Monitor Colour Temperature

[Nathan Chapman]

In browsing through my Zephyr's monitor (model MSC-200565, HD 7" 800 nits) manuals, I've come across a monitor setting I haven't seen before on other monitors: Colour Temperature.

 

The setting is explained in two sections:

 

ColourMatch Conversion with Colour Temperature Adjustment

Emulation of SMPTE-C/EBU colour space allows the MSC-200565 to replace any broadcast CRT monitor. Presets include D55, D65 and D93. Bias and Gain adjustment for each colour enables precise colour matching and white balance.

Manual, page 4

 

And also:

 

 

Colour Temperature

Use this setting to choose one of the colour temperature presets:

• D55 (5500K)
• D65 (6500K)
• D93 (9300K)
• Linear (no correction)
• USER (adjustable Colour Bias and Gain)

Manual, page 10

 

Now, my question... in what situations would I be using this setting? Am I setting it to match the ambient light? If so, when am I supposed to be in 9300K light?

[Frederic Sturm]

Hi Nathan,

 

if you're viewing a Rec709 picture, the correct setting should be D65 (6500K) in almost every case, as it's the standard illuminant for Rec709.

As a rule of thumb, if not otherwise indicated, use 6500K :)