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Mathias_A
Participant
November 27, 2024
Question

QD OLED monitor and Windows 11 automatic color management (ACM)

  • November 27, 2024
  • 2 replies
  • 1649 views

I picked up a QD OLED monitor, which has a way wider gamut than any monitor I used before and now this made me question the way Windows 11 is set up to display colors accurately. Especially in regards to ACM.
With ACM on, from my understanding, everything is displayed in sRGB only.

With ACM off, everything is very saturated and I get that typical "OLED look". This also applies to Lightroom Classic.

I do have an ICC profile for the monitor and with that applied Lightroom recognizes it and the overly saturated look is gone.

The monitor, an Alienware AW2725DF, also comes with a calibrated sRGB mode, which is typical for a Dell product.

 

Now my question is basically how to set this up properly for photo editing.

Should I leave ACM on and load the screen's sRGB mode?
Should I leave ACM off, apply the ICC profile and then also load the sRGB mode?

 

In regard to ACM I just can't find a straight answer anywhere...

Thanks for your input!

2 replies

D Fosse
Community Expert
D FosseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
January 18, 2025

The"automatic color management" checkbox was introduced in Windows 11 version 24H2.

 

I haven't updated to 24H2 yet, but everything I've read so far suggests that this box simply translates to leave color management working normally. Normal in this case basically means that it's all handled by the application, but Windows makes profiles available and generally lets everything proceed. In other words - like it always worked. Don't uncheck the box.

 

Note that the monitor profile describes the monitor in its current calibrated state. Every monitor preset, every calibrated state, will have a corresponding profile describing that state. If you make any changes to the monitor, you need to load the corresponding profile (or make a new appropriate one with a calibrator).

    creative explorer
    Community Expert
    creative explorerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 18, 2025

    @Mathias_A every screen (laptop or desktop screens) colors will vary significantly. What looks accurate on your screen might appear different on another monitor. Imagine a room of computers in a computer lab, unless the IT department goes onto each computer and calibrates on a regular basis, chances are that will be slim! 

    When you are color correcting an image in Photoshop, use the histogram of the Curves and Levels adjustments over solely relying on what you see on your monitor. I think this would help with the shadows and highlights of the image. 

    m
    NB, colourmanagement
    Community Expert
    NB, colourmanagementCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 20, 2025

    @creative explorer colourmanagement - specifically 'device independent ICC profiles' were invented to solve the issue of differing device capabilities. In any serious workflow the relevant devices, in this case the monitor display screen would ideally be calibrated and profiled using suitable software and a screen sensor. Here's some help for those who would like to understand the purpose and use of ICC profiles better. 

    Matching different displays within an organisation can be rather vital to those who judge appearance on-screen.

     

    The Photoshop histogram IS indeed a useful tool for judging image characteristics. Especially the histogram in the Levels pallet - used in conjunction with Photoshop's 'Threshold display' a rarely discussed feature.

    Open an image, open the Levels Adjustment pallet and drag either INPUT level slider inwards whilst holding down the alt/option key. 

    This places a very informative overlay upon the image - this allows the user to identify the brightest or lightest pixels, also to detect images possibly damaged by clipping.  

    BUT IMO that’s no substitute for good device colour management. 

     

    I hope this helps

    neil barstow - adobe forum volunteer,

    colourmanagement consultant & co-author of 'getting colour right'

    See my free articles on colour management

    Help others by clicking "Correct Answer" if the question is answered.

    Found the answer elsewhere? Share it here. "Upvote" is for useful posts

     

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