Mac display profile?

ruttrutt Registered Users Posts: 6,511 Major grins
edited December 23, 2005 in Digital Darkroom
What's the right way to set up the monitor of a mac, particularly a powerbook? Leave it that way it came? Calibrate and produce a custom profile (but don't use apple gamma), use one of the two included sRGB profiles?

It's pretty confusing for something that's supposed to be easy to use.
If not now, when?

Comments

  • AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited December 22, 2005
    rutt wrote:
    What's the right way to set up the monitor of a mac, particularly a powerbook? Leave it that way it came? Calibrate and produce a custom profile (but don't use apple gamma), use one of the two included sRGB profiles?

    It's pretty confusing for something that's supposed to be easy to use.

    Either sRGB canned profile, or calibrate yourself using the System Preferences>Display>Color>Calibrate menu and yes, select gamma=2.2
    Andy

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  • DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited December 22, 2005
    Andy wrote:
    Either sRGB canned profile, or calibrate yourself using the System Preferences>Display>Color>Calibrate menu and yes, select gamma=2.2


    yeppers!
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  • ruttrutt Registered Users Posts: 6,511 Major grins
    edited December 22, 2005
    What's the difference between the two sRGB profiles? They do look different.
    If not now, when?
  • DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited December 22, 2005
    rutt wrote:
    What's the difference between the two sRGB profiles? They do look different.


    Don't know, I use the calibration tool. 2.2 gamma is important.
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  • AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited December 22, 2005
    rutt wrote:
    What's the difference between the two sRGB profiles? They do look different.

    use the one with a zillion numbers after it...
    Andy

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  • colourboxcolourbox Registered Users Posts: 2,095 Major grins
    edited December 22, 2005
    The answers here don't sound right to me. When you pick a monitor profile, you're saying "This profile describes the color space of this monitor," not "Make this monitor conform to this color space." If you pick an sRGB profile, you're saying "sRGB describes the color space of this monitor" and that is extremely unlikely to be true. In fact, if you use the ColorSync Utility to compare the Color LCD profile (that came with my PowerBook) with the sRGB profile, they are different shapes and sizes. sRGB is idealized.

    If you haven't done this comparison before, start ColorSync Utility, click Profiles, and select a profile. You can drag or option-drag the spectrum display to rotate the gamut plot. Next, right-click the spectrum display and choose Hold for Comparison. Now select another profile. The gamuts of the two color spaces are now overlaid and you can see the differences between them.

    The only reason we use sRGB as a color space is as a common reference space for interchange. sRGB won't accurately describe the color space of a monitor or printer unless that monitor or printer already produces 100% straight sRGB.

    The way I understand it, there are 3 valid answers to the original thread question, with the first option being the best:
    • Use a hardware calibrator to profile the monitor at gamma 2.2.
    • Use a software calibrator (Adobe Gamma, Apple Display Calibrator Assistant that is part of the Displays preference, SuperCal, etc.) to calibrate the monitor at gamma 2.2.
    • Choose the Color LCD profile in the Displays preference. I think that's Apple's "canned" profile for a PowerBook, but I think it was done at gamma 1.8, and being generalized it probably isn't that accurate for our specific PowerBooks.
  • DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited December 22, 2005
    colourbox wrote:
    The way I understand it, there are 3 valid answers to the original thread question, with the first option being the best:
    • Use a hardware calibrator to profile the monitor at gamma 2.2.
    • Use a software calibrator (Adobe Gamma, Apple Display Calibrator Assistant that is part of the Displays preference, SuperCal, etc.) to calibrate the monitor at gamma 2.2.
    • Choose the Color LCD profile in the Displays preference. I think that's Apple's "canned" profile for a PowerBook, but I think it was done at gamma 1.8, and being generalized it probably isn't that accurate for our specific PowerBooks.


    I do #2 cause I'm too cheap for #1, and I think #3's a bad idea.
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  • cabbeycabbey Registered Users Posts: 1,053 Major grins
    edited December 23, 2005
    I've been quite happy just using the profile that came from the LCD manufacturer.
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