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B Kip
Participating Frequently
March 17, 2011
Question

Correct Settings in Windows 7 Color Management Module?

  • March 17, 2011
  • 1 reply
  • 21047 views

In flailling around trying to assure myself that my custom monitor profile was actually loaded, I eventually ended up in the Windows 7 CM module.  Since it is not the picture of clarity and is not at all discussed in any of my texts, I went searching around the web and found at least two places where the advice given was that you not only had to ensure that the custom profile was set as the default profile, but also that you had to go the additional step of going under the "Advanced" tab to "Change System Defaults" and to select the "Use Windows Display Calibration" check box.  It is asserted that Win 7 will not load a profile without having this box checked.  Just for the heck of it, I followed this advice and after I checked the box, there was indeed an immediate obvious shift in the monitor profile.  Was it a "good" shift or a "bad" shift is the question. I haven't really been able to evaluate this yet, but I am wondering if anyone has looked into this question or otherwise has an opinion as to whether this is valid advice.

For reference see:

http://www.slagermanphoto.com/blog/2010/09/22/windows-color-management-solution/

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-desktop/cant-apply-an-icc-profile-to-display-cant/71b8d8e8-afa3-435a-aae4-6a8a184b6439

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    1 reply

    Noel Carboni
    Noel Carboni
    Legend
    March 17, 2011

    You need to set up the profile in the Devices tab.  Check Use my settings for this device, and make sure your monitor's calibration profile is set as default.

    The [Calibrate display] button in the Advanced tab will take you through some gamma adjustments and attempt to create a calibration of your video card's tables for your monitor.  It can actually work decently well.  I prefer personally, however, to use the features of my video card driver to do that calibration.  The ATI Catalyst Control Center just works better for me, and it allows me to save multiple calibrations by name.

    What's the source of your monitor profile?  Did it come with the monitor or have you calibrated/profiled it yourself with a "puck"?  Normally a color profiling "puck" takes care of setting up both parts - the calibration and setup of the profile.

    -Noel

    B
    B KipAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    March 19, 2011

    Noel:

    I have custom calibrated with an Eye-One puck.  I was just searching around looking for a way to verify that indeed the profile was in place, concerned that it might not be, and came across this advice in the links attached to my first message. But my ultimate goal was to verify that indeed I had my monitor profile in place.

    After reading through the links, although I did tick the "Use Windows Display Calibration" I did not push the "Calibrate Display" button, recognizing that this leads to a visual calibration routine.  In the links I attached, and also:

    http://www.pusztaiphoto.com/articles/colormgmt/win7/default.aspx

    the authors are suggesting that ticking the "Use Windows Display Calibration" is a necessary step to ensure that your custom profile is loaded and remains loaded.  Although I admit that this seems illogical (hence my question) the author of the article linked above asserts that checking this box does not relate only to a visual calibration via the "Calibrate Display" button.  Indeed, in referring to the Microsoft description of this module, where it says that"Windows profile loading" should only be used in conjunction with the visual calculation function his advice his is to "gnore it," indicating that the people who wrote the help article misunderstood its function.

    And, as noted above, after trying this I did notice a profile shift with my custom calibration in place, so it did pique my curiosity. In the last analysis however my ultimate goal is to know that my custom profile is properly loaded.

    Any thoughts on what is the best way to do that?

    Thanks,

    Brian

    Noel Carboni
    Noel Carboni
    Legend
    March 19, 2011

    Honestly I haven't experimented with the "Use Windows Display Calibration" checkbox any, so I don't have any hard info with that one.

    Interestingly, with the ATI Catalyst display drivers in place, the "Use Windows Display Calibration" checkbox is set and grayed-out, meaning it cannot be changed. The ATI driver does load a calibration at login; perhaps they're just piggybacking on Windows functionality.

    I do know that if you do go through the visual calibration process with the "Calibrate Display" button that it will create a profile of the form "CalibratedDisplayProfile-x.icc", but that profile will not show up in any of the dialogs, yet it does seem to affect the displays.

    -Noel

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