Color Calibration Issue

[Corey Beaulieu]

For a while now, I have been using the i1 Display Pro by Xrite to calibrate my monitors. I have been very happy with my results.

 

But!

 

I have noticed an issue with 3DS Max (at least I think this is the source of my issue) where frequently, 3DS Max will remove my ICC Profile and leave my monitor un-calibrated for post work.

 

My check has been to use the i1 Profiler software, load the ICC profile and hit before and after. When I hit after, the screen drops back into my calibrated space, different from by starting color space when it should actually just return to where I started.

 

Because the calibrator handles the brightness rather aggressively it is leaving my images looking great on my screen and really dark to the client.

 

I have set my Windows properties to always use my calibrated profile, but because this only happens on the monitor that I use Max (I have 2 monitors), I believe that something with the NVidia connectivity in Max is the problem.

 

Any help will be very appreciated. Thank you.

[jasonstewart]

That is strange, I use the X-Rite as well and have never had a problem with it reverting. Sounds strange that images are looking dark to clients, when calibrated my monitor is quite dark so I would expect them to seem overly bright on an uncalibrated display. Are you using the automatic brightness adjustment thing? I just calibrate and unplug the X-Rite.

[Corey Beaulieu]

Hi Jason.

 

Yes I am using the auto brightness feature. I have been managing several other people's calibrations as well and the odd part is that not everyone is having the issue. A few do and a few don't. I would go out on a pretty thick limb and say that this is not the Xrite's fault. My money is on Max.

 

And the client is getting a dark image because my monitor is not holding its calibration. That was the main issue here. I am painting in an over-bright space and when I publish my final, it is darker on other monitors. Most days I catch the shift in my monitor but when I leave for the day and return in the morning, it's a tough thing to notice.

[braddewald]

This may be an unpopular opinion but I gave up on any color calibration software. At the end of the day - you're only calibrating your screen. Your clients will still see something different. Printing anything on their end is going to require some color adjustment by the clients as well. To me, it just causes a lot of headaches for something that's not even really going to be fixed 100%. If your monitor is THAT off, you should probably just get a new one because it's going bad. When I was using the ColorMunki i would check my renderings on my iPhone and it always looked different than what I was looking at on my computer screen. Once I dropped dealing with ICC profiles and recalibrating every few weeks the images on my screen were the same as my other computers, same as on a smartphone and most likely the same as what my clients were seeing.

[Scott Schroeder]

I had an issue with the Spyder color calibration where I accidentally saved the wrong profile to the wrong monitor in a 2 monitor set up. Even if I just forced the monitor to use the correct profile, it would sometimes revert to the wrong one. I had to completely remove all profiles and start over. Now, it never drops it.

 

I can't imagine Max being the one to screw with an ICC profile. Photoshop yes, but Max? Stranger things have happened I guess.

[Corey Beaulieu]

I'll look into this Scott. I definitely have several old profiles still saved.

 

My thinking that max is the source of my issue is largely an assumption. Coincident that the monitor I have the issue with is the one I run Max on and with the NVidia connectivity, it seems to make sense in my head.

 

Xrite has suggested that Windows is simply forgetting the profile. they gave me several solutions to look into, the leader of which is to simply update my graphics card driver.

 

It's a tough problem to solve as it isn't an issue I can force. It just happens.

 

Bradley. I get that every monitor displays its own version of color, but at least with a calibrated setup, you can ensure that the the colors you put out in the world are balanced and not out of range. I also find that the brightness and contrast is balanced much better regardless of the monitor used to view the image. But to each their own.

[RyderSK]

What is your monitor we're talking about ? Does it support hardware calibration (integrated LUT profile in the Display) by any chance ? That does away with all Windows&Applications&Profiles fun altogether. But it's only available on newer and more expensive (generally all current wide-gamut panels) monitors.

 

3dsMax being completely unmanaged application I sort of doubt it could mess anything. I would bet graphic drivers and associated app that come today with them.

[SgWRX]

i have a profiled monitor and windows 7. recently i hooked up a second monitor and used the nvidia tool to switch left/right because the 2nd monitor was on my left and i hated mousing right to get to it. it was shortly after that i noticed everything on my main (right monitor) was out of whack. i went into color management and reloaded the profile. then it looked ok. after a reboot it got messed up again. i switched back to just one monitor and everything is ok again... profile loads properly. there might be something going on with the primary monitor left/ right thing?

[Corey Beaulieu]

So the monitor is nothing fancy, a Dell U2412h. It works well, but is neither Wide Gammut nor does it support integrated LUT in within the display.

 

I feel like I have found something new that could be a possible cause. I am not the most technical of artists, but let me know what you think:

 

http://www.laszlopusztai.net/2011/03/12/intels-video-drivers-kill-display-calibration/

 

and when I run the App he suggests I see at startup, XRGamma is being loaded. Because I use the "Use Windows Calibration Display" option perhaps this is causing a confusion within my machine and is why Windows seems to be "forgetting" my profile.

 

Xrite says that while i should not cause any issues, it would not matter if I turned it off:

 

https://xritephoto.com/ph_product_overview.aspx?ID=754&Action=Support&SupportID=5547

 

I am going to try this and get back to this thread should it prove to work, but the issue is not something I can incite so I just have to give it some time.

[SgWRX]

same monitor i have! that could be, if there's double loading going on - your custom profile and one that is built in to the card graphics drivers be they nvidia, ati or intel. and right, they typically have their own control panel to override or handle windows. i always try to turn all that off. let us know! a note though, i don't even have that intel persistence on my machine. i looked in the registry and in my task manager for igfxpers.exe and igfxsrvc.exe.

 

oh maybe you are are using two video cards? built in for the other monitor and then the nvidia?

 

edit oh one more thing - in the nvidia control panel "adjust desktop color settings" option there is a place to select "let other applications control color settings"