Low quality matrixes in mainstream monitors prevent users from accurately identifying details and colors in photographs, printed layouts or other images. But everything is not so hopeless. There is no need to run to the store for a new one. How to adjust your monitor to improve image quality?
First of all, we need to take into account that we are talking about a consumer approach. Professionals are guided by completely different tasks and opportunities. And their requirements differ from everyday ones. Professional decisions require serious costs, which are unlikely to be justified if your earnings do not depend on the quality of the image.
Why adjust your monitor?
A monitor can be good or bad, but more often it turns out to be incorrectly configured. Many of us have noticed the difference in colors on our TV and those of our parents or friends.
You should also understand that a person has individual vision characteristics, so everyone perceives the image differently. In addition to the visual characteristics of the person himself, monitor settings should also be taken into account.
Default computer settings, standard drivers, use of inappropriate ones color profiles, standard cords or incorrect placement of the screen - all this has specific value. Therefore, you should not rely solely on images on the Internet.
Photographers often show potential clients portfolio on their laptops on which they have installed suitable settings. But photos may look different on a different monitor. Therefore, you should not rely on the monitor to assess the quality of pictures. The only way to universally check quality is to print photographs.
How to properly set up a monitor - where to start?
Before setting up your monitor, you should remove possible obstacles to normal color reproduction (with maximum shades for this monitor) and full color perception. First of all, you should place the Monique in a place where there will be no interference from outside lighting. Look around the room - it is optimal that there are no windows in the chosen place, and that the lamp light does not fall directly or at an angle.
Designers also use special curtains that help limit glare and side light. For ordinary users, such curtains may be overkill, but you can at least place them on the table so that no light enters the screen.
Let's consider an image specially created to evaluate the quality of the picture on the monitor. This image contains 2 halves - white and black. Each half is marked with numbers 1-5. If the matrix is of sufficient quality and well configured, you can see all the numbers from this list. Owners of a mid-level monitor can see numbers 1-3. If only numbers 1-2 are visible, or it was not possible to notice them at all, the problem must be solved - this is what our article is intended for.
Both tables are made in a resolution of 1280 * 1024, which is the most common resolution now on 17" and 19" monitors. To view and adjust them, they should be displayed on the entire screen at 100% scale (on a black background for fine-tuning dark shades, and on white for fine-tuning light shades ). Standard program view images and faxes in Windows XP will cope with this. On 17" and 19" monitors they will occupy the entire screen space, on 15" monitors (where the resolution is 1024*768) they will extend beyond the screen. On 20" or larger monitors (1600*1200) they will occupy only the central part, but this is not critical - the main thing is that they are displayed on the screen at a scale of 100% or 1:1. Although a monochrome table can be scaled to half the resolution (640*512) without loss of accuracy.
The monochrome table has squares in the center and smooth gradients on the sides. The numbers on the squares correspond to the pixel brightness level (0..255)
The color table has 9 zones with various options for smooth transitions in color channels RGB and monochrome gradients on the sides. In fact, in these 9 zones with 65536 shades of each, all possible shade options are sorted out RGB , with the exception of brightness for each case. The table can also be used to evaluate the color smoothness of printers; at the bottom there are three gradients for colors CMY . Another “side” use of the color table is that it can be used to evaluate the quality of compression various formats files (. jpg .png .tif) - upon magnification, all defects and losses (if any) will be visible.
What should be visible and what should not.
When viewing a monochrome table, the following should be visible on the screen:
- smooth gradients on the sides should be exactly smooth, without any noticeable “steps”, the left gradient should not have a wide white gap in the middle, the right one should not have black. They should both meet smoothly in the middle. If the width of the light zone of a smooth gradient on the left is smaller than the width of the dark zone on the right, then the monitor has a dip in dark shades, if on the contrary, then the monitor has too much brightness. If the middle zones of smooth gradients have the same monotony and length, then the monitor conveys the full range of halftones very well, without noticeable dips. A more accurately transmitted range is visible in the square zones in the middle of the table (above and below).
- all squares with numbers should be visible, adjacent ones should not merge. The outer squares with numbers 15..0 should smoothly disappear from view, darken smoothly down to 0 (this is clearly visible if you turn off the lights in the room and view the table on a black background). Numbers 240..255 should also smoothly disappear from view (clearly visible on a white background). If you look closely, the background with the square number should be slightly different from the background of the square.
When viewing the color table the following should be visible:
- smooth color gradients in 9 zones should look exactly smooth, without any noticeable steps. For example, 3 zones in the middle (from top to bottom), if incorrectly adjusted or with an imperfect monitor matrix, have a diagonal step, or can be displayed as a coarser gradient with a large “square” step.
There should be no sharp shifts into black and white in the corners of 9 zones (lower left, upper right corners of each in squares).
In order to imagine everything perfectly, I recommend looking at least once at these tables displayed on a CRT monitor. If your result differs from that described and from the result on CRT monitor, then adjustment is required.
I’ll say right away that adjustment can eliminate color rendering defects only if incorrect setting monitor, eliminate defects associated with it design features(for example, matrix type, factory settings of brightness curves, color balance of the backlight or its wear) is impossible.
Setup.
- enable the table to view in full screen. Preferably on a black background if your screen resolution is larger than the table size.
- adjust the brightness to a comfortable level, but so that the darkest zones (15..0) do not completely disappear and begin to merge with the black background.
- then start adjusting the contrast of the image so that all the light zones (240-255) become visible on the table, but at the same time the darkest ones do not disappear. At the same time, the smoothness of the gradients on the sides may still not be ideal.
- smooth gradients can be achieved if your monitor has an adjustment R G B (red green blue) channels.
- for guaranteed precise tuning it is convenient to remove two channels R(red) and B (blue) to zero value and only adjust G( green). So turn down the brightness of the channels R and B to zero, and adjust the brightness of the green channel G until the gradation disappears on smooth gradients. It should be noted that during adjustment the step gradually decreases (from a small step to a larger one, to a smooth one) until you “get” to the correct value, then it begins to increase again (from a smooth to a large step, then to a smaller one) . Those. regulated as if by a sinusoid. When you get to the desired value, you can set the remaining two channels R and B to the same value. After this, you may need to slightly adjust the brightness or contrast level.
As soon as you notice that smooth gradients do not have gradations and white/black gaps in the middle, and all squares with brightness levels are visible, then the adjustment can be considered complete. If there are no dips in brightness, but the gradient cannot be eliminated (or vice versa), then the monitor matrix is most likely to blame, perhaps it is made according to the old type PVA/ MVA or TN+ Film . In older monitors on these types of matrices, there is a “truncated” color rendition.
I note that for each brightness and contrast level of the monitor, the channel level settings R G B will change. On my monitor SONY SDM-205KB in each of the modes (dark, medium, bright, auto), the levels of all settings are saved and there is no need to adjust them all the time - you just had to adjust them correctly once, because in the factory version, the accuracy of the settings was VERY far from ideal.. I can say the same about the monitor at work ( Samsung 172N) and about many others that I saw in Lately, they were all out of tune.
Optimal monitor color temperature for color space images sRGB is usually 6500K. The backlight of monitors usually has the same color temperature, if you configure the RGB channels synchronously, then the monitor's color rendering in theory will be close to optimal for sRGB images.
If you want to check your monitor's color temperature setting, i.e. To measure it numerically, you can use a digital camera and shoot in RAW. All you need to do is turn it on White background on the monitor, and then set the white balance in the camera to this background and take a screenshot. When you open a RAW file in Photoshop, you will see the white balance value obtained from the image. According to my measurements SLR camera and as a digital compact it turned out:
- 6450K at lamp brightness setting "bright"
- 6400K at the lamp brightness value "medium"
- 6800K at the lamp brightness value "dark"
I think the values are quite acceptable within the error limits.
P.S. I also decided to publish an artificially generated “ideal” spectrum of visible light (all the colors of the rainbow). By assessing its smoothness and monotony, you can judge the quality of color rendition of your monitor’s colors from the point of view of visual perception of light in real life, as well as recognize the shift in white balance towards cold or warm tones (by the width of the blue and red areas). You can also use it to check the operation of photographic filters (including software filters). Photoshop) watching how they cut off any of its parts or shift the white balance.
monteon is a service for testing a computer monitor or mobile device display. With test screens you can easily adjust your monitor settings to get best quality Images. A number of tests will help you evaluate the image quality of your monitor. Even from the first test screens, you can calibrate the monitor by adjusting the brightness, contrast, sync phase, sharpness and gamma correction of the monitor.
Tests are best viewed in dim or dark ambient light and in full screen mode. When running tests, you will be automatically prompted to switch to full screen mode. When you move the mouse pointer, a test control panel will appear at the bottom of the screen. Using the controls on the panel, you can select the test you need, rotate the slide (if the test provides it), return to home page or turn off full screen mode. With left and right side screen when you move the mouse, buttons for moving between tests are displayed. For convenience, controls disappear from the screen when you don't move the mouse pointer. In addition, hot control keys are provided. To move between test screens, use the Left, Right, or Space keys, or the mouse wheel. To rotate the slides - “Up” and “Down”, to exit the test - “Esc”.
If you have any color management systems installed in operating system or additional correction software for the video card, it is recommended to disable them first. First, you need to make adjustments to the monitor settings so that its characteristics are as close to ideal as possible, and only after that use any software color management to compensate for any small possible deviations or imperfections.
Color rendition
This classic template used to check the settings of primary colors and shades. Nowadays there are usually no problems with color reproduction (especially on LCD monitors), so you probably don't even need to change these settings. This test can be used to verify that a monitor displays colors correctly without any artifacts. If your monitor supports filters (or has color filtering software), then you can use such filters to check that the monitor clearly reproduces colors without impurities (i.e., when using a red filter, the red bar should not change hue).
Defective pixels
Modern monitors use the RGB color model for color reproduction (an abbreviation of the English words Red, Green, Blue - red, green, blue). Each screen pixel consists of three channels. Mixing these three colors in different intensities gives different colors, and the same intensity produces shades of gray. A series of color rendering tests feature single-color template screens. These tests use only one specific color channel. Separately red screen, separately green and separately blue.
These tests, in addition to the completeness of the channel color, allow you to check for defective pixels or as they are also called - dead pixels. To check for dead pixels, you need to carefully examine the entire screen on a single-color test screen. There should be no black dots on it. You need to check each channel, because... each pixel consists of three channels. Therefore, it is not at all necessary that if everything is fine on one channel, then everything will be fine on the other. If you find a black dot on one of these tests, then you have found a dead pixel. Definitely, the presence of a defect even in one of the pixel channels will lead to distortion of color reproduction in a given pixel (point). Having a few dead pixels is normal on older monitors, but a new one should not have such defects. This series additionally includes color channel mixing tests: yellow(red+green), magenta (red+blue), cyan (green+blue) and white (red+green+blue).
Gradients
This series of tests presents screen templates with smooth gradients. All gradients should appear smoothly, without any stripes, lines or sudden color changes. Banding appears when the monitor is unable to correctly reproduce true colors and smooth transitions. A good monitor will display a completely smooth transition.
Flicker
On many VGA monitors, it is necessary to adjust the so-called clock/phase parameter (phase synchronization). These test images are best viewed in full screen mode. On long distance from the monitor they should look gray. When viewed closely, a fine pattern of alternating contrasting pixels (black and white) should be clearly visible.
If the synchronization is not configured correctly, images flicker or the appearance of “running pixels” is created. Or if the images look solid gray (no dots are visible even when viewed closely) or there are black and white stripes (vertical or curved), then adjustments are also needed.
Most monitors have a function automatic settings this parameter. It is usually called "Auto" or "AutoSet". Depending on the monitor type, there may be manual adjustment options.
Sharpness
Sharpness is very important. Sharpness is responsible for the level of clarity of the boundary between light and dark areas. For example, if it seems to you that the letters of the text are blurred, then most likely the level of sharpness is insufficient. By adjusting a certain level of sharpness on the display, you can get a picture or text that is pleasing to the eye. But over-sharpening is just as bad as under-sharpening.
Unlike brightness, contrast, color and hue, there is no “ideal” level of sharpness. Because, at least in part, the perception and optimal level of image sharpness depends on a number of factors, including the display method, screen size, and how far away you typically are from the screen.
In the test, an example of which is given above, with a sufficient level of sharpness you should clearly see small patterns in a checkerboard pattern. If there is insufficient sharpness, some squares merge into a solid gray color. The central circle should stand out clearly.
On another test, you should see clear rectangles and lines without blurred edges, halos and other artifacts. Diagonal lines should also be straight.
Contrast and Brightness
In this series of tests, you should see clear boundaries between stripes and squares in the images. If some areas merge and become the same color or are not visible against the background at all, then it is necessary to adjust the brightness and contrast. On good monitor, you should see equal steps of brightness throughout the test range and in all colors.
Zone brightness
This test good way check the level of overall brightness reproduction, and not a bad template for checking clarity. The center of the screen should look smooth and clean. Further from the center, closer to the edges, the contours should become more and more sharp and less smooth. Imaginary false concentric circles may appear closer to the edges of the screen. If these outlines are ovoid or oval, then something is wrong. There may be a slight, almost imperceptible decrease in brightness in the corners of the screen. If the decrease in brightness is large or everything merges, then this is not so good.
Geometry and meshes
These tests are designed to verify the correct geometry and fit of the image being reproduced by the monitor.
Image Clipping
Not every display actually shows you every pixel that is sent by the video card to the monitor. This test will show you how part of the image is missing. If your monitor is set up correctly, you should see a white line on the outer edge of all the numbered rectangles around the entire edge of the screen. If some rectangles are missing the outer white line at the edge of the screen, this means that the edge of the image is being cut off. The number of such a clipped rectangle shows how many pixels are missing on this edge of the screen.
16:9 format
The test example above is designed to test widescreen displays with a 16:9 aspect ratio. Here you should see a grid of 16 identical squares horizontally and 9 identical squares vertically. Regularly shaped circles should be visible at the corners. If you don't see them or they are clipped or distorted, then your monitor either does not support the corresponding mode, or you need to adjust the image scaling, which may be service menu display.
Almost all users computer systems while working, they want to see a clear, rich picture on the screen. Color is one of the components that is very high degree affects the image and also does not tire the eyes. But not everyone knows how to properly set up a monitor for correct color reproduction and check the settings made. Of course, in each specific case it all depends on personal preferences, but some general advice can still be given. Let's look at some basic tools.
Setting color rendering: related parameters and factors
So, the user was faced with the problem of checking the set parameters for correct color rendering. What to do first? First, you need to clearly understand that adjusting just these parameters may not give much improvement.
The fact is that in this case many related factors play a role. For example, before calibrating colors, you need to decide on the place where the monitor itself is constantly located, what the illumination is in this place, whether it changes during the day, whether direct sunlight or electric light falls on the screen, etc. Depending on this, the settings can be completely different.
In addition, it is worth considering that brightness, contrast, and many other factors have a great influence on color settings. In addition to all this, the question of how to set up a monitor for correct color reproduction on a laptop or perform similar steps on a laptop may have completely different solutions. stationary device or a television panel to which a computer terminal can be connected. More on this later.
Dependence on the type of matrix and graphics adapter
Another challenge in deciding how to set up a monitor for correct color reproduction is the variety of modern types of matrices. Setting the same parameters on monitors with CRT, TN or IPS matrices is not the same in terms of the resulting image.
For example, IPS matrices can be easily configured without using software methods, because they are made using such technology that when looking at the screen at an angle, the image practically does not change. But other screens may produce glare or change colors.
In the same way, screens can be configured differently depending on what video card is installed. Manufacturers usually supply them with special utilities The settings are already pre-installed, so color calibration is best done using them. In addition, it is precisely such utilities that allow you to change parameters in relation to normal mode work or to pass computer games. As a rule, access to color settings and other parameters is carried out from a menu called up by clicking on the adapter icon in the system tray. And, I must say, they can make installations automatically.
Visual determination of image quality
Finally, before you start directly deciding how to configure the monitor for correct color rendering (use software or limit yourself to system tools), you need to evaluate how feasible this is.
The most important scourge of all screens is a change in color or contrast when viewed from the side. First, you should move a few meters away from the screen and see how the image changes. At the same time, it is worth paying attention to the presence horizontal stripes, changing in the vertical direction. If they are visible too clearly, you will have to do some adjustments (this can be done in the adapter properties on the “Monitor” tab). The higher the frequency, the better. As a rule, the default setting is initially set to the optimal setting, but a free-standing computer monitor or laptop screen may support higher settings. Therefore, you need to test each of them by selecting the appropriate frequencies in the drop-down menu.
How to set up your monitor for correct color reproduction: desktop devices
Now about the setup itself. As a rule, most modern computer monitors(not laptop screens) are already equipped during manufacturing with their own means for setting the necessary parameters.
To solve the question of how to set up your monitor for correct color reproduction, in the simplest case you need to press a special menu button on the front panel or side to enter the corresponding menu. When you select the desired section using two buttons, you can adjust all parameters. But, as is already clear, such settings are primitive, and the monitors themselves are clearly limited in their ability to fine-tune all the necessary parameters.
How to properly adjust monitor color rendering using Windows?
Although you can access color adjustments on Windows systems through personalization or screen settings (both sections can be accessed from the right-click menu on an empty space of the Desktop), it is still better to use a special calibration tool. The easiest way to call it is through search bar the “Start” menu, where the word “calibration” is written. You can also access this tool, for example, in Windows 10 through the screen options, where you select additional settings. You should first set it to optimal (recommended) or use higher settings if supported.
Next, you will need to follow the recommendations of the “Wizard,” changing certain settings along the way. Particular attention should be paid to setting the number of displayed colors and depth. You don’t have to experiment with the quantity, but the color depth for the displayed graphic objects for almost everyone modern devices must be set to 32 bits.
Testing and configuration using RealColor
It is considered that one of the most optimal solutions The problem with how to set up your monitor for correct color reproduction is the use of a special wallpaper called RealColor, which is vaguely reminiscent of the adjustment grid that used to be used on TVs.
You just need to download the wallpaper with a resolution corresponding to that installed on your computer monitor or laptop screen, and then open it in full. Next, you should look at the screen from a normal distance. But it is better to use a special picture, in which, with optimal color settings, a smooth gray gradient should be visible. If streaking is visible or other colors are mixed in, the monitor is not calibrated. A similar result should be observed for images with colored letters and circles on a gray background.
In most cases, the result will not live up to your hopes, so you will have to use special utilities. One could, of course, recommend the special Atrise Lutcurve application, but the program is paid ($25), and most users simply cannot afford it.
Image calibration in Adobe Gamma
Thus, if you decide how to set up your monitor for correct color rendering using software, you can use Adobe Gamma as a testing utility, however, this program is basically designed for color calibration when working in Photoshop (so that the image on the screen does not differ depending on what will be printed).
When starting the application, it is better to select a special “Wizard” (step by step) and create a description of the new profile. Next, as in the case of calibration in Windows, you need to follow the instructions and recommendations, changing the parameters manually.
We set the glow type to HDTV (CCIR 709) or our own, leave only one checkbox for consideration and determine the so-called color temperature of the white point (for daylight the value is set to 6500K). Next, three light squares will be shown, from which you will need to choose the most neutral gray. At the last stage, all that remains is to set the point display as hardware and save the profile. If you need to make changes, editing the profile or launching a new test can be done from the system tray.
Using online services
In principle, you can evaluate the correctness of the set color rendering parameters using special web services like monteon.ru, however, they do not have their own configuration tools, but in the test results they give enough detailed descriptions problems and recommendations for eliminating them.
conclusions
As a conclusion, we can only note that fine tuning color rendering is a rather difficult matter, especially since these parameters depend on a huge number of third-party factors and conditions. Therefore, in different situations, the settings used may differ sharply from each other.
But many will ask, what should I use? In the simplest case, you can limit yourself to using Windows. Well, in software terms, it is better to configure it through the utilities supplied with the graphics adapters (if such programs exist). In most cases, they save the user from changing settings manually and can optimize all parameters based on the selected operating mode.
Soft proofing involves viewing an image on a screen using one or more ICC profiles.
This way you can get an idea of what the image will look like when printed.
The image is viewed through a visual “filter” formed by the monitor and printer profiles.
To soft proof in Photoshop, follow these steps:
Using the “Image” - “Duplicate” command, create a duplicate of the image so that you have something to compare with.
This temporary image should not change.
Activate the working image.
Using the View - Proof Setup - Custom command, open the Proof Setup dialog box and create the desired proof space.
Select the (printer) output profile from the Profile list.
The Intent list selects the transfer method when converting document space to proof space.
In the "Simulate" section, you can select the "Paper White" and "Ink Black" modes.
Each of the options (of which there are actually three, since you don’t have to enable any of the modes) is associated with its own way of converting the image.
To begin with, it is better to select the “Paper White” option to convert the monitor’s proof space, which uses the color calibration mode.
Don't worry if the image looks dull and faded after doing this - that's the purpose of soft proofing: to see how the image will turn out when printed if nothing is done.
You can now make changes to the image you are viewing.
It is best to use adjustment layers, comparing the result with the original image: adjust the contrast, color components, etc.
In Photoshop, starting with version 6, it became possible to combine settings into a group of adjustment layers.
All that remains is to assign it to this group for this printing configuration.
If you need to print the same image on a different printer, with different ink, or on different paper, you can create a different group of layers.
All of them are saved in one master file.
View finished image on full screen (using the [F] key).
Using the View - Gamut Warning command, check for out-of-gamut colors and make changes if necessary.
In the “Print with Preview” window, which opens using the “Show More Options” - “Color Management” command, select the ICC printer profile.
Finally, a few notes regarding soft proofing in Photoshop.
Initially, Epson's Windows drivers did not provide custom paper profiles.
They had to either be borrowed from Mac drivers or obtained from independent Internet sources.
In new models Epson profiles built into the P.I.M software.
In addition, several profiles and a P.I.M. module. for Windows can be downloaded from the Epson website.
Color management should not be duplicated.
For example, you should not use an ICC profile if the printer driver itself performs color adjustments - this can be checked using the command "Print" - "Custom" - "Advanced" - "Color Management" (Print - Custom - Advanced - Color Management).
When printing on Epson printer When using a profile, do not forget to enable the “No Color Adjustment” mode.
If this is not done, the results will be unpredictable and, most likely, disastrous.
The effectiveness and quality of soft proofing is directly related to the quality of monitor calibration.
Don't skimp or ignore this procedure.
It's important to understand that no matter how great a digital soft proofing tool is, you will never be able to get a perfect match between the preview result and the printed image.
It's practically impossible.
You can get very close to perfection—much closer than ever before—but you still have to make allowances for hardware and digital process limitations.
AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition 19.9.2 Optional Driver
A new version AMD drivers Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition 19.9.2 Optional improves performance in Borderlands 3 and adds support for Radeon Image Sharpening technology.
Cumulative Windows update 10 1903 KB4515384 (added)
On September 10, 2019, Microsoft released cumulative update for Windows 10 version 1903 - KB4515384 with a number of security improvements and a fix for a bug that broke Windows operation Search and caused high CPU usage.
Loading...
