Not sure if you really expect (or appreciate) a response, Tim, based on your rant.
Aren't we all in the same boat here.
For example if the Base Profile has a look table (LookTable DNG tag) and it is removed what will that look like with or without it in a preview. I need to know where color ground zero is ...
you can easily check into this on your own, - happy to explain again:
just do step
5 as I had suggested it. The complete procedure how to extract the core profile from the Adobe Standard profile is compiled below. Not particularly difficult at all.
With the Pentax K100D (if this is your camera) the Adobe Standard profile is of the former type, just including the matrices and a LookTable. When you strip off the LookTable according the suggested procedure, the remaining core profile is what I had called the baseline matrix profile.
Case in point when I'm switching from PV2010 to PV2012 in ACR 6.7 the Linear Point Curve gets a custom curve. (See below).
The definition for zero/Linear has changed in the UI from PV2010 to PV2012:
PV2010 Medium Contrast curve -> PV2012 Linear
PV2010 Linear -> PV2012 inverse of the Medium Contrast curve as shown in your post.
To this point it is solely a UI thing, and it should not be responsible for any differences in tonality when converting from PV2010 to PV2012.
Feel free to open a separate thread on this subject
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How to extract the core profile from the Adobe Standard profile,
with the DNG Profile Editor:
1. open a DNG of the ColorChecker chart, Base Profile Adobe Standard
(no need to take particular care of the lighting, etc. when shooting the target).
2. place color circles over corner patches
3. select: Both color tables
4. Create Color Table
5. Edit > Clear Color Adjustments
6. optional: change Base Tone Curve to Camera Raw Default
7. File > Export Profile
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