Dizzy

The graphics card always handles color correction, but using a proper ICC profile ensures that all the colors stay within the monitor's color range. This can be important if your monitor is 8-bit+FRC and you set 8-bit in your graphics card settings (and your graphics card does not perform dithering). Without a proper ICC profile, certain shades may fall into the range where the monitor activates the FRC module, which can cause increased eye strain. That said, this might not work the same way for all monitors, so it’s a good idea to test and see whether using an ICC profile feels more comfortable for you.

But the biggest problem is getting a correct ICC profile for the monitor, since not everyone has monitor calibration devices and not all monitor manufacturers provide ICC profiles. However, if you have one, it's worth trying both options.

      WhisperingWind Thank you. I have a Dell SE2422HX which is a 6 bit + FRC VA panel. Given this should I use the ICC with my Battlemage?

          Dizzy

          My MBP M1 is less comfortable to use with the external monitor BenQ GL2450 (6bit+FRC) if I remove the ICC profile. Try testing to see what works best for your eyes, as in our case, the only way to find out for sure is through testing.

          When it comes to the Intel ARC A770, I’ve found it a bit tricky to use with the BenQ GL2450 (6-bit+FRC), whether or not an ICC profile is applied. Unfortunately, this graphics card causes severe eye strain almost immediately when used with this monitor because it triggers the FRC module much more intensely than the MBP M1. However, if I connect it to a true 8-bit display, it provides a fairly comfortable image.

            Thank you. I am on the hunt for a good True 8 Bit monitor to pair up with my Battlemage.

              jordan What about 10 Bit (8bit + FRC)? Would that pair up with the Battlemage so long as it’s set to stay 8 Bit? Checking the Omen now

                  Dizzy Hmm I would think so if you leave HDR disabled and keep it at 8 bits but then again I am not 100% sure.

                    WhisperingWind The graphics card always handles color correction, but using a proper ICC profile ensures that all the colors stay within the monitor's color range. This can be important if your monitor is 8-bit+FRC and you set 8-bit in your graphics card settings (and your graphics card does not perform dithering). Without a proper ICC profile, certain shades may fall into the range where the monitor activates the FRC module, which can cause increased eye strain.

                    Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is my understanding. A monitor has a certain physical range of colors it can display. A color profile cannot extend this range, but it can clamp (increase the minimum or reduce the maximum) the range of each channel and/or compress a logical range of color values into a smaller physical range. I believe the theory behind disabling color correction via the color profile is to simplify the pipeline to get closer to a 1:1 correlation between the GPU output value and what the panel tries to display, thereby reducing interpolation via FRC (the tradeoff being loss of color accuracy). Monitors may also have built-in calibration via RGB sliders, and possibly factory calibration accessible via the service menu, which I believe can have similar effects on FRC dithering as color profiles.

                        macsforme

                        I don't fully understand how this works, but I experimented a few times by removing my monitor's color profile from macOS (my monitor BenQ GL2450 is 6bit+FRC). After doing this, it becomes harder for me to focus on the text, as if my eyes want to "slip away" from it (for me, this is always a sign of increased dithering). After a couple of hours of work, my eyes get very tired. If I restore the profile, then these issues did not occur.

                        While working on disabling dithering in 6-bit mode in Linux, I used the BenQ GL2450 monitor. I discovered that adding a color profile reduced eye strain when switching to 6-bit mode (without dithering at the kernel level).

                        Also, I felt more comfortable working with an 8-bit+FRC monitor connected to my Mac (BenQ BL2711U monitor), as my eyes felt less strained. However, this doesn’t apply to my TV, which is also 8-bit+FRC. I can use the TV with the same level of comfort as a monitor, both with and without a profile. With both devices, I set 8 bits in BetterDisplay.

                        I can't say for sure what exact mechanisms are at play here. Therefore, the best way is to try both options: with the profile and without it. Then choose the better one.

                          Dizzy

                          Makes sense, since that's a mini LED panel (I've read a lot of bad reports about them).

                            15 days later

                            Any updates from anyone in this thread regarding the B580?

                              I've used a B580 for two days now. It's too early to say anything definitively. But it seems OK so far. It doesn't render things on my screen exactly the same as my A380, because it's using a new software. I probably just have to play around with the settings a bit more.

                              dev