"Alan Smithee" wrote in message
I recently upgraded my Gretag Eye One software to version 3. They now recommend I use 100 cd/m2 as the recommended luminance for my CRT monitor. First, what is this setting, gamma?
No, it’s not gamma. If you forgive my loose terminlogy, it is the ‘brightness’ of the monitor’s white, as set by the CRT’s *contrast* control. I don’t use Gretag myself, but many calibrators simply recommend that you wind up the contrast to max and then they measure the luminance. Alternatively, you can specify a target (like 100cd/m2) and adjust the monitor to conform. The important thing to understand is that it is a *hardware* adjustment – it has to be set using the monitor’s controls. Gretag are simply recommending 100cd/m2 as a target.
and second, how much does this matter in
the over all scheme of things?
Generally, you want to improve the contrast ratio of the monitor, so the brighter you can make it, the better, as long as you don’t compromise the black point as well. Older CRT’s can’t always achieve 100cd/m2; perhaps Gretag have increased their recommended target due to the general improvement of CRT technology, or are assuminng that you use an expensive and new one 🙂
Whatever the luminance was before my system
was calibrated to it and everything seemed to work fine. With this new recommendation I notice that my monitor brightness, red, green, and blue values have all changed anywhere from 5 to 25%. Should I just go back to version 2.0 is the question I’m asking myself. Was this something that was broken that they fixed or just a different way of doing things? Thx.
As I said, I don’t use Gretag, but my ColorVision Optical system allows me to specify any target luminance I want. I would be surprised if Gretag V3 doesn’t do likewise – if it didn’t, there would be a lot of people who could not use it, since not all monitors can achieve that target. If you are happy with what you had, use it.
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John
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