Color Grading Setup - Calibration

Hello,

I'm in the process of setting up my first grading station. Lower spec computer, I use Resolve 15 and a Decklink video card going to a dedicated grading monitor and a TV for clients.

I'm looking into color calibration but a little bit overwhelmed, it seems to be that calibration using a 3D LUT achieves better results. I do have a X-Rite i1 Display Pro and plan on using displayCal.

Any information or recommendation is appreciated.

Jonathan

What is your connection to both screens (HDMI|SDI|etc) and what is the resolution of each screen ? Are u doing HD or UHD ?

What is your connection to both screens (HDMI|SDI|etc) and what is the resolution of each screen ? Are u doing HD or UHD ?

Hi,

HD only and HDMI, do not have the budget yet for a SDI screen...

a dedicated grading monitor and a TV for clients.

I'm looking into color calibration but a little bit overwhelmed, it seems to be that calibration using a 3D LUT achieves better results. I do have a X-Rite i1 Display Pro and plan on using displayCal.

Good, steps in the right direction. Try not to use LUTs -- reproduction accuracy depends on a fairly coarse re-plotting map that doesn't usually deal with unexpected values that probably will occur as part of the grading/correction process. It is a purer through-flow to get the monitors right, rather than pre-distorting your image in the hope it will all come out right at the end. That is, a round peg will fit through a round hole better than making it square so that it will fit through a non-round hole that should be right in the first place.

displayCAL can make LUTs; that is a valid approach, but what they would like everyone to do is to try to get your hardware as close as possible before resorting to compensating tables. If you can get the monitors right on their own, that is the best result.

Make a distinction between calibration and matching.

Calibrate your grading monitor, whatever it is.

Match your client display to the grade monitor. Expect it to be a moving target... what you call a "TV" has been designed to please consumers and will fall all over itself kissing @$$ doing degrading actions like dynamic contrast, sharpening, noise reduction, motion-smoothing (invented by Satan), and a ton of other things that you must shut off. It's a natural instinct to want to show clients what their image might "look like at home." This is a fool's errand for too many reasons to list. If it is just to make the picture "bigger", than there is another whole host of factors that will change a viewer's perception of the values in the image.

In many ways, the "TV" is a fish you are painting red and imagining to be a beef tenderloin. The differences, were they to be listed here, would as in the foregoing, result in TL:DR.

jPo, CSI

What is your connection to both screens (HDMI|SDI|etc) and what is the resolution of each screen ? Are u doing HD or UHD ?

Hi,

HD only and HDMI, do not have the budget yet for a SDI screen...

best approach: get 2x eeColor LUT boxes - one for the grading screen and one for the client TV. calibrate both to same target, e.g. Rec 709 G2.4.

This will ultimately be cheaper for you than buying more expensive screens and a much, much better calibration.

With the eeColor you can get either screen to be very, very accurate - and therefore also match each other as good as possible - minus display technology differences (e.g. LCD vs. Plasma). eeColor uses 65^3 LUTs - highest LUT resolution available on the market, and also the cheapest LUT box there is. And, displayCal/Argyll supports it, hence u can export that LUT format.

Note: the LUT box can't fix uniformity issues. On lower end (--> cheaper) screens this will be a factor, but there is no way around it. Even better entry level screens like the HP Dreamcolor, Eizos, NECs do have uniformity issues.

Also, the ee box has 6 LUT slots. Technically speaking u could store a cLUT (calibration LUT) for the ref screen and the client screen and then switch between them, so u could get away with one LUT box, but then u can't run them simultaneously. Another reason why this is very useful is for storing multiple calibration targets, e.g.:
Rec 709 G2.2 100 nits, Rec G2.4 100 nits, Rec 709 G2.2 120 nits, Rec G2.4 120 nits, Rec 709 G2.2 max nits the screen can do, etc (depending on what the client wants and/or what the desired standard is - this is very useful)

Note: eeColor is EOL, supply lasts until stock runs out. Re durability: been running multiple boxes for the last 8 years, zero issues.

Another approach: use Resolve's built-in viewer LUT to cal one screen. This would contaminate the signal, hence u can then only use one screen (calibrated), but not the client monitor and/or external scopes simultaneously. Not suitable for your setup.

Another approach: buy a grading screen that has built-in LUT storage (Eizo CG models, some NEC).
Pro: u would not need a LUT box for that screen, only for the client TV.
Cons:
(a) these screen are more expensive (u end paying more than a cheaper screen with a ee),
(b) calibration will in not be as good as with ee (we've done extensive tests) - ee has higher LUT resolution and the ee's LUT processing is cleaner than that of Eizo or NEC, meaning the actual LUT calibration calculated by displayCal/Argyll or Lightspace is more accurate (when implemented)
(c) u have to be very careful which calibration software supports that particular LUT format for that screen. There are some NEC screens advertised to have 3D LUT support but then no Pro calibration software supports that screen, so u cannot create and upload a professional LUT - useless.

eeColor format is supported by displayCal/Argyll, Lightspace and Calman.

next point: do NEVER ever use the cal software that comes with a screen, use a professional calibration solution like the three mentioned above. It seem u're using displayCal/Argyll, which is free and will work very nicely.

So, if u're grading in HD, only thing u need is eeColor, 1 HD 1920x1080 ref screen, 1 HD 1920x1080 client TV. Although u can use ref screens that have a higher than 1920x1080 resolution, since u're Resolve timeline will be outputting HD it will simply window the screen - hence u don't need more than 1920x1080 resolution.

displayCal is free and u have the i1D3 already. This is the cheapest setup with best results (for this configuration in the entry level price range).

Future add-ons:
(1) get a spectro to create ref offsets for the i1D3
(2) get a ref screen that has the least amount of uniformity issues - that will be very tricky in the entry level range, high-end pro OLEDs like the FSI have very good uniformity but cost much, much more.

Hope this helps.

- M

Mike, thanks so much ! that does help quite a bit, as I was also looking at NEC

does dispCal automatically upload the LUT to the Eecolor box ?

Jonathan

it does not, and I would not recommend that anyways

the free Truvue app from EE is the best way to manage and upload LUTs to the box

I ordered a box

How often will I have to re-calibrate the LUT box ?

it has nothing to do w/ the LUT box

it depends on the screen/monitor/TV and how much usage it gets and what the drift is...

IIRC, Netflix recommends calibration every 30 days for color grading screens

heads up:

DCT currently has a Black Friday sale on the eeColor.

I bought in 18 months ago; BMD mini monitor, eeLut box Eizo CS 2420 ($1600 at the time), I contemplated spending more but I couldn’t get my head around 4K HDR etc so I decided to take a small step.
I got the monitor professionally calibrated and didn’t deploy the ee lut box yet.
I think I made the right decision ( I don’t do any broadcast )
The monitor has been great, my work translates well into the world, I’ve seen it play on projectors laptops ,big screen tvs etc etc.
I can do 4K work by monitoring in HD and rendering out in 4K (most work has been HD)
I’m glad I paid for the professional calibration, peace of mind and I was overwhelmed by the requirements and cost of setting up to do it myself.
The main thing to say is that diving in at that low end, got me going, I was used to grading in symphony and needed to learn resolve, and that has been so rewarding.

tbh:

calibrating via 3D LUT is the easiest way to calibrate - yes, u need to learn some things but it is the easiest way. Especially with the ee as that is a proven, high-performing, as easy as it gets solution.

I've had and calibrated quite a few Eizos along the way... internal LUT processing is not as clean as eeColor, and eeColor LUT size is much larger - hence the cal will be better.

So, if one owns an eeColor (as I wrote above), the only difference an Eizo makes to a cheaper screen is uniformity - and the Eizos aren't perfect obviously. The NECs are on the same level uniformity wise as the Eizos.

Regarding professionally calibrating: yes, if u can't do it urself then do that, but Eizos (or monitors) are easy to calibrate and don't forget: in color critical application u need to re-calibrate OFTEN, this is why a lot of folks end up buying the equipment (entry level) and just do it themselves...

Out of interest, does your Eizo CS 2420 have internal LUT storage ?

Hi Mike,

I purchased a 2nd box through the black friday sale. How can I use the 30 day trial for the premium tools ?

Does each box have that ?

Any tips or help to get up to speed faster are appreciated

J