The purpose of setting up a monitor is accurate color reproduction

The manufacturer, as a rule, does not place the highest priority on color accuracy. For good sales, it is more effective to place emphasis on price, design, and some additional (often unnecessary) features. Therefore, the most accurate color rendition without additional adjustment is either an accident, or some very expensive special models, or simply people’s indifference to such an important parameter, on which eye health, emotional state and freshness of thought depend.

However, no matter what category of buyers you belong to (pros, amateurs, advanced users, etc.), most likely, you will strive to achieve the highest possible quality from the monitor in accordance with the capabilities of a particular model. It is no secret that this desire is largely due to the difficult economic situation, which forces us to pay close attention to every ruble spent on equipment, especially when it comes to monitors for professional or gaming needs.

Options initial setup monitor (brightness, contrast, temperature)

Of course, there are a lot of people who prefer not to go into the monitor settings menu for reasons of fear of “spoiling something,” laziness, or simply ignorance of such capabilities. As a rule, their monitors suffer from excessive brightness, which can hardly be called beneficial for the eyes. At the same time, people forget that our vision is a unique adaptive tool that flexibly adapts to different conditions. It is unlikely that you will need more than half an hour (and sometimes 5 minutes is enough) to completely get used to the new conditions of reducing brightness from maximum to sufficient.

A parameter that usually does not require additional adjustment is contrast. However, as surveys have shown, this is precisely what the vast majority of users are trying to change in one direction or another (relative to the factory settings). This is fraught with various unnecessary distortions. As you zoom in, light halftones may begin to merge and gradient transitions may begin to fall apart. And as it decreases, the depth of the black field decreases. Needless to say, gamma curves change and color accuracy deteriorates? Unfortunately, not everyone pays attention to this.

An important indicator of monitor settings is color temperature. The reference point is a level close to 6500K. This value is considered close to the reference values ​​for the perception of screen images. Of course, in ordinary life it is rare, and our vision adapts to any color temperature value, but if you strive for ideal, then the color temperature in the room should not differ from the white color on the screen by more than 500-700K. Otherwise, you may be “disturbed” by the temperature contrast on the screen and in the surrounding space. One way or another, almost everyone has encountered this phenomenon. We must remember that resolving this issue is not difficult, and modern models monitors, as a rule, have several ready-made settings (5-10) color temperature, covering most typical situations. Well, if this does not help, then manual configuration options will come to your aid.

Methods of setting up the monitor (manual, software, hardware).

Very often, users think about setting up a monitor without using special devices, that is, “by eye.” This desire is quite understandable, since it does not involve spending money on the purchase or rental of measuring equipment. But this method does not provide the necessary accuracy, since human vision, as mentioned above, is very flexibly adjusted to different conditions.

A slightly more advanced configuration method is to use special software. It appeared about ten years ago and still has its share of fans among users who are not inclined to spend, in their opinion, excessively. (See also) Indeed, these tools help to improve the situation a little, but you will not achieve a dramatic improvement with their help. We are talking about internal edits to the video card data - Look Up Table (LUT). However, you will not be able to accurately adjust the brightness level and color temperature, although eliminating the imbalance in color channels RGB will be within your power. How to improve the color balance of shades of gray and better display the color palette in terms of brightness (this is achieved by editing the gamma curves). But, you need to understand that in the final accuracy will be determined by such subjective parameters as the characteristics of your vision, emotional background, internal concentration and room lighting at the time of adjustment.

The main disadvantage of setting up using special software is the inability to create a full-fledged profile containing data on the color potential of the monitor, which in turn reduces the efficiency of working with software that uses a color management system (CMS). The color gamut of the device will be missing from the data and, accordingly, changing the parameters to the level of compliance with the specified standards will be incorrect.

Professional monitor setup is carried out using special instruments - colorimeters and spectrophotometers. This allows you to fine-tune the monitor to the level accepted as standards. The work includes two types of actions:

• Calibration;
• Profiling.

Monitor calibration and profiling

The initial stage of this setup is devoted to the internal parameters of the monitor, which are configured through its OSD menu. Using a measuring device, you need to adjust the brightness and color temperature indicators. They will depend on the external lighting conditions. (See also) As a result, the optimal saturation range should be formed.

At the next stage, you need to make automatic measurements of a large array of color shades. These indicators will be compared with reference values, as a result of which an ICM|ICC profile will be created and recorded, containing the final edits to the LUT of the video card. The profile contains information about how the display reproduces colors. Programs using a color management system (CMS) will access this data so that, in accordance with the characteristics of the monitor model, the color spectrum can be adjusted at the software level to a given standard.

To solve this problem, you can try: either select a gamma mode from among the available ones, or select an appropriate contrast value that affects the gamma curves, or use a tool like “Black Equalizer”. If all these actions do not lead to positive result(and possibly worsen the picture), then you have no other choice but to work on correction using the LUT of the video card. As for the LUT of the monitor, the vast majority of models on the market do not support changes. Unfortunately, in this situation, negative aspects in the form of distortion of gradients cannot be avoided.

Setting up a monitor using a video card driver

Another opportunity to make changes to the monitor settings is provided through the video card driver. But this path is recommended exclusively for laptops. Since the use of hardware matrix adjustment tools is not implemented for them, and only software can influence color rendition. Let's analyze several samples with settings edits using the NVIDIA driver.

Let's take advantage software Calibration Tester, which will help detect changes in the LUT of the video card that have arisen as a result of brightness, contrast and gamma correction. In the graph, the X-axis displays hue parameters from 0 to 255, while the Y-axis data illustrates their brightness. Since the dependence is specified in a linear format, it does not affect the output signal by default. But when making adjustments to the basic parameters, the image does not undergo significant changes. Moreover, the magnitude of the change exceeds similar steps performed in the OSD of the monitor.

An example of such unwanted distortions is the transformation of light halftones into absolute white, while black is transformed into dark shades of gray. If you lower the contrast, the effect will be much the same, but here the white color will acquire a gray component. Your vision may thank you for reducing the load in this way, but you will have to pay for it by reducing the range of colors, which fundamentally contradicts the idea of ​​​​accurate color rendition.

Using someone else's profile to configure your monitor

In any field of activity there are people who seek to “cheat the system.” Such attempts were not avoided when it comes to the processes of setting up the monitor. One of the misconceptions in this direction concerns the use of color profiles that someone once created on another monitor of the same model. The temptation to use a ready-made solution from the outside is quite strong. But, as a rule, the effectiveness of this step tends to zero.

Many people are sure that absolutely every monitor needs adjustment. In many ways, this opinion was formed under pressure from companies and individuals providing paid services on calibration and profiling of monitors. Also, a significant contribution to the dominance of this point of view is made by those users for whom the setting helped to radically “change the picture” on their monitors. You may agree with these views or not, but if we talk about the recommendations of professionals in this field, then they have a number of ideas about the need (or not) to work on setting up monitors.

Setting up your monitor for creative activities

It is quite logical that buying a monitor with a high-bit LUT, where there is direct access, implies calibration, for which these capabilities are introduced.

You should not place excessive hopes on calibration if you are working with colors behind a display that has a TN+Film matrix. It is better, after all, to replace such a monitor with another one with an IPS matrix, where color rendering is stable over the entire screen area and does not depend on working viewing angles. Calibration will also not solve problems with low stability, uneven illumination on a white/dark field, Black-Crush, Glow, Cross-Hatching effects.

Resetting your monitor

Over time, a monitor that once had good color reproduction may gradually deteriorate in this important parameter. This is a common occurrence, and in this case, calibration can return the situation to a positive direction. To achieve maximum accuracy, it is recommended to calibrate once every year or six months. Some purists insist on repeating this procedure every few days. However, this is overkill.

The effect of calibration can often be minimally noticeable. It manifests itself most clearly on monitors that initially performed poorly in accuracy testing based on factory settings.

When adjusting your monitor won't help

If your monitor has an extended color gamut, but for some reason you do not work with programs that support CMS, then calibration and profiling will not help you solve the problem of obtaining accurate colors. Only if you switch to MacOS, where the CMS will function at the level operating system, which, unfortunately, is not yet implemented in Windows. ()

If you get tired quickly, your eyes hurt, you can’t work at the monitor for a long time, and you’ve already tried reducing the brightness and changing the color temperature, then you shouldn’t count on calibration to save you from these problems.

Rely on the brand, but don’t be bad yourself.

Currently, the monitor industry continues to move forward on the path to improving product quality, paying more and more attention to factory settings. However, it has not yet been possible to achieve any stable result suitable for each user. Therefore, setting up monitors does not lose its relevance these days. Your monitor can be made better, more comfortable and more accurate if we are talking about some specific color solutions. You should not perceive the monitor as something finished - forever frozen in the final phase. All people are born different, feel and see the world differently. Setting up a monitor to suit your tasks and preferences means making the world even more convenient and beautiful, since nowadays what you see on the screen directly correlates with the surrounding space. The computer is a part of life. And the desire to make existence more pleasant is a natural process. Set up your monitors and have fun!

Most modern monitors have their own menu that allows you to adjust the color rendering of data. However, the parameters configured through the built-in functionality may vary depending on the model and manufacturer of the screen. To adjust the brightness, contrast and color of the screen, click on Menu button monitor body and select the appropriate settings using function keys. You can find out more about the configuration options of the device in the instructions for use of the monitor, which was supplied in one set upon purchase. Make settings according to the instructions given in the brochure.

System Setup

To calibrate the colors displayed on the screen, you can use the Calibration application, which is available by default in Windows system. Go to the Start menu. Start typing the word “Calibration” in the “Search” field. In the list of results, select "Monitor Color Calibration" and press Enter. Follow the system's on-screen instructions to adjust your monitor's color display.

The best color rendition and maximum clarity of objects can be achieved by setting the optimal screen resolution for your monitor. Right-click on the desktop and select the “Screen Resolution” section. In the Resolution field, enter the maximum setting available for the screen and click Apply. After changing the resolution, you can also go to the Advanced Options section.

Go to the tab with the name of your video adapter (for example, Nvidia or Intel). Depending on your video card model, here you will also be able to see additional options to configure image transmission to the monitor. Click on the button Graphic characteristics" to see additional options.

Also, to ensure better color rendering, it is advisable to activate 32-bit display of graphic elements. To do this, go to the Start menu - Control Panel - Appearance and Personalization - Personalization - Display Settings. In the Color Quality field, select 32 bits and click OK to apply the changes.

If you adjust image brightness, you can use the menu "Control Panel" - "Hardware and Sound" - "Power Options". Click on the “Customize power plan” link next to the energy saving plan you have chosen, and then move the “Adjust brightness” slider to the position that suits your requirements. Reducing the brightness can significantly increase the battery life of a laptop.

For all times

Color rendition not an idle question for a photographer :) Therefore, people who process photographs try to work on good monitors, at least on calibrated monitors. In this note there will not be a word about how to calibrate a monitor - there are already a lot of articles on this topic on the Internet. Here's a simple exercise to assess quality monitor color rendition. Express test, so to speak.

The square picture above is all you need for our express test. monitor color rendition. So, open the picture in a separate browser window in its natural size, or download and view it at 100% scale.

What do we see? If there are red green and blue stripes - alas: (everything is not good - the color rendition is distorted.

What should be seen on an ideal (calibrated) monitor is a uniform gray gradient - i.e. There shouldn’t be any color shades, or there should be a minimum number of them. Here is my monitor in the DELL office, no matter how you calibrate it, it shows color stripes:(, and the Apple Cinema 30″ monitor shows an almost perfect gray gradient (after calibration, of course). Thank you all for your attention.

The monitor does not always reproduce colors perfectly. And it doesn’t matter whether it’s expensive or cheap. The monitor needs to be configured like other devices that are display media. Regular the adjustment consists from standard settings for brightness, contrast, clarity, saturation, and so on. But there are also other parameters displays, more subtle. If the computer is used for simple tasks in the office, then this is not necessary. But if you need to constantly work with graphics, then the color rendition must match the source material. This is an important parameter and in this case it is necessary to calibrate the display.

• You need to calibrate your monitor in 20 minutes after switching on, that is, after complete warming up.
• Before you start, you need reset all monitor parameters are the same as those that were set at the factory. If such a function is not provided in the monitor, then you will need a program wini2cddc. It is a trial and 30 day trial. After the reset it is not needed and will be uninstalled.
• If there were parameters changed, then you need to re-calibrate;
• If there are automatic Contrast and brightness adjustments should be made disable their;
• If there is no calibrator and calibration using the program fails, when working with images, you should save them originals.

Settings and image quality assessment

If the display has a matrix Low quality, then they can often be errors when colors are selected when committing processing pictures, photographs and layouts for printing, when creating websites and resources.

There is a special picture that allows you to evaluate the quality of the calibration. On both sides there are numbers from 1 to 5. So, if the calibration is more or less successful, then it should be visible from three digits, and if perfect, then all five are above and below. If settings bad, then 1-2.

You need to remember how many numbers are visible and adjust until there is a medium or high level. You can also open the picture and customize based on it.

In order for the image to be clearly visible, first wipe the screen itself, so that nothing interferes or spoils the picture, and then adjust it.

Adjusting brightness and contrast

Brightness can also be configured using a special picture. On her, you need to make sure that the colors of the suit and shirt, which are black, didn't merge. That is, it was possible to distinguish where the jacket was and where the shirt was. There is also a cross in the background, it should be clearly visible.

Adjustment contrast makes it so that there are noticeable light colors, and their details are distinguishable.

There are folds and buttons in the image, so you need to choose the calibration so that they are clearly visible. It is better to set this parameter to zero position, and then little by little raise. If they start to disappear, then you need to reduce.

Gamma and Gray Adjustment

Gamma is an important parameter. However, not every monitor allows you to configure it properly. But we must try to bring it to ideal, that is, as best as possible. If she's set up qualitatively, then dark and light spots will not be visible in the center of the image.

Correct gray calibration will remove those colors shades, which make the display image worse. Adjustable three colors: red, blue and green. If the calibration is perfect, then there should be no third-party colors in the picture, only ideal grey colour.

Configuration programs

There are a lot of different applications for this, from the simplest to the most complex, with subtle calibration capabilities:

• Atrise Software LUTCurve – best utility with a lot of settings.
• Eberhard Werle QuickGamma – this program allows you to adjust colors and gamma.
• TFT Test 1.52– this program contains 12 pictures for setting up and comparing displays.

IN modern world The lion's share of professions involves working on a computer. At the same time, regardless of whether the time spent in front of the monitor screen lasts for a couple of hours or far exceeds two-thirds of the day, it is important to take care of eye health by correctly adjusting the brightness and color rendition of the display. The same applies to spending time for entertainment. In professional activities related to digital image processing, the quality of display of colors, shades, and contrast plays a significant role, and factory parameters do not always meet the user’s personal requirements.

TOP programs for checking and adjusting the monitor.

Here everything depends not only on the resources of the device and the use of its full potential, but also on individual perception, which varies, including changes in external factors, such as the lighting of the room where work is being done and the environment for the propagation of the light flux. Taking into account working conditions, as well as personal visual preferences, sensitivity to light, the monitor is adjusted.

You can make spending time at the computer more comfortable by regular means operating system, settings can be configured from the Control Panel. Moreover, if the goal is to bring the conditions closer to ideal, maximally adjusting them to your own requirements, it is better to use special software, offering a wider range of capabilities than standard tools. When diagnosing screens, programs help identify inconsistencies and adjust parameters to optimal values. Software that allows you to adjust the operation of the display has various functionality and can be useful to every user, regardless of the purpose for which the computer is used.

The task of setting up the display occurs both immediately after purchasing the device and after a certain period of use, since over time the matrix wears out and no longer displays colors as before. Sometimes the monitor comes with its own software with reference samples, designed for specific model, but there are also universal remedies. You can test the display and adjust its parameters based on the test results using special online services or software that requires installation. Software tools can be used to check the monitor for dead pixels, and also include their treatment if detected. Diagnosis performed in a timely manner will allow you to avoid future unpleasant moments associated with incorrect operation or complete failure of the device.

Multifunctional program for setting up your monitor. The software is distributed on a commercial basis, but there is a trial period. Ultra Mon options involve setting up and managing multiple displays at once; you can create and drag windows between devices, duplicate and move desktops, stretch the Taskbar across multiple monitors, create separate profiles, etc. Despite the scale of functionality, the program is easy to learn and not requires special knowledge from the user. Supports Windows 8 and higher, for earlier versions of the OS it is necessary additional customization compatibility for 16-bit applications.

Paid program for checking the monitor and selecting the optimal parameters. Allows you to test performance LCD displays,CRT devices (Cathode Ray Tube based) using a set of tests,includes the ability to detect dead pixels. The program has a simple interface, is easy to use and works on all versions of Windows OS with any support for resolution and color depth of the video card.

Free program for testing a monitor from a Russian manufacturer with detailed background information. The product has decent functionality, allowing you to perform diagnostics various characteristics devices. Among the possibilities are checking the uniformity of illumination, legibility of image details, linearity and discreteness of the matrix, etc. There is also an option for detecting stuck pixels. The user is given a choice of display resolution.

A utility for checking the monitor and setting basic parameters from Nokia, which does not require installation and is equipped with detailed help information on working with the software. Although the name is a little misleading, software tool involves checking the quality of computer monitors and video cards. Allows you to adjust contrast, color rendering, geometry and other key parameters. The utility is Russified and is freely available.

The program for setting the parameters of one or several monitors at the same time has excellent functionality, supports a large number of video cards, regardless of manufacturer, including those already “retired”. Combined with the convenience and simplicity of the interface, the program allows you to access 500 settings for the display and video card, and there is instructions on how to use all the features of the software. Power Strip detects all screen parameters and provides geometry correction, can change performance and clock frequency flicker. The program is self-updating and supports various operating systems. Among the disadvantages is a significant load on the memory and resources of the PC, the software is paid.

An easy-to-use multifunctional tool for simultaneous work with multiple monitors. Possibilities software product offer emulation on secondary displays of the Taskbar, Start button and other familiar Windows services. Supports preview, cloning of the Task Switcher window on all devices, creating configurations in the form of Desktop profiles, instant navigation between them and many other options are available. The software is paid.

Free program for checking and repairing dead pixels on LCD panels. The interface is quite simple, so understanding the functionality of UD Pixel will not be difficult even for an inexperienced user. The operating principle of the software is to quickly change the colors of “stuck” pixels. The program does not provide a 100% guarantee of “resurrection” (like any other), but in most cases the procedure is successful. After testing and detecting dead pixels on the monitor, the user can select the color flicker speed and begin the recovery process, which, by the way, will take a lot of time. This fact will not affect the operation of the device in any way, but you will have to wait a bit with other settings.

Software for checking an LCD TV or computer monitor for dead pixels, that is, those that glow the same color. Innjured Pixels software performs high-quality diagnostics, without requiring installation on a PC, and is distributed free of charge. The utility can only be used for testing purposes; it does not allow you to resuscitate functional pixels. The positive thing is that the device can be diagnosed right at the point of purchase before purchase.

Similar to the utility described above, this tool allows you to perform a procedure for checking LED and LCD monitors for dead pixels, without providing treatment. Is My LCD OK offers the user high-quality diagnostics with a decent set of tests, the software is completely free, no installation is required, and can be launched from any removable drive.

Another program that provides the ability to detect dead pixels. The software does not require installation and contains a decent set of tests for thorough testing. The interface is simple and clear, despite the fact that it is in English.

Since the human eye will not be able to accurately determine how incorrect the display image is due to the natural features of the structure and ability to adapt, it is advisable both when buying a new monitor and for the purpose of preventing the old one to use a special software, allowing you to identify defects in a timely manner and avoid unexpected expenses. Choosing the right software is a purely personal matter; it all depends on the requirements for the program, the need to perform certain tasks and the convenience of the user.

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