Custom Offsets with the i1 Display Pro OEM in Lightspace DPS

So you can’t use a colorimeter on 2 displays without a spectrometer to generate an offset? Seems very annoying. If i have a I1 can I buy the spectra cal optimized I1 Pro spectrometer to generate per display offsets? I know you said they I1 pro isn’t optimal for led screens or something due the the 10mn sensor. Can you just bypass the colorimeter and use the spectrometer at that point?

The C6 doesn’t solve the problem of colorimeters needing to be profiled and offsets (or matrices) generated… IF you want Delta-E values you can trust. You can buy a spectro, but they’re much slower and much more expensive. I’ve been told that 10nm just doesn’t have the granularity you want if you’re going down this road for the kind of work we are all doing.

It’s better to figure out how to get offsets created (using a 5nm spectro) or just accept that for $300, you need to establish a baseline Profile against which you’ll measure monitor drift. The move from Profiling to Calibrating is a big leap – Profiling is much less expensive to get into… but there are limitations. Getting around those limitations takes some extra effort.

BTW – Spectral doesn’t seem to sell a branded version of the i1Pro spectrometer. The C6 (both versions) are the i1 Display Pro colorimeter.

I meant should I buy this to create offsets for my I1

http://calman.spectracal.com/store/p24/X-Rite_i1Pro_2_%28Enhanced%29_.html

The advantage of a spectrophotometer over a colorimeter is that calibrations for each display technology are generally not needed. The accuracy of a spectrophotometer is rooted in its spectral resolution. With the i1Pro’s 10nm spectral resolution, large area spectrums such as those from LED based displays can diminish the meter’s accuracy. We offer an LED enhancement for the i1Pro which is a per meter calibration with our reference Konica Minolta CS-2000. This enhancement table increases the accuracy for the i1Pro on all LED based light engines. This enhancement comes standard on all our i1Pros and can be added to an i1Pro 1 or 2 purchased elsewhere through our calibration services.

It’s worth noting as Gregg points out ‘tuned’ colorimters ones like the C6 do have generic spectral presets that are generated by a reference grade spectro.

The same is true for high-end colorimeters like a CR-100 you can go to the Colorimetry Research website and download generic presets (and some specific ones) and load them on a CR-100. Or get them from a display manufacturer for your model – FSI I think will provide these for example.

Using CCFL or Plasma spectral preset that’s better then not using an option that matches the spectral power of the display you’re using. But the problem of course is those presets/genric offsets are not specfic to your model and actual display.

So, the next best would be using offsets for the model of display your using – LG B6 OLED for example

The best workflow is to work offsets created with a spectro on your actual display – LG B6 OLED – Robbie’s Copy

The issue in my opinion has less to do with offsets/spectral presets but the stability of the colorimeter and it’s filters. Using any type of offsets/presets doesn’t matter all the much if the repeatbility of the colorimeter sucks.

But to pat’s point the meter one-two punch (spectro/colorimter) is the preferred way of doing it. It lets you create offsets for YOUR display with the spectro and load those on your colorimeter which is way faster of course

Owning a reference grade spectro is out question for a lot people, so if you can the thing to do is rent one for a day or two create offsets for your colorimeter for all the displays you use

Our you could be like me and create a new offset prior to every calibration with the spectro (overkill)!

It think later in this series Pat or I will be showing how to creative offsets with a spectro and loading those on your colorimter.

Robbie and I have been chatting offline about this (and I’ve deleted my previous answer to you as a result of those conversations)…

So yes, the i1 Pro is a spectro and can be paired with a colorimeter to create offsets. Note that even spectros drift, so you’ll need to get it re-certified on a semi-regular basis. But that’s the way to go if you want to create offsets that are specific to your physical display. And if you’re using an LED-based panel, it sounds like you’ll get good results from the Spectracal i1 Pro.

RE: 10nm – it’s just a function of accuracy… a 5nm spectro will see spikes in the spectral output of your display that a 10nm spectro won’t, and will be able to compensate for them.

Note: We’re also reaching out to Spectracal to learn more about this fine-tuning to the i1Pro that they’re doing.

With an i1 Pro there is no way to substantially improve the spectro’s accuracy as it is limited by the 10nm resolution.

But, all this is relative – if you have a high-end, relatively expensive display, with good internal electronics, it is worth getting an equally high-end probe for profiling.

If you are using a lower-end display, the limitations of the display’s design will mean you are limited to the level of accuracy you can attain. So chasing ever greater ‘probe’ accuracy becomes irrelevant, to a degree.

For most ‘basic’ displays, the default pre-sets within i1 Display Pro are ‘ok’. Just remember that aby replacement pre-sets are just the same, just made on different displays with different spectros. The X-Rite pre-sets are made with a true reference Specto, so are just as ‘accurate’ as any other pre-sets.

We do not use Spectro’s for actual profiling as they are slow, and poor at measuring lo-light levels, unless you spend many 10’s thousands $ on one!

See: http://www.lightillusion.com/i1_pro_2.html

This is why FSI provide dedicated pre-sets at a number of levels – a generic one, but for the specific display model you purchase from them; a more dedicated pre-set made on a same model display, but made with YOUR i1D3; a dedicated pre-set made on your actual display with you i1D3.

(Oh, and the i1 Pro suffers drift due to overheating, so has to be re-set every so often – again making it next to useless for real profiling, where a high number of patches are used.)

Just noticed an issue with LightSpace and the way Patrick uses the ‘Target’ and ‘Actual’ values, and the ‘Zoom and Bars’ widgets to follow what is happening during a Quick Profile!

We had not intended for that us, as as a result the ‘Actual’ measurement data is one patch BEHIND the ‘Target’ data – the target is always the actual patch being displayed, while the measured data it the patch just measured, so the previous patch!

To see the correct data go to the ‘Manage Colour Spaces’ library when the profile is finished, and use ‘Display’ to show the graphs again, and click on any point in the graph. You will get a pop-up window with all the data.

Here’s a thought I’ve just had while watching Patrick’s ‘Base Line’ approach to relative calibration/drift comparisons…

You could actually manually make you own ‘Probe Offsets’ so that when you use the i1D3 you get results that always reference back (absolutely, not just relatively), to the display just after it was ‘calibrated’.

This takes a bit of thought, but is another example of the ‘flexibility’ within LightSpace.

Basically, as you know your display is ‘accurate’ as it was calibrated with exceptionally expensive kit just yesterday by a professional calibrator (or the factory), you just need to enter the ‘perfect’ xy coordinates for your target colour space for RGBW as your ‘Reference’ Probe data within the Probe Matching option, and tha actual ‘measured’ values for you i1D3…

This means LightSpace will generate a pre-set matrix that will show your display as being ‘accurate’ when profiled with your i1d3, just after the display have been professionally calibrated.

The LUM value within the ‘Probe Matching’ is a tad more tricky, as that uses a 240,240,240 (94%) white patch.

But, as you know what peak luma the display will have been calibrated to (say 100 or 120 nits?) you can enter 94% of that value.

You will then have an i1D3 that ‘appears’ to have been ‘matched’ to the high-end spectro that was used to calibrate you display.

Okay. That’s a cool idea! In the wrap up Insight I’m going to share this approach. Brilliant. 🙂

Right. I think I made this point in a previous Lightspace Insight. But a good reminder. Thanks Steve.

Steve – regarding overheating… I know there’s a recommended practice of plugging in a colorimeter for a half-hour to let it warm up. How long before the i1 Display Pro starts to overheat to the point that it effects the readings, assuming comfortable, stable temps and humidity?

It actually depends on the display… for example, plasmas chuck out a lot more heat than an LCD…
So it is really variable.
But, when performing a real ‘Characterisation’ for LUT generation (not a Quick Profile for display verification) the time taken on nay display will likely cause overheating issues with the i1 Pro Spectro.

Ah – I mixed up the Spectro and the Colorimeter in my comment above. Right – the Spectracal folks agree, a full characterization using the i1 Pro spectrometer is not recommended (even if you had the time) due to overheating. Which is another reason, I guess, to use the spectro just to get your offsets and use the colorimeter for the full characterization. And… the i1Display colorimeter isn’t subject to the same overheating concern.

Hey Guys is there any way If I use i1D3 Display Probe with Ezio 4k Display and achieve same results for DCI P3? Can you have some insights I need to get into before profiling and calibration my Ezio 4K Display using Lightspace.