Footage looks dark on HD TV

Robbie Comeau

Robbie Comeau

Como's back. back again
when ever i exort a video , and watch it on my computer, its actually decent. But when i burn onto dvd, and watch it on my tv, its much darker....is that the tv? or the settings in final cut?

also, im shooting a movie, and its gonig to dvd, so i don't want this to happen. Is there a setting i can export my hour long movie, to hd tv?
 
YOu should play that DVD in as many sets as you can, just to verify if its your specific TV that needs to be recalibrated, or if its the compression or your computer screen that needs to be recalibrated.

Sometimes HDTV's change their settings according to the input. so while you may have it calibrated for HDTV signals, the same exact input, say input 1 for example can have a memory storage for 2 different settings for SD and one for HD.

So look into that for sure.
 
i work on an iMac at home, and never had a problem of it being too dark when i goto my HDTV via DVD. Definatly check your friends tv's and stuff. Leave the iMac alone, i would think.

anyone else?
 
Mac gamma is in fact brighter than PC gamma and TV gamma.

http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototips/gamma-18-or-22.html
"So the obvious question at this point would be why then don't we all use a gamma of 2.5? The 2.2 value comes from how PC display standards originated. Before computer monitors could display images, television had been using CRT systems with similar characteristics for a long time. Indeed, one of the first monitors I used way back when was actually a TV set connected via an RF modulator. In the United States, the National Television Standards Council, or NTSC, determined that they had to slightly under-compensate for the native 2.5 gamma for TV images to look correct. Back when the NTSC standard was set in 1953, it seems that people generally watched their sets in dimly lit rooms, making the displays look less contrasty against the dark background than they actually were. Engineers found that by artificially using a gamma of 2.2 instead of 2.5 images looked more natural in the assumed dim viewing environment. The PC standard for monitor gamma retained this 2.2 gamma since it worked so well for TV.
But I can hear at least a few Mac users insisting that when they set their monitor to gamma 2.2 everything looks too dark. This is quite true for non-color managed applications, simply because the gamma changed but the image did not and ColorSync isn't converting things for us. Similarly, if you edit an image so it looks correct in a non-color managed application at gamma 2.2 (say, on a PC perhaps) it will look too bright when viewed at 1.8. But all that both these observations tell us is that changing gamma will affect how existing images get displayed unless our color management system is aware of the change and compensates for it. Neither says anything about the inherent benefits of either choice of gamma value. "

1184884244.jpg


For things uploaded to the web I that I had done with a mac calibrated monitor I gave a .2 gamma bump.

Here is an article from the Ken Stone website entitled:
[FONT=Verdana,arial] Why are my FCP Productions Darker on my clients PC's? [/FONT]
http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/gamma_mac_pc.html
which offers solutions and tips.

Ideally you should be using a NTSC monitor calibrated with NTSC color bars.
 
Last edited:
TheComo said:
thanks a lot! how do i change the gamma on my mac?
Click to expand...


You probably don't want to. FCP corrects for gamma automatically, so make a test DVD or try out some other TVs before making a drastic change that could mess up your whole workflow. Also, make sure your sequence is set to accurate color rendition, too.
 
This is why having a TV or NTSC monitor connected to your system is a VITAL COMPONENT...so you know what your footage REALLY looks like.
 
Amulet Man said:
You probably don't want to. FCP corrects for gamma automatically, so make a test DVD or try out some other TVs before making a drastic change that could mess up your whole workflow. Also, make sure your sequence is set to accurate color rendition, too.
Click to expand...
Corrects the gamma for what?

Just go to the monitor section in your control panel and read Ken burns tutorial.

I currently have mine set at Native Mac gamma but use a calibrated NTSC monitor as well.
 
Jack Daniel Stanley said:
Corrects the gamma for what?

Just go to the monitor section in your control panel and read Ken burns tutorial.

I currently have mine set at Native Mac gamma but use a calibrated NTSC monitor as well.
Click to expand...

FCP automatically compensates for the gamma shift so that the footage on your computer's screen looks close to the footage on your NTSC monitor. If you set your mac to 2.2 gamma, your footage will look wrong in FCP, so I don't recommend adjusting your mac's gamma to 2.2 is all.
 
Last edited:
thered a thing that sys 1.8, 2.2, and i look at my footage in fcp on my second sscren (dual moniter, it a hanns G) shud i have it at 2.2 (for tv) or 1.8? when i edit?
 
Unless your mac is set up in an unusual way, you should be using 1.8 gamma. FCP will then do the gamma correction for you.

However, if you have your gamma correction (file-->system settings-->playback control-->gamma correction) set to approximate instead of accurate, your midtones will probably look a bit darker on tv. I always use accurate.

Also, use the scopes and particularly the histogram to help get a better picture of your exposures. This is a very good way to gauge which shots are severely underexposed and which aren't, although obviously the histogram is just a tool and not an end-all guide to exposure and color correction. And, if you have an NTSC monitor calibrated and set up, by all means use it.
 
Amulet Man said:
I don't need to read a tutorial since, after setting gamma correction to "accurate" in FCP, my lcd displays an image nearly identical to my calibrated NTSC monitor. Plus, I use scopes anyway. Perhaps you need to read a user's manual.

FCP automatically compensates for the gamma shift so that the footage on your computer's screen looks close to the footage on your NTSC monitor. If you set your mac to 2.2 gamma, your footage will look wrong in FCP, so I don't recommend adjusting your mac's gamma to 2.2 is all.
Click to expand...

I was telling the original poster - not you to check out the tutorial.
 
"and read Ken burns tutorial."

Wow, Ken Burns not only does great documentaries, he's into color calibration too? :-)

(I know, I know..you meant Ken Stone :-).
 
i have my mac calibrated @ gamma 2.2 and gamma correction in fcp set to "approximate".
that works very well...imo much better than mac @ 1.8 and gamma correction set to accurate.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top