ICM = ICC? (color calibration trouble w/ Adobe Gamma)

MD
Posted By
Matthew.DelVecchio
Jul 20, 2005
Views
476
Replies
6
Status
Closed
hello all,

i recently bought a Hynundai L90D+ digital LCD panel, which i have plugged in to my geforce4 via a DVI cable. after reading a text on color management, i thought i would do some poor-man’s calibration, via Adobe’s Gamma tool. (id rather hold off on buying monitor calibration hardware/software until after i see results from the AG tool, which is better than doing nothing at all). i am running windows xp.

trying to use Adobe Gamma to calibrate the monitor. from the book ive read, the first step is to begin by loading the monitor’s provided ICC profile as a starting point, and tweak it from there using the utility. Hyundai provides this file:

L90DPD.ICM
(L90DPA.ICM too, which i assume is for the analog cable use)

….however when i load it, AG kicks me this message:

"The selected profile is not a legal RGB display profile"

i am sure this is related to another error i get when i load CS2 and have the same profile set as my default (via windows):

The monitor profile "Colorific: PnP VESA DDC – HYUNDAI ImageQuest L90D Digital" appears to be defective. Please rerun your monitor calibration software.

any idea whats up? is it because this is a ".ICM" and not a ".ICC" file? are they the same things?

thanks!
matt

—
Matt Del Vecchio
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MV
Matti Vuori
Jul 20, 2005
wrote in
news::
any idea whats up? is it because this is a ".ICM" and not a ".ICC" file? are they the same things?

Both file suffixes are used and they don’t matter (if you are in doubt, just change the suffix). Perhaps the profile file is indeed defective. Check if the manufacturer has a profile for download in its web site.

—
Matti Vuori, <http://sivut.koti.soon.fi/mvuori/index-e.htm>
MD
Matthew.DelVecchio
Jul 21, 2005
i didnt see an updated one posted, but i will continue to inquire.

thanks
matt
BH
Bill Hilton
Jul 21, 2005
wrote

i didnt see an updated one posted, but i will continue to inquire.

Why bother? The manufacturer’s monitor profiles are irrelevant and inaccurate once you make a single change of the brightness, contrast or color controls, or as soon as you’ve made a single pass with a profiling system like Adobe Gamma. It’s not worth the bother to even download a monitor profile from the manufacturer, you *have* to make one yourself for your monitor to get an accurate profile.

Bill
MD
Matthew.DelVecchio
Jul 21, 2005
i see. didnt realize that.

as a new lcd user, i figured i would want to get it all synched up as possible, like when i install new vid card drivers.

if not, well, what’s the point of monitor profiles?

matt
BH
Bill Hilton
Jul 21, 2005
wrote

i see. didnt realize that (a generic monitor profile is not of much use)
i figured i would want to get it all synched up as
possible, like when i install new vid card drivers.
if not, well, what’s the point of monitor profiles?

What a good profile will do is accurately display the colors represented in the image file on YOUR screen, when you use a color managed application. But the profile is tightly bound to one screen and that’s why a generic monitor profile isn’t much use, just as a base starting point (if you have one handy) before you actually run the first real calibration/characterization.

Think of it this way … when you run the software you’ll choose a gamma setting and a white point and you’ll fiddle with the brightness and contrast and color settings to get to a known good point — this step is called ‘calibration’ and as soon as you change any of these parameters you’ll need to do it again. Now, did the factory-provided profile use your laptop screen when it generated the profile? No. Are *all* of your settings (gamma, white point, brightness, contrast, color settings) identical to what the factory used on their monitor? Not very likely. Then add in differences between units and realize that monitors shift over time (most calibration companies recommend re-running the software every two weeks) and you can see that there’s little likelihood that a generic profile from the manufacturer is very accurate.

So you need to generate a profile for your own specific machine under your typical viewing conditions with your settings for gamma, white point etc and then do not touch those dials or you’ll need to repeat the process.

Bill
MR
Mike Russell
Jul 22, 2005
"Bill Hilton" wrote in message
wrote

i didnt see an updated one posted, but i will continue to inquire.

Why bother? The manufacturer’s monitor profiles are irrelevant and inaccurate once you make a single change of the brightness, contrast or color controls, or as soon as you’ve made a single pass with a profiling system like Adobe Gamma. It’s not worth the bother to even download a monitor profile from the manufacturer, you *have* to make one yourself for your monitor to get an accurate profile.

Bill and I have long ago agreed to disagree on this one, so here goes.

A calibration device is not necessary or even desirable for a single user system. It is possible to get your monitor very close to accurate using Adobe Gamma. Careful use of Adobe Gamma, or a similar utility, is sufficient for good color. Using the manufacturer’s profile as a base will provide a measure of accuracy by ensuring that the monitor primaries match the monitor’s phosphors.

There is no need to feel that your setup is inadequate in any way if you do not use a colorimeter.

—
Mike Russell
www.curvemeister.com

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