Color issues with eMac

[scotto]

Got my DVX about a month ago and I am very impressed with the image control. Like most folks who first get a DVX, I am enjoying the 24p mode. Here is my issue:
I shoot in File Scene 5 (24p reg) and get the colors and contrast and everything looking just great on the camera LCD display. I plug directly with RCA jacks into any crappy old TV and the colors look great. But when I capture on my eMac with FCPHD 4.5, I loose the vividness, everything is dulled a notch and a tad darker. I know the eMac is a CRT monitor and not an LCD. I have recently calibrated the eMac's monitor.
I've tinkered with color correction (pretty inexperienced in that dept.) and can improve things slightly, but not as good as the original. Obviously, once I output to DVD, my colors are locked in that lackluster quality

At first I thought I was stopping down the iris too much. But on this last shoot of an artist's water color paintings, I shot in natural light, inside and made sure not to tighten down the iris and left it much more open than I might have (ignoring the slight 80% zebras). But I am still have the same color issues in post.
Same issue when I try it on my pretty new G4powerbook.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated, thanks, Scotto

 

[Scottdvx100]

As you've noted a computer display (CRT and especially LCD) will be different than most TV sets or calibrated video monitors.
make sure to use the advanced monitor calibration and if you can get a real video monitor to compare to so much the better.
Note that if the image looks great out of the camera and you burn a DVD without changing anything it should look very close to the same when played back on the TV from the DVD.
Your computer isn't changing the color, it's only displaying it differently than a true video monitor. The problem you have is when you try to color correct since the colors on your computer is desaturated you might over compensate.
Try to output to a video monitor or at least TV via Firewire to a camera to TV

 

[scotto]

Scott:
Thanks for the tips. I have taken images that looked great out of the camera and captured them into FCP 4.5, not changed anything, burned a dvd and have noticed the same "dulled" image. I agree the computer shouldn't do anything to the images permanently, only display the images differently. I will keep experimenting and do as you suggest and output to my cheapo TV via firewire, camera and tv. Will let you know what I find.

 

[fleaguit]

I've seen the same issue in other editing programs, with other cameras. My best guess is the color loss would have something to do with the compression that the editing program uses to store the video, for FCP quicktime, or for Premiere AVI. They have to put some sort of codec on it to make it easier to edit, so I'd have to assume there is some image loss.

 

[MarcM]

You can never trust what is on video or DVD, from a computer monitor. Watch your video in FCP via an NTSC monitor. A calibrated monitor if you can but either way a computer monitor can never really tell you what your video will look like on an TV

 

[Rasquachemedia]

You can never trust what is on video or DVD, from a computer monitor. Watch your video in FCP via an NTSC monitor. A calibrated monitor if you can but either way a computer monitor can never really tell you what your video will look like on an TV

Marc, could you just use a regular tv to do this? How would it differ from an NTSC monitor? any feedback would be great. thnx,

 

[MarcM]

A regular TV is fine unless you plan to color correct your video in FCP. The problem with a regular TV set is it will adjust the color for any video/cable channels coming into it. You can't stop it. It's just trying its best to give you a pleasing picture. To give you and example. Go to Sears (or any store that sells TV's) and look in the electronic dept. at all the TV sets playing the same channel. You'll notice that the color is different for every set playing the same program. An NTSC monitor on the other hand does not do this automatic adjustment and is meant to be calibrated to color bars so when video comes through it you will see the true color tint of the video not an automatically adjusted color like from a TV set.