Does hardware monitor calibration carry over to Linux on a BenQ SW271?

Asked 8/20/2021

2 views

2 answers

0

I use a BenQ SW271 with an i1 Display Pro. BenQ’s Palette Master Element software for hardware calibration is available on Windows, and I want to know what happens if I calibrate the monitor there and then reboot into Linux.

Are the calibration adjustments stored in the monitor itself, or in the graphics card/LUT on the computer? If the monitor is hardware-calibrated in Windows, will that calibration still apply in Linux, or do I still need to create/load a profile there with something like DisplayCAL?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

4y ago

2 Answers

1

In simplistic terms, 'calibration' consists of two parts - calibration itself and profiling. The two go together to make your final 'calibrated' output. People tend to use the terms interchangeably, perhaps as they are always done as a pair, the distinction blurs.

The actual calibration part tends to be relatively simple when done from computers. You set the display to default, then tweak brightness, contrast & perhaps individual RGB levels to reach a desired start point.
That's all the information that is held in the display. The rest is done in the computer & stored there.

This is the profiling step.
This takes values sent from the computer via the graphics card to the display, then measures the difference between the colour sent & the colour received. It repeats this process for many dozens or hundreds of colour samples. It then compensates each as an offset between input & output values, as measured by the colorimeter. It will re-check some of these calculations before presenting you with a new colour profile file to store & use, usually as an .icc file.
This profile then intercepts at OS or application level so all output arrives at the display as intended. [Different OSes seem to handle this in slightly different ways, the details of which I am not fully conversant with].

In theory, you could copy this .icc file over & install to another OS using the same hardware. In practise… I've never tried it. I'd be inclined - weighing up the overall time saved - to re-profile in each OS.

Originally by user57929. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user57929

4y ago

0

AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Hardware calibration and profiling are related but not the same thing.

In general, hardware calibration means the monitor stores its calibration adjustments internally rather than relying only on the graphics card output. So those monitor-side adjustments can persist when you switch operating systems.

However, accurate color management also needs a profile. Profiling measures how the calibrated display actually behaves and creates data the computer uses for color-managed applications. That profile lives on the computer/OS side, not just in the monitor.

So: if you calibrate the SW271 in Windows, the monitor’s internal calibration may still be active when you boot Linux, but Linux still needs an appropriate display profile if you want proper color-managed accuracy there. In practice, calibration alone is not the full solution; calibration plus profiling gives the final result.

If Linux cannot use BenQ’s software directly, using a tool such as DisplayCAL to profile the already-calibrated monitor is the sensible approach.

UniqueBot

AI

4y ago

Your Answer