, editor and colorist
Verify the monitoring with a test pattern  
  • A test pattern has been specially created to make sure monitoring is accurate.
  • We use the Charbon-Studio test pattern. It can be downloaded as a Prores HQ 29.97 or or Prores HQ 25p or a jpg or a tif or a dpx.

  • Accuracy-control with the Mac OS X built-in DigitalColor Meter

    • The DigitalColor Meter can measure the colour of a single pixel on the screen/display. It is bundled in Mac OS X Snow Leopard, and can be found under /Applications/Utilities
    • The Charbon-Studio test pattern has been designed with pure colours : by hovering the mouse over a pure red square, the colorimeter should read R:255 G:0 B:0. Yellow being made of Red and Green, over a Yellow square the colorimeter should read R:255,V:255,B:0, etc...
    • The Charbon-Studio test pattern has been designed to have a 10% black square, a 30% grey square, and a third 50% neutral grey square. By setting the colorimeter to 'percentage' mode, you can check the gamma.
    • If the colorimeter does not give expected values it is because ColorSync (the Mac OS X colour-management layer) has misread the colours and the display profile is not correct.

  • Accuracy-control with an external oscilloscope

  • When sending the signal to an external oscilloscope, one can analyse the image.
  • The test pattern seen through a hardware oscilloscope :

  • How to read it :

    • Parade (upper left) : for every red green blue channel, there should be an X, formed by the crossing of 2 straight lines. These lines represent the gamma ramps (a gradation from black to white and another from white to black) in the lower part of the image. They must intersect at 50%, and go through 0% and 100%. They should be straight, and not curved.
    • Waveform (upper middle) : you should have the same X pattern as in parade
    • Vectorscope (upper right) : you should see two stars. The inner star corresponds to the 75% colour squares and the outer star corresponds to the 100% squares. The corners of the stars should hit the target of the vectorscope (100% or 75%)
    • Histogram (lower left) : there should be three spikes. One spike at 10% for the darkest square, one spike at 30% for the slightly darker square, and one spike at 50% for the lightest square and the neutral grey band.
default monitoring analysis : colours are distorted
     

  • Colour accuracy check with the bundled Mac OS X tool : Digital Colorimeter

    • (Verify the monitoring with a test pattern)
    • With the default profiles, the colours are desaturated and unbalanced (for example : there is some red in the pure blue)

    • Analysis : the neutral grey is ok, but the dark grey is too dark (measured at 7%)

  • Colour accuracy check with an external oscilloscope

  • The test pattern analysed by the oscilloscope with the Snow Leopard default profile

  • How to read it :

    • the Gamma is almost correct (the two two lines are almost straight) but the darks and shadows have been flattened (the 10% square display is too dark)
    • the colours are not in the targets
Charbon-Studio profiles  

  • Charbon-Studio has created profiles that allow the combination of Mac OS X / ColorSync / Color not to distort the colours.

  • Color will send the same colours to the secondary monitor - that is directly linked to the computer- as it sends to the video output. But it will be much, much faster than when using the video output
  • The monitoring wiill be as accurate as the monitor is accurate : ideally work with a high-quality monitor with an internal hardware calibration. These profiles will not turn a cheap monitor into a reference monitor.
  • There are two profiles : 1 for the DPX/TIFFs (that by default Color displays as much too bright), and 1 for Quicktime/Red
  • Operation is very easy : after installing the profiles, select the profile "_Charbon dpx in Color" or "_Charbon quicktime in Color" in System Preferences / Display FOR BOTH OF YOUR MONITORS (yes, even the main UI monitor), and restart Color. Color will then output accurate colors (how to ascertain)

  • The Charbon-Studio profiles have been tested on the following configurations :

    • systems : OS X Snow Leopard - every version up to X.6.6
    • Color versions : 1.5, 1.5.1, 1.5.2, 1.5.3
    • graphic cards : ATI, NVIDIA, on Mac Pro, Imac, and Macbook Pro
    • connections : dvi / dvi-hdmi / mini-displayport
    • monitor types : flat screen LCDs, video-projectors
    • resolution : HD, 2K, 4K. No PAL or NTSC because the primaries are different in SD (rec-601) or HD (rec-709)
    • compression formats : Prores HQ, Prores 444, Prores, Prores LT, Uncompressed 10b422, Red

  • Incompatible configurations

    • -

  • Hardware independent

    • The Charbon-Studio profiles operate at the ColorSync level (the colour-management system for Mac OS X). That's why they operate over a broad variety of configurations. No configuration tested up to now has proved incompatible.
    • If during the 30 days following the purchase we conclude together that with your hardware, Charbon-Studio profiles do not enable Color to send the same colours to the secondary monitor as to the video output, you will be reimbursed. Please note this is not a no-question-asked refund policy : we would have to determine the profiles are not working as they should, which can be done without special hardware but does ask some time and collaboration. The configuration would be highlighted as incompatible. The configuration would be highlighted as incompatible

  • Limitations : Charbon-Studio profiles

    • do not turn a cheap monitor into a reference monitor, but make sure the system sends the same colours to the monitor as to the video output. It's then up to the monitor to display them accurately
    • are incompatible with software calibration : the calibration should not be in the computer but in the monitor. In other words, you need a hardware calibration (internal to the monitor)
    • do not work for PAL and NTSC ( the rec709 primaries are not the same as the rec601 profiles)
    • do not allow one to see the super-blacks in quicktime files (black below the legal level) or the super-whites in quicktime files (white above the legal level). When working with quicktime files, I suggest using the broadcast-safe option. Dpx's don't have these problems.
  • see the F.A.Q.
Frequently Asked Questions  

  • Does it work on any monitor ?

    • No : the monitor should have hardware calibration, not software calibration (loaded by the system from an icc profile)
    • No : the monitor should be directly linked to the computer (via the display port, mini display port, dvi, mini dvi). A monitor with an hdmi input will work with a dvi/hdmi cable. If the monitor only has an sdi input, you should use a converter such as the BlackMagic Broadcast Converter to convert the dvi/hdmi into sdi.

  • With this can I grade on a cheap screen ?

    • No : the colours seen will only be as accurate as your monitor is accurate. No more, no less.

  • Does it work with any graphic card ?

    • Up to now, yes.

  • Will it work whatever the graphic card ?

    • Up to now, yes.

  • What improvement in performance should be expected ?

    • On a 2008 Mac Pro, single processor, Color reads in real-time HD (all prores codecs), Red 4K at 25%resolution, and with a RAID that is fast enough it can work with Uncompressed HD and 2K DPXs
    • To see what you can expect of your station, just deactivate the video output and see how fast Color operates.

  • I installed the profile, and used the colorimeter or an external scope, and I do not get the expected readings when displaying the test pattern in Color ?

    • You have to switch off the "broadcast safe" option of Color when making these measures : otherwise Color will not display pure colours, but broacast safe colours.

  • How can we get rid of the white menu bar on the second monitor ?

  • Is it a problem not to have super-blacks or super-whites ?

    • By working with the "Broadcast Safe" setting on, you can make sure the super-blacks and the super-whites are clipped : that way, there is no risk of outputting material with hidden defects. Being Broadcast safe (or "legal") makes your master less likely to encounter problems in broadcasting playout.

  • Can I keep on using Color scopes ?

    • With Quicktime files : yes. But the monitoring display also displays the scopes . To switch from one to the other, you will have to double click on them.
    • With Dpx file : there is a problem. Color displays the dpxs too brightly. This is corrected by the Charbon-dpx profile . But the Charbon-dpx profile does not change Color's internal hardware scope (that operates earlier in the chain). So Color's scopes give readings that are too bright. There are two solutions : use a hardware scope (example : Ultrascope) or use a lut (free) to correct the too bright display of dpxs by Color, while also using the Charbon-Quicktime profile.

  • By whom are the profiles sold ?

    • By Charbon-Studio sprl, a belgian company created and owned by Michaël Cinquin. More than 20 films have been colour-graded and half a dozen film- transfers have been successfully completed using these profiles.

  • And if it does not work for me ?

    • If during the 30 days following the purchase we conclude together that with your hardware, Charbon-Studio profiles do not enable Color to send the same colours to the secondary monitor as to the video output, you will be reimbursed.

  • Do I need a hardware scope to check the profiles work correctly ?

  • Is technical support included in the purchase ?

    • If necessary, we will help by email to install the profiles and make sure they work correctly.

  • What formats have been tested ?

    • HD formats (1280x820 and 1920x1080) and beyond (2K, 4k) are compatible. SD formats (PAL and NTSC) are not compatible.
    • prores lt, prores, prores hq, prores 444, uncompressed 10b422, Red, have been tested successfully.

  • What version of Color has been tested ?

    • 1.5, 1.5.1, 1.5.2, 1.5.3

  • How were the profiles created ?

    • Everything began with our first film-transfer with MotionFX, in 2009. Evangelos Achillopoulos guides his partners so that they achieve the same image in their studio as on 35mm filmstock. Evangelos uses Color with a LUT and without video ouput. Together with a SAN (a very fast storage), Color offers realtime playback of 2K dpxs.
    • We have tried to get the same results in HD. We equipped ourselves with a Blackmagic Broadcast Converter, linked to the computer with a dvi/hdmi cable, and recognized as a secondary monitor by Mac OS X. This allowed us to send the signal of the secondary monitor into a Blackmagic Ultrascope for analysis.
    • A special purpose test pattern was built to ascertain the accuracy of the monitoring : the Charbon-Studio test pattern
    • Licences for CineSpace, LightSpace, Calman, Chromix were purchased.
    • With this equipment, our research broke through, and we created an elegant solution to solve Color's colour problems
Buy  
  • Price 110 €, for every computer inside a facility (same place / same company)
  • Payment methods :
    • Online via Paypal
      • You will receive the profiles by email within 48 business hours
      • If you are a European company, please include your VAT number on the special instruction page of our Paypal page.
    • Send us an email if you need a proforma and/or wish to pay by bank transfer
    • You will receive an invoice from Charbon-Studio sprl, rue de la Tulipe 4, 1050 Brussels, Belgium