[NVIDIA] Can someone please help me get 0-255 range and save my hair! (1 Viewer)

TheBatfink

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    Hi, I'm having an absolute nightmare. I am trying to setup my tv (Samsung LE37B651) and my PC to play together and display the whole range. At the minute it must be limited to 16-255 as I can't get the test patterns to display properly and everything 17 and below doesn't display at all.
    I have just brought a new graphics card - Nvidia 660GTX.

    What I have tried so far..
    Geforce Drivers 3.06 and the very latest as of today.
    Setting the range to be set by Nvidia (rather than by application) in the Nvidia manager to forced 0-255.
    Tried to display the test patterns in MePo and MPCHC.
    Tried in all the HDMI ports of my TV (one is marked DVI) and also tried setting the inputs on the HDMI ports to PC, PC-DVI etc etc.

    Nothing helps display these correctly.

    Anyone have any other ideas?? Is there anyway of testing to figure out what the card is actually outputting to see if something else is then converting the signal or something?
     
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    Owlsroost

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    You might be interested in http://www.avsforum.com/t/1387832/htpc-tweaks-and-fixes#post_22484920 and http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=373241 (Note - I've never tried either tool, just came across then recently)

    For setting up the basic desktop colour settings (which you need to get correct first) I always use the Lagom LCD test patterns - http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/ - the black level and white saturation patterns allow you to check the bottom and top of the range easily. Then I sort out the video playback settings as the second stage.

    Note that for video (only), 16 = black, 235 = peak white, so anything below 16 should be black (and above 235 should be white)
     
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    jameson_uk

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    This is a mess and things can change where you least expect... You have decoders, renderers and GPU drivers which can report wrong values. Things can also change dependant on source (ITU601 / SD & ITU709 / HD). On my old setup (Nvidia 9400) I had to use 0-255 on Nvidia control panel for SD (to actually get 16-235 output) and then set to 16-235 to output 16-235 on bluray via TMT.

    This is out of date now but http://www.upsilonsoftware.com/blog/5-blog/8-getting-consistent-levels.html is an interesting read (and quite interesting software I want to try as I have a light meter)
    http://www.curtpalme.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10457 is also well worth a read to explain things (you probably should not be seeing <16 on a 16-235 calibrated display.

    The key is getting consistent levels.
     

    TheBatfink

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    I have tried the toggle app you posted and find it did not make any difference (although it reports it made the registry changes correctly). I feel as though dark scenes are too grey, its even more noticable in games (which I have branched into now I have a decent graphics card), after I have calibrated it as best I can on the TV. In the test patterns I can't see like 18 and below, and also on the white scale I can't see the levels I am supposed to?

    When you say calibrate the desktop first, what settings to you set in the nvidia panel for desktop colour settings and then in the video colour settings (nvidia or player?)? I presume once they are set you then actually do the contrast / colour and brightness levels using the TV's controls and not in the nvidia panel?
     

    Owlsroost

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    Attached are the settings I use.

    On the LCD test patterns you should be able to see 0-255 (it's only video that uses the restricted 16-235 range).
     

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    • nVidia_desktop_colour_settings.png
      nVidia_desktop_colour_settings.png
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    • nVidia_video_colour_settings.png
      nVidia_video_colour_settings.png
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    • nVidia_video_image_settings.png
      nVidia_video_image_settings.png
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    TheBatfink

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    Hi thanks, I copied those and tried the desktop images on the site you linked too. I can see the whole range this way. I set it up as instructed on the pages but it still looks a little washy I think.. When I fire up TV though.. wow, black is like a light grey.

    Hard work, no idea how to fix this. Wish I never touched it now, it was fine before I started playing with it :(
     

    jameson_uk

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    wow, black is like a light grey.
    Bad conversion somewhere. With video standard black is 16. If you output standard video but tell the display it is 0-255 then 16 is a dark grey. It is likely worse in that it is assuming input is 0-255 when it is 16-235 then changing to 16-235 so black is now somewhere around 30.

    When calibrating output you need to use a moving picture test card and output it using the same chain as will be used in MP. Calibrating based on a jpg or other static image will give you grey blacks and crushed whites. This is the reason for not being able to see anything below 16 (blacker than black or BTB)
     

    TheBatfink

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    I have some videos that I play via mp loaded into moving pictures. Had another go at this last week but couldn't get the result I was looking for. Ended up getting quite frustrated to be honest so gave up. Maybe I'll return to it later. Set it up as best I can by eye for now. For now I guess I should just be happy the new graphics card finally fixed all my sync issues and just get back to enjoying mepo for a while. Thanks for the help.
     

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