Guide to: GREYSCALE CALIBRATION FOR DUMMIES

[kal]

Hi everyone!

I'd like to announce a new extensive guide I've put together:



Link: GREYSCALE & COLOUR CALIBRATION FOR DUMMIES »

Over 250 hours of research and writing have gone into this guide.

This guide came about as the do-it-yourself (DIY) crowd has been asking more and more about greyscale calibration over the years. With reliable colorimeters now under $150 USD and excellent free software like ColorHCFR available, it's a no-brainer that all DIY enthusiasts have some sort of colorimeter in their toolbox.

Countless number of calibration guides have been published prior to this one. Some of them quite good. The problem we found is that most assume that the reader already has the required equipment and knows exactly how to set it up properly. Most guides also assume that the reader has a good understanding of terms like D65, stimulus, CIE, etc. Some even provide links to highly technical documents as "required reading". Yes, many of these documents are very informative, but not everyone wants to earn a doctorate in colorimetry so that they can set their greyscale properly.

Our guide takes a step backwards and makes the assumption that the reader has absolutely no knowledge of colour calibration. In fact, this guide assumes that the reader doesn't even *know* what "greyscale calibration" is! We explain what it is, why it's important, list the tools needed, where to get them, and walk you through the process from start to finish.

I hope you find it useful.

Disclaimer: Those not comfortable with a do-it-yourself approach to calibration should consider hiring a pro instead. A professional will have years of experience, something that a guide can never give you. For those that would never consider hiring a pro or simply want to learn a bit more, this guide is for you. Whether you attempt to perform the calibration yourself or hire a professional, please consider having your display calibrated. You will be astounded by the resulting difference in picture quality.

Comments and feedback are appreciated.

Kal

[Anthony]

kal,
welcome to the forum. The guide looks great. Thanks for all your work writing it up.

I have one question, though:

In a front projector setup, how does the meter itself not "shadow" onto the screen and therefore upset the readings? Maybe I misread or missed something.

[kal]

Hi!

For ceiling mounted projectors you need to put the meter slightly below center and angle it up. This is what I do in my setup. If you're floormounted (not that rare with CRT projectors) then you'll have to angle it from the side.

It's in the guide but I'll tweak the writing a bit to make sure it's clear.

Kal

[nova]

Hello Kal,

Welcome to the Shack,... quite an impressive guide!

[cynical2]

nova wrote:

Hello Kal,

Welcome to the Shack,... quite an impressive guide!

Ditto! Thanks so much for sharing!

[lcaillo]

kal wrote:

Hi!

For ceiling mounted projectors you need to put the meter slightly below center and angle it up. This is what I do in my setup. If you're floormounted (not that rare with CRT projectors) then you'll have to angle it from the side.

It's in the guide but I'll tweak the writing a bit to make sure it's clear.

Kal

I have my I1 pro mounted on the end of my mic boom so that I can get it into any angle that I need. It allows putting it in the viewing window no matter where the projector is mounted. That way you can meaure along the axis that you will be viewing.

[Blaser]

Welcome to HTS Kal! Nice topic and good advice

[kal]

Thanks the kinds words everyone!

I've now added Part 8: Advanced Colour Management (Primaries & Secondaries) to the guide which makes the guide now complete.

If anyone has any comments or (more importantly) sees any mistakes please let me know! Thanks!

Kal

[fibreKid]

Dang, I'm a happy guy, this is just what I've been looking for for a while. I also own an eye one display LT. My TV has already been calibrated but this will be a great way to learn.

Thanks again.
-john

[kal]

No problems John! Enjoy the guide! Let us know how you like it!

Kal

[fibreKid]

Hello;

I ran across a niffty tool that can help explain the various plot points for IRE 10 - 100.
Every diagram that you can see is always a 2D picture.

The wincolor.exe that you can get here
http://www.microsoft.com/prophoto/do...s/default.aspx

and the sample use shown here
http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/a...libration.html

can go along way to show the user that the plot points are on a 3D model.
The utility allows the user to rotate the selected 3D color model. Black on the bottom and white on top by default.

thanks again for the info
-john

PS: The directory paths for the Eye One dll on my install from last month are different than the guide. (part 1, step 1.3) C:\Program File\GretagMacbeth\i1\Eye-One Match 3

[kal]

fibreKid wrote:

PS: The directory paths for the Eye One dll on my install from last month are different than the guide. (part 1, step 1.3) C:Program FileGretagMacbethi1Eye-One Match 3

Hi John! You're using older drivers. X-Rite bought out the Eye-One from GretagMacbeth some time ago. The path in my guide is for the recommended (latest) version of the driver. See my guide for a link to download the latest drivers.

Kal

[fibreKid]

Not to start a battle, I just checked the driver version for the latest eye one match 3 and the diagnostics. They have the same version number, 3.4.0.131. So for some users if they have the eye one software installed they can copy over that dll.

On a different topic, after reading your guide I then looked at the printout that I received from the person that did my calibration. It only went down to IRE 30. Hmmm me thinks that I need to try this stuff out real quick.