HD Video--Color banding and graininess on PC-based 1080p display

[Dadofamunky]

So I got my hands on a 24" Dell UltraSharp for less than my budget maximum on my Intel rig; the UltraSharp 2407WFP is a recently-discontinued model that uses an S-PVA panel and has extremely nice fit and finish, excellent configuration buttons and a very good color gamut, being an 8-bit panel. I got a lot more monitor than I expected for my budget, because I really did not want a TN panel. Mission accomplished.

Unfortunately, there are some oddities in my preliminary hi-def movie displays on this monitor. Many images are really spectacular. But scenes with large swaths of a specific color type (blue sky or ocean, for example) show serious color banding. Instead of the correct color gradients, there's two or three bands of blue colors; or blotchiness everywhere in some cases. Also, any scenes with browns (Mountains, for example) show a lot of graininess. Sky shots are painful to look at sometimes.

I'm a complete neophyte when it comes to color calibration, but it looks like I may have to get acquainted with it.

Or is the problem something else other than calibration? Simply video card settings for anti-aliasing? I can max out my card if needed, my system's plenty fast enough (and about to get faster).

Does anybody have any guidelines or recommendations on this topic? Remember, this is NOT a TN panel. Does DisplayMate help calibrate or is it just a test program?

 

[Calculator83]

Originally posted by: Dadofamunky
So I got my hands on a 24" Dell UltraSharp for less than my budget maximum on my Intel rig; the UltraSharp 2407WFP is a recently-discontinued model that uses an S-PVA panel and has extremely nice fit and finish, excellent configuration buttons and a very good color gamut, being an 8-bit panel. I got a lot more monitor than I expected for my budget, because I really did not want a TN panel. Mission accomplished.

Unfortunately, there are some oddities in my preliminary hi-def movie displays on this monitor. Many images are really spectacular. But scenes with large swaths of a specific color type (blue sky or ocean, for example) show serious color banding. Instead of the correct color gradients, there's two or three bands of blue colors; or blotchiness everywhere in some cases. Also, any scenes with browns (Mountains, for example) show a lot of graininess. Sky shots are painful to look at sometimes.

I'm a complete neophyte when it comes to color calibration, but it looks like I may have to get acquainted with it.

Or is the problem something else other than calibration? Simply video card settings for anti-aliasing? I can max out my card if needed, my system's plenty fast enough (and about to get faster).

Does anybody have any guidelines or recommendations on this topic? Remember, this is NOT a TN panel. Does DisplayMate help calibrate or is it just a test program?

why does ur new build have a 3870?

 

[Dadofamunky]

"New" build... did it right after that card came out.

 

[Calculator83]

Originally posted by: Dadofamunky
"New" build... did it right after that card came out.

well i don't think 2407 should have issues. I recall I had a weird issue with my 7900gt where the monitor wasn't working right because it was not set as primary. So the card did not do hw acceleration for that monitor,, I switched from one port to another and it worked fine.

Um... Other than that,, It might be the file you're trying to play. If it's a 720p h264rip at 4.3gb, then sometimes they don't look as nice, one because it's non native, and 2 it depends on how many passes the guy wasn't too lazy to do. TRY a 10gb 1080p rip, or hook up a PS3 via DVI.

I got my 3007wfp in early 2007, Hooray for dell.

 

[imaheadcase]

I don't suppose the color issues are related to just film grain? I watched Cast Away on blu-ray on same monitor, the HC varity though, and its just film grain that makes it look "blotchy". But that is the way its suppose to look.

Color will NOT be accurate between movies, some are filmed i different ways on purpose to ad to the "feel" of the movie, or directors direction he wanted the film to look like sort of speak.

 

[Dadofamunky]

I've been wondering about that. My guess is that HD quality varies from movie to movie. Anyway, I just bought an HD 4850 to replace my 3870 so I'll be checking out its behavior in this situation.

 

[Dadofamunky]

Originally posted by: Calculator83

Originally posted by: Dadofamunky
"New" build... did it right after that card came out.

well i don't think 2407 should have issues. I recall I had a weird issue with my 7900gt where the monitor wasn't working right because it was not set as primary. So the card did not do hw acceleration for that monitor,, I switched from one port to another and it worked fine.

Um... Other than that,, It might be the file you're trying to play. If it's a 720p h264rip at 4.3gb, then sometimes they don't look as nice, one because it's non native, and 2 it depends on how many passes the guy wasn't too lazy to do. TRY a 10gb 1080p rip, or hook up a PS3 via DVI.

I got my 3007wfp in early 2007, Hooray for dell.

Hmmmm. Possible. I did rip some Blu-Ray nature documentaries to my HD and they looked fabulous in 720P on my Dell 2001fp (which are S-IPS panels, by the way). I just purchased the Planet Earth series, which I love, so I'll be checking your point out firsthand.

What utility can you use to do that (1080P rip?) I'm running Vista 64.

 

[spdfreak]

Man, you will get all sorts of quality under the heading of "HD". I have 2 HDTV cards- one in my office system and another in a HTPC hooked up to a 1080p 47in monitor. Watching the Olympics in HD ran the gamut of awesome to what looked like upscaled dvd. Depended on the camera, daylight, scene, and amount of motion. On some scenes with a lot of motion, you could see the blockiness and pixelation very easily (like diving). I really think they are still experimenting with the stuff. Your 3870 should be as good as it gets for HD. The 4850 will add nothing except for 3d gaming. If I were you, I would make sure I had the latest drivers, set both the monitor and the drivers in CCC to default, and start from there. You should note that HDTV's use a different calibration than computer monitors so the picture will look different between the 2.
This thread will give you all you need to know about monitor calibration and then some!
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=523614

 

[Auric]

Many are poorly encoded. Planet Earth (VC-1 BD/HD DVD) is one of them which suffers banding. Whereas the broadcast on BBC (AVC) did not.

 

[Dadofamunky]

Originally posted by: Auric
Many are poorly encoded. Planet Earth (VC-1 BD/HD DVD) is one of them which suffers banding. Whereas the broadcast on BBC (AVC) did not.

I've been WONDERING about that. There are many wonderful underwater shots, but sky and mountain scenes aren't all that great.

Originally posted by: spdfreak
Man, you will get all sorts of quality under the heading of "HD". I have 2 HDTV cards- one in my office system and another in a HTPC hooked up to a 1080p 47in monitor. Watching the Olympics in HD ran the gamut of awesome to what looked like upscaled dvd. Depended on the camera, daylight, scene, and amount of motion. On some scenes with a lot of motion, you could see the blockiness and pixelation very easily (like diving). I really think they are still experimenting with the stuff. Your 3870 should be as good as it gets for HD. The 4850 will add nothing except for 3d gaming. If I were you, I would make sure I had the latest drivers, set both the monitor and the drivers in CCC to default, and start from there. You should note that HDTV's use a different calibration than computer monitors so the picture will look different between the 2.
This thread will give you all you need to know about monitor calibration and then some!
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=523614

Awesome, dude. Thanks for the info!! I know, I just got the 4850 to balance out my system a little more. The Catalyst 8.8 drivers are excellent.