Cannot Fix Gamma Problem on Mac when Uploading to Youtube/Socials

[colin_6386]

Please help!! I've tried all of these settings and none of them have helped me solve this problem. I'm editing on a Mac and I downloaded VLC as my main Video Player. My project color settings are set to 2.2 Web. The export preview in Premiere is correct and the color when I view in VLC is correct, but when I go to post on Youtube/Socials my colors revert to being washed out and the shadows brightened basically only showing in that 1.96 color profile when I upload. Someone please help!!

[caroline_edits]

Hey Colin, let's look at this color issue!

Could you share a screenshot of your export settings? And a screenshot of what your video looks like after export (in VLC) and then another screenshot of what the video looks like on YouTube? 

Some comparison images may help us figure out what's causing the color shift.

Caroline

[Tom_edit]

are you sure your viewer gamma isn't still set to 2.4 and then youtube is showing 2.2?

[RjL190365]

Your Mac's display itself is to blame. Without reference modes or at default settings, your Mac display's gamma itself is only 1.96 to begin with. But then, you export with the gamma of 2.2, and YouTube really shows you the mismatch between the intended output and your monitor. As a result, what looks proper on your Mac's display will not look right on anything else, regardless of what you output.

The only way to circumvent this behavior is to change the profile settings on your Mac's display.

[Tom_edit]

I do not believe that is correct. Quicktime uses a gamma of 1.96 but modern mac screens themselves do not by default, they use dci-p3 at a 2.2 gamma

[RjL190365]

What I was assuming is it applies to those MacBook displays that lack reference modes (it is the case in its default Color LCD profile). You may have a separate display or a display that's built into a higher-end MacBook, both of which could be configured to the mode that you stated.

[R Neil Haugen]

Rec.709 video does not play correctly in P3/D65, that is a much larger color space and uses a different display transform entirely.

So what does that Mac use for Rec.709 display standards?

I work for/with/teach pro colorists, mostly based in Resolve, and yea, heavy Mac people. And they don't have a 'fix' for standard Mac screens, as they all use the ColorSync utility, which does use gamma 1.96 ... plus a not-quite-correct color space transfrom from sRGB to the P3 display ... at least as far as any of my colorist buds can detect.

And they run heavy iron and are very, very aware of what their clients use to view the work on. And complain of Apple's stupid CM setup daily.

As RJL noted, if you have a Mac with Reference modes, and set it to HDTV, you can on that Mac see a correct image in nearly all apps.

Some higher-end iPads have a mode that is pretty darn accurate too. Several colorists have a stack of them to loan to clients to use for color checks ... and try to get back, of course.

But I don't know of anyone saying a general Mac has anything to get away from that poorly chosen Rec.709 display transform.

[bianca_4623]

I have the same issue as the OP. Based on what you wrote, I don't really understand if there is a solution, and if so, what I should do. 

[R Neil Haugen]

There simply cannot be a solution for a problem based on one OS using an incorrect display transform.

Except for Apple changing that transform, which obviously ain't happening anytime soon.

And yea, that is incredibly frustrating. 

However, you can sort of 'take heart' in that very few Mac users realize that when they watch pro produced content on their Mac it isn't showing similar to non-Mac systems and devices. Because it looks "normal" as they are used to it looking. And they don't have a clue what that looked like elsewhere.

Because all media shown on those Macs has the problem, and no pro-produced and distributed content is graded for 1.96 display transforms.

Second ... every flipping screen is different anyway, often by a lot more than the display transform issue. So ... do what pro colorists do. 

Set up to 'grade' on something as close to the technical standards as you can afford. Test on a solid system, hey, if you can, check on a broadcast compliant local TV studio's stuff. 

But after grading, let it go ... and move on, as you have no control whatever on what happens to your pixels out there in the wild.

Which will be all over the freaking place, as no one, on any system, will ever see exactly what you saw.