calibration for computer monitor? (1 Viewer)

[Ted Lee]

hi all -

i was wondering if anyone knew of any shareware type stuff to specifically calibrate a computer monitor?

i've got a 21" HP monitor (P1110) that i think is "off". i've got the brightness turned down to 0%, the contrast at approximately 90% and at 6500K.

the problem is the monitor appears really washed out, with a slight blue tinge. i've gone through all the settings and cannot seem to get it to a decent dark level.

it's my work monitor, so i'm not really looking to do anything extreme, but i thought maybe someone would have an idea or suggestion?

thanks in advance,

ted

 

[JasenP]

Ted,
I don't know ahy you couldn't use standard color bars to calibrate with. Here is a link with 800 X 600 AND Resolutions 1024 X 768 Color Bars

 

[Ted Lee]

cool - thanks jasen! if you run into one for gray-scale let me know!

 

[Cliff Watson]

”the problem is the monitor appears really washed out, with a slight blue tinge. i've gone through all the settings and cannot seem to get it to a decent dark level.”
I don’t think adjustments will help this monitor. I had to replace a Sony monitor with the same symptoms because the sub-bright circuit was going out.

 

[Ted Lee]

ack! thanks cliff...

i sort of thought this was beyond "simple" repair...but i was hoping someone had some ideas.

i tried the colorbars and the colors looked "good", but when i look at whites, that's when the bluish tint/washed out look is really noticeable.

 

[JasenP]

Here is a link to some Link Removed

 

[Ted Lee]

wow! too cool jasen...didn't know google could do that! thanks!

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

There is software called Colorific which creates a custom color profile which corrects the colors at the video card level. The test patterns are interactive, for example it shows nine shades of blue against a blue background pattern and you click on the spot which best matches the background.

 

[Ted Lee]

thanks wayne...
i think i found some info on that app here. unfortunately, it's like 50.00.
since this is my work monitor, i'm not really going to spend any money if i can help it.
although i do stare at it for eight hours a day...oh well, once i go blind and lose my sight maybe i can sue the company!

 

[DaveF]

There is an ancient Nokia Monitor Test Tool that is floating around the web. I have no idea where I got my copy (linked from some article I read recently). But I found this site, which has it for download. It's a handy little program, and free.
http://freepctech.com/rode/004.shtml

 

[Ted Lee]

yes! i think that may be exactly what i'm looking for dave - thanks to you (and all the others) who replied.

hopefully my brightness circuit thing-a-ma-jig won't be busted and this'll help.

thanks again guys...

 

[Ken Chan]

There's also DisplayMate. It's not free either, but since we're listing links....
//Ken

 

[Jeff Kleist]

FYI: NTSC material SHOULD look a tad washed out on a computer monitor.

 

[Joseph S]

There's Colorsync for Macs to sync all display, input, and output color.
http://www.apple.com/colorsync

 

[Ted Lee]

hey jeff - why should ntsc look washed out? just curious...

 

[Jeff Kleist]

I don't know the specific reason why, but I believe it has to do with the much greater color depth of computer monitors. It was in an article on why you need a separate NTSC monitor because you can't do proper color correction on a computer w/o one for reference

 

[Ted Lee]

cool....thanks!

 

[Ted Lee]

update (if anyone cares...)

looks like the nokia test confirmed my fears. my monitor is running WAY too hot. i have my brightness set to zero and per their test, i'm seeing all their bars when i should only be seeing a few.

oh well, maybe i'll pitch a fit and see what happens.

thanks again all!

 

[Ken Chan]

I thought NTSC just looked dark on computer monitors, which have a different "gamma response curve" than TVs.

//Ken

 

[DaveF]

Ted - Glad my recommendation helped It seems odd that your monitor is too bright. My limited experience, is that monitors grow dim with age. Is this a new monitor (repaired under warranty) or an older one?