LCD Monitor calibration queery..

I've just aquired a Samsung 226CW and now have CS3 running across two monitors - only had it running since last night and can't imagine how the hell I've managed to do anything before - crikey, it's bloomin' cosmic

BUT - there's always one isn't there - even though I've got my RGB channels calibrated to within 0.12Dab and my white point at 102cdm I'm bug**ed if I can get my black point right.

On my old CRT - now relegated to the job of 'tool rack' - I used to have the black point at 0.20/0.21cdm, but I cant get this Samsung down below 0.49cdm without everything else looking rubbish.

Am I trying to get the Blacks too low, or are my numbers right for an LCD black point and I'm just doing something wrong - which has been known

I'm on Spyder2Pro btw

Hope someone can throw this dog a bone here

Hi Andy,

Got to ask the obvious....

you are calibrating to a gamma of 2.2 and a col temp of 6500K?

On LCD's I normally calibrate them to 110cd/m2.

Fraid I'm not going to be too much help as I was trained and use Gretag Macbeth tools and am not familiar with the spyder system..

Phil

Hi Phil - yep 2.2 and 6500K

Even though you are on Gretag what's your black point - or don't you have one specified ?

Hi Andy...

Have to be quick here, about time to wander home and I am down in Wandsworth tomorrow from 10am...

Gretag Macbeth doesn't specify black point, as there shouldn't be any need to, as long as the monitor falls within reasonable contrast and colour balance ranges after calibration then the profiling software should have no problem with the profile LUT.

Will check back later tonight...

Phil

Hi Andy I don't set a black points as such with my spider software what I tend to do which makes it easier for myself and preset the gamma to 2.2 and then there is a link on my web site from their home page that says sharpening technique if you follow this their is a greyscale that I have on that page I just make sure that I ajust my brightness and contrast that I can see all 26 squares of it, I then let my spider software after calibrating all the colour channels to the correct level with my spider software obviously and then let it calibrate it hi usually set my colour temperature to D65 though not 6500 K. I don't think there's any difference .

Phillip.

Your numbers are about right for an LCD. They work differently than CRTs in that they always have a backlight shining behind them, so it's a real challenge for LCD manufacturers to make the LCD grid so good that it will completely block out all that light. An average LCD will only be able to get to somewhere around .30 -.40. A good Eizo LCD display on the other hand will get down to .16 or so.

You could also try increasing your contrast to 100% if you have such a setting. That might bring out the most black your display is capable of.

-Pat Herold
Chromix

Thanks for that Patrick - I wish this monitor had a backlight control on it but sadly it doesn't. Maybe the acuisition isn't going to work out so well afterall.............we'll see

That old CRT may make a comeback then