Blackmagic Forum

I'm grading in rec709. My monitor has the option of full range or 16-235.
What should I set the monitor to?

In Resolve's project settings you have the choice of Video or Full. whatever you pick for grading your monitor should be set to match.

Most delivery specs want Video except Dolby Vision where in the USA most want Full.

Remember those are how it interprets the encoded file. Nothing to do with more or less levels.

According to the generally applied standards, YUV (Y/Cb-Cr) 8/10 bit video is encoded to legal 16-235.

RGB 12 bit is expected to be encoded to full 0-255.

If the monitor is set to auto, BOTH will be displayed 0-255. As expected.

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

I find the monitor just doesn't look right using anything but Full.

That said...

Jim Simon wrote:I find the monitor just doesn't look right using anything but Full.

That said...

Are they really worth it?

I think so. (So does Darren. )

They're not mandatory, but...if you can, you should.

Jim Simon wrote:I find the monitor just doesn't look right using anything but Full.

So you calibrated the monitor using video levels for output, but the monitor itself is set to full? Or you're working with video files at full levels throughout?

Those export results are likely to be interesting when viewed on any system but yours.....

John Paines wrote:So you calibrated the monitor using video levels for output

No, I don't calibrate from Resolve. I used this for my GUI display.

https://spearsandmunsil.com/

Those disks assume video levels. Since it's for video. But you have the monitor set to full?

Yes. The blacks aren't actually black unless it's set to Full in the nVidia settings.

Well, as noted, your export results are likely to be very "interesting" on any system but yours....

My export results are excellent on every display I've ever checked them on, some calibrated (including an LG C-series), many not.

I had assumed you were changing the levels on the monitor itself -- not through nvidia. What the nvidia setting is actually doing, I don't know.

In any event, what you propose -- a non-standard idiosyncratic calibration of a display, which is unlikely to resemble anyone else's settings -- does not sound at all like it will lead to "excellent" results on correctly calibrated displays.

Are you guys misunderstanding each other and actually talking about about different "monitors" (desktop (GUI) monitor vs. external calibrated reference monitor)?

John Paines wrote:what you propose -- a non-standard idiosyncratic calibration of a display

You gotta help me out here.

What exactly are you referring to there?