motiondesigner

Q: "Color shift" while trying to calibrate in Expert Mode

Hi everyone,

 

I'm experiencing an issue for the first time while trying to calibrate my macbook pro display.

I'm using a dual monitors setup, the external monitor doesn't encounter any issue and I can follow along all the steps in System Prefs > Displays > Color > Calibrate.

But whenever I try to calibrate my macbook pro display and click "continue" into the calibrate window, the color of the whole screen shifts and the tools presented to determine my display's native response in gamma can't be effective, plus the sliders don't stand in the middle of the square like they're supposed to. (see screenshot attached, which in "reality" looks yellow)

 

cap.png

 

You can see a similar issue here, but no solution was helping solving this problem.

I've tried :

- booting / booting in safe mode

- cleaning profiles

- disconnect everything from my computer

- etc

 

The issue still remains...

Any help would be really appreciated, thank you.

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5), 2,8 GHz Intel Core i7 - 8Gb RAM

Posted on Nov 24, 2015 7:11 AM

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Q: "Color shift" while trying to calibrate in Expert Mode

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  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang Nov 24, 2015 8:21 AM in response to motiondesigner
    Level 8 (37,696 points)
    Nov 24, 2015 8:21 AM in response to motiondesigner
    the color of the whole screen shifts

    Actually, that's what it's supposed to do, and is what all profiling and calibration software does. Any such calibration/profiling steps require that the device be set to a raw state. So the LUT is cleared from the video hardware and the monitor (if an integrated unit such as for an iMac), is set to 6500K.

     

    Apple's calibration mode is very limited. In order for it to work at all, when you enter Calibration mode, the monitor is expected to be at a 6500K white point and a 2.2 gamma. Otherwise, the gamma choice you eventually make (2.2 or 1.8), and and the white point color temperature you choose are meaningless. Since it can't see the screen, it has to try and set it to a default starting point. With an integrated screen, it will be reasonably close to that when you start.

     

    There's no way for the software to know this on an external monitor. If you have it manually set to a 5500K white point, Apple's calibrator doesn't know that, and neither does the video hardware. So when you get to the slider that asks for a white point, and as an example you move 6500 to 5000, that monitor will turn orangish in color because it's actually displaying 4000K (5500 minus 1500).

     

    I don't use the built in calibrator because it is entirely guesswork on the part of the OS. If you need accurate screen calibration and color, the only way to truly do that is with a hardware/software combination such as the X-Rite i1Display Pro.

  • by motiondesigner,

    motiondesigner motiondesigner Nov 24, 2015 9:12 AM in response to Kurt Lang
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 24, 2015 9:12 AM in response to Kurt Lang

    Thank you Kurt for your answer.

    I do understand all the things about calibration and also the fact that it would never be as good as a true hardware calibration.

    What I meant when I said "the color of the whole screen shifts" is that it shifts before I do any changes. You can see on the screenshot that the sliders are not centered, it is impossible to well calibrate (even software calibration) with that behavior. (sometimes the slider is even out of sight, it's not appearing at all in the square...)

     

    I know from the past that this isn't a normal behavior, as it used to work, and I could barely calibrate my display (not as good as a hardware calibration of course) but it was good enough.

     

    Here how I proceed (and how I did proceed for the external monitor) :

     

    - I put a black and white pattern as a background (with bars, gradient...) to mesure and identify when the hue shifts while calibrating.

    - in preferences, I use the utility color calibration assistant, and proceed with the sliders : the goal is to keep the grey as mus as I can and neutralize any color.

    - I also use my background for that (so the whole color shifts, i'm okay with that, like it is supposed to do)

     

     

    This step by step procedure is now impossible, for no reason, on my macbook pro display. It used to work nice but now, it doesn't.

    Any Idea ?

     

    ps: Later, I might upload screenshots or even footage so that you can better understand what I'm talking about.

     

    Thank you.

  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang Nov 24, 2015 9:21 AM in response to motiondesigner
    Level 8 (37,696 points)
    Nov 24, 2015 9:21 AM in response to motiondesigner

    Sorry, forgot to mention that part of your initial post.

     

    Since I intentionally ignore the Calibrate function, I don't play with it much (or at all) to see what happens if I do "this". I can only guess that with the previous manually created profile chosen as the current display profile, it is picking up the changes you made then and is using them as a starting point.

     

    Try choosing a canned profile first. Or the one above the line that is the default profile pulled from that monitor. Then enter Calibrate and see if it behaves as expected.

  • by motiondesigner,

    motiondesigner motiondesigner Nov 24, 2015 11:49 AM in response to Kurt Lang
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 24, 2015 11:49 AM in response to Kurt Lang

    Try choosing a canned profile first. Or the one above the line that is the default profile pulled from that monitor. Then enter Calibrate and see if it behaves as expected.

     

    Yes I've tried that too, but no changes... It seems to shift quite randomly. I've even created a new session (guest account), but the behavior was exactly the same.

  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang Nov 24, 2015 11:52 AM in response to motiondesigner
    Level 8 (37,696 points)
    Nov 24, 2015 11:52 AM in response to motiondesigner
    I've even created a new session (guest account), but the behavior was exactly the same.

    Now that's weird! If you would expect anything to default to all normal positions, it would be in a brand new account. Since that rules out account related issues, such as corrupt .plist files, or incompatible third party software, you probably need to reinstall the OS.

  • by motiondesigner,

    motiondesigner motiondesigner Nov 24, 2015 12:37 PM in response to Kurt Lang
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 24, 2015 12:37 PM in response to Kurt Lang

    Yes, very weird!

     

    I've uploaded a video file showing the issue, you can access it here by typing the password color

     

    Do you think I can reinstall over the existing OS without any risks ?

    (I'm backuping all my files with Time Machine, but I don't want to mess around with all the applications that are running correctly etc.)

  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang Nov 24, 2015 12:51 PM in response to motiondesigner
    Level 8 (37,696 points)
    Nov 24, 2015 12:51 PM in response to motiondesigner

    Yes, something is very goofy when the adjustment button for the crosshair isn't even there to grab.

     

    While nothing should go wrong when reinstalling the OS, we're talking about computers here, so always expect that something could go wrong.

     

    Definitely make a complete and current backup, first. Then dismount and turn off the Time Machine backup drive so it cannot be accessed. Boot into Recovery Mode by restarting and holding down the Command+R keys. Choose to install OS X.

     

    Assuming everything goes as it's supposed to, a fresh copy of the same version of OS X that is on the drive will be installed, overwriting all current OS installed files. All personal data, third party and and settings will remain as they are.

  • by motiondesigner,

    motiondesigner motiondesigner Nov 24, 2015 1:03 PM in response to Kurt Lang
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 24, 2015 1:03 PM in response to Kurt Lang

    While nothing should go wrong when reinstalling the OS, we're talking about computers here, so always expect that something could go wrong.

    True

     

    Well, I will try to reinstall and let you know.

    Anyway thank you Kurt for helping me out and for all the advices.

  • by motiondesigner,

    motiondesigner motiondesigner Nov 24, 2015 2:51 PM in response to motiondesigner
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 24, 2015 2:51 PM in response to motiondesigner

    Ok I've just reinstalled my OS but unfortunately, it reacts exactly the same

    Any other idea ?

  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang Nov 24, 2015 5:08 PM in response to motiondesigner
    Level 8 (37,696 points)
    Nov 24, 2015 5:08 PM in response to motiondesigner

    Create a new test account and see if the problem persists across a reinstall of the OS. And just to try and make sure the original account isn't somehow interfering after switching account views, restart and login to the test account first.

     

    If the issue remains even then, the last test I could suggest would be to create a separate partition and install the OS to that. Without installing any third party software, try Calibrate again from the cleanly installed OS. If even that doesn't work, then it would have to be a hardware issue of some kind that is throwing Calibrate for a loop.

  • by motiondesigner,

    motiondesigner motiondesigner Nov 25, 2015 2:28 AM in response to Kurt Lang
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 25, 2015 2:28 AM in response to Kurt Lang

    Create a new test account and see if the problem persists across a reinstall of the OS. And just to try and make sure the original account isn't somehow interfering after switching account views, restart and login to the test account first.

    Still no luck...

     

    If the issue remains even then, the last test I could suggest would be to create a separate partition and install the OS to that. Without installing any third party software, try Calibrate again from the cleanly installed OS. If even that doesn't work, then it would have to be a hardware issue of some kind that is throwing Calibrate for a loop.

    I'm afraid you're right but for now I don't have time nor will to dig into that long process. I think I'll only trust my external monitor for color corrections considerations.

    I could also update to a more recent operating system (it might resolve the issue) but I wan't to remain with 10.9.5 as all my programs are running smoothly and the machine is super stable.

    It could be nice that someone with same OS version could come to test if the issue happens to him too.

    I look forward to hearing from you, any idea is welcome.

    Thank you

  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang Nov 25, 2015 7:18 AM in response to motiondesigner
    Level 8 (37,696 points)
    Nov 25, 2015 7:18 AM in response to motiondesigner

    I'm afraid I'm out of ideas at the moment.

     

    It just doesn't make sense. You've been using your Mac this way for some time, and Calibrate has worked as expected. With no hardware changes, and I would presume maybe some minor software changes, it suddenly doesn't.

  • by motiondesigner,

    motiondesigner motiondesigner Nov 25, 2015 7:45 AM in response to Kurt Lang
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 25, 2015 7:45 AM in response to Kurt Lang

    I know, well if I could calibrate it by another utility color assistant, it would do the job. I've been trying using SuperCal, but it was not working well for me.

    Is there other software used for that ?

     

    edit : a software that would give me access to the RGB channels, so I could adjust them and neutralize any hue shift with the grayscale pattern in background on my own.

  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang Nov 25, 2015 8:30 AM in response to motiondesigner
    Level 8 (37,696 points)
    Nov 25, 2015 8:30 AM in response to motiondesigner

    SuperCal is essentially the same idea as the built in Calibrate function. Despite their claims, it is no more accurate in any way. It can't see the monitor, so has no idea what it really looks like as far as color temperature, gamma, evenness of the gray ramp, etc.

     

    Here's a basic example of "eyeballing" color. Fact - all monitors drift. CRTs drifted very fast and usually had to be calibrated and profiled on at least a weekly basis. They would go in pretty much any direction; green, pink, blue, whatever. LED and LCD monitors almost always drift towards pink. As an aside, that also means the provided profile for any monitor is only somewhat accurate for about three months after the device comes out of the box. After that, it's useless.

     

    Anyway, using a pink drift as a baseline, when you enter Calibrate or an app like SuperCal and visually neutralize the screen, that means you have to add green to come back to a visual gray. Big, BIG problem. The software can only assume you are always starting at a perfect 6500K white point and 2.2 gamma. So when you move the controls to add green to get a visual gray, the software doesn't know that. As far as it's concerned, you like a green screen, and that's what the resulting profile will say to the OS in ColorSync. It's looks gray to you, but the profile says it's green. When you then print to a properly profiled printer, everything comes out with a green cast to it. ColorSync's job is to match the output to the screen, and the current profile says it's green, so the print follows.

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