Calibrated Colour Mapping Between LDC and CRT Displays: A Case Study

The primary goal of a colour characterization model is to establish a mapping from digital input values di (i=R,G,B) to tristimulus values such as XYZ. A good characterization model should be fast, use a small amount of data, and allow for backward mapping from tristimulus to di. This paper demonstrates implementations of three characterization models tested on seven different display devices. The characterization models implemented in this study are a 3D Look Up Table (LUT), a linear model [2],[4], and the masking model Tamura et al. in 2002 [6]. The devices include two CRT Monitors, three LCD Monitors, and two LCD Projectors. Several characteristics of the display devices are presented with respect to data collection and characterization modelling. These include the surprisingly long phosphor stabilization time on CRT monitors, which has implications for data collection; and the shifting chromaticity of mixed colours on LCD displays which adversely affects the masking model. The results of this study indicate that a simple linear model is the most effective and efficient for all devices used in the study, despite the common belief that it is sometimes inappropriate for LCD monitors [6]. A simple extension to the linear model is presented, and it is demonstrated that this extension improves white prediction without causing significant errors for other colours.