I had set the TV on a "standard setting" which looked quite fine and still does, but since discovering my problem I have had a close look at proper color bars and all blacks and grays look black! Since then I have "custom" set the contrast and brightness settings to a stage where I can easily distinguish grays and blacks without the blacks looking gray (if you know what I mean). I guess I'll stick with this setting from now on until I find more info about other calibration methods. Cheers, Jack

November 20th, 2003, 11:13 AM	#5
Martin Garrison Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 173	You will need a piece of full blue gel. Run color bars to your monitor(tv). Turn the "color" all the way down until the image is black and white. Hold your gel up in front of the tv and adjust your contrast until the sweep from lightest blue to darkest blue is even. There are three black bars in the bottom right corner. Now adjust your brightness until the first two appear to be the same, but the third shows up as a bit lighter(numbered from left to right). Now raise your "color" back up until the grey and the blue on the far left or the far right (they are convienently stacked) match. Finally adjust your hue until the cyan and the magenta (third in from the sides) match. When I say match I mean still under the blue gel. This may be confusing, I'm sure there is an website with pictures somewhere. With this done, you can be fairly confident that if your image looks wack on someones tv, everything else must look a little wack too.

November 20th, 2003, 12:35 PM	#6
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,802	Here are a couple links you might find interesting... http://www.videouniversity.com/tvbars2.htm http://members.accessus.net/~090/awh/how2adj.html

November 20th, 2003, 08:15 PM	#7
Jack Robertson Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 125	Guys you are life all savers! :) Martin, thanx heaps for the info!!! I recall reading this a looong time ago and this is the info I was after. Boyd, thanx for the links, they reinforce Martins explanation. I can edit now in confidence! BTW, Jeff like you say, the DVD test disc is something worth having, I will look into getting one soon. Cheers, Jack

November 20th, 2003, 10:08 PM	#8
Dale Nicholson Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 133	Would there be anything wrong in using Video Essentials or Avia to set-up your ntsc monitor--even though home theater is a different thing altogether and a PC and receiver are apples and oranges, correct?