Luminous Landscape Forum

Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Colour Management => Topic started by: Rob C on January 29, 2009, 03:36:47 pm

Title: One Monitor, Two Computers, One CD
Post by: Rob C on January 29, 2009, 03:36:47 pm
This one looks like another case for Superman, though I´d be perfectly happy to settle for MarkDS!

In the parallel thread about the LaCie 319, the above (no, not Superman) gentleman gave me much helpful advice and resolved the issues I was facing.  However, there remains a further complication which is currently beyond my powers to reason out, and it is this:

I have two computers, one connected to the internet and the other, which I use for photography, is NOT connected to the internet but they both share the single, common, LaCie monitor.

As a means of making images available for transmission to the internet, I have to make recordings on CD using the photographic machine and then use that CD to make the pics available on the internet-connected machine. The problem I find is that though I am using the same, single, calibrated monitor for both computers, images that look correct on the photographic machine when viewed direct and also when played back from the CD on that machine, do NOT look the same when that CD is played on the internet-connected option. The difference seems to be that on the internet machine they look darker.

Can both computers be fixed to show the same tones on that same, single monitor, or is it a graphics card problem that is beyond simple solution?

Rob C
Title: One Monitor, Two Computers, One CD
Post by: Mark D Segal on January 29, 2009, 04:02:21 pm
Hi Rob, Thanks very much for the kudos, glad you recognize I'm not superman, and on this issue most certainly not. That said, I think the problem may be that the two computers use different GPUs and if you calibrated and profiled one display but not the other, perhaps the display profile which was calibrated using the one card is not suitable for the other, because the settings would differ to the extent that the calibration/profiling operation alters anything in the GPU. One way of finding out would be to recalibrate and reprofile the display using the computer producing the darker results and see whether the images then compare better by selecting the display profile for each machine as you migrate between them. It will be a bit impressionistic because you won't be able to view the results simultaneously, except perhaps by doing a screen grab of each and see how they both view on each display. The hope is, of course, that for internet purposes, using sRGB colour space with Black Point Compensation selected, the images would view quite similarly on a wide range of displays - none of which are necessarily calibrated and profiled systematically.

Regarding the transfer mechanism between the two machines, if you are running Windows, there is a much more efficient transfer approach than making CDs. Have a look at Laplink (http://www.laplink.com/llgold/).

Hope this helps.

Mark
Title: One Monitor, Two Computers, One CD
Post by: Rob C on January 29, 2009, 04:05:25 pm
A friend suggested that the answer lies in calibrating the monitor with BOTH computers; how does that work? Is there a circuit that tells the monitor which computer is using it and does that mean that it isn´t the monitor that is really calibrated on its own, but that it is a COMBINATION calibration that really takes place, a sort of mutual agreement, a ménage à trois, if you will, with alternating partners at no overall cost in quality of the experience - the viewing one, I mean?

Rob C
Title: One Monitor, Two Computers, One CD
Post by: Mark D Segal on January 29, 2009, 04:42:31 pm
I have no experience trying this so I don't know, but my hunch is that the correct profile would be "defaulted" with the video card for each computer, so you would get the correctly profiled resuilt as you switch from the one to the other.
Title: One Monitor, Two Computers, One CD
Post by: Rob C on January 29, 2009, 06:18:02 pm
Thanks, Mark, shall try that tomorrow.

As it´s ten minutes past midnight in this Mediterranean garden of good and evil, I lack the courage to attempt anything as challenging right now!

I looked at the laplink site and they do offer a solution or two; again, more matter for a rested brain!

Rob C

Title: One Monitor, Two Computers, One CD
Post by: Farmer on January 30, 2009, 07:07:56 pm
On the transfer of files issues, I assume there's a reason you don't want the two machines physically connected otherwise you'd be using ethernet.  So, instead of a CD, I'd recommend a humble USB thumbdrive.  Way more capacity than a CD for a few tens of dollars.  Faster, easier, better :-)
Title: One Monitor, Two Computers, One CD
Post by: Mark D Segal on January 30, 2009, 08:18:52 pm
Yup, true, but a program like Laplink has the added advantage of being able to automatically determine file transfers and replacements based on user-set parameters, such as "transfer only if newer" etc. It can transfer over a LAN, or using its own cable if for some reason one does not want to connect one of the machines to a LAN. I see the point - especially with Windows its kind of nice to have a computer isolated from the world of viruses and security threats.
Title: One Monitor, Two Computers, One CD
Post by: Farmer on January 30, 2009, 09:35:12 pm
Could be any number of reasons the PCs are not physically linked, so I was just looking for a solution that fit that model.

Once you decide to connect them, then ethernet (preferably gigabit these days) and something like LapLink or SyncToy 2.0 is great.