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Do It Like Tom's: Calibrating Your Monitor With CalMAN RGB
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1. Display Calibration With CalMAN RGB

In all of our monitor reviews, we stress the importance of calibration. Even displays that perform well out of the box can be made better with an instrumented adjustment. Some of our recent test subjects achieved near-perfect results after we took the time to calibrate them using the controls available in their OSD menus. While there are many tools available to help you accomplish this, two packages are the most-used in our lab: Datacolor’s Spyder family and CalMAN RGB from SpectraCal.

I wrote about the Spyder package in Display Calibration 101: Step-By-Step With Datacolor's Spyder4Elite, which, with its included tri-stimulus meter, can calibrate any display using a look-up table. That means you can dial-in devices lacking on-screen controls like tablets and smartphones. It’s always better to have choices so, to that end, SpectraCal gives us the latest version of its monitor calibration solution, CalMAN RGB.

Because our last calibration feature went live about six months ago, I’d like to re-introduce our philosophy towards display calibration. The mantra is a simple one: the most important reason to calibrate any display is to achieve consistency between the source of the content and the display used to show that content.

For instance, a camera films a scene using a particular set of standards for color, brightness, gamma, and white balance. The only way to see that material the way the director saw it is to match your display to those standards. Fortunately, there are parameters for video production that are the same as the ones used in games, digital photography, and other content creation systems. A majority of computer displays can come pretty close to these.

At Tom's Hardware, every monitor and HDTV we review is run through a large array of performance tests, and each receives a full calibration using professional-grade instruments and software. This yields accurate and repeatable results, no matter what type of display we work with. The rub is that we have thousands of dollars invested in our test gear, and that's totally impractical for you to match at home.

Datacolor provides a solution for under $300 that does a pretty good job of calibrating any display. SpectraCal does as well. In fact, SpectraCal has software and hardware solutions to calibrate pretty much any video display or projector on the planet. For $249, you can calibrate your HDTV using a DVD as your pattern source. And if you like to tweak, you can get fairly close to the power of CalMAN’s professional solutions for around $400. Or, spend $1000 on a SpectraCal C6 meter.

Whatever your needs, SpectraCal has packages that suit every display calibration scenario. And the company's meter and pattern source support is currently without equal. CalMAN can even control some displays, automating much or all of the calibration procedure. We’ll walk you through a monitor calibration with CalMAN RGB. But first, let’s take a look at SpectraCal’s complete software line-up.

2. CalMAN Products Overview: Professional

We’re focusing primarily on CalMAN RGB for this article, though SpectraCal offers many products in its portfolio that not only work for computer monitors, but other display technologies as well. At Tom’s Hardware, we use CalMAN Ultimate, the top-level application that retails for just under $3000. It gives you all the functionality of every other CalMAN level, as well as full meter and pattern source support.

Since the feature list is pretty long, we’ll break it down one version at a time. First up are SpectraCal’s professional products.

CalMAN 5 Expert - $1495

  • Meter support, see below
  • Pattern source device support, see below
  • Three PC client licenses
  • Direct display control
  • Basic and advanced workflows
  • Client management
  • Meter profile editor

CalMAN 5 Professional - $2495

All of the above, plus:

  • Full meter support
  • Full pattern source support
  • Five PC client licenses
  • Direct Display Control with Color Cube
  • Basic, advanced, and pro workflows
  • Multiple display locations
  • Levels editor
  • Gamma editor

CalMAN 5 Ultimate - $2995

All of the above plus:

  • Ten PC client licenses
  • Design mode
  • Simultaneous use of multiple meters

Hardware support is another differentiator between product levels. Here is a list of meters.

CalMAN 5 Expert

  • SpectraCal C3 and C6
  • X-Rite i1Display Pro, i1Pro, and i1Pro 2
  • X-Rite Color Munki and Chroma5
  • X-Rite Hubble
  • Klein K-10
  • Sencore Color Pro V
  • Datacolor Spyder 2, 3, and 4

CalMAN 5 Professional & Ultimate

All of the above plus:

  • Minolta spectroradiometers (all)
  • Photo Research spectroradiometers (all)
  • JETI SpecBos 1201/11
  • Orb Optronix SP-100 & 200

And here is a list of standalone signal generators. All CalMAN products support the PC client pattern source.

CalMAN 5 Expert

  • DPG 1000/1200/1400/2000
  • Accupel HDG and DVG series
  • AV Foundry VideoForge
  • Extron VTB-300 and VTG-400
  • Quantum Data 701 and 780
  • Sencore MediaPro MP500

CalMAN 5 Professional & Ultimate

All of the above plus:

  • Quantum Data all
  • Sencore all
  • Phabrix SX

A major feature in these three CalMAN versions is Direct Display Control (DDC), which works with nearly any computer monitor and even a few consumer HDTVs. In today's story, you're going to see it used with a Dell UP3214Q. But it also works with some Panasonic and Sharp televisions, as well as JVC projectors.

We should also mention 3D LUT support; also known as Color Cube. This is an AutoCal procedure where CalMAN calibrates multiple saturation levels for each primary and secondary color. While no displays support this, there are some outboard video processors that do. If you’re able to take advantage of the feature for your TV or projector, you’ll enjoy the most accurate color possible.

Of course, we saved the best part for last. In case you’re reeling from sticker shock after looking at some of the prices, fear not. SpectraCal sells a package with CalMAN RGB and a C3 colorimeter for just $249. The combination includes everything you need to calibrate your monitor, including the patterns, which are provided by the PC client. This package also supports the C6 meter, which is an i1Display2 modified by SpectraCal for greater accuracy with LED-backlit displays.

3. CalMAN Products Overview: Home User

Today's article focuses on computer monitor calibration. But SpectraCal also has a full suite of products for optimizing HDTVs. If you’d like to engage in a little do-it-yourself with your display, the price of admission isn’t nearly as steep. In fact, for the same $150, you can buy a package similar to CalMAN RGB that includes a disc of test patterns. Here’s a quick rundown of the home use packages available.

CalMAN 5 Basic - $149

  • Meters: C3, C6, i1Display
  • Pattern control DVD
  • Basic and intermediate workflows

CalMAN 5 Control - $299

All of the above, plus:

  • Support for all tri-stim colorimeters and i1Pro
  • Pattern control via DVD or signal generator
  • AutoCal
  • Advanced workflows
  • Meter profile editor

CalMAN 5 Enthusiast - $399

All of the above, plus:

  • Two PC client licenses
  • Design Mode
  • 3D LUT calibration
  • All workflows
  • All editors

The value of the Enthusiast package is substantial, mainly because you get Design Mode. This is an extremely powerful tool that lets you create your own pages and workflows. Once you’ve mastered it, you can generate reports on pretty much any imaging parameter.

What you don’t get compared to the professional products is support for more exotic spectrometers. You also lose some support for signal generators and outboard video processors. If you’re calibrating your own displays though, that's no big loss. If you can afford a pattern generator (they start at around $1500), the more expensive CalMAN software doesn’t seem quite as dear.

When you lack a signal generator, you need another way to create patterns. The cheapest and simplest solution is a disc and your DVD or Blu-ray player. As I mentioned, the Basic package for $249 includes a DVD with all of the patterns you need. And using the Control and Enthusiast products, you can automate your player using an IR dongle. Stepping up to that Enthusiast level additionally gets you the monitor calibration workflows to do everything seen on the following pages.

The prices we have listed don't include a meter. In my opinion, the best value is CalMAN Enthusiast with a C6 for $1000. With that, you’re able to calibrate any display (including projectors) with the same precision and flexibility as us using CalMAN Ultimate. There are a number of disc-based pattern sets that can be downloaded for free. Or you can pick up the latest Spears & Munsil disc for around thirty bucks from Amazon.

4. CalMAN RGB In-Depth

All of the different CalMAN products are built around a core engine. In fact, if you buy CalMAN Ultimate for $2995, you get every product built in to a single interface. How is this accomplished? Through a workflow-based system.

In our monitor reviews, we show you the custom screens used to capture our benchmark suite's measurements. These screens are created using CalMAN Ultimate’s design mode. CalMAN RGB works the same way; the workflows are created beforehand and plugged in to the main software engine. The difference is you can only use the included workflows and you can’t modify them. We’re going to walk you through the Standard and Advanced monitor workflows in this article’s hands-on sections. But first, we want to give you a tour of just what CalMAN is capable of.

Starting from the top, we have CalMAN Ultimate, which is what we use at Tom’s Hardware. This is a fully-customizable application with support for pretty much any meter and pattern source available today (including some older gear that’s no longer manufactured). SpectraCal has a lot of these instruments in its online store. However, if you already have an X-Rite product, for example, the CalMAN software is all you need to buy.

If you want to create custom workflows, only the top-of-the-line Ultimate product supports that. Fortunately, the other two pro versions, Expert and Professional, come with a large group of workflows that work in pretty much any situation. The thing to keep in mind is that no matter which version you use, they all employ the same core engine to manage both meters and pattern sources.

Moving down to more value-priced products, we have CalMAN Basic, Control, and Enthusiast, geared more towards HDTV calibration with workflows to match. They range in price from $149 to $399 and require that you purchase a meter and a pattern source. If you’re only interested in calibrating monitors, CalMAN RGB is the ticket. Bundled with a C3 colorimeter, it sells for $249. If you want a little more flexibility you can move up to Control or Enthusiast. With a C3 meter, they sell for $399 and $495 respectively.

To calibrate a computer monitor, it’s easiest to use a software-based pattern source. SpectraCal addresses this with its PC Client. This module is included with any CalMAN package and installs right along with it. Running from the system tray, it manages not only pattern generation, but can provide multiple LUT-based picture modes. If you choose to calibrate using only the display’s OSD, you can turn off the LUT.

While this may seem a bit confusing, we’ll cut through that by focusing on the $249 package. We’ll run the Standard monitor workflow, which is identical to what you’d see if you use CalMAN RGB.

5. CalMAN RGB How-To: Getting Started

When you purchase any of SpectraCal’s CalMAN packages, you're able to download the software immediately. Even without a meter, you can run simulated calibrations to see how things work. Like Spyder, it’s wizard-based, so all you have to do is follow the well-written instructions on each screen.

After installing CalMAN RGB and PC Client, enter the license information that was emailed to you. From there, you're able to test-drive the software while you wait for your meter to arrive. Once that happens, plug it into a free USB port before opening the application.

Here’s the first window you’ll see.

There are two modes, Standard and Advanced. Standard is super-simple and super-quick. It only performs a grayscale calibration, which in most cases is sufficient for periodic touch-ups or less critical applications. If you click Introduction, you get a very detailed tutorial that ushers you through every page and control window in CalMAN. Along the way, you can access pop-up help topics that explain some of the finer points of imaging science. We recommend that you check out this tutorial before doing the actual calibration, even if you’re experienced. CalMAN is very powerful, but you have to know how to access those features if you want to make full use of them.

We’ll take you through that procedure now, before we go more in-depth with the Advanced Calibration.

The common elements on every screen are the control tabs at the top-right and the back/next buttons at the bottom-right. All of the workflows in CalMAN operate like this. For monitor calibration, Spectracal has workflow pages with complete instructions that walk you through, step by step.

Before you can move on, the software must recognize a pattern source (the PC Client that you installed along with CalMAN). If it’s not found automatically, you’ll be prompted to search for it. Usually, that means firing up the PC Client, which then lives in your system tray. You’ll also be asked to connect a meter if you haven’t already. It’s best to do this before opening the app.

If you’re using an i1Pro, set it on its calibration tile and click Initialize Meter. Tri-stim meters like the C3 or C6 don’t require initialization. This is just a dark reading to establish a measurement baseline. Once you’ve done this, hang the meter over the black window in the center of the screen, and click Next at the bottom-right.

Believe it or not, the image above is the next and last screen you’ll see. CalMAN performs a 17-point grayscale calibration using full-field patterns. Again, we used a Dell UP3214Q for our exhibition, so the before and after state doesn’t look all that different in the screenshot. The calibration only affects the LUT. No changes to the monitor’s controls are made by CalMAN, nor are you prompted to make any. You’ll have to set brightness and contrast yourself. If you’re satisfied, click Exit in the lower-right and you’re done. Once you go through the procedure, you have to load PC Client every time your system starts up, which it does by default. That way, the LUTs are always available.

On the next page we’ll checkout the Advanced Calibration.

6. CalMAN RGB How-To: Advanced Calibration, Part 1

The Standard Calibration is great for the occasional touch-up or quick adjustment, but to unlock CalMAN RGB’s full potential, you want to select Advanced Calibration from the first screen.

If it’s your first time calibrating a particular monitor, you should run through the full Advanced Calibration routine in order to hit every imaging parameter. Standard only adjusts the grayscale. In the Advanced workflow, you can calibrate everything: brightness, contrast, grayscale, gamma, and color gamut. Even if your monitor’s OSD doesn’t support all of those adjustments, CalMAN will create a look-up table to make up that shortfall. If your display can be controlled via DDC (a majority can), CalMAN accesses those controls directly during the calibration. You never have to open the OSD yourself. And using windows we’ll show you later, you can access the adjustments manually if you wish.

If a meter name appears under the Find Meter button, that step is done. Select Calibration Profile gives you three options for picture modes. Those are set up by CalMAN, so you can easily create multiple profiles and switch between them using the PC Client icon in the system tray.

In the next window, you set your white point and gamma targets. While it appears as though there’s no option for a gamut target, there actually is. Open the settings panel from the upper-right.

Under the first tab, Workflow Basic Options, you can specify the color target. Since we’re working with Dell's UP3214Q, we'll choose Adobe RGB.

Each gamma option is slightly different in appearance, and you’ll have to choose the one that matches your intended source material. In almost all cases, sRGB or Power is the correct choice. If you choose Power, you can specify any value you wish. PC is 2.2 and Mac is 2.0.

Now that you’ve set your parameters for color, grayscale, and gamma, the calibration itself begins.

7. CalMAN RGB How-To: Advanced Calibration, Part 2

Now we’re into the meat of the calibration. The meter window is always at the center of the screen, as you see below. This lets you set your instrument in place for the duration. If you use an i1Pro, you’ll have to re-initialize it every 10 minutes, while the i1Pro2 and C6 meters don’t have that requirement. We used the C6 for the rest of our testing.

This is our Dell UP3214Q in its Standard picture mode. It’s pretty close to the mark, but there is room for improvement, especially in the color gamut. On the left is a grayscale trace showing a slight blue tint to the image. An average error of 3.85 Delta E is tolerable, but we want to get under one as we always do! The color checker is something we don’t typically use in reviews. However, it’s a practical measurement of color. Rather than primary and secondary color saturations, the color checker measures recognizable shades like grass, sky, and flesh. When you’re able to create a LUT, it’s possible to adjust for these colors. Of course, with a traditional CMS, you need to measure primary and secondary colors to hone the results.

Next up is the Contrast adjustment.

This is pretty cool way to adjust Contrast. When we do it for a monitor review, we use patterns that show clipping points for white and the three primary colors. We also measure a 100-percent brightness pattern to fine-tune the setting. CalMAN's screen does pretty much the same thing. It measures patterns from 90 to 100 percent so you can see if any color clips. You’ll need several runs to get it right, but the process doesn’t take long. Since Dell's UP3214Q connects with CalMAN’s DDC control, the slider on the lower-right will change the Contrast setting in the OSD.

The following image is what you want to see.

When all three primaries form a straight line, you have your Contrast set correctly. Unlike Brightness, Contrast has only one ideal setting. Brightness controls the backlight so you should always use that to control light output.

Setting Brightness is even easier.

All you have to do is type your desired maximum output number into the dialog box. Then click the AutoCal button at the bottom-right. CalMAN flashes patterns and adjusts your Brightness control until the target is reached. If your monitor doesn’t support DDC, use the OSD to set it manually.

On the next page, we move on to grayscale calibration.

8. CalMAN RGB How-To: Advanced Calibration, Part 3

Grayscale calibration is handled in two phases: a two-point followed by a 17-point adjustment. For the two-point portion, your monitor’s RGB sliders and color temp modes are accessible via DDC.

Just like we do in our reviews, CalMAN measures 30- and 80-percent brightness patterns. The results are shown in the bar graphs on the right. You also get the x and y coordinates (.313 and .329 is the goal for D65) and the color temperature in Kelvins. You can try your monitor’s different picture modes to see which is closest and/or tweak the sliders to zero-in on the correct values. Or you can use the AutoCal button to let CalMAN do the work for you.

Now it’s time to fine-tune.

CalMAN can perform a 17-point grayscale calibration on this screen using the AutoCal feature. If you only want to take a measurement run, click Read Series at the lower-right. In our tests, AutoCal of the UP3214Q took about two minutes. And our result was well under one Delta E average, which is fantastic performance. Integrated into this step is a gamma calibration. Since CalMAN is creating a look-up table, gamma can be adjusted at the same 17 points as grayscale, yielding a much better gamma result than what is otherwise possible with presets in the OSD.

The final step is to create an ICC profile.

The only option is to click the AutoCal button. CalMAN measures the primary colors and white point, then generates a profile. You can manage these profiles in your graphics and photo applications.

The last two screens show the results.

In our case, there is visible improvement in both the grayscale and color gamut metrics. Errors are now down to less than one Delta E. Even though our Dell UP3214Q is quite accurate out of the box, 20 minutes spent with CalMAN RGB improves it to near-perfection. This single screen is a great snapshot of display performance and the effect of your calibration.

Here is a more real-world comparison using actual photos.

On the left are six photos you can view with the calibration LUT turned on or off. It switches back and forth quickly, making A/B comparisons easy. On the right are patches for grayscale and color showing before and after results. The colors scroll sideways to show you all 35 measurements from the color checker chart. Once you calibrate your other two profiles, you can compare them to each other with a few mouse clicks.

9. Direct Display Control, AutoCal, And PC Client 3

We’ve touched on the Direct Display Control and AutoCal functions of CalMAN as part of an Advanced Monitor Calibration. Let’s look at those capabilities in a little more detail.

At the top-right of the screen are three tabs that control your meter, pattern source, and display. Dropping down the Direct Display Control tab opens up some interesting options. These will be different depending on the connected display. In our case, the following shot is what you see with Dell's UP3214Q.

While these aren't all of the controls in Dell's OSD, there is enough here to perform a calibration. In fact, the DDC window adds two User modes to the existing set of color temperature presets. And all of them become adjustable. That means you don’t have to accept the fixed color temp in sRGB mode, for example.

The next screen is even cooler.

This is a full 17-point grayscale control. You can adjust red, green, and blue at every point individually. And you can do it with the patterns generated by PC Client. How awesome is that? Of course, doing this manually can be very time-consuming. You can accomplish the same goal by using AutoCal during the calibration procedure.

Profile Management With PC Client 3

Once you’ve installed the CalMAN RGB package, PC Client 3 runs resident in your system tray. Not only does it provide patterns for CalMAN calibrations, but it also manages the picture mode LUTs and your ICC profiles.

Open this dialog by right-clicking the PC Client icon in the system tray and choosing Preferences. If you have multiple monitors, they’ll all appear in the drop-down, and each can have its own set of profiles. Moving down and right, you see the DDC status and a checkbox. It’s enabled by default, but if you want to use the OSD alone to calibrate, turn off DDC. And you can bypass the look-up table entirely by clearing the checkbox at the lower-right.

All of the ICC profiles created by CalMAN are installed in the Windows default location at \windows\system32\spool\drivers\color. That way, they’re accessible to any application that needs them (like Photoshop). They are standard profiles, so you can share them if you wish.

10. CalMAN RGB, Value, Accuracy, And Ease Of Use

We realize that the vast number of packages and options available from Spectracal can be pretty confusing. And only a pro is likely to make the investment in a product like CalMAN Ultimate. Fortunately, there are solutions for the value-conscious in the form of CalMAN RGB and CalMAN Basic. For $249, you can calibrate your monitor or HDTV to a higher level of precision than you could achieve with only a pattern disc.

The CalMAN RGB package is especially impressive with its integrated pattern generator, profile manager, and display control features. It walks you through each step with clear, concise instructions, and then it explains exactly what’s happening and how your changes affect the image. With the power to create multiple picture modes, you can set up your display for any and all conceivable environments. And don’t forget multi-display support. One of the most important things in a multi-screen setup is matching them to one another, especially if they’re not the same model. With CalMAN, any monitor can be adjusted to display an accurate image.

The biggest advantage of CalMAN over the Spyder products is how SpectraCal manages to support both OSD calibration and look-up tables. You don’t have to choose a single path; CalMAN combines the best aspects of both techniques to create its display profiles. Even though our test monitor has an extensive OSD, CalMAN goes further by adding in multi-point gamma and grayscale control. Instead of the OSD’s gamma presets and two-point grayscale sliders, we get a 17-point adjustment for both parameters.

We noted in our review of Dell's UP3214Q that its CMS lacked a luminance control. While this didn’t impact the results, CalMAN RGB does manage to make up for that deficiency. The Color Checker error dropped from .85 to .35 Delta E. That is an invisible amount, we know, but it still indicates an improvement.

You’ve seen in our more recent monitor reviews that displays at all price points are improving in their out-of-box accuracy. It is now possible to buy a screen that looks pretty good without calibration. But we have not yet failed to improve upon stock accuracy with an instrumented calibration. And for those professionals who depend on accurate color, tools like CalMAN are indispensable. At $249, CalMAN RGB represents a terrific value to anyone wanting to get their feet wet with calibration and improve the image accuracy of their monitor or HDTV. We liked the Datacolor Spyder4Elite solution, but Spectracal definitely offers more power for the money. And if you need a state-of-the-art solution, the company has you covered not only with software, but hardware as well.

We use CalMAN every day for testing all display types: monitors, projectors, and HDTVs. And we recommend it above all other currently-available products. For that reason, and the fact that you can get started for only $249, we’re recognizing it with the Tom's Hardware Smart Buy award. Happy calibrating!