Color correcting via quicktime?

I have been increasingly unsatisfied with the way that my imported video looks on screen (dull, unsaturated and dark) compared to what it looiks like in my camera's LCD (bright, colorful with warm tones). Anyone know of a way to match up the color from my camera to the displayed iMovie video?

I have been exporting all of the movie clips that I post or email using the advanced settings to set the compresion/size frame rate etc of the movies that I send out. I have found that it also includes settings under "filters" for RGB, brightness, contrast etc. and color profiles. None of the profiles end up matching the nice tones of my camrea LCD, and none of the other filter settings work very well.

Does anyone know of a way, or can point me to a place that can help to match up these color issues?

-i

2x2.0 gHz G5, Mac OS X (10.4.1)

Posted on Jul 4, 2006 7:43 PM

20 replies

Dec 12, 2006 1:01 PM in response to iPhotoStuff 2

Your problem is most likely related to the gamma setting of your monitor. Macintoshes, which have far better color management than any other system, use a different gamma than television. The Macintosh default gamma setting is more appropriate for print/photo work than TV, and will typically cause movies to appear a bit dark. You can change the gamma setting via the Displays/Calibrate process. I suggest you get and read the book "Real World Color Management" so you understand what is happening any why. This is not something that can be handled in a forum such as this one. Once you have the background, you will be able to figure out the best solution for your application.

By the way, historically, PCs have had no color management, so you basically will never know what a PC user will see....

Dec 12, 2006 6:45 PM in response to Eric Hildum

Eric,

Macintoshes, which have far better color management than any other system

This is probably true.

historically, PCs have had no color management, so you basically will never know what a PC user will see.....

Not to start a debate, but I've used mac's and pc's for several years and as far as I know Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Me, and Windows 98 provide color management support.

If we're just talkin Displays

Apple's ColorSync3 has a built-in visual calibration tool, while Microsoft relies upon third parties to supply visual calibration for LCD monitors(Adobe gamma utlity is included & used in the OS for CRT monitors)

Microsoft’s color management is based upon open, published international standards, whereas Apple’s work is mostly proprietary.

Not defending PC vs Mac just a FYI.

Dec 12, 2006 7:04 PM in response to Patricia Welch

Thank you both. I actually posted that message hoping that I could hit a "resolved" button and have it there for anyone else who was looking for the answer. Yes, the issue has to do with the monitor color profile. I am a print designer, web and application designer, as well as a photographer, so I have had to deal with the profiles constantly.

The issue was converting the DVs native color to sRGB which is the standard PC monitor as well as a closer to true color than any of the mac studio display defaults. I now just keep one monitor set to sRGB and the other the mac default. This issues is obviously resolved when you view playback in your camera LCD or on an external tv monitor, but the colorsync conversion in the quicktime settings will do fine for now.

Peace between PC and MAC owners please. We need PC users so that my Apple stock can grow as soon as the intel boxes become seamless and everyone converts 🙂

Dec 13, 2006 10:01 AM in response to Patricia Welch

Windows 98 and ME were the start of color management on Windows, but it was always off by default. You would need to manual enable it, and make sure that all the monitor and other settings were actually correct and that you had the proper ICC files for the particular monitor. Needless to say, in the real world, it was almost never enabled. Further, it would only be used if the application you happened to be using also made use of it.
I am not as certain on Windows XP, I think it may be on by default, but you still need specific application support and a correctly configured monitor. Again, not terribly reliable. There were actually several companies that made a business out of supplying color management tools to web sites so that the images in online catalogs displayed on a home user's system would more closely match the actual merchandise. These products had the consumer perform a color calibration that was stored in a cookie - the server would use that data to color correct the image on the fly as it was sent to that user's computer.

On the Mac, the color management is built in to the OS in a manner that all applications use it automatically, unless they specifically override it (e.g some Adobe applications) and replace it with their own system.

Dec 15, 2006 11:20 AM in response to iPhotoStuff 2

iPhoto Stuff2,

I apologise for not addressing your question. After reading the thread I didn't have any additional info to add that hadn't been covered.

I simply wanted to clarify Eric's statement which was little misleading.

As far as Pcs and Macs, I have no loyalty to either platform. They're both just tools to me. I use them both daily.

Only until a Pc can do everything a Mac can, or a Mac can do everything a Pc can, will I take a stance.

Until then I will always have a Pc and Mac in my studio.-:)

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Color correcting via quicktime?