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While watching an incredible sunset with my wife a few years ago, I couldn't help but mention the amazing green hues that were laid out before us. She paused, and with a look that inferred, I was a bit crazy, proceeded to tell me that there was no green in that sunset.
We all see color differently. Display calibration is a method to bring uniformity to our screens and ensure we are reproducing the colors and brightness originally captured.
Calibration is especially important if you are displaying pre-recorded content.
Stop and remember the last sunset or sunrise you experienced. What made it a memorable moment for you? Was it the clear skies, clouds, smog, or haze? What is the moment the light appeared or disappeared on the horizon? The environment the sunrise or sunset happens in determines our experience. The same is true for video displays.
With technology, the environments we create are seemingly unlimited. We may have DLP, LCD, or possibly LED projectors, using front and or rear screen projection surfaces. And may have Plasma, LCD, and LED TV display(s) and now LED walls. Each of these technologies creates its own environment and the variables don't stop there. You may have multiple displays, all of the same make and model, when set up side by side with the same variables look perfect. However, when they are installed in the room they look completely different. This difference is the room variables or environment. To eliminate these variables and ensure a consistent look across all displays we must calibrate.
The concept of calibration is easy to understand. It is aligning the voltages of the display device to match a known reference input pattern. This in turn ensures what is displayed matches what was captured. When a camera captures video the sensors record different levels of electricity. These same levels of electricity are used to drive the output of a display device and reproduce the image. When we calibrate, we take a reference pattern driving known values and display the image. We read the pattern with a colorimeter and or our eyes making adjustments to the device, calibrating it to match our input reference pattern.
In the years I have been calibrating displays at my church here is what I have found.
IMAG Rooms or Rooms with Multiple Displays
Calibration is a necessity for IMAG applications along with rooms with multiple projectors and or TV displays. In an IMAG room, people have a live reference for what they see on screen and it is always in front of them. In a room with multiple displays, you want uniformity between the displayed images. If you have DLP and LCD projectors mixed in your space you will want to calibrate them even if they are brand new. Since the technologies are not the same you will usually find they look different straight out of the box. I have also learned that some LCD projectors will need a bit more attention (recalibration) over time as they age.
When these settings are correct they allow the image to have the pop it needs while keeping the correct contrast depth.
Non-IMAG Rooms or Rooms with a Single Display
In these types of spaces, you are calibrating for original reproduction. There is no live reference in the room, so you will want to ensure what is displayed is as close to the original as possible. This is especially important if you are displaying a video message or pre-recorded content. Calibration will ensure people look like people. Skin tones should be subtle but are glaring when they are reproduced wrong.
Simple and Effective Adjustments
Simple calibration of brightness, contrast, and gamma will always help in spaces where ambient lighting levels change or you have natural light. These adjustments also will help get the maximum performance out of any display device. When these settings are correct they allow the image to have the pop it needs while keeping the correct contrast depth. I have found these simple adjustments to be the most effective way of improving the quality of an image for a specific room. These adjustments are quick and easy to do and don't take a lot of time or expertise.
DIY Calibration
There are professionals who will calibrate your video displays and I would recommend you use them if it's your first calibration or you have a high-profile IMAG room with multiple technologies. Calibrating in this environment is tough and can be very time-consuming. If this does not describe you, then yes there are tools out there you can use to do some basic DIY calibration. Portriat.com offers Calman Calibration Software. They also have a YouTube channel explaining calibration if you are new to this topic. You can find other calibration ideas and tools with a simple web search to start your basic DIY calibration.
God made us unique and each of us sees through a different lens. This is why calibration is important. We experience life the way God intended and see images reproduced through technology the same way we would see them in real life.
My wife and I have a laugh every time we sit and watch a sunset together. I still see the green and think it looks amazing.
