Calibrating Samsung 206BW with my MacBook

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Calibrating Samsung 206BW with my MacBook

I have setup my new MacBook for use at home as my desktop PC replacement. I bought a 20” wide Samsung 206BW monitor and have it hooked up to my laptop. However, I wanted to calibrate it so the picture would be clear, crisp, and vibrant.

I tried using the Mac’s calibration utility but it does not seem to work out right. When ever I try to go through the first step

• Contrast high - then adjust brightness until oval blends in… Well the oval never really blends in. So I move on to the next step.
• When I get to the Gamma part, again the Apple Logo never blends in, so I’m just adjusting things to where I think it should be.

I’m not looking for “the” perfect calibration, but would like to at least adjust the monitor to a nice, sharp picture. If anyone has the same setup (with an external monitor) how did you adjust the settings?

I do know if I set everything back to default, and just use the Syncmaster profile, it’s to bright, and not so crisp.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

MacBook (Black) Late 2007 |, Mac OS X (10.5.1), | CoreDuo Mini | iBook G4/933 | G4/400 PowerMac

Posted on Jan 4, 2008 11:32 AM

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Answer 1

Jan 5, 2008 10:59 AM in response to Geekboy

I'd like to ask the same question...
somehow I don't really get what I am supposed to do with the color calibration process...

I own a samsung 2032bw which should be quite similar to the TO's monitor.

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Answer 2

Dave B.

Level 4

2,080 points

Jan 5, 2008 5:47 PM in response to Geekboy

Geekboy,

I just got a Samsung 2232BW which I think is the 22" version similar to yours. I have it hooked to an nVidia 5200 card on a G5 and it looked perfect right out of the box. Both your monitor and mine have a native resolution of 1680 X 1050. My nVidia is capable of producing that so it looks great. But checking System Preferences -> Displays, it appears the MacBook can only go up to 1280 X 800. So your Samsung hooked to your MacBook will not run at its native resolution which is the crispest and clearest. You can confirm this if it's possible to connect your Samsung to a friend's computer which can produce 1680 X 1050 resolution.

Regarding calibration, I ran Apple's calibrator like the other poster was talking about and the profile I came up with frankly didn't look better than the original one out of the box. So I stayed with that. If it is too bright you can use the brightness control on the monitor itself (at least mine has controls on the cabinet).

I have not tried to hook my Samsung to my MacBook.

Hope this helps.

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Answer 3

Dave B.

Level 4

2,080 points

Jan 5, 2008 6:00 PM in response to Geekboy

I just saw this in the specs for the MacBook:

"Extended desktop and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 1920 by 1200 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors"

That sounds like your Samsung should be able to run at native resolution of 1680 X 1050. With the Samsung hooked up, if you go to System Prefs -> Displays, is 1680 X 1050 available as a selection, and is it selected?

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Answer 4

Dave B.

Level 4

2,080 points

Jan 5, 2008 6:51 PM in response to Geekboy

Geekboy,

Another thought - how is the Samsung connected? Do you have a mini-DVI to DVI adapter from Apple, and then a DVI cable (not VGA)? That might make a difference.

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Answer 5

Geekboy Author

Level 1

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Jan 9, 2008 12:14 PM in response to Dave B.

Hey Dave I do have the monitor running at 1680 X 1050 and it’s hooked up using a MiniDVI on the Macbook to a DVI cable to the monitor. So DVI all the way. It just seems that the monitor is too bright colors may not be quite as vivid and I just thought others who use their Macbooks as desktops may have some suggestions for setting up the monitor.

The monitor itself seems fine it just making the right adjustments. Sure I can tune it o my liking but was hoping for a baseline of sorts. Still tinkering 🙂

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