Back to Resource Center

SDR Calibration with Patterns for Mac

Introducing Patterns, the quintessential video test pattern generator for macOS. Backed by Metal, Patterns is also color management compliant allowing for validation through the entire processing path.

Requirements

  • Requires macOS 10.12 or later.
  • Calman Home, Video Pro, Studio, or Ultimate required
    • Version 5.13.0. or later.
  • Calman Supported Meter Hardware
  • Apple Built-In or External SDR display

Step 1

Welcome to the Patterns™ Calibration Workflow

  • From the Calman Menu in the top-left, choose Open Workflow Template -> Calibration and then Patterns™ Calibration
  • For Apple Built-in or External displays capable of SDR, choose Apple
    • This will configure the workflow to best support built-in or external Apple displays

Step 2

Connect Patterns and your Meter

  • To connect to Patterns, both macOS and Calman must be on the same network/subnet.
  • At launch, Patterns provides a list of available IP Addresses. If this window has been closed, go to the Patterns menu and select Show IP. Enter the IP address in the space provided.
  • Click Connect to Patterns.
    • This will automatically connect to Patterns as both a pattern generator and display device
  • Connect your meter to Calman

Step 3

Set your colorspace settings for Pre-Calibration Validation.

  • Set the target colorspace you wish to calibrate to. Then set the Patterns Colorspace to the same target.
    • For optimal performance of the display, set Patterns to ‘Display SDR’.
  • In the macOS Display Preferences, Disable:
    • Automatically Adjust Brightness
    • True Tone

Step 4

Here you will measure the pre-calibration state of your selected colorspace

  • To take Pre-Calibration Measurements click the Read Series […] button to measure the display’s grayscale and ColorChecker response

Step 5

Here you will establish your targets for calibration

  • Set the desired calibration target for your display.
    • Typically, this would be the widest gamut the display is capable of; such as P3, Rec.2020, or Adobe RGB.
  • Choose the EOTF that corresponds to the display’s native response.
  • Set the Patterns Colorspace to match the target colorspace.
    • Example: Target Colorspace: DCI P3, D65, Power 2.2, Patterns Colorspace: Photography (P3-D65 at 2.2)
    • For non-XDR Apple Displays (Display P3):
      • White Point: D65
      • Color Space: DCI P3
      • EOTF: 2.2

Step 6

Adjust the overall luminance of your display

  • Click the Read Continuous button to measure your display’s light output at 100% white and adjust the display’s peak white to the desired luminance.
    • Luminance is a subjective target. SDR reference luminance is 100nits, but you may need to target higher to account for the ambient light in your environment.
  • Adjust your displays backlight/brightness control so your display is about 15% brighter than your final target to account for a reduction in luminance when calibrating the 1D LUT in the next step
  • Press Stop when luminance adjustment is complete

Step 7

Here Calman will perform calibration to the selected targets.

  • On the AutoCal Setup Dialog, name your ICC profile for easy identification

Step 8

It’s common to lose some overall luminance following calibration, here you can verify and adjust your post-calibration luminance levels

  • Use the Read Single or Read Continous buttons in the lower right corner to measure your overall luminance and make small adjustments as needed to reach your target

Step 9

Here you will choose your colorspace for post-calibration verification

  • Choose the same target colorspace in Patterns and Calman for validation.

Step 10

Here you will measure against your chosen colorspace

  • To take Validation Measurements click the Read Series […] button to measure the display’s grayscale and ColorChecker response

Calibration Complete

  • Following Calibration, you can choose to…
    • Restart – Resets the workflow and returns to the beginning of the calibration process
    • Save Data – Saves the calibration session for later reference
    • Additional Validation – Provides ColorChecker and Saturation Sweep layouts to perform more in-depth verification