CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

Hi Guys, So i have had Calmanv4 for some time now and last month got Chromapure but never really used it much. Just checked it out with the C5 probe I bought with it.

I have a CRT blend set up. I calibrated my PJ's with Cv4 and 2 Radiance XS's, one for each PJ.

So its been about a month since I did both and wanted to tighten up the calibration and match the two closer.

So tonight I decided before I started to calibrate was measure the left PJ with
both Programs and the C5 probe. So i set up the Probe and started calman and took a reading of greyscale. Then I disconnected the probe in calman and started ChromaPure. did a reading of that greyscale.

I figured the two should be fairly close. Umm you tell me.

WHO DO I TRUST????!!!!!

Same probe, same position, same computer,same Disc AVS-HD V2, different Programs.

Only thing that was close and i did not copy the Chromapure image was Gamma, both where close to 2.2. But as you ca see in C4 i used a gamma of 2.4 when I calibrated it a month ago and it was a nice flat gamma.

I would have also used HCFR if it had C5 support. I'll try again with all three using an i1 Pro. Maybe this week.

Athanasios

Spanky Ham · Joined: 22 Mar 2006 Posts: 5643 Location: Comedy Central

I don't know what to tell you. I would tend to trust Calman a little more.

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10270

Why?

WTS · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 1276 Location: Calgary

You just gotts love industry standards, in this case who's using what standard to setup their software.

Spanky Ham · Joined: 22 Mar 2006 Posts: 5643 Location: Comedy Central

I know you started a thread on AVS, but I want to expand on one thing. I am sure Tom has done a great job with his software, but he is one guy and he is using an Orb for baseline. Spectracal is severals guys and they are using top of the line Minoltas for baseline. I am not saying CP is bad, but in your case and with your equipment Spectracal may have an advantage dealing with your idiosyncrasies.

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

And the thing is Walt i have two probes that are enhanced models under each software. the i1pro i have is an enhanced Calman probe. the Chroma 5 i bought through ChromaPure is its Pro model with its own calibration tables. So i can not even compare them perfectly since there is no way to bypass them. as soon as i start Calman is shows it as a calman enhanced probe. I assume it does the same in Chroampure for the C5. I wish there was a way to by pass that just for testing in certain situations like mine.

I think i wil try the i1 pro with Calamn,ChromaPure and HFCR to really compare. I know for one thing the Y value in HCFR shows at least 12 where in ChromaPure and calman its around 5 for the 100% white.

Athanasios

Ron W · Joined: 07 Aug 2009 Posts: 860 Location: Mississauga

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

Well tomorrow I might try all three with my i1 Pro. I don't think its the probe, but it might be certain controls in CalMan i need to adjust to get it to read more like the Chromapure. but Chromapure is so fast!! I might increase the read time in CP, it set at default now. In CalMan i set it to 3 seconds for the C5 and a low light handler of 40. I'll try both probes the i1 pro and the C5 again.

Athanasios

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10270

At this point this all serves to get a fence-sitter such as myself no incentive to buy anything.

**kal** · Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 7:28 pm Post subject:

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

The thing is I Profiled the probe to my i1 Pro when I used it in CalMan. With the profile turned off it made a slight difference and lowered Blue a bit on the high end but the low end stayed pretty much the same. Tomorrow i will do an i1-Pro check of the existing grayscale and we can compare that, I'll throw in HCFR too.
Then I'll even do an EyeOne D2 test and profile it to the i1-Pro(the D2 is off if not used in profile mode)

Athanasios

**kal** · Posted: Wed Nov 03, 2010 12:26 am Post subject:

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

I agree with what your saying and that is why I do not know which program to trust right now. The i1-Pro is just a little over a year old and earlier this year had spectracal check it out and add the LED tables . They said its spot on. I Also did a test with the C5 in calman against the i1-Pro and it was fairly close.

I made a tripod holder to mount both probes right next to each other. Probe heads are about 4 - 5 inches apart. This is how i did the profile with one reading. makes it much easier.

I'll do more investigating and testing. I'll try using both probes in the same software and then both in each software separately. The C5 I can not use in
HCFR.

Thanks for all the replies.

Athanasios

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10270

Athanasios, what you present is a nice condition in which newbies (including myself) should be aware that taking any probe and using any software can seldom be relied upon for anything. I suppose if you do not have access to professional equipment (and or services) then trying to gauge something for the act of calibrating may be a wasted dollar.

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

Wan, don't take this as its a waste of time and money. Using either program and a nice probe like the C5 or i1 Pro will give you much better results than doing it by eye. And if you have more than one display it is money well spent since calibrators can charge 400-800 dollars depending on type of display etc... they do eve discounts if more than one set is done on the same visit but it would still be less expensive doing it your self but obviously with not perfect results that a Pro will get.

Even the lowest package of a D2 and Chromapure or Calman will get you a better display calibration. Another thing is its fun. Smile

Athansios

Ron W · Joined: 07 Aug 2009 Posts: 860 Location: Mississauga

Spanky Ham · Joined: 22 Mar 2006 Posts: 5643 Location: Comedy Central

Good points by Nash and Ron. I think the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages even considering a new person. My father complains all the time about his flat panel. I know a good calibration would go a long way to increasing his enjoyment (even if it is a LCD:wink:). Another thought that Nash and I have discussed is renting the equipment out to offset the cost of better quality probes. While the Minoltas of the world would be cost prohibitive, the i1 Pros, Kleins and Orbs would be a good option.

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

Ok Just checked the i1 Pro in all three Programs and they were all very very close. The Chroma 5 Was more stable with Chromapure and matched the i1 Pro more closely. So the C5 in Calman dose not fair too well. I wish HCFR would add this into their probe list. So now I know to use the i1-Pro for my Critical Blend set up and or use the C5 and Chromapure.

maybe later tonight i'll redo a calibration. But so far its the probe more than the Software. I think the C5 works more closely like the i1 Pro in CP because of Toms special profiling table. So anyone who is looking at only using CP id get the pro versions of the probe if you get a package or send your in to have a profile made.

Athanasios

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

One thing that is very different in HCFR is the Y value. For 100 % i get 16.xx with CP and CM i get 4.9 ? Does HCFR use a different formula for that value? I think my set up is pretty bright and refuse to believe i only have 5 ftl of my blend. A full field white lights up the room pretty well.

Athanasios

Plexi47 · Joined: 20 Jan 2008 Posts: 2