Confusion with Monitor Calibration

[DoYouEvenModBro]

I have an ASUS 1080p monitor. It is either 21" or 24". The aspect ration is 16:9.

 

The monitor comes with different presets:

Scenery Mode (richer colors but low brightness. colors might be TOO rich)

Standard Mode (pretty bright and bland colors)

Gaming Mode (bland colors but high brightness)

Theater Mode (seems to be the same as scenery)

Night Time Mode (looks ugly. too bright)

 

Which one should I be using?

 

I know there are calibration websites that will help but which preset do I calibrate? Just standard mode? Also, when doing those calibrations, do I use the monitor settings or the driver settings?

[Aiyen]

If your monitor is not factory calibrated then you do it yourself. There are several tools around the internet to help you do it. Most with extensive documentation. It will take a while to do it depending on how far away from optimal your monitor is.

Also depending on how much of the sRGB color space your monitor covers you might want to make a few adjustments to get a nicer picture.

 

You should always do it on the monitor rather then software, since then you will not have to start all over in case of a system reset.

 

The preset settings might be good for something, but their use vary. I use my monitors "Movie" preset since it is not as warm as my standard setting, and it just works better for movies.... who would have guessed.

 

My gaming profile cause the scenes to really POP however it also annoys me eyes when playing in a dark room... it looks cool in some games but overall I just prefer the lower brightness.. also saves power.

 

Just remember that in the end then you should just be happy with what you are looking at! Unless you are doing serious photo editing stuff then you will not really miss much anyways.

[DoYouEvenModBro]

If your monitor is not factory calibrated then you do it yourself. There are several tools around the internet to help you do it. Most with extensive documentation. It will take a while to do it depending on how far away from optimal your monitor is.

Also depending on how much of the sRGB color space your monitor covers you might want to make a few adjustments to get a nicer picture.

 

You should always do it on the monitor rather then software, since then you will not have to start all over in case of a system reset.

 

The preset settings might be good for something, but their use vary. I use my monitors "Movie" preset since it is not as warm as my standard setting, and it just works better for movies.... who would have guessed.

 

My gaming profile cause the scenes to really POP however it also annoys me eyes when playing in a dark room... it looks cool in some games but overall I just prefer the lower brightness.. also saves power.

 

Just remember that in the end then you should just be happy with what you are looking at! Unless you are doing serious photo editing stuff then you will not really miss much anyways.

Where is sRGB coverage?

[Aiyen]

As I just pm´ed you... its part of your monitors specifications! It should be in those.. and you can normally find it at the manufactures website if you no longer have the documentation on paper. (Just in case others are wondering!) :)

[DoYouEvenModBro]

As I just pm´ed you... its part of your monitors specifications! It should be in those.. and you can normally find it at the manufactures website if you no longer have the documentation on paper. (Just in case others are wondering!) :)

Hmm well I'm not seeing it. Oh well. Should I change anything in the windows color management settings? The lagom test says to put it on "none" or "sRGB" 

[Aiyen]

Your driver based settings etc. should be set to "let the application control it".

I am not familiar with said test, but I guess its for monitors that can show multiple color spaces (These are mostly professional monitors like Eizo´s). Since for games etc. then you want to use the sRGB space since that is what all (I am not aware of any made specifically for any other at least) games are designed around...

afaik then the other color spaces are mainly used in professional programs, and functions... since certain color spaces produce something that looks more alike what you print etc.

 

I am sure there is a photo specialist among us that can come with the details there!

[DoYouEvenModBro]

Your driver based settings etc. should be set to "let the application control it".

I am not familiar with said test, but I guess its for monitors that can show multiple color spaces (These are mostly professional monitors like Eizo´s). Since for games etc. then you want to use the sRGB space since that is what all (I am not aware of any made specifically for any other at least) games are designed around...

I think I'm getting in too far above my head here :-P. I think I'm just going to set my monitor to scenery mode and then change the colors to sRGB and be done with it haha. You use the cinema preset on your monitor for games, right?

[Aiyen]

What do you mean cinema preset ?

I use a movie preset for watching movies that my monitor has built in.

I use its gaming preset sometimes for some games.

 

I also have a sRGB preset.. but it just looks a bit off to me. And from what I have read then its mainly for professional use and put in so photo people would not have to do anything to start using the monitor.

[DoYouEvenModBro]

What do you mean cinema preset ?

I use a movie preset for watching movies that my monitor has built in.

I use its gaming preset sometimes for some games.

 

I also have a sRGB preset.. but it just looks a bit off to me. And from what I have read then its mainly for professional use and put in so photo people would not have to do anything to start using the monitor.

I mean I have like a Game Preset, a Night Mode Preset, a Theater Preset, and a Scenery Preset. The sRGB isn't a preset. It's just an option for me in the color temperature settings. There's also a warm and cool preset. I know you're supposed to have it at 6500K color temperature but I have no idea which one of those is 6500k. 

[DoYouEvenModBro]

From my Monitor's Manual. Which one should I use?

 

"Color Temp.: contains five color modes including Cool, Normal,

Warm, sRGB, and User mode."

[Aiyen]

Color temperature is essentially just what color you would normally see at a given temperature... used in stellar physics as well... where the hotter you get the more blue/white the color is, while the color you get when its colder is more red... a bit counter logical at first, but it does make sense.

 

So the higher K the more blueish it will appear to your eyes. Around the 6500K mark you are somewhat in the middle of the sRGB space and hence has the best option for displaying most of the color space. I guess that is the jist of it, at least that is how I recall it.

 

But then to answer your original question, no I do not use a cinema preset... other then to watch movies, since it tends to color the screen blueish, which helps with shadows in movies etc. and in general just blends the colors used in movies better together for a sharper image.

[DoYouEvenModBro]

Color temperature is essentially just what color you would normally see at a given temperature... used in stellar physics as well... where the hotter you get the more blue/white the color is, while the color you get when its colder is more red... a bit counter logical at first, but it does make sense.

 

So the higher K the more blueish it will appear to your eyes. Around the 6500K mark you are somewhat in the middle of the sRGB space and hence has the best option for displaying most of the color space. I guess that is the jist of it, at least that is how I recall it.

 

But then to answer your original question, no I do not use a cinema preset... other then to watch movies, since it tends to color the screen blueish, which helps with shadows in movies etc. and in general just blends the colors used in movies better together for a sharper image.

So which of those color preset modes are 6500k? The sRGB one?

[Aiyen]

My guess would be normal...

 

and I think the sRGB one might be shifted more upwards towards the green part of the color palette.

The cold and warm speak for themselves.

[DoYouEvenModBro]

My guess would be normal...

 

and I think the sRGB one might be shifted more upwards towards the green part of the color palette.

The cold and warm speak for themselves.

 

There is no normal. Only warm cold and sRGB. The standard mode was in the other section with cinema game scenery and theatet

[Aiyen]

You can always consult the documentation, since at the end of the day what matters is what you think looks nice!

Some people prefer the warmer color temperatures since its easier on their eyes. Also heard the opposite argument. It varies from person to person.

 

I would recommend doing one of those online tests, and see the differences there. They have specially made diagrams etc. which will help make the decisions. They are also normally quite good at explaining what you need to look for.