Apple iMac & Studio Displays - Display Calibration

[rasterdogs]

I've seen claims on the internet that Apple calibrates these so well that users don't need to do after-the-fact calibration.

I'm skeptical but since it is on the internet it must be true, right?

If I do need to do a basic calibration what are the recommended monitor profiling tools that folks are using?

My ancient X-rite Colormunki seems to have died.

[digitaldog]

Many (all?) newer Apple displays are calibrated at the factory. That's good. Unless the calibration isn't ideal for your needs. Then you need to recalibrate to those aim points.
What we also do not know is if the displays change behavior over time (most likely yes) so again, recalibration.
Get an i1Display Pro if you can afford one.

[rasterdogs]

Many (all?) newer Apple displays are calibrated at the factory. That's good. Unless the calibration isn't ideal for your needs. Then you need to recalibrate to those aim points.
What we also do not know is if the displays change behavior over time (most likely yes) so again, recalibration.
Get an i1Display Pro if you can afford one.

Thanks Andrew, if funds are scarce is there a less expensive alternative?

[Czornyj]

I've seen claims on the internet that Apple calibrates these so well that users don't need to do after-the-fact calibration.

I'm skeptical but since it is on the internet it must be true, right?

If I do need to do a basic calibration what are the recommended monitor profiling tools that folks are using?

My ancient X-rite Colormunki seems to have died.

Haven't seen the Studio Display yet, but my MBP 16 M1 Pro has reference grade display, and you can calibrate it to any target without a calibrator - just by clicking desired white point, luminance and TRC (like in case of my NEC PA311D and MultiProfiler). I checked it with external sensor and it's always spot on.

Note that default "Apple XDR Display (P3-1600 nits) preset has a white point corrected from D65 x0.313 y0.329 to 10 deg 1964 D65 which is x0.311 y0.329 in case of this PFS WLED IPS, which gives more neutral look (2 deg 1931 D65 calibrated display has a bit of magenta tint).

[Czornyj]

Thanks Andrew, if funds are scarce is there a less expensive alternative?

No, especially not for PFS WLED IPS type displays

[rasterdogs]

Haven't seen the Studio Display yet, but my MBP 16 M1 Pro has reference grade display, and you can calibrate it to any target without a calibrator - just by clicking desired white point, luminance and TRC (like in case of my NEC PA311D and MultiProfiler). I checked it with external sensor and it's always spot on.

Note that default "Apple XDR Display (P3-1600 nits) preset has a white point corrected from D65 x0.313 y0.329 to 10 deg 1964 D65 which is x0.311 y0.329 in case of this PFS WLED IPS, which gives more neutral look (2 deg 1931 D65 calibrated display has a bit of magenta tint).

Thanks, Where do I find the interface where these adjustment can be implemented?

For instance if I want to set display brightness to some where between 80 to 120 cd where do I go to make such a setting?

[rasterdogs]

My ancient X-rite Colormunki seems to have died.

It's Alive! After a click fest I got to Colorbrite and followed the instructions on this page: https://support.xritephoto.eu/document2/

Lo and behold the old ColorMunki Display came alive. The documentation from Colorbrite says the software is updated for OSX Big Sur but doesn't mention that it works with OSX Monterey. I'm running Montery and all's well.

I'm impressed that this device is still supported as it's pretty old.

[digitaldog]

It's Alive! After a click fest I got to Colorbrite and followed the instructions on this page: https://support.xritephoto.eu/document2/

Lo and behold the old ColorMunki Display came alive. The documentation from Colorbrite says the software is updated for OSX Big Sur but doesn't mention that it works with OSX Monterey. I'm running Montery and all's well.

I'm impressed that this device is still supported as it's pretty old.

That's good, but its not the device you want to be using on the newer Apple displays due to the backlight. Czornyj pointed out why.

[GWGill]

Czornyj pointed out why.

Not really. The ColorMunki Display is an i1d3 with the same HW to all the other i1d3's.

[TechTalk]

You can't tell the players without a scorecard folks!...

X-Rite ColorMunki Display (colorimeter) = X-Rite i1Display Studio = Calibrite ColorChecker Display

All the same hardware with different branding, distribution, packaging, and/or software. Just like you will find with other X-Rite / Pantone / Calibrite branded instruments with the confusing mess made in marketing them in different flavors thru different channels. They especially like to use similar names for entirely different hardware or completely different names for exactly the same hardware or different brands of the same hardware with firmware variants to limit software compatibility.

Of course among X-Rite colorimeters, there is also the variant known as the X-Rite i1Display Pro which = the Calibrite ColorChecker Display Pro or is also sold with firmware limits as an OEM product like the NEC MDSVSENSOR3 as well as other X-Rite OEM Flavors too confusing to be mentioned in polite company. For the adventurous with time to spare... this is a guide to some of the variations X-Rite has created.

And here's a PDF from X-Rite comparing the ColorMunki Display with the i1Display Pro, each have been replaced by a new model with the same hardware but a different name. Confused yet?

Baseball season is starting up... get your scorecards!



Image from... bulldogvintage.wordpress.com

[TechTalk]

I've seen claims on the internet that Apple calibrates these so well that users don't need to do after-the-fact calibration.

Need is relative just like desire. If you're a one person operation, you can pretty much do as you like with regard to calibration and profiling. You can find a lot of opinions and assertions on forums regarding whether or not you need to calibrate from individuals based on their personal experience.

On the other hand, if you're working in a collaborative production environment, you're likely going to need to measure and calibrate every so often as a requirement of whoever is paying the bills or is in charge of production. In every production environment that I've encountered, I think it would generally be considered unprofessional, irresponsible, or plain nuts to assume that any hardware is performing as it should without measuring its output on occasion for either confirmation or correction of output behavior. In the case of a monitor, that's going to mean a device in front of the screen measuring what is actually coming out.

I'm skeptical but since it is on the internet it must be true, right?

I like your attitude! 

[TechTalk]

It's Alive! After a click fest I got to Colorbrite and followed the instructions on this page: https://support.xritephoto.eu/document2/

Lo and behold the old ColorMunki Display came alive. The documentation from Colorbrite says the software is updated for OSX Big Sur but doesn't mention that it works with OSX Monterey. I'm running Montery and all's well.

I'm impressed that this device is still supported as it's pretty old.

Good work!

[TechTalk]

If I do need to do a basic calibration what are the recommended monitor profiling tools that folks are using?

In addition to the Calibrite ccStudio software, another free option for your X-Rite ColorMunki Display (aka X-Rite i1Display Studio/Calibrite ColorChecker Display) would be DisplayCal. DisplayCal provides a broad array of capabilities. It's a GUI designed to utilize the code from ArgyllCMS (Color Management System).

The widely used and appreciated Argyll Color Management System is the result of the labors of Graeme Gill (aka GWGill on Luminous Landscape). He also happens to be participating in this thread. There's a player to note on your scorecard.

[rasterdogs]

In addition to the Calibrite ccStudio software, another free option for your X-Rite ColorMunki Display (aka X-Rite i1Display Studio/Calibrite ColorChecker Display) would be DisplayCal. DisplayCal provides a broad array of capabilities. It's a GUI designed to utilize the code from ArgyllCMS (Color Management System).

The widely used and appreciated Argyll Color Management System is the result of the labors of Graeme Gill (aka GWGill on Luminous Landscape). He also happens to be participating in this thread. There's a player to note on your scorecard.

Thanks for all the great information!
I was calibrating my iMac and printing in an Epson Stylus Pro 3800 up until ~3 years ago.
The printer died and I started making photo books using Blurb.
Neglected to profile my display, used a profile I'd made using the Munki from 2017.
The resulting book photos were ok.

As I'm waiting to receive an Apple Studio Display I'm thinking I'll check the Apple included profiles and see what gives. Apple seems to have continued to evolve their display calibration and profiles over the past ~5 years.

Thanks for the pointer to DisplayCal, I'll check that out.

All of this is just so complex and wonderful. 

[TechTalk]

...As I'm waiting to receive an Apple Studio Display I'm thinking I'll check the Apple included profiles and see what gives. Apple seems to have continued to evolve their display calibration and profiles over the past ~5 years...

...All of this is just so complex and wonderful. 

Enjoy your new display! It has a great looking industrial design and I'm sure it will produce a pleasing viewing experience.

[TechTalk]

With regard to calibration... Given the continuous flow of magic, myth, and marketing hype being sold by manufacturers and by individuals populating the internet — often by misusing, conflating, or wowing you with terminology and sometimes by comparing an Apple to an orange (or to a reference monitor) — to amaze, confuse, and hold us spellbound... please allow me to clear up some terminology.

Calibration and configuration are not the same thing. Selecting a preset "display reference mode" or creating a "custom refernce mode" is configuration of the display for a selected set of reference values. Calibration of the display requires measuring the actual display output and comparing that to the standard reference values you've selected in your preset or custom configuration. Configuration is a selection process for the targets that you want to achieve. Calibration is a measurement and comparison process to evaluate actual performance in meeting those targets.

The essential ingredients are measurement of actual output, comparison to a standard, and any needed correction to meet the standard's tolerance for error. That's calibration. This is often followed by remeasuring for verification of the calibration.

[Czornyj]

Thanks, Where do I find the interface where these adjustment can be implemented?

For instance if I want to set display brightness to some where between 80 to 120 cd where do I go to make such a setting?

You just enter System Preferences > Display > Presets > Customize Presets > +, then you just choose gamut, white point, TRC and brightness value. In case of my Macbook Pro 16 it autocalibrates itself to chosen targets very precisely, I had checked it with my i1D3's, and there's virtually nothing to correct. And in fact you even can't make standard calibration with vcgt, nor create a profile, there's simlply no such option in MacOS for Macbook Pro 14/16 and Studio displays.

[TechTalk]

You just enter System Preferences > Display > Presets > Customize Presets > +, then you just choose gamut, white point, TRC [Tone Response Curve, also referred to as Electro-Optical Transfer Function (EOTF) or Display Gamma] and brightness value. In case of my Macbook Pro 16 it autocalibrates itself to chosen targets very precisely...

That isn't calibration. The display was calibrated at the factory before you began using it. They measured a variety of display output characteristics with a calibration device and compared those measurements to target values (calibration standards) and made any corrections needed to bring the display within their set of acceptable manufacturing tolerances.

When you change the settings (brightness, gamma, etc.) adjustments are calculated and applied by software and firmware which reference the measurements from the previous calibration at the factory. What it does not do is perform a new calibration of the display.

A set of calibrations was completed at the factory. A new calibration isn't going to be performed unless you choose to do so with your own measuring device or hire someone to calibrate it with their measuring device.

...I had checked it with my i1D3's [X-Rite i1Display Pro/Calibrite ColorChecker Display Pro colorimeter]...

That's calibration.

...and there's virtually nothing to correct.

Then you're good to go, unless you choose to correct whatever falls outside of virtually.

[TechTalk]

And in fact you even can't make standard calibration with vcgt [Video Card Gamma Table], nor create a profile, there's simlply no such option in MacOS for Macbook Pro 14/16 and Studio displays.

Apple has gone out of their way to make the latest MacBook Pro XDR and Studio Displays very unfriendly to users that want or need to calibrate their display from time to time. There are options for calibrating and for creating profiles, Apple has just hidden them or made them inconvenient for users. What Apple offers are two pretty ridiculous options. One is a digital Stone Age method and the other resembles a science fair project.

The primitive calibration method is pretty much the same visual comparison method that has been around forever — Apple's Display Calibrator Assistant. This uses your eyes as the measurement device and your visual cortex for comparisons with a visual reference displayed on the screen as the standard. If Display Calibrator Assistant isn't readily accessible thru System Preferences › Displays › Color › Calibrate, it's because Apple decided to hide it from you in Macintosh HD › System › Library › ColorSync › Calibrators where it continues to live. It functions pretty much the way it has for decades and is usually best avoided. The options available will vary somewhat depending on what you're calibrating (computer/ display/ macOS) but will look something like this. It's not how you'd normally want to calibrate any respectable display for use in serious color editing.

The science fair method provided by Apple to "fine-tune the calibration" (white point and luminance only) for the Apple Studio Display or Liquid Retina XDR MacBook Pro is to download QuickTime movie test patterns from Apple's AVFoundation website for developers. Then "use your in-house spectroradiometer to measure" and then manually enter the white point x/y and luminance readings measured and target values desired into boxes as shown in the links. Not a real user friendly method for those wishing to calibrate their display occasionally.

There are other software calibration options like DisplayCal. To change or confirm the profile in use, you may need to use ColorSync Utility which would look like this.

Of course, all of the above only matters if you want or need to calibrate your display. If that is of little or no concern, then you can ignore the calibration limitations and inconveniences imposed by Apple and happily enjoy your viewing with an excellent display that was well calibrated at the factory.

[Czornyj]

That isn't calibration. The display was calibrated at the factory before you began using it. They measured a variety of display output characteristics with a calibration device and compared those measurements to target values (calibration standards) and made any corrections needed to bring the display within their set of acceptable manufacturing tolerances.

When you change the settings (brightness, gamma, etc.) adjustments are calculated and applied by software and firmware which reference the measurements from the previous calibration at the factory. What it does not do is perform a new calibration of the display.

A set of calibrations was completed at the factory. A new calibration isn't going to be performed unless you choose to do so with your own measuring device or hire someone to calibrate it with their measuring device.

That's calibration.

Then you're good to go, unless you choose to correct whatever falls outside of virtually.

Apple has gone out of their way to make the latest MacBook Pro XDR and Studio Displays very unfriendly to users that want or need to calibrate their display from time to time. There are options for calibrating and for creating profiles, Apple has just hidden them or made them inconvenient for users. What Apple offers are two pretty ridiculous options. One is a digital Stone Age method and the other resembles a science fair project.

The primitive calibration method is pretty much the same visual comparison method that has been around forever — Apple's Display Calibrator Assistant. This uses your eyes as the measurement device and your visual cortex for comparisons with a visual reference displayed on the screen as the standard. If Display Calibrator Assistant isn't readily accessible thru System Preferences › Displays › Color › Calibrate, it's because Apple decided to hide it from you in Macintosh HD › System › Library › ColorSync › Calibrators where it continues to live. It functions pretty much the way it has for decades and is usually best avoided. The options available will vary somewhat depending on what you're calibrating (computer/ display/ macOS) but will look something like this. It's not how you'd normally want to calibrate any respectable display for use in serious color editing.

The science fair method provided by Apple to "fine-tune the calibration" (white point and luminance only) for the Apple Studio Display or Liquid Retina XDR MacBook Pro is to download QuickTime movie test patterns from Apple's AVFoundation website for developers. Then "use your in-house spectroradiometer to measure" and then manually enter the white point x/y and luminance readings measured and target values desired into boxes as shown in the links. Not a real user friendly method for those wishing to calibrate their display occasionally.

There are other software calibration options like DisplayCal. To change or confirm the profile in use, you may need to use ColorSync Utility which would look like this.

Of course, all of the above only matters if you want or need to calibrate your display. If that is of little or no concern, then you can ignore the calibration limitations and inconveniences imposed by Apple and happily enjoy your viewing with an excellent display that was well calibrated at the factory.

For many years high end displays like NEC PA and EIZO CG have image processors (called SpectraView Engine in case of NEC) and double 3DLUTs that are pedantically, factory calibrated with high end Konica-Minolta spectroradiometers and colorimeters (CS-2000, CA-310, CA-2500) worth well over 100k$, and have internal autocalibration sensors to maintain stability of displayed parameters. When you set target brightness, white point, contrast, TRC or gamut using OSD, NEC Multiprofiler or EIZO ColorNavigator, they achieve selected target in a second with higer accuracy than after calibration with external toy-colorimeter.

Apple did exactly the same (or similar) trick in Macbooks Pro XDR and Studio Displays. There's no need and no way to improve it using primitive vctg calibration and toy sensors.