# ALMFamily Video Calibration



## ALMFamily

As I seem to do far too often, I thought I would document my video calibration process and give some feedback on the Video Calibration series from Michael Chen as I go along.

So, I am using Calman v4 (4.6.5 to be exact) with an i1 Display Pro Retail colorimeter. I am calibrating a Panasonic AE-7000U projector - the lamp run time is 250 hours. As a starting off point, I thought I would snap a few screenshots for comparison sake:


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## ALMFamily

I set up the meter on my tripod about 2 feet in front of the screen facing the projector:










As per Mech's fine writeup on the calibration process, I have left the diffuser on as the meter is pointing toward the projector. I am in the process of letting the projector warm up for a bit before I fully jump into the process.


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## ALMFamily

As I am new to this yet, CalMan still gives me the walk through workflow.

So, first thing is the Meter profile. For me, it found the meter as I had plugged it in prior to opening CalMan. I needed to change the mode to Front Projector UHP for the AE-7000U (verified this with Mech and Joel from SpectralCal) and I am using the Get Gray disc provided by SpectralCal.

There was no initialization needed for this meter.

I have Michael's video running and am also following Mech's guide. At this point, I am still in the setup phase so I am pretty much just using Mech's guide.


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## Prof.

I'll be interested to see how much that improves on what you already have Joe!..which looks very nice by the way..:T


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## ALMFamily

I got all the pre-calibrated readings. One thing I could not figure out how to do was to switch between grayscale settings. What I ended up doing was turning on the prompt that tells you specifically which patterns it wants before it takes the reading and then I hit continuous play.

I have compared my charts to what I see in Michael's display in video 1 at 7:19. I am guessing he has a different level of Calman as I do as I cannot seem to find a couple of the charts he has displayed - mainly delta E for colors.


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## ALMFamily

Prof. said:


> I'll be interested to see how much that improves on what you already have Joe!..which looks very nice by the way..:T


Me as well!


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## ALMFamily

One other thing I came across - in Mech's writeup he suggests to leave the diffuser on when pointing the meter at the projector.

However, when I tried this, I got an error 36 message telling me I needed to remove the diffuser to get luminance readings.

I removed it and proceeded, but that may skew the results.....


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## ALMFamily

Also, if you are using the Get Gray disc and use the prompts like I did, know that not all of the Title/Chapters are correct - the gray color for 100% and 75% were not what the pop-up said they were.


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## mechman

I believe Michael was using CalMAN 5. Either that or he was using a THX workflow in version 4 which only a THX certified calibrator would have access to.


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## mechman

One thing I'd like to add (and I may have to edit the guide) is that if you are pointing the meter at the pj, put it as close as you can.

As for the error in Luminance readings, they are in error anyways since you're getting the reading directly from the pj rather than off the screen.


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## ALMFamily

For the AE7000-U projector, the picture mode that came closest to 6503 for color temperature for me was D-Cinema.


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## ALMFamily

mechman said:


> One thing I'd like to add (and I may have to edit the guide) is that if you are pointing the meter at the pj, put it as close as you can.
> 
> As for the error in Luminance readings, they are in error anyways since you're getting the reading directly from the pj rather than off the screen.


Uh oh - you mean as close as you can to the projector?


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## mechman

ALMFamily said:


> Uh oh - you mean as close as you can to the projector?


That's what I do. That may cure that luminance error as well. I really don't think it will change much else other than the luminance though - the x and y data shouldn't change much, just the Y data.


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## ALMFamily

mechman said:


> That's what I do. That may cure that luminance error as well. I really don't think it will change much else other than the luminance though - the x and y data shouldn't change much, just the Y data.


I now have it sitting about 2 feet from the projector - I still get the error. It states that the dissuser must be removed in order to take any luminace readings.

Here is a topic at Spectral:

http://www.spectracal.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=3501

I already removed Profiler and Xrite - still the same error.


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## ALMFamily

I swapped the meter to point at the screen instead of the projector to see what the differences were. Here is what I have:

Meter pointed to projector with diffuser off:









Meter pointed to screen with diffuser off:









In both cases, green is really high. Odd that I am not seeing more of a greenish hue if they are that high....


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## mechman

Can you crop it down so I can see the numbers?


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## ALMFamily

mechman said:


> Can you crop it down so I can see the numbers?


Will do. I am wondering - why do we calibrate in Cinema mode? Is it because the color temperature is closest to 6503? I have been running in "normal" mode and like it in comparison to Cinema.

If that is the case, should I calibrate using normal mode instead and adjust the color temperature to be closer to 6503?

I was at it until 12am last night - made it through grayscale adjustments. I was just thinking if I prefer normal mode, perhaps I should start from the beginning in that mode.....


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## michael tlv

Greetings

My videos were not supposed to be some "how to use Calman" videos. They are about concepts and ideas, and not mimicing what I am doing. The workflow that I use is the THX workflow but that is just a name. As a subscriber, if you would like access to the workflow, just ask. The V4 version was designed on the professional platform so trying to use said WF in the enthusiast version will not work. It is locked.

(I have an unlocked version of the WF as well for V4.) Remember, the THX WF is just something I designed in the design mode of the program. There is nothing stopping anyone else from designing the same type of workflow. It is what the THX students train on, when they have Calman. If they have Chromapure, then they just use that program. There is nothing preventing me from giving you the workflow ... beyond me erasing 4 THX logos that were inserted into the WF.

V5 ... The THX WF here only works with the business version. Those with the $1500 version can use it but cannot modify it. Only the Ultimate version of V5 allows further editing. Again, if you want to try to see if this V5 flow works on your software, drop me an email.

The THX wf is all of three or four steps really because that is all I need when I work with clients. I have no need for some 20+ stepping process that keeps holding my hand ... even if I want it to let go.

Precal page ... then grayscale page ... then CMS page ... and it spits out the post cal page. Done. Print a report. 

Regards


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## ALMFamily

michael tlv said:


> Greetings
> 
> My videos were not supposed to be some "how to use Calman" videos. They are about concepts and ideas, and not mimicing what I am doing. The workflow that I use is the THX workflow but that is just a name. As a subscriber, if you would like access to the workflow, just ask. The V4 version was designed on the professional platform so trying to use said WF in the enthusiast version will not work. It is locked.
> 
> (I have an unlocked version of the WF as well for V4.) Remember, the THX WF is just something I designed in the design mode of the program. There is nothing stopping anyone else from designing the same type of workflow. It is what the THX students train on, when they have Calman. If they have Chromapure, then they just use that program. There is nothing preventing me from giving you the workflow ... beyond me erasing 4 THX logos that were inserted into the WF.
> 
> V5 ... The THX WF here only works with the business version. Those with the $1500 version can use it but cannot modify it. Only the Ultimate version of V5 allows further editing. Again, if you want to try to see if this V5 flow works on your software, drop me an email.
> 
> The THX wf is all of three or four steps really because that is all I need when I work with clients. I have no need for some 20+ stepping process that keeps holding my hand ... even if I want it to let go.
> 
> Precal page ... then grayscale page ... then CMS page ... and it spits out the post cal page. Done. Print a report.
> 
> Regards


Apologies Michael if my post gave the impression that I expected your videos to walk anyone through CalMan - I do not feel that way and that was not my expectation for them. My question was more to my inability to see one of the specific graphs you were displaying in the first video.

Honestly, I think the biggest thing the videos have done for me is to help my understanding of what each step in the process is for - yesterday was only the second time I have fired up CalMan. I was really struggling with it the first time I used it - this time, I felt (besides a couple of setup questions) that I understood the process better as well as, as you mentioned, the concepts behind it. Well worth it IMO........

As far as the workflow, I will probably stick with the hand holding for a bit until I get more comfortable with the standard workflow. :bigsmile: Then, as you have done, streamline it for my specific needs.


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## mechman

ALMFamily said:


> Will do. I am wondering - why do we calibrate in Cinema mode? Is it because the color temperature is closest to 6503? I have been running in "normal" mode and like it in comparison to Cinema.
> 
> If that is the case, should I calibrate using normal mode instead and adjust the color temperature to be closer to 6503?
> 
> I was at it until 12am last night - made it through grayscale adjustments. I was just thinking if I prefer normal mode, perhaps I should start from the beginning in that mode.....


We calibrate in Cinema mode because it is generally the closest to the final goal and requires the least amount of adjustments. :T


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## michael tlv

Greetings

I'm shooting my video on front projector calibration set up today. IT should be up later today or tomorrow. Hopefully it gives you some more ideas about what you might be doing wrong.

Regards


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## ALMFamily

mechman said:


> We calibrate in Cinema mode because it is generally the closest to the final goal and requires the least amount of adjustments. :T


I am sure this is a dumb question, but here goes anyway. :R

So, if one prefers a different picture mode than Cinema, do you still calibrate in Cinema mode and then apply those adjustments to the mode you prefer, or (and this makes more sense to me) do you calibrate in the mode you prefer making sure to adjust color temperature as close to 6503 as possible?

My goal here is to get as close as I can to what the creator intended - and if that means I need to get used to Cinema mode, so be it.




michael tlv said:


> Greetings
> 
> I'm shooting my video on front projector calibration set up today. IT should be up later today or tomorrow. Hopefully it gives you some more ideas about what you might be doing wrong.
> 
> Regards


Thanks Michael - that is very much appreciated! :thankyou:


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## michael tlv

Greetings

0.313, 0.329

This is the goal of calibration. Think of this as a park bench in Central Park.

The various modes in the TV/projector are ... not surprisingly ... all wrong. But there are degrees of wrong. The Cinema mode might start you off in New Jersey and you fine tune to that bench.

Other modes in the TV might start you off in Denver or Miami or DC or Philly. You still want to get to the park bench, but the further away your starting point is, the longer it will take you to get to Central Park. You end up on the park bench in all cases, you just pick a different starting point.

The problem that arises out of starting out in Denver (Normal Mode) and New Jersey (Cinema mode) is that your car runs out of gas 2/3 of the way there if you start in Denver. In some TVs, the other modes may not have enough adjustment range to get to 313,329 ... your park bench. There is always enough gas if you start in Jersey. 

So go ahead and start in Normal mode if you want, but be aware of running out of gas. As well, other modes may have some image "enhancement features" turned on in the background that you will not be able to defeat. So if that is going on, you will never be able to get to that park bench.

Regards


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## ALMFamily

michael tlv said:


> Greetings
> 
> 0.313, 0.329
> 
> This is the goal of calibration. Think of this as a park bench in Central Park.
> 
> The various modes in the TV/projector are ... not surprisingly ... all wrong. But there are degrees of wrong. The Cinema mode might start you off in New Jersey and you fine tune to that bench.
> 
> Other modes in the TV might start you off in Denver or Miami or DC or Philly. You still want to get to the park bench, but the further away your starting point is, the longer it will take you to get to Central Park. You end up on the park bench in all cases, you just pick a different starting point.
> 
> The problem that arises out of starting out in Denver (Normal Mode) and New Jersey (Cinema mode) is that your car runs out of gas 2/3 of the way there if you start in Denver. In some TVs, the other modes may not have enough adjustment range to get to 313,329 ... your park bench. There is always enough gas if you start in Jersey.
> 
> So go ahead and start in Normal mode if you want, but be aware of running out of gas. As well, other modes may have some image "enhancement features" turned on in the background that you will not be able to defeat. So if that is going on, you will never be able to get to that park bench.
> 
> Regards


What a great analogy! One of the many things I appreciate about the videos is not only the knowledge they provide but the way which you make it very easy for even a dolt like me to understand. :bigsmile:

A good exercise for me would probably be to do both Cinema and Normal mode. More practice with the process is definitely not a bad thing.


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## ALMFamily

Just finished watching the new video Michael - extremely helpful. Thanks much for adding that one!


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## jeanrot

michael tlv said:


> Greetings
> 
> I'm shooting my video on front projector calibration set up today. IT should be up later today or tomorrow. Hopefully it gives you some more ideas about what you might be doing wrong.
> 
> Regards


Thank you, Michael!


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## ALMFamily

In an effort to better understand the color management system on the AE-7000, I was searching and doing a bit of reading and came across a review that stated that the Cinema1 picture mode was "one set by a Hollywood colorist" and was not the closest to the "D65" standard on this unit - the Rec709 picture mode was the one that was actually closest to that standard.

For this specific model, does it make sense to use the Rec709 picture mode as a starting point rather than the Cinema1 mode? I am assuming that is correct, but thought it might be a good idea to have someone corroborate this theory.


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## michael tlv

Greetings

Yes ... and now. While the 709 mode is closer out of the box ... you cannot tweak it. 

The Cinema mode can be tweaked to be better as a final product.

But if you were just to turn it on and not do much else, then the 709 is a better choice.

regards


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## ALMFamily

michael tlv said:


> Greetings
> 
> Yes ... and now. While the 709 mode is closer out of the box ... you cannot tweak it.
> 
> The Cinema mode can be tweaked to be better as a final product.
> 
> But if you were just to turn it on and not do much else, then the 709 is a better choice.
> 
> regards


OK, thanks Michael!


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## ALMFamily

Instead of picking up where I left off a week ago, I decided to start from the beginning and walk through the calibration process in its entirety once again - practice, practice, practice! 

So, here are my pre-cal readings. Hopefully, this picture is a bit clearer:










I am going to continue to use the standard workflow for now until I get more comfortable with the process.


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## ALMFamily

I took a few different measurements for Gamma - the best I was able to get to was:










The 60% area just did not want to play nice - when I adjusted high gamma, it blew 80-90% way over 2.4.

On to Gamut!


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## ALMFamily

Played around with Gamut and the AE-7000's CMS for a while - here is where I got to:


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## ALMFamily

Grayscale - I focused on 80% and 20/30%:










Other than 90 / 100% being a tad high, this looks pretty good IMO.....


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## ALMFamily

And, lastly, Post Cal readings:











Any comments / criticisms welcome!


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## ALMFamily

So, I stuck in a couple of different movies - The Fifth Element and Brave. I think what struck me most was that colors seemed more natural - for instance, the grass and trees in Brave were more of a natural green than the vivid green I see when I switch to Normal mode.

It will probably take some getting used to - but it feels right.... I think. 

One thing I did notice - this mode only gives me about 12fl at the screen.....


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## mechman

Turn contrast down a notch or two and remeasure your grayscale. You may be clipping some. CMS looks ok. It would be nice to get the errors all below 3 but beggars can't be choosers. I have my recent Epson 3010 report on my laptop and there is very little that can be done to fix my CMS. The adjustments just don't do anything for green which throws a lot of the others off. All I do is get the luminance set correctly and walk away.


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## ALMFamily

mechman said:


> Turn contrast down a notch or two and remeasure your grayscale. You may be clipping some. CMS looks ok. It would be nice to get the errors all below 3 but beggars can't be choosers. I have my recent Epson 3010 report on my laptop and there is very little that can be done to fix my CMS. The adjustments just don't do anything for green which throws a lot of the others off. All I do is get the luminance set correctly and walk away.


Understand - CMS took me most of the time. I played with it for quite a while to get it to the point you see above. I was pretty pleased to get delta L and Delta H under 3 for all colors.

If I may ask, which specific measurement / graph are you looking at that leads you to suggest adjusting the contrast? I am using the AVSHD disc, so I used the "flashing" screens to set contrast and brightness - I did adjust them a bit at the end of the process.


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## ALMFamily

ALMFamily said:


> Understand - CMS took me most of the time. I played with it for quite a while to get it to the point you see above. I was pretty pleased to get delta L and Delta H under 3 for all colors.
> 
> If I may ask, which specific measurement / graph are you looking at that leads you to suggest adjusting the contrast? I am using the AVSHD disc, so I used the "flashing" screens to set contrast and brightness - I did adjust them a bit at the end of the process.


So, going back through the measurements, is it the delta E of the 90% and 100% grayscale readings that suggest clipping?


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## mechman

ALMFamily said:


> If I may ask, which specific measurement / graph are you looking at that leads you to suggest adjusting the contrast? I am using the AVSHD disc, so I used the "flashing" screens to set contrast and brightness - I did adjust them a bit at the end of the process.


Your grayscale readings at 90 and 100%. It seems to be clipping. Usually this can be fixed by turning contrast down a notch or two. 



ALMFamily said:


> So, going back through the measurements, is it the delta E of the 90% and 100% grayscale readings that suggest clipping?


That and green is fairly high at 100%. Actually there seems to be no change from pre to post at 100%. Try bumping contrast down one notch and take another reading. If there's no change, go down another. If there's still no change and your brightness is starting to take a hit, then you may just want to leave well enough alone and leave it where it is at now.


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## ALMFamily

mechman said:


> Your grayscale readings at 90 and 100%. It seems to be clipping. Usually this can be fixed by turning contrast down a notch or two.
> 
> 
> 
> That and green is fairly high at 100%. Actually there seems to be no change from pre to post at 100%. Try bumping contrast down one notch and take another reading. If there's no change, go down another. If there's still no change and your brightness is starting to take a hit, then you may just want to leave well enough alone and leave it where it is at now.


Thanks Mech - I will give it a go tonight.


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## michael tlv

Greetings

If one or more colors start to fall off at 100 ... the falling off ones are the ones that are clipping. They have run out of gas.

regards


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## ALMFamily

Just so I am clear - do you guys mean the overall contrast or the RGB contrasts? I am thinking you are referring to the RGB contrast, but thought I better check to make sure.


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## michael tlv

Greetings

What 3 colors make up the contrast control?

Once you iD that ... if I put those 3 letters in front of the word, contrast ... do I have a new control with all new functionality?



Kinda like LCD tvs ... and then they started to market them as 3LCD ... oh wow ... new technology!!! ... No wait, it's always been 3 lcd colors ...

regards


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## ALMFamily

michael tlv said:


> Greetings
> 
> What 3 colors make up the contrast control?
> 
> Once you iD that ... if I put those 3 letters in front of the word, contrast ... do I have a new control with all new functionality?
> 
> 
> 
> Kinda like LCD tvs ... and then they started to market them as 3LCD ... oh wow ... new technology!!! ... No wait, it's always been 3 lcd colors ...
> 
> regards


Well, not new, but maybe a bit more flexible.


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## ALMFamily

I got the re-testing done - the grayscale looks a fair bit better:










I then re-did the post cal readings:










The final results look pretty good, but I do have a question. The delta E readings show that each step is below the "3" threshhold. I am just wondering about the disparity in the RGB measurements at 30% and 40% - is it normal to see differences in the lower grayscale? I am going to rewatch Michael's grayscale video now - I am sure the answer is right in there.


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## michael tlv

Greetings

Although we always hope for linear behavior, we don't always get it. Can you use the multipoint gamma to massage that difference out at 30/40?

Also look at the patterns visually and determine if you believe the readings. Meters do hiccup sometimes.

regards


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