Unsolicited ColourSpace User Comments

From an email from an existing Calman user:

"I currently have a Calman 2026 ultimate version that I want to replace. At present, its annual license will expire in August. I want to know the replacement mechanism, because I mainly calibrate the display of ASUS, but Calman's OLEDE calibration effect on ASUS is not good, which makes me want to change it to your camp."

We have such request very regularly.
The difference between Calman and ColourSpace calibration accuracy really is chalk vs cheese.

Steve

From another forum where a new ColourSpace user has been calibrating an LG C5 using ColourSpace LGTV HTL + PGenerator:

"I have to say I was genuinely surprised, though I don't know why as this is incredible software, at the results from just a simple 141 (and then 255) grayscale ramp + profiling. The average detlaE was under ~.4 with excellent WB and color tracking throughout. More importantly, the resulting image was very pleasing. Outside of panel warmup the whole process took maybe 30 minutes, including a 171 patch verification sweep. Comparing against my preserved manual calibration mode (Which measured excellent) it is a very meaningful improvement in real content."

This does show just how good ColourSpace really is to be able to get such a good calibration result with such a small patch set.

Steve

This is from a well known calibrator, post on there forums, and I just had to add the sentence to this thread...

"Yes, please do not try a "Calibration for Dummies" approach with your software, I can no longer consider Calman professional software with it's latest versions that are heavily focused on automated workflows with minimum/no option(s) to display potential issues."

Not a lot mor I can say about that really...

Steve

Very unfortunately messages such as this one are all too common.

"In the last months I decided to purchase a Calman Studio software license to calibrate my ASUS monitors alongside a friend's FSI XMP310 and a Benq monitor. I am disappointed with this software's performance and am thinking of asking for a refund. I would like to ask you if there is any way to get a discount to purchase ColourSpace."

Luckily, for such a need ColourSpace LTE is all that is required, which is far cheaper than Calman Studio, especially with the $500 per year support costs Calman charges.

Steve

From a professional integrator who initially ordered a ColourSpace DPS license, with the intention to upgrade to a full license:

"My company does design, commissioning, calibration of recording studios, atmos production rooms, dub stages, private screening rooms, high-end home cinemas. My associate handles our video calibration, and this is newer territory for us, we have always been audio guys. He has been using Calman for about 1-1/2 years and to me it seems to be too restrictive and to reliant on the workflows on top of being very buggy and problematic. I am looking for an option that will elevate his skill by making him less dependent on these workflows and more competent with manual processes. I am more interested in investing in software that will make him more capable rather than paying maintenance fees to Calman every year.
I will likely be reaching out for an evaluation license for the full home theater versions as that seems to fit the bill for the work we do. We are calibrating all matter of displays but primarily TV, Projectors and LED walls. I ordered the DPS version so we could have a capable, fast, dependable tool to verify the calibrations. It's amazing how convoluted it is to take a simple measurement (without a workflow) with Calman.
Do you have any scheduled training that we might take advantage of? "

As the customer initially purchased a ColourSpace DPS license the suggestion we to simple review the User Guides and Videos on the website.

"Thanks for the feedback. I have been spending a lot of time on the site and enjoying the depth of information. I think you nailed it, he will improve his game immensely by studying and applying the content on the website. I can say with 100% certainty you are already proving to be much more helpful and responsive than the support at Calman. We have been having so much glitchy, inconsistent behavior lately with Calman that is hampering my business. We do a lot of work overseas and if I can't rely on the tools, we are in big trouble. We just got back from a week in the UK, a week in Canada, and 2 trips to Los Angeles. I can't be worried about the tools. I don't worry about my audio software one bit, I need the same assurances on the video side."

It is good to hear such comments, and very obviously a full ColourSpace license will perform all they need for calibration, and more.
Although ColourSpace DPS will go a long was to providing the tools needed.

Steve

From a Calman user obviously suffering some serious Calman issue, both with the software and support:

"When trying to do a full calibration, I get better results with ASUS's own software than with Calman, and I find this frustrating because the software offers no fine tuned control, and their support seems unserious. I always used DisplayCal for calibrating and it seems much more complete than Calman, but it lacks the ability to load the ASUS or BenQ calibrations, or to create FSI LUTs. I had only used Calman once in the past for calibrating an FSI CM320 and I remember it being very straightforward. But now that I have issues, the software doesn't seem flexible at all.

I've requested a refund from Calman but am still waiting, I think they want me to try a newer version of the software, but I don't have much confidence in that."

Unfortunately, Portrait have been refusing a refund, even though Calman is not working correctly.

"I've asked the Calman salesman a couple of times about a refund, but he kind of avoided addressing the question directly. Instead, he told me that a new version would be released by the end of July with improvements related to ASUS calibration. Yesterday I installed the last version and found that it did not include any updates or changes regarding ASUS calibration.
When I asked again, he told me that this improvement is still in a preview stage and that they would grant me early access to a beta build. Still waiting for it."

The customer is therefor going for a ColourSpace Rental as Calman is just not working...

"I have been thinking and I decided I will be renting Colourspace LTE in the future days (CAL version might be for the future), when my agenda fits so I can try calibrating both my PA27DCE-K and the PA32UCDM of the studio I work at. I have been having terrible results with Calman again. Asus ProArt calibration software does a better job in 12 minutes than Calman in 2 hours, it's incredibly inconsistent and buggy."

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident.

Steve

Just an unexpectedly lovely support message form a happy usre:

"I'd also like to share that I am a huge fan of ColourSpace. Ever since I truly started using it two years ago, I realized immediately that this was the exact tool I had been looking for. The flexibility of the workflow and analytical tools, the ability to trace potential issues directly from various charts, and the outstanding calibration precision are simply unmatched.
It's truly impressive to see how ColourSpace continues to evolve with update speeds faster than any other tool I know. Most importantly, whenever we run into questions, the community forum is always there to guide us toward solutions or point out mistakes we might have made.
This isn't just flattery—these are my heartfelt feelings as a user."

Not a lot I can say...

Steve

Posted by D-Nice on another forum, discussing this year's TV shootout, for which ColourSpace was used throughout.
No Calman.

"I do know this year's Shootout contestants will be measured with at least 1000 verification points..... probably closer to 1400. No more 164 point nonsense from Calman as those 164 points are effectively useless."

We actually added some new capabilities to ColourSpace at D-Nice's request.

Edit to say: The Shootout used 1427 points for calibration verification, shown in the results D-Nice has posted on another forum.

Steve

LG OLED65G6WUA

From a professional calibrator who has realised the limited capabilities of Calman, as well as the true costs...

"I paid $6,000 in 2007 for the (Calman) license and probably $500.00 per year in support for 7 years.
I have an I1Pro and a Klein K10-A.
I use IS-minis as pattern generators.
I calibrate broadcast monitors for post houses these days, for local DITs, and for myself.
I have been fighting with LED walls in XR studios and my need to measure and create LUTS to fix inherent spectral emission problems has outstripped the Portrait Display products capabilities."

About to become a ColourSpace XPT user, for considerably less cost, and with far greater capabilities.
And with the unique Image Sequence Probe for true calibration of LED walls to really match live foreground elements.

Steve

A very short bit of feedback from a recent convert to ColourSpace from Calman:

"I don't quite understand why anyone would want to use Calman over ColourSpace, as Calman's results are mostly quite disappointing."

Short, and to the point.

Steve

A comment from a relatively new user, learning the requirements for calibration accuracy.

"I've spent quite a bit of time recently studying ColourSpace more deeply and getting more comfortable with the software, and I have to say, it has been fantastic. The more I understand it, the more enjoyable it becomes to use. It's a really powerful piece of software."

Understanding calibration can be a real learning curve, but that is the only way to get accurate results.

Steve

From a new Calman user unhappy with the 'Home' offerings.

"I recently bought Calman Home for LG, but am not happy with the amount of (particularly) verification features; no gamut rings, no volumetric graphs,... also have been using DisplayCal on some monitor PCs so far, would like to consolidate and upgrade with/to the ColourSpace LTE option if there's a trade-up possible."

We do not really offer Trade-ups on Calman Home licenses, as in reality they are just rental licenses, as you have to fully re-purchase the same license if you need an upgrade for a new TV, a bug fix, etc., if the license is over a year old.
However, we do try to help all users that have issues with Calman, and this user is now running a ColourSpace LTE license.

Steve

Such messages as this one are fairly common - Calman users just not happy with its results, the yearly fees, the crashing, etc.

"We're interested in ColourSpace LTE, CAL or PRO (depending on pricing with Trade-up). We currently have a Calman Studio License, but we're very disappointed with it..."

Not yet sure if we can help, but we will try.

Steve

Update on the above post.
The user is now a ColourSpace customer.
Really pleased we could help them overcome their Calman related issues.

Steve