PAL monitor calibration - HELP

[Mike Calla]

Basically, how to??... I've exhausted the internets capabilities - can't find any useful "how to". PAL people, please, how are you calibrating your monitors?

I use sony Vegas.

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I used to live in the NTSC world and calibrating a monitor was easy. After moving to China i picked up a SONY PVM and a few months ago a JVC TM-H150CG monitor (great great monitor BTW).

When i bought the Sony (and from the same guy, the JVC ), the guys employee came and calibrated it for me...and i paid him a few bucks to come do it every 3 - 4 weeks, for almost four years now. he would come with a signal generator, and in a few minutes he'd be done. My colours translated perfectly in the real world!!!

These guys are no longer in my city:( and i inadvertently adjusted a setting while turning down the volume. I thought no biggie... searched on the net for PAL calibration but have found NO USEFUL info!!!!!!!!

I can't send NTSC to the monitor as my firewire converter is strictly PAL...HELP

PLEASE HELP, I have a deadline looming and going to the post/colour house is insanely expensive, not to the mention the language difficulties, and it still doesn't solve the problem:(

Here's a line from a PAL calibration how to on larryjordans site: "Turn up brightness until you see the black bar just start to light up."

What the hell! "...until you see the black bar just start to light up" is not quantifiable!!! The NTSC method has matching ...and matching ....again and again, to reduce error.

stupid me!

[Mike Calla]

question:
Can I send Vegas' NTSC bars to my monitor (but vegas needs to convert it to PAL as my converter can only accept PAL) and adjust it the tried and true NTSC way or is this useless?

[Brian Drysdale]

You can usually use the black at the edge when in under scan as a reference for setting your black against.


Shooting HD in PAL countries it's common to use the SMPTE bars.

[Mike Calla]

Originally Posted by Brian Drysdale

You can usually use the black at the edge when in under scan as a reference for setting your black against.


Shooting HD in PAL countries it's common to use the SMPTE bars.

Thanks Brian,

I have both PAL and NTSC SMPTE Bars, but the NTSC bars are useless because the monitor is auto-adjusting to PAL and thus the Phase setting is unavailable.

It just seems the very few PAL "how tos" I've found have MINIMAL steps setting up PAL bars while and NTSC calibration is much more thorough. Compare these two guides:

Calibrating a PAL Video Monitor
Color Bars and How To Use ‘em Video University

The PAL set up has too much room for error!

[Brian Drysdale]

You don't need to adjust phase with a PAL monitor, just the contrast, brightness and chromance.

[Mike Calla]

Sorry Brian,

I didn't get or missed the update for this thread... and only found it again through a Google search (don't you hate it when you google search a problem only to find your already posted questions)

I found that using SEVERAL different methods canceled errors in my calibration to within +1/-1 notch on the menu brightness, contrast, and clour menus - so i'm 95% happy now.

After much nail biting, I just a had my most recent commercial pass broadcast standards at the dupe house and has been sent to over four dozen TV stations throughout the country, although most of them will kill it when broadcast.

But i'm still trying to find a new technician to come and calibrate my monitor though, hence the google search.

thanks again.

[Duncan Craig]

A slightly 'off' monitor won't result in a failed commercial.
You seems to be worrying, far too much IMO.

As long as you run a broadcast safe filter over your final output (also try using a luma key to knock out any sub-blacks), or layoff through a decent legaliser. Of course if the legalised master appears distinctly different from the footage you were working with then it's obvious somethings wrong somewhere.

Precise monitor calibration isn't going to help you fix gamut errors, flashing images, text size/duration/position etc. It's an analogue device, and it will drift anyway.

SMPTE bars have the 'pluge' type sub-black box, which you can to use to set the brightness of the monitor, that's what you may be referring to. There's in no hue control in PAL land, so if you still worry about your monitor being off, it needs a proper engineering lineup using test bench kit.

Duncan.

[Mike Calla]

Thanks guys,

You're right, i am worrying too much but I'd rather worry more than less... The reason i worry is because i have paying clients.

ps don't worry, I'm not losing sleep over it:)

[Duncan Craig]

I make more than 400 UK national ads a year, I try not to worry too much either. :-) It's only telly.

[Mike Calla]

hehe, very true!


Now...on to accurate audio monitoring! ...just kidding:)

[Marcus Martell]

Is there an easy online guide to help the europen PAL users on doing that?

thx