accurate color monitoring for broadcast

[Elliot Pollaro]

I've been having the obvious issues of my color corrected video looking very trashed out when it goes on the air (upward Gamma shifts, reds/oranges oversaturated). I'm starting to think this is because I have been color correcting straight to an apple cinema display without any kind of converter or broadcast accurate monitor. Everything looks amazing here but once the video is on local TV the results are very different.. Can you recommend some sort of a conversion device or Box that could provide a more broadcast accurate color correction experience? We are currently shooting with mix formats- the EPIC X (r3d's), Canon 7D (H.264) and Panasonic HVX (DVCPROHD).. I'm editing in Premiere Pro CS 5.5 and mainly using MB Colorista 2 for color grading. My CPU is a 2011 dual 6 core mac pro with 3 PCI-e slots which are all used up. slot 1 Nvidia quadro, slot 2 Red Rocket, slot 3 RAID.. I'd like to avoid buying another monitor if possible as we have like 8 brand new Cinema Displays sitting around. Any help is greatly appreciated

 

[Charlie Anderson]

If you don't have the $$$ for a baller reference monitor, I suggest using this: http://spyder.datacolor.com/portfolio-view/spyder4elite/

I've used the spyder3elite for a few years now as my on set reference monitor when I grade dailies for lower budget stuff and it gets it about 90% there. Probably better than going off the defaults for the cinema display, they tend to have the problems you're stating.

 

[Elliot Pollaro]

That looks pretty cool. Does any of your work go to television? If so then thats probably a good alternative for me..From what I've been reading online most people are saying that I will need something to convert from a computer colorspace to a television colorspace. Does this software offer a calibration for TV broadcast accurate color correction?

 

[Steve Sherrick]

Elliot, you need to be able to view in a proper REC709 color space and I suggest checking your work on as many TVs as you can to see how it's translating. There are many tools for getting getting computer monitors into this color space, some probably better than others. Matrox makes a device I believe. Once you have a monitor that gives you proper signal you'll find it's a bit easier to achieve a consistent look across many devices, although how people choose to setup their TVs always factors into the equation.

 

[Charlie Anderson]

That looks pretty cool. Does any of your work go to television? If so then thats probably a good alternative for me..From what I've been reading online most people are saying that I will need something to convert from a computer colorspace to a television colorspace. Does this software offer a calibration for TV broadcast accurate color correction?

Pretty sure you can calibrate it to whatever gamma space you need. My photographer friend told me about it and he uses it for all of his print stuff. Has worked great for me so far. I've colored a few indie movies with this and have seen them on broadcast as well as projected and the colors are pretty spot on (plus I use a waveform and vector scope which I rely on 75% of the time so that helps immensely).

 

[Sergio Perez]

I've had bad luck with Spyder...my broadcast work usually goes through post production in a post house with proper monitoring, my home setup is with 2 Eizo's middle range (2433w) monitors. After using the Spyder they looked terrible. Leaving the monitors at default and selecting the srgb color space were the way to go for me to get accurate gamma and colors...

 

[Elliot Pollaro]

Thanks Steve! So far my judgement has been based the quality of our spots in relation to others when viewing at home from my brand new 1080 Samsung LED. I always notice that my commercials look a bit overexposed and over-saturated compared to most of the other national spots and programming that look very well balanced all around. From my computer screen, my spots look perfect but when they go to air its blown out and orange city.. I've physically gone to the television stations and ensured that there is no conversions or tampering going on with my footage. They take my file and put it straight on the air in HD. Its pretty obvious to me at this point that my Apple cinema display isn't telling the truth..So the Matrox box I hear is a good option. my only concern is that I have no more PCI-E slots available and I didnt see on there website that they support the R3D codec. Does anyone know if it will work with multiple codecs including r3d's? will it work with an apple display or do I need to get a different monitor?

 

[Elliot Pollaro]

Thanks Sergio! I'll keep that in mind

 

[Matt Ryan]

could you sell 2 apple displays and get this?: http://www.flandersscientific.com/index/pg91217, that's just another option.

I know several colorists and DP's who use Apple Cinema Displays and their work goes to broadcast as well as to theaters and they look great. It's most likely a color calibration issue and your ambient lighting. Are you coloring in a dim room, tungsten light filled room, or in a bright room (with windows)? All these things play tricks on your eyes and will effect your color choices. Start out with a calibrated monitor, and work in a darker environment without any light hitting the screen. That should get you 90% of the way.

The Spyder works great on Apple Cinema Displays as well as the : http://www.xrite.com/product_overview.aspx?ID=1454

 

[Paul E. McCarthy]

Get the HP Dreamcolor, and the probe. Its great.

 

[Elliot Pollaro]

Thanks Matt.. The I1 display pro looks pretty cool. But I'm still wondering if simply calibrating my monitor is the right path. Ive heard so many others say that I need to convert from a computer colorspace to a television colorspace to get accurate color for broadcast..

 

[Matt Ryan]

a broadcast monitor would be a good move, or a panasonic 11 series plasma, but like you said you don't have any more slots available. If that's the case if you can get by with just a calibrated ACD for now save up and get a professional display in the near future...

 

[Elliot Pollaro]

Looks great. but after throwing down 8K on a Mac Pro, 40K on an epic, 5K on a RR and another 2K on Nvidia cards I'm hurting for some $$..Got to save up the dough

 

[Elliot Pollaro]

Good point. Would you go with the spyder or I1 display pro?