How to fix color banding?

[wannabeartist]

Thanks for the explanation!

 

I'm starting to understand this display issue now.

 

The problem that remains, is that I'm not intending to print my work, but rather transfer it electronically to the client. Now, I'm just getting started business-wise and things may change in my workflow, but in my early experiences, the clients wont print it either - they want pretty presentation of their design share with their clients, many times over the internet. Or some of them just want to see the visualization before they go ahead with the project.

 

So, the main problem remains, I need to somehow make it look nice even on the average monitor. That's why I originally though that there must be something wrong with my render settings, but apparently it's just the way it works.

[Jeff Mottle]

I tried viewing your image on a low-end laptop display and saw minor banding, but on my good monitor I see none at all. Basically, the number of gray shades the lower end monitors are capable of displaying is less than the number of shades in the image file, so on your display you see banding where the monitor fails to display the shades that would be between the bands.

 

That's one of the reasons why medical imaging displays cost a fortune http://www.cdwg.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=1666421 If you're looking at MRI data, you need the contrast ratio and artifact free display.

[Jeff Mottle]

 

So, the main problem remains, I need to somehow make it look nice even on the average monitor. That's why I originally though that there must be something wrong with my render settings, but apparently it's just the way it works.

 

The simple answer is that you can't. If you're driving around in a Lada, you can't beat a Maserati in a road race. And it's very likely your clients do not have displays that are any better.

[Peter M. Gruhn]

Have you tried adding noise per my post?

[AJLynn]

The "needs to look good on a normal monitor" problem is a tough one, since no two uncalibrated monitors look the same. But Peter's adding noise idea makes sense - basically you're breaking up the bands, adding some dithering manually.

[wannabeartist]

Peter,

 

I didn't yet try it, but I will. I've been rendering the actual living room image in really high resolution to see the problem areas clearly.

 

I'm also learning Composite (Toxik) now, I'll see if it has any tricks that could be of help in this issue.

[DanGrover]

Have you tried adding noise per my post?

 

I've had this recommended a number of times, and it definitely works a treat.