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dparsons85
dparsons85
Legend
February 24, 2021
Answered

Export looks washed out

  • February 24, 2021
  • 2 replies
  • 1532 views

I recently noticed that my videos exported from After Effects are displaying color/gamma differently everywhere except for Mac screens - this is strange because I use Windows. I know this is a well documented problem and my videos won't ever appear exactly the same across all screens/apps but my main concern is that after I export from After Effects there is no way for me to view my videos correctly (how I see them in AE). This seems insane to me and I hope to at least find a solution for viewing my content as it's meant to be see on the computer I used to create it.

 

I did a couple tests and here's what I found:

  1. Windows / Samsung monitor / After Effects: Looks great, this is what I expect to see on export
  2. Windows / Samsung monitor / PotPlayer: Less saturated, lower contrast, brighter
  3. Windows / Samsung monitor / VLC: More saturated, higher contrast
  4. Windows / Samsung monitor / Shift.io (website): Less saturated, lower contrast, brighter
  5. MacBook Air 2020 / Shift.io (website): Looks great, just like After Effects
  6. iPad 2018 / Shift.io (website): Looks great, just like After Effecs
  7. Mac Mini 2015 / Vizio P Series TV / Shift.io (website): Less saturated, lower contrast, brighter

 

In playing around with the settings I noticed that in After Effects if I turn off "Use Display Color Management" then what I see in After Effects matches what I see in PotPlayer after exporting. If I unchecked this, presumably I could just darken / saturate everything in After Effects to get it back to where it's at now, then on export it would look fine for me but too dark and saturated for Mac users. 

 

Do you usually keep "Use Display Color Management" checked or not? It was checked by default for me, I never saw it before today.

 

Windows users, what do you use to view you content after exporting?

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer dparsons85

    It's not a perfect solution but you can try adding this Quicktime Compensation LUT to your export: https://assets.adobe.com/public/a0b635a3-6bc3-452b-5f7d-c997b9b36cf5

    More info here: https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-pro-discussions/colorspace-and-playback-on-pc-vs-mac-broadcast-vs-youtube/m-p/13025771#M417997

    I will say though, the tests that I posted were from Windows 10 and everything looks different now that I'm in Windows 11 (more acurate, I don't think I need the QT Compensation LUT anymore). 

    2 replies

    N
    NRowe
    Known Participant
    October 21, 2022

    Did you find a solution to this? I have the same issue posted here Re: Create a preview file of Rec.709 project for P... - Adobe Support Community - 13285090

    dparsons85
    dparsons85AuthorCorrect answer
    Legend
    October 21, 2022

    It's not a perfect solution but you can try adding this Quicktime Compensation LUT to your export: https://assets.adobe.com/public/a0b635a3-6bc3-452b-5f7d-c997b9b36cf5

    More info here: https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-pro-discussions/colorspace-and-playback-on-pc-vs-mac-broadcast-vs-youtube/m-p/13025771#M417997

    I will say though, the tests that I posted were from Windows 10 and everything looks different now that I'm in Windows 11 (more acurate, I don't think I need the QT Compensation LUT anymore). 

    V
    Videogain
    Participating Frequently
    February 24, 2021

    Hi! Had a lot of pain with this but found some consistency with using color management turned on to srgb, and make sure any video files imported have the color profile set to "Preserve RGB", otherwise Ae will add rec.709 profile that just darkens it (almost like it is doubling up the profile, I have no clear idea what's going on). I've also ditched exporting the media encoder and instead export a Prores 422 HQ, then make an mp4 in Handbrake. I am on a mac, and quicktime always looks wrong, but I have had great success with IINA player being color accurate to Ae preview panel.

    dparsons85
    dparsons85Author
    Legend
    February 24, 2021

    Hmmm, I found this website that says I should keep my project settings Working Space set to Rec. 709 Gamma 2.4 and intrepret all incoming media as the same: The Beginner's Guide to Color Management with Adobe Creative Cloud Apps (frame.io)

     

    Problem is the videos I used in my After Effects project were set to Rec 709 Gamma 2.4, the images were sRGB, but everything changed exactly the same way on export (or not changed in the case of Mac screens). So it doesn't look like reintrepreting the footage makes a difference in this case.

     

    I should have mentioned, the ProRes 422HQ exports from AE and the H.264 exports from Media Encoder look the same across all apps so there's no color shift when transcoding.

     

    Basically, it sound to me like I could solve this with a "Use Display Color Management" setting in PotPlayer and the Edge browser. 

    V
    Videogain
    Participating Frequently
    February 24, 2021

    Oh cool thank you for the link. Yeah it is probably just a strangeness in the player. I am also curious what Windows people do to practically get around all this stuff. I've vaugely understood that there are assumption issues in players, so things like using rec.601 instead of 709. Have you read stuff about that?

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