Monitor Calibration

[Jonathan Gentry]

I come from the photography/print world so I'm used to calibrating my monitor. When it comes to video editing how critical is calibration? I know in the real world peoples TV's are all over the place so I'm sure it's not as critical as print, but what is the work flow when it comes to this and how well does Vegas play with color management?

-Jonathan

[Mike Kujbida]

I come from the photography/print world so I'm used to calibrating my monitor. When it comes to video editing how critical is calibration?

IMO, it's just as critical as it is in the world you're from.

I know in the real world peoples TV's are all over the place so I'm sure it's not as critical as print...

I've been to some friends houses and cringe when I see how their TV is set up :-(
However, the only way I can guarantee that the final quality of my video is as good as it can be is by using a properly calibrated video monitor and I do this daily.

...but what is the work flow when it comes to this...

Color Bars and How To Use ‘em is an excellent article on the proper use of calibrating a monitor using color bars.
Using a proper monitor is important and a good one does not have to be expensive.
I run a student edit facility at the college I work for and each edit suite is equipped with a JVC TM-H150CGU.
It's a high resolution high quality monitor with features such as a "blue-gun only" switch, 16:9/4:3 switchable, dual inputs, composite/Y/C switchable, underscan, etc.

Start with proper lighting and do a white balance each and every time you change locations.
A lot of folks are in the habit of leaving the camera set to auto but, after doing this for 35 years, I'm old-fashioned and do it the hard way :-)

[./QUOTE]... and how well does Vegas play with color management?[/QUOTE]

The old saying GIGO (garbage in - garbage out) applies here the same as it does anywhere else.
Vegas is capable of doing an excellent job of color correction with the various tools that are built into it.
I'm assuming you're a Photoshop whiz so you'll be able to use a lot of your knowledge with tools such as Color Corrector and Color Curves.
The various scope displays take a bit of getting used to but, once again, I'm sure you'll catch on fairly quickly.

Please ask here if you have any specific questions as this is an excellent group with a lot of helpful and experienced users who are always willing to share their knowledge.

[Jonathan Gentry]

Great answers and thanks for you time!

I do have additonal questions. I use a 30 inch NEC monitor which comes with a color calibrating unit. I don't have to eyeball it, it calibrates the monitor and gives me a result of accuracy of the calibration, etc.

Now if I have a large monitor like this I have plenty of room to view the editing screen on my main monitor. Are there additional advantages to a secondary monitor?

[Seth Bloombaum]

Originally Posted by Jonathan Gentry

I use a 30 inch NEC monitor which comes with a color calibrating unit... Are there additional advantages to a secondary monitor?

If your video will be primarily distributed for computer monitor playback this will be a great reference monitor.

If your video will be primarily distributed for TV and/or HDTV playback, the gamma is gonna' be significantly off. If you follow the link Mike supplied, you'll find that it leads to a genuine broadcast-standard video reference monitor, very proper in every way for end-distribution to TVs.

Is there a color management scheme for your monitor that mimics video standards?

[Jonathan Gentry]

Under Target Settings I have the following presents that I can calibrate to:
Broadcast Video
Digital Cenema
Photo Editing
Print Standard
sRGB Emulation

These setting change the White Point, Gamma, Intensity and Contrast Ratio that the calibration software calibrates to.

For example right now my settings are:
White Point: D65
Gamma: 2.20
Intensity: 150.0 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio: 500:1

However if I select Broadcast Video the settings are:
White Point: D65
Gamma: 2.20
Intensity: Maximum
Contrast Ratio: Monitor Default

I think the biggest difference is the intensity. That max setting will make for an awefully bright setting.

-Jonathan

[Chris Nicholson]

Originally Posted by Seth Bloombaum

If your video will be primarily distributed for computer monitor playback this will be a great reference monitor.

If your video will be primarily distributed for TV and/or HDTV playback, the gamma is gonna' be significantly off. If you follow the link Mike supplied, you'll find that it leads to a genuine broadcast-standard video reference monitor, very proper in every way for end-distribution to TVs.

Is there a color management scheme for your monitor that mimics video standards?

So I guess the starting point here is that if you have a computer monitor, you also need a video monitor or your colors are going to be messed up. I followed the link on the VU how to calibrate a monitor and found that the controls on my monitor or graphics card don't allow me to turn down the chroma all the way.

So is it best with Vegas to do all editing on one larger video monitor or should I keep my computer monitor (Samsung Syncmaster 2443bwx) and just get a video monitor to go with it. Unfortunately, until I have a dedicated office for this, I'm sharing an office with the family computer, so space is a bit limited for a large monitor.

[Jamie Bird]

I have gained a lot recently by getting to grips with the difference between Computer and Studio RGB and how this relates to what an LCD and a CRT can display. Using a second monitor and playing with the Brodcast Color filter, SMPTE Test Cards and the scopes in Vegas helps to see how different settings might look on different types of display (including LCD's that were once new and bright but are now a lot duller and projectors in rooms that can't be blacked out very well!).

This is a good link concerning exposure in Vegas:
Correcting Exposure in Sony Vegas Part One

A lot of the info there relates to CRT screens which I guess are getting rarer by the day - but as noted above the ideal monitor is also a rarety.