PP Help

When I PP my pictures they look good on the computer screen but when I view them on my 1080P TV they look very dark or the colors are blown out. How do I process my pics so they look good on both the computer and the TV screens?

You won't.
All you can do is adjust the TV to match the monitor more closely.

Ok got it. So when I take prints of photos I should PP the pics to look good on the computer or the TV?

If all you're editing them for is viewing on the TV, I suppose that might be an option…

However, I'd first try to adjust the TV (brightness, contrast, color) to match the monitor more closely.

DevilsGrave wrote in post #12915674
Ok got it. So when I take prints of photos I should PP the pics to look good on the computer or the TV?

Hmm, you are talking about prints as well as a monitor and a TV. Is this a laptop monitor?

The monitor will have the highest resolution, even a typical laptop, and so I would think it would tend to be the preferred device when editing. In that case you would be best calibrating it properly and then find a good quality print shop/lab that will run some test prints for you and then you can tweak your monitor calibration to get those prints and the display evened out (you may have to do repeat test prints).

How this works out depends on the quality of the monitor. Laptops can range from high quality devices to ones that are really not good for photo editing except as either a last resort or one that you have worked with enough to be reasonably satisfied with your results.

I currently use a small, inexpensive laptop that I'm using right now that falls into the "not for photo editing" category, but that I've worked with enough that the pics I edit are "good enough" for personal use and I put them out on my Web host and here and haven't seen a disaster ensue. For more serious stuff there's my upstairs workstation/monitor...

Previously I had a nice big, expensive, 17" widescreen "laptop" (more of a portable workstation) that served me well here and "on the road" as a good photo editor, but what happened to it is a sad story that I won't bore you with...

And then, there's the TV. You have two issues here -- how well can you tweak the TV display to get "close enough" to that of your monitor and prints? And then, how will those settings work for when you are actually watching TV, or a DVD or such?

My HDTV has different settings for "source" which may give you some control, but the problem is that your computer display adapter will control the VGA/DVI/HDMI output according to its display profile, which will (if you calibrate properly) be targeted to your monitor, whereas the TV has its own controls you set up with the TV and so what works with the computer may not work with the TV/DVD watching...

One approach to this would be in your calibration -- you can create two different "profiles" with a good calibrator, one for the monitor and one for the TV, each one tweaked to be close to each other and a print. To use them would either require you to have a graphics card that supports two monitor profiles (using separate "Look-Up-Tables) or you would need to use the system tools to swich profiles whenever you want to change from using the monitor to using the TV in a useful way.

I myself have never bothered to try to synch my TV with a monitor. I use the monitor for doing and editing with photos (even on my laptop) and the TV has just been something that occasionally gets used, either for "casual" internet stuff or sometimes for "showing" say a photo slideshow for friends/family, but when I'm not picky about things the TV display is "good enough". And, its set to decently display TV shows and movies/DVDs. I'd never use the TV to check a print with, though. Nothing meaningful will come from that. My laptop and my calibrated desktop monitor are both pretty good for that!

DevilsGrave wrote in post #12912512
When I PP my pictures they look good on the computer screen but when I view them on my 1080P TV they look very dark or the colors are blown out. How do I process my pics so they look good on both the computer and the TV screens?

On a computer monitor -

Black is R:G:B 0:0:0
White is R:G:B 255:255:255

On a TV set up for Video Broadcast :

Black is R:G:B: 16:16:16
White is R:G:B 235:235:235

This is the cause of the dark areas losing detail (i.e. being clipped) and also the reason why the brighter colours become blown out.

True, but if you're using a USB / computer input the TV SHOULD compensate for it. That said that most flat screen televisions mess with the black point dynamically, have dynamic contrast, and a lot more. to er, "optimize your viewing experience"