Decklink Mini Monitor - Calibration

Hello,
First off, apologies if this is stupid simple, I'm just not understanding this. Basically, I want to calibrate the image out of my Decklink Mini Monitor - which is going to a 60" LCD. I know it's not a perfect color grading monitor in any way, but thats just not affordable for me at the moment - and I'd rather be in some ballpark of accurate than not at all.

I'm not understanding how best to color grade the image out of the Decklink. For my PC, I have both screens (1440p IPS main, 60" LCD secondary) color calibrated with a Spyder 5. But it can't use the color profile of the Spyder when it's going through the Decklink. My TV doesn't seem to have enough color control - or it just doesn't seem to be working to calibrate it straight from the TV (tried matching grey IRE levels in davinci and changing levels of IRE white balance in the TV color calibration settings, they don't seem to be accurate to what I'm sending) and there's no luminance control except blanket contrast, brightness and backlight.

Wondering if anyone can help me out, I've looked at 3D LUTs which seem to be the way to go, but I just can't wrap my head around how they work. I've looked at Calman Studio and think that might be a solution - but it's not compatible with my Spyder 5 it seems. The Calman Studio Express bundle with the XRite I1Display would be doable, but is that the best solution?

Thanks for any help anyone can offer!

Hi Alec,

Yes, you would want something like SpectraCal or LightSpace software with compatible hardware to generate 3D calibration LUT's. A calibration LUT is a conversion matrix that maps out a measured color space (your TV) onto a destination color space (Rec709 for example). We use LightSpace CMS and an i1Display Pro OEM probe along with Fuji IS Mini LUT boxes and BMD Mini Monitors for most of our grading stations and have been satisfied with the setup. We had a consultant train us on calibration workflow as the process can be challenging technically. First you dial in the grading TV using it's internal menu and settings as best you can. Next you use the software solution to generate calibration LUT's for your desired color space. Confirmation is the final step. You can generate test patterns and load LUT's into Resolve for output so you wouldn't need a LUT box. The alternative is to hire a color consultant to dial in your display and generate LUT's for you. The better designed your grading monitor the more likely you'll be able to bring it within tolerance of your desired color space.

- Jonathan

The Calman Studio Express bundle with the XRite I1Display would be doable, but is that the best solution?

The least expensive effective solution is to buy the Xrite i1 sensor, and download dispCalGUI, an open source screen calibration app that works well with Resolve.

Gotcha, yeah I've downloaded dispCalGUI and can't make heads or tails of it, I thought it worked with a Spyder 5? But couldn't get it to recognize it.

If I was to go with Calman, is there a certain version of it that works best with Resolve?

Alec,

the absolute best way is to use a 3D LUT.

Best and cheapest 3D LUT box for HDMi workflow is the eeColor 3D LUT box, which is currently on special promo sale and uses 65^3 LUTs - highest LUT resolution available, and only available by eeColor.

signal chain would be: Mini HDMi out > eeColor HDMI in/out > screen HDMI in

eeColor provides 10-bit calibrated output, 16-bit internal processing and is supported by all major cal apps such as Lightspace, Calman and Argyll (dispcal).

- Mike

Thanks for the detailed tips Mike. Adding an external LUT box and new calibration software is a real nuisance.

Why can't we just run a third monitor out of our GTX 10xx or GTX 9xx cards and use our existing colour calibration software to set up REC709 on the external 4K monitor. It would put a heavier load on the GUI card but would be a lot more efficient in a two card setup.

Thanks for the detailed tips Mike. Adding an external LUT box and new calibration software is a real nuisance.

Why can't we just run a third monitor out of our GTX 10xx or GTX 9xx cards and use our existing colour calibration software to set up REC709 on the external 4K monitor. It would put a heavier load on the GUI card but would be a lot more efficient in a two card setup.

because most peeps working with tier 1 grading or vfx apps want/need a dedicated monitor, which requires a video output card which usually provides proper SDI out and then to cal that signal chain.

also, using a GPU out (w/o a LUT box) u'd then have to cal with the monitor controls which are often severely limited. A 3D LUT will provide a much better calibration.

if u intend to use internal 3D calibration LUTs with GPU out, then external scopes (feeding from the same pipe) will be contaminated, ergo useless.