Monitor Calibration

I moved my new mini computer from the kitchen table to my desk in the bedroom yesterday.  I think I'm finished moving stuff from my older desktop computer to this new computer so it was time to move it to the bedroom desk.  Besides, it was getting old having this computer temporarily taking up space on our kitchen table!

This morning, I installed a small shelf on the wall under the desk for my new hard drive enclosure.  That worked out well.  The cooling fan in this enclosure is a bit loud when this enclosure is sitting right on the desk so I wanted to place it under the desk where it is hardly heard at all.  I have a remote outlet arriving tomorrow so I can turn this enclosure on and off without having to duck under the desk to manually use the switch on the back of the enclosure. 

Now that I finally had this new mini computer connected to my good IPS 4K monitor, it was time to calibrate the display so the colors are accurate.  This is definitely needed for accurate displaying and printing of images.  The same holds true for video and I do create a lot of both.

When I purchased this new mini computer, I also purchased a new monitor calibration tool for few reasons.  First, my old calibration tool was not working well anymore.  I think the sensor was yellowing a bit over time.  Also, it simply wasn't playing well with Windows 10 and 11 (that is how long I've had this calibration tool).  And, the old calibration tool could not match dual monitors so that was a problem too.  After some research, I purchased a Calibrite Display 123 and used it for the first time this morning.  It seemed to work well but I really need to compare how photos look on my monitor with professional prints of the same image.  If they match, then this calibration tool is doing what it is supposed to do.  If not, then there is a problem.

The software is very basic and simple with very little input required.  I think that is a plus but it does leave me wondering whether I am missing some feature(s) that might make a positive difference.  Time will tell.  I do wish there was a little more to the software though.  

Looking at some photos on my monitor, the new calibration profile seems to be good though.  Typically, monitors tend to be too cold...  too blue...  definitely too bright...  and often too saturated and/or uneven saturation from color compared to another.  That being said, my current IPS 4K monitor is very good right out of the box but it appears that the new calibration tool did improve the display profile especially getting the brightness into the right range for matching displayed photos to printed photos.

I hope to have some prints made in the coming month so...  well see how it goes... 

EDIT:  The next morning - I wanted to follow-up on my thoughts about this calibration tool.  The monitor's colors, brightness and contrast look just fine since boot-up this morning which is good because, due to some reviews I had read, I was expecting Windows 11 to load a default color profile rather than the one I had created yesterday using this Calibrite Display 123.  Honestly, I was skeptical of these bad reviews anyway but it is good to see that there is no truth to them.

Actually, I see many reports online complaining about serious problems with Windows 11 so seeing some bad reviews about color profile handling wasn't much of a surprise.  I've been using Windows 11 daily since way back in 2021 and I have yet to experience a single complaint that I've read about online!  I'm not so narrowminded that I think I'll never experience a problem with Windows 11 but, after four years of daily use, I have yet to experience any of the complaints I've read about online.  

I could have continued to use my old desktop computer which operates on Windows 10 and was not upgradeable but I have had a laptop and another desktop computer running Windows 11 for a number of years so I have had no hesitation in buying a mini computer that runs on Windows 11.  And...  I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Windows 11 has been out in the general population for at least four years so it should come as no surprise that Microsoft is soon dropping support for Windows 10.  My old desktop was running on Windows 10 which is one of the reasons I purchased this Windows 11 mini computer.  

I don't know if the people complaining about Windows 11 are computer illiterate or if they are just stubbornly dense but, after four years of daily use, I have not experienced a single issue with Windows 11.  

Here's the thing...  Even if you are computer illiterate, all you need to do if you have a problem is do a quick search online...  ie, simply type "Windows 11 won't load my new monitor calibration on boot-up"...  and you get step by step instructions on how to resolve this issue or whatever issue you may have.  You would need to be stubbornly dense to not be able to do this.

Anyway, my new monitor display color profile loaded on boot-up on its own this morning.