Adobe Gamma for LCD Monitors

Can Adobe Gamma be used with LCD monitors or not? I have read
conflicting posts that it is only useful with CRT monitors and hence
do not hence any indication whther I should be using it with my LCD
monitor or not.

 

No, it doesn't work well for non-CRT displays.

Chris

 

You are instructed to disable the Adobe Gamma Loader before utilizing
profiles created by the Spyder cal unit, otherwise you'd have one
profile on top of another. I don't think the Adobe Gamma Loader is a
good thing to use with LCDs, at least that's been my experience.

 

When I upgraded to Photoshop CS I found that the display on both LCD
monitors was unusable, thanks to Adobe Gamma - horribly dark. Eventually I
had to remove Adobe Gamma from the startup folder altogether.

If you search through Google etc you will find that most questions about
how to use Photoshop on LCD monitors are answered with "you should use a
CRT instead". That's all very well, but quite a lot of us DO have LCD
monitors, and it is pretty annoying that Adobe don't support this.

 

I use Adobe Gamma with an LCD screen and find it OK. I think the main
problem (if you can call it that) with LCD screens is that they have a
much higher contrast than CRTs. If you reduce the LCD contrast to
about 200:1 then you stand a better chance of getting decent results
with Adobe Gamma.

TH

 

--------------------
I have, what I find to be, a good quality LCD monitor (Samsung SyncMaster
172T). This was my first LCD monitor. It is (was) a relatively expensive
monitor which advertised a good contrast spec.. When I call up my screen
adjustment menu, the "contrast" adjust bar is shown but it is grayed out
which implies that contrast adjustment is not possible.
Is it possible to adjust the contrast using some method other than the on
screen menu? Why have the menu (which shows 50% contrast) if it cannot be
changed?
TIA
Don F

 

Are you using a DVI interface to your PC? When you connect a monitor using
a digital interface, most of the adjustments are disabled.

 

It might be possible through software that came with your graphics
card. It is with mine (NVIDIA GEForce 2) but I don't use it, because
it sometimes conflicts with Adobe Gamma on start-up.

TH

 

using a digital interface, most of the adjustments are disabled.---------------------
I am using a DVI interface. Thanks, Stephen, that answers my question.
Now ... is it beneficial to sacrifice a DVI interface for contrast
adjustment using only the Adobe gamma utility for calinbration or would the
result be marginal at best with an LCD monitor?
I have an Epson printer and I sometimes wonder if I would have more
success making printing adjustments (using the many print options) so that
my prints approach what I see on the monitor rather than try to calibrate
my monitor so that my prints approach WSIWYG with no printer manipulation.
Don F

 

I have a 20" Dell LCD monitor and have found that by using the display
settings (right click on desktop, properties, settings, advanced in
Windows), I can make slight changes to the gamma of the display and match my
inkjet printer. The nice thing about doing it this way, it corrects the
monitor for all photo programs, not just adobe's.

Ed

 

I'll have to try that. I haven't tried Adobe Gamma with my LCD screen. I
know, in general, turning the brightness and the contrast down greatly
improve the image. Reducing sharpness also helps with imaging.

Harry

 

I just bought a Flexscan S2100 LCD to replace my Sony CRT. How do I calibrate the Flexscan if I cannot use Adobe Gamma? Is there no way to calibrate a LCD monitor?
Thanks, CMA