Can a Noob tell the difference between a calibrated and uncalibrated monitor?

#monitor #pcgaming #calibration
With this video, we have the long-awaited return of the "Can a noob tell the difference" video series.
Anna and I try and answer the question, do you need a monitor calibration tool and can a noob even tell the difference between a calibrated and uncalibrated monitor?

A link to the Datacolor Spyder X page:

*Amazon affiliate links for the calibration tool and the monitors in question*

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[CaelVK]

I have no idea how to make sense of that chart

[DizzTheDoc]

I definitely would like to see an older monitor calibrated.

[juancordero]

100% would love to see an older monitor calibrated!

[Flipsht]

Matching multiple monitors on a desk is also a good reason to calibrate.. although tweaking by eye will work (but takes a bunch of time). nothing drives me more crazy then having two almost identical monitors on my desk and seeing the grey tones be two or three completely different shades.

[RedSunFX]

Uhm, so how do I read the table? Does an X mean that you got it correct?
Or does an X mean that you got it wrong? Because you cross something if it's wrong?

Does 0 mean wrong, i.e. getting zero points.
Or is zero supposed to represent a circle ○ and your system works like the Japanese notation (○ is right, × is wrong).

The strange thing is that both of Anna's charts have three Xs and nine 0s, but you say that she did badly after the media test but got everything correct after the gaming test. 🤨

I would suggest using a less ambiguous notation going forward. For example, using ✓for right and × for wrong avoids confusion. Or just use the letters "r" and "w" as abbreviations for right and wrong.

[theguycanfly]

I'd love to see an older monitor be calibrated or just a newer shity monitor. I'd also like to see another 1080p vs 1440p monitor comparison at 24in if that sounds interesting to you

[ijustsawthat]

I don't think my monitor needs calibration at all.
Nice green shirt btw.

[BallazYT]

The chart was the most complicated thing I have ever seen in my entire life. Stared for it for 3 minutes and gave up understanding it. Good video though!

[TheMasterMakarov]

"For this test we used a monitor that was already well calibrated out of the box"
lmao dude
what the hell

[OnyxDragun]

Some games will disable the local colour profile so it could potential (temporarily) remove your calibration.

[iaobtc]

I bought an Eizo RX340 used; it has a small robotic arm thats pops out of the border of the monitor and calibrates it periodically automatically. The Japanese are basically living 100 years ahead of us at any given time

[tomvandongen]

100% would like to see the follow up - I use two cheap uncalibrated monitors at work and it drives me nuts because they both look quite different and after a while I can't even decide which is more accurate. I've tried OSD tweaks to get them closer but one is still warmer than the other and neither looks amazing

[Dartman]

I used to repair TVs for fun and profit back in the days when it was actually worth doing. I learned what a proper gray scale calibration looked like and how to tune the color guns on a old school crt to get there. Before everyone had calibration tapes or disks I'd tweak each set to show the best looking and accurate color picture I could get out of it.
Now that I have ulhd disks and a 4k tv I set it to what my calibration disk shows is accurate and then tweak from there to what I want to see. My pc monitor I set to what I think is right and of course sometimes something looks off and needs adjustments. My TV each input can be individually set to match whatever is feeding it as everything can use different standards or video quality level like 480p 1080p, 4k etc. I like things to look like a high quality 35mm color picture myself. I hate the flat dull look many movie modes give. It should look like whatever the producer was seeing on his screen however he wanted it to look. I'd love to see some calibration tests on older low end monitors too. My monitor is a LG ips monitor, 23", I got a good deal on. My 4k TV is a VA panel with hdr and local dimming so it has nice black levels with a lot of pop, but not so good off angle veiwing. I have a full motion mount for it so we can tweak it till it looks great from my veiwing position. It would be great to find a high quality crt pc monitor and calibrate it too. You could probably find a good one free somewhere now as nobody cares any more and wants a huge lcd screen. My last crt monitor was a 21" Sony and other than the tensioning wires in the screen it looked awesome playing games and weighed a ton. I have to admit text on screen is way easier to read at native resolution on a lcd but other than that video and pictures look great on a quality crt and they don't care about the resolution, it all looks good.

[AnnaDoes]

My potty-mouth is so well edited out of this video 😂

[johng]

Anna has simply grown accustomed to the uncalibrated monitors.

[jackykoning]

The reason I calibrate is simply because there is a difference between my left and right monitor that disappears completely after calibration. The brightness is 108 vs 107.9 and then the colors get matched. Basically without it only the brightness is matched and it is noticeable when dragging a screen around. Which causes a headache sometime. (After reinstalling windows for example. My left screen supports DDC/CI so that is calibrated using hardware the right one does not so I have to manually set things and apply a profile.)

[Null_Experis]

I have an old Spyder 2 that I use for calibrating my monitors, but I mostly got it for checking old CRTs for failing capacitors. It gives clear indications as to which color is having problems.

[stuartlunsford]

Anna laughs a lot, but she always laughs the hardest when Dawid is in physical or emotional distress. I like her!

[Therust]

I had one lying around after I bought it on sale for like $120 several months ago not knowing if I should sell it at a higher value or keep it around.

Then when I turned on my brand new MAG274QRF-QD two weeks ago I knew its time finally came and I don't regret it one bit even if I never have to use it ever again.

[JordyValentine]

It's not deathly important, but I like the peace of mind knowing that the colours are (at least somewhat) accurate because I do a bit of web/graphic/video stuff