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Use iMac 5K Retina display as reference monitor?

PostPosted: Wed Sep 30, 2015 1:16 am
by Jacob Bricca
We're setting up a couple of rooms to accomplish color grading on Resolve 11 (Free), and I'd like to get feedback about this possible configuration:

• Top-of-the-line iMac 4GHz i7 with 4GB GPUs, 512GB SSD and 5K Retina display, connected to an LG 34UM95 34-Inch monitor via Thunderbolt. We'd be using the LG as the interface monitor and the iMac as the picture reference monitor.

Questions:
• How does one calibrate the iMac display in this kind of setup?
• Does a true 10-bit signal matter vs. the quality of the monitor and other factors? We had been looking at configurations for a 3-display setup, but found that getting a 10-bit signal was perhaps more trouble than it was worth
• Will this setup work with an eventual transition to the paid version of the software, and to Resolve 12?

Thank you!

Re: Use iMac 5K Retina display as reference monitor?

PostPosted: Wed Sep 30, 2015 5:51 pm
by adamroberts
Won't work.

Resolve does not support dual screen in that way. You need a BM Output device like the UltraStudio Mini Monitor to output your full screen reference.

Also the iMac screen is only 8bit and so is the OS. So you'd not get the full colour depth needed for critical colour work.

Would be better to use the iMac screen for the GUI and then connect a 10bit grade reference monitor to the iMac via an UltraStudio Mini Monitor. You can then calibrate the reference monitor. Ir would also free up the limited GPU resources to do the data processing need for Resolve (driving a 2nd monitor off the Display Port will use both VRAM and GPU processing power).

Re: Use iMac 5K Retina display as reference monitor?

PostPosted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 7:37 am
by Marc Wielage
You can also get information on monitor calibration tools and software from Spectracal and from Light Illusion:

http://calman.spectracal.com/calman-studio.html

http://www.lightillusion.com/

Resolve supports both for providing calibration test signals from within the program.