Games override calibrated ICC profile

[fragfeaster777]

Hello All!

I just bought an HP w2207, and really love the monitor. However, after reading the w2207 review on prad.de, I feel I need to calibrate this monitor in order to appreciate it's true quality (contrast the review to user opinions on HardForums, where some feel that the monitor is best with the default settings)

I currently own the Spyder2Pro suite, but am considering upgrading to the Gretag i1 Display 2. With the Spyder2, I could calibrate my previous monitor such that it asked me to adjust some settings on the monitor (Brightness, Contrast, then RGB: I think it was to try to get 6500K, but I could be wrong) and then it would generate a custom profile that had to be applied each time windows started up. (I haven't tried the Spyder on my new monitor)

The problem is, whenever I tried to launch a game, the game would override the custom ICC profile and use it's own: The colours would look wrong until I reset the setting on my monitor (so you end up in the uncalibrated state).

So, my question is: Is there any way to force the games (and all applications for that matter) to use the custom calibrated profile? I have an NVIDIA 8800 GTS 320MB (WinXP Pro). Some research suggested that this should be possible, according to the features of this program (see the last 2 bullet points):

http://www.hex2bit.com/products/product_mcw.asp

Many thanks for all your help. This site is filled with great, knowledgeable people: Truly an asset to the community.

-fragfeaster777

 

[rbV5]

You might try the application you have linked. You can load your custom color profile and set it as default in the color management property sheet in the Windows Advanced display properties.

The application allows you to load the default profile (your profile) and if you check the Persistant Profile, it will force games to use the loaded profile (application runs in the system tray, looks like its using ~ 800K system memory)

Might be worth a try to see if it works for you. Your video card drivers might have some similar function, however ATI Caytalyst drivers allow you to tweak the color settings for full screen 3D, they don't support loading your custom profile for full screen 3D.

 

[xtknight]

A lot of games use their own gamma curve so you may end up disappointed with the results. I actually was messing around and made a hacky program to copy my ICM's gamma onto the display after the game had changed it, and it just didn't look that great, at least in Doom 3. Brighter games like HL2 may have more pleasing reuslts, or they might not load as drastic a gamma change as Quake does. In Quake3 engine games, set r_ignoreHwGamma to 1 to see how it looks without Quake's gamma correction.

 

[fragfeaster777]

Hey guys, thanks a million for your replies!

I will try to use that application I linked tonight, to see if it does work. When I calibrate using my Spyder2, I will set it such that I tell the Spyder2 my monitor can only select presets (6500k, 9k etc) such that I don't adjust any of the RGB values. I will generate a calibrated ICC profile, then save it somewhere on my HDD. I will then delete Spyder2Pro, install the program I linked, and select the Spyder profile (does this sound reasonble?). I will let you guys know what happens.

Incidently, I emailed the Gretag team with my question: Here is their reply (question first):

"Dear Sir/Madam, I have calibrated and profiled my monitor using the i1 Display 2, and it is perfect for photo-finishing. However, some applications (notably 3D games) seem to override the ICC profile from the i1 Display 2 and use their own gamma compensation. When such an application is exited, the calibrated ICC profile is not restored, and you need to reboot the computer. My question is: Is there any way to use the Gretag software to force all applications to use the calibrated ICC profile? I know this is possible as there is an application that can do it: http://www.softpedia.com/get/T...libration-Wizard.shtml I thank you for your help in this matter


answer:

Dear Idrees as these kind of software are not ICC compliant and suppress any settings you have to manually re-activate the profile and calibrated white point. we therefore off a utility you can download and install on your desktop. Launching the utility, you will have straight access to available monitor profile and select/toggle between the profiles. the utility is called:" DisplayProfile freeware for Windows " and in the list of download at: http://www.gretagmacbeth.com/i...cts_pm5-publish_sw.htm"

"

Nothing useful I gather?

Cheers!

 

[Cookie Monster]

Monitor Calibration Wizard is the anwser i believe. I have a 226bw c panel and indeed they have a dominance in blue. However with that nifty tool i can still override any other color profiles used by the game with my own ICC profile (well not mine but from the famous Andrew Swihart). Games look as natural as ever. Well atleast too me.

Good luck!

 

[rbV5]

I will generate a calibrated ICC profile, then save it somewhere on my HDD. I will then delete Spyder2Pro, install the program I linked, and select the Spyder profile (does this sound reasonble?).

After you create the custom ICC profile, I believe you need to install it first and set it as default in the color management property sheet in the Windows Advanced display properties so that is available to use with the Monitor Calibration Wizard utility.

The freeware version of Monitor Calibration Wizard only lets you select the "default" windows profile, otherwise you have to create the Profile with the Monitor Calibration Wizard itself rather than your Spyder2pro software.

 

[fragfeaster777]

Hello everyone and thanks again for the extremely helpful replies!

Taking all of your points into account, and instructions from Andrew Swihart's page (thanks Cookie Monster!) (http://www.andrewswihart.net/b...ung-226bw-lcd-c-panel) (then goto the bottom where the comments are, read # 105), I calibrated using Spyder2Pro, then when you start up MCW, in the section where it says "If you are happy with your profile... ), I typed a name, and ticked the boxes to make the profile start up at windows and persist.

Does anyone know if I should tick the last box: Override device driver correction?

Anyway, when calibrating using the Spyder, I kept all my settings of my monitor (Brightness, Contrast, RGB) to their factory default, and set the colour temperature at 6500k. On the Spyder software, I selected a gamma of 2.2 and 6500k. The resulting profile changed was not very different from the uncalibrated state: A little less bright, but no huge differences.

Loaded up Serious Sam 2, and it does look like the calibrated profile sticks to the game!

I am thinking of getting the Gretag iDisplay 2. Does anybody think that this is unecessary when i have the Spyder2Pro? The Gretag system seems to have more powerful software and the hardware produces better results (and xtknight uses it over any other solution!) Also, when choosing the calibration settings on the Spyder software, does anyone think that a setting of 2.2 gamma with native colour will yield better results (for gaming mostly)? (If you look at http://www.northlight-images.c...eye_one_display_2.html, there's a sentence "I've chosen Native for this LCD since I'm not looking to use it for critical colour matching and want to maintain the best overall performance.")

Thanks again for the great help guys. I do truly appreciate it!