CS4 - sRGB isn't sRGB?

Hrm... the whole thing is wacky. What is even more strange is that if I leave my file as Adobe RGB and use Save As (.jpeg) before hosting to the web that this file looks [almost] exactly like it does in Photoshop. It's like CS4 (or mine, at least) has the sRGB and Adobe RGB profiles switched because in CS3 I most definitely needed the image as sRGB before uploading to the web to have it look anything like it should.

Guess I'll be using Adobe RGB unless someone can explain this silliness. CS4 was my portal to bizzaro world.

Comparison: http://i5.photobucket.​com …ofdarwin/compar​ison-2.jpg

I love your moon photo, but can you show us a photo with a greater range of tones?

Damo77 wrote in post #6913115
I love your moon photo, but can you show us a photo with a greater range of tones?

Sorry, that's not my photo, hence my linkage (it was an edit I was working on for the B&A Competition). Let me wrangle up one of mine.

Here is a comparison using Adobe RGB as the standard. Isn't sRGB the one that is supposed to translate the best from Photoshop to web? It always was for me before...

http://i5.photobucket.​com …ofdarwin/compar​ison-3.jpg

When you saved for web, did you embed the profile?

Yes.

Hmmm. weird.

What monitor profile does PSCS4 think the system uses?
You can check it here:

HTTP response: 403 | MIME changed to 'application/xml'

• Zoom to 100% and see if there's still a difference.
  
• Flatten before convert to sRGB
  

Try to answer your questions one by one.

Profile: CS4 is using my calibrated profile (see attached).

Mismatch: That synchronized thing doesn't really mean anything. Look at the attached image, now it says synchronized. If I click on "Ask when Opening" for the profile mismatches it changes that to unsynchronized. Anything that isn't a straight preset (such as North American General Purpose 2) shows up as unsynchronized which is silly because asking for a prompt upon a mismatch doesn't change anything.

Screen: I'm not sure... I use both this screen http://www.newegg.com …aspx?Item=N82E1​6824009125 and this screen http://reviews.cnet.co​m …4505-3174_7-30470404.html
The result is the same on both, but I'm unsure that that matters because it'd only be me seeing the difference then.

Browser: On the screencast I showed 3 different browsers. Chrome, IE, and FF3 with color management enabled - the result was the same for all 3.

Saving: I've tried saving via Save for Web and via Save As with the same results, profile embedded for both. The only time when the result is normal is if I save as Adobe RGB.

sRGB/sRGB: I know! That's what is driving me batty. It just doesn't make sense at all that the image would change going from sRGB to sRGB.

Layers vs. Flattened: Damien brought up that suggestion earlier and I tried flattening the images first but that did not change anything either.

Save for Web Preview: I have my save for web preview set as Use Document Profile. Should I set it to Monitor Profile? I noticed upon changing it to Monitor Profile with the same image that it is showing the messed up result. My profile is recently calibrated

Vista: Unfortunately, yes I'm using it.

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TheSonofDarwin wrote in post #6915188
Try to answer your questions one by one.

Profile: CS4 is using my calibrated profile (see attached).

For which of the two screens is that profile? (I'm assuming a dual monitor setup)
The Acer I presume?

Can you check if PS and the OS agree on what monitor profile is used for what monitor?
Does the same thing happen with PS on the other screen (or the other screen as "main")?

TheSonofDarwin wrote in post #6915188
Mismatch: That synchronized thing doesn't really mean anything. Look at the attached image, now it says synchronized. If I click on "Ask when Opening" for the profile mismatches it changes that to unsynchronized.

Ah, okay. I assume you have CS3 set up different then? (Box unticked)

TheSonofDarwin wrote in post #6915188
Anything that isn't a straight preset (such as North American General Purpose 2) shows up as unsynchronized

Wait a sec...
You're saying that any "straight preset" shows as "syncronised", yet when you (un)tick a tickbox, it shows "unsynchronised"?

That's wrong... It should only say "Synchronised" when all Adobe applications are set up the same... I have CS2 and CS4 installed, and if I alter the color settings in one of them, it'll show as "unsynchronised", until I set both the same... (just tested it to make sure )

TheSonofDarwin wrote in post #6915188
which is silly because asking for a prompt upon a mismatch doesn't change anything.

It gives you a choice, and a heads up. But I agree: I have all boxes ticked, except "mismatch".

TheSonofDarwin wrote in post #6915188
Screen: I'm not sure... I use both this screen http://www.newegg.com …aspx?Item=N82E1​6824009125 and this screen http://reviews.cnet.co​m …4505-3174_7-30470404.html

The Acer is a wide Gamut? (Surprisingly difficult to find any meaningful specs on the web)

TheSonofDarwin wrote in post #6915188
The result is the same on both, but I'm unsure that that matters because it'd only be me seeing the difference then.

Does this answer my "Does the same thing happen on the other screen" question?
Or do you mean the result shows the same on both?

I mean actually running the application on the other screen...
(Both PS and FF3. AFAIK Photoshop should identify the screen it's on, and use the correct profile (it did on my G4 with a dual screen setup). I think the same goes for FF3, but cannot test, since I'm nut running dual screen at the moment. Off course, all this might be different on Vista)

TheSonofDarwin wrote in post #6915188
Browser: On the screencast I showed 3 different browsers. Chrome, IE, and FF3 with color management enabled - the result was the same for all 3.

Oversaturated... Hmm. I'd expect that for a non color managed application on a screen with a wider gamut then the image has (sRGB). Not for FF3 however.
Check what FF thinks the monitor profile is. Maybe it thinks it's on the other screen...

TheSonofDarwin wrote in post #6915188
Saving: I've tried saving via Save for Web and via Save As with the same results, profile embedded for both. The only time when the result is normal is if I save as Adobe RGB.

That would indicate that your screen is wide gamut, and color management is off in the browsers...

TheSonofDarwin wrote in post #6915188
sRGB/sRGB: I know! That's what is driving me batty. It just doesn't make sense at all that the image would change going from sRGB to sRGB.

Indeed, it doesn't...

TheSonofDarwin wrote in post #6915188
Layers vs. Flattened: Damien brought up that suggestion earlier and I tried flattening the images first but that did not change anything either.

Hmm. Pity.

TheSonofDarwin wrote in post #6915188
Save for Web Preview: I have my save for web preview set as Use Document Profile. Should I set it to Monitor Profile? I noticed upon changing it to Monitor Profile with the same image that it is showing the messed up result. My profile is recently calibrated

"Use document profile" is (should be) color managed.
"Monitor profile" gives a preview of what the image will (should) look in a non color managed application on your monitor.

TheSonofDarwin wrote in post #6915188
Vista: Unfortunately, yes I'm using it.

Unfortunately, I don't have a PC running Vista. I'm curious as to what is happening here, but have no way to test

I'm guessing that the dual monitor setup is somehow confusing either software or OS...

What is confusing is that CS3 did it right... Did anything else change?
Also: Check the CS3 color settings. With the same settings both applications should produce the same results. If they don't it's something to ask Adobe, 'cause it's likely a bug in CS4...

René Damkot wrote in post #6915718
For which of the two screens is that profile? (I'm assuming a dual monitor setup)
The Acer I presume?

The profile is for the Acer.

Can you check if PS and the OS agree on what monitor profile is used for what monitor?
Does the same thing happen with PS on the other screen (or the other screen as "main")?

The profile is showing as loaded for the OS. Checked under the video card settings (attacked pic) and also see it being loaded upon system boot.


Ah, okay. I assume you have CS3 set up different then? (Box unticked)

Wait a sec...
You're saying that any "straight preset" shows as "syncronised", yet when you (un)tick a tickbox, it shows "unsynchronised"?

That's wrong... It should only say "Synchronised" when all Adobe applications are set up the same... I have CS2 and CS4 installed, and if I alter the color settings in one of them, it'll show as "unsynchronised", until I set both the same... (just tested it to make sure )

Whoops! You are right. My testing wasn't thorough enough it seems. So yes, the only difference between CS3 and CS4 was those boxes being ticked. Which should mean that the resulting colors would be the same as they were for CS3 if nothing else is changed...


It gives you a choice, and a heads up. But I agree: I have all boxes ticked, except "mismatch".

The Acer is a wide Gamut? (Surprisingly difficult to find any meaningful specs on the web)
Yes it is extremely difficult and honestly I'm not sure in this department.

Does this answer my "Does the same thing happen on the other screen" question?
Or do you mean the result shows the same on both?

I mean actually running the application on the other screen...

As in dragging my program over to the other screen [extended desktop]? If so yes that's how I was comparing.


Oversaturated... Hmm. I'd expect that for a non color managed application on a screen with a wider gamut then sRGB. Not for FF3 however.
Check what FF thinks the monitor profile is. Maybe it thinks it's on the other screen...

I'm unsure what you mean by checking firefox to see what monitor profile it is using. I've attached the about:config settings that show color management is on, however.


That would indicate that your screen is wide gamut, and color management is off in the browsers...


Indeed, it doesn't...


Hmm. Pity.

"Use document profile" is (should be) color managed.
"Monitor profile" gives a preview of what the image will (should) look in a non color managed application on your monitor.

Thank you for that clarification!

Unfortunately, I don't have a PC running Vista. I'm curious as to what is happening here, but have no way to test

I'm guessing that the dual monitor setup is somehow confusing either software or OS...

What is confusing is that CS3 did it right... Did anything else change?
Nope, nothing has changed. I used dual screen before with CS3 and I -just- upgraded to CS4.
Also: Check the CS3 color settings. With the same settings both applications should produce the same results. If they don't it's something to ask Adobe, 'cause it's likely a bug in CS4...

I think you're right. This may be an issue on Adobe's end - I like to assume it's my fault first cause it usually is! I agree that this might be a Vista issue. I was thinking it may have been an x86 vs. 64bit issue since CS3 was x86, but I don't use the 64-bit version of CS4 cause it doesn't work with my plugins.

Though if it is a Vista compatibility issue one would think we'd hear more about others having similar issues. Perhaps because CS4 hasn't been out that long maybe few people have really noticed the difference. Unfortunately I just sent my XP system to family who needed a computer else I'd test CS4 with XP.

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TheSonofDarwin wrote in post #6915882
Though if it is a Vista compatibility issue one would think we'd hear more about others having similar issues.

We do (I think; the jury's still out on that one): Click

On the display profile in FF3:

Okay.
Sent an email to Jao van de Lagemaat.

Here is the response:

Jao van de Lagemaat wrote:
Looks like a bug in CS4 or Vista to me. Whatever you do, softproofing an sRGB image to sRGB should not change the color, but it appears that's what it is doing. My guess is a bug that manifests with dual monitor setups. There is a thread on Adobe's camera RAW forum with the same issue. Also Vista I think. I certainly have never seen it in CS3 and before, but I don't have CS4 yet. http://www.adobeforums​.com/webx/.3bc03c04.59​b75118/

Cheers,

Jao

Thanks for looking into it, René! I did check the CS4 support forums at Adobe and found a lot of things that sounded similar to mine, but some were just misunderstandings about color profiles altogether. Hopefully they can correct the issue I think I'll just stick with Adobe RGB until then since that appears to be right.

On another topic, I saw plenty of threads about CS4 sluggishness. It can get crazy at times! Perhaps I'll just go back to CS3 until they can sort out the issues with CS4.

Nothing sluggish about CS4 here so far. Then again, I haven't really used it...

I'd open a thread at AdobeForums, or file a bug report if I were you. (About the softproofing, not the sluggishness )

My CS4 doesn't seem sluggish, it's just taking forever to figure out where everything is, compared to CS2 lol

I have had CS 4 colour profile issues on XP so it's not just Vista that's suffering from this problem. If I bring a sRGB image into Photoshop (which defaults to load the image profile) then it will re-profile the image. I run a dual display rig and it's showing similar issue to yours.

If I want the images to be properly colour managed I need to bring it in from Bridge or ACR sometimes otherwise it can be hit or miss with the OS.

Just tried it with Vista 64, and whilst it's slightly better there's still an issue.