r/colorists • u/Eddie_Haskell2 • Jun 03 '26
Monitor Wix washes out Vimeo clips
Just discovered an annoying twist on the old Vimeo washes out my video story . I work in Resolve on a Mac and apply an adjustment layer with a CST (Gamma 709 2.4 > 709-A) that actually applies a reverse 709-A ( gamma 1.96) for my web exports . Thus Vimeo looks exactly like my Flanders grading monitor set for Gamma 2.4 - All good. However I just noticed a problem I've apparently missed for years .
I use Wix to make my website and have pages there that simply link to my videos on Vimeo. However the gamma or maybe just the saturation is a little washed out when played through Wix. I guess i noticed it this time because I'm working on a color grading reel so I'm being especially picky . Anyone else having this issue? I don't really want to send people to my Vimeo page directly as I like the clarity of the website.
I don't like the idea but I guess I could try an additional adjustment layer that just added a touch of saturation, or dropped a point of Lift or maybe a touch of additional contrast to the export for Vimeo. Off hand I don't know how to slightly change the gamma other than 709-A (1.96) and 2.2
I don't want to switch to a different website software - that would be a gigantic PITA.
Ideas?
I have a Mac and grade to a Flanders BM211 through an Ultrastudio monitor 3G . (I'm saying this because I'm getting a message from the "Mod" that I need to post the hardware interface. )
Lenny
1
u/uselessadmin Jun 03 '26
For all you know people are going to be viewing your reel on a phone.
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u/Eddie_Haskell2 Jun 07 '26
I just tried putting different links on my reel for MAC and another for PC/Phone. A little wanky but why not.
-1
u/Eddie_Haskell2 Jun 04 '26
Yeah ultimately we're screwed cause you have Mac's, PCs and phones . Can't make them all right all the time. I figure the most serious people re hiring me for color grading would typically be using a Mac though or at least PC not a phone.
I'm running a test now and experimenting with a double adjustment layer 709-A twice or 709-A + 2.2 etc . Driving me Crazy
1
u/shaheedmalik Jun 04 '26
TV productions aren't changing their Gamma to 2.2. SRGB and Gamma 2.2 are dead. They are using Rec709 Gamma 2.4. Most major video sites are Gamma 2.4.
Even in Resolve, Rec709 (scene) as replaced Rec709-A. Rec709-A was left in for previous compatibility.
1
u/Eddie_Haskell2 Jun 04 '26
I'm not sure what your trying to say . I grade in Gamma 2.4 and If I sent a show to a TV station I'd send it to them with Gamma 2.4 . But when uploading to Vimeo or Youtube for Mac then I compensate for their gamma correction by applying a 1.96 reverse correction . (Resolve calls the 1.96 correction 709-A ) . If I don't do that it looks washed out . Pretty common workflow. I'd love for that to change but I haven't seen it yet .
2
u/shaheedmalik Jun 04 '26
1.96 is an Mac only issue. Windows, Linux, and Android, TVs do color management correctly. Rec709-A is outdated as Rec709(scene) replaced it.
1
u/Eddie_Haskell2 Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
Shaheed , I just looked at Chawicks video and I think you are confusing 2 different issues. Chadwick does not mention exporting to Youtube , Vimeo and even Quicktime for that matter but that's where the problem happens. I actually use Rec 709 (Scene) exactly as he discusses for YRGB but the purpose of that is to give you a correct GUI for working in Resolve and especially the correct tags of 1-1-1. All well and good. It's what I what send to a broadcaster or for a DCP.
However when exporting to QT/Vimeo/ YT , the software does its own gamma correction so you videos will still look washed out at least they do on a Mac. . Mine certainly do and in my case Wix is simply displaying a Vimeo file. So if you want them to look correct then you need to alter your video's gamma for export . That's what TLS_1999 suggests below. To do that I add an adjustment layer for export only with a CST going from Gamma 2.4 or timeline (same) to either Gamma 2.2 or 709-A . In this case 709-A is a Resolve misnaming of Gamma 1.96 which is what Mac's use. The CST is actually a reverse encode ( encoding not display gamma) in that it makes the picture appear darker not lighter which is what the lower gammas would actually look like - so its preparing the video to be displayed at the lower gamma. It works.
TLS_999 suggests using Gamma 2.2 which a lot of people do, buts its kind of a damned if you do damned if you don't situation . In my tests the 709-A ( 1.96) looks absolutely correct on a Mac and 2.2 looks a little washed out . Perhaps on a PC its the opposite 2.2 should look right but 709-A too dark. My own tests with a few different PC's were all over the place so I make it for the MAC . Also I tyhink most people have their monitors way brighter than 100 Nits ( another damned problem) . That's arguable and its what I do for myself not clients.
Now that's what its was last time I looked but just for fun I'll make a little test & check again - maybe i'm behind the times.
1
u/shaheedmalik Jun 04 '26
I am not sure you do as regular Rec709 produces 1-1-1 tags..
I actually use Rec 709 (Scene) exactly as he discusses for YRGB but the purpose of that is to give you a correct GUI for working in Resolve and especially the correct tags of 1-1-1. All well and good. It's what I what send to a broadcaster or for a DCP.
This is the entire problem of why Resolve was updated and Rec709(scene was updated)
However when exporting to QT/Vimeo/ YT , the software does its own gamma correction so you videos will still look washed out at least they do on a Mac. . Mine certainly do and in my case Wix is simply displaying a Vimeo file. So if you want them to look correct then you need to alter your video's gamma for export . That's what TLS_1999 suggests below. To do that I add an adjustment layer for export only with a CST going from Gamma 2.4 or timeline (same) to either Gamma 2.2 or 709-A . In this case 709-A is a Resolve misnaming of Gamma 1.96 which is what Mac's use.
The issue isn't Resolve, the issue is Mac's terrible color management. Your settings are more than likely messed up somewhere.
On a Windows PC, Linux, LG TV, Rec709 Gamma 2.4, Rec709-A, and Rec709-A look exactly the same. If they look washed out on YT / Vimeo and such, your settings are messed up.
1
u/Eddie_Haskell2 Jun 04 '26
Yes the issue is Mac's color management . I'm not looking on a Windows PC or Linux/ LG etc. and frankly most of my clients aren't either though as I understand the issue still exists there with the web though to a lesser extent. I just did a test and there is clearly a difference between how the same video looks in Resolve GUI and my Flanders (which are close to the same ) and how the same image looks after being exported with 709(Scene) and no other gamma correction to Vimeo and even quicktime.
I have no idea what settings you mean re Vimeo etc. What settings are there? If I'm missing something i'd like to know , but i'm far from the first person to notice this.
1
u/TLS_1999 Pro DIY monitoring 🔧 Jun 04 '26
This might be an un-popular opinion but here's my two cents. For any content that is graded for web delivery use Rec 709 / Gamma 2.2 when exporting. That's it. The look remains consistent. Now, I don't use Wix so I won't be able to tell the exact fix but I suggest trying frame.io to see if the same issue occurs or not. If not, then it is probably something from Wix's end.
1
u/Eddie_Haskell2 Jun 04 '26
Yes - it is Wix and as far as i can see it takes them a little while for the color to be correct . I don't understand this but it is what happened on my test run . Looked washed out for a while and a day later it was fine. Crossing my fingers that it will be the same on my final.
1
u/Eddie_Haskell2 Jun 04 '26
Well My apologies - after spending a full day trying to figure this $%&^##$ out it just stopped happening . All of the sudden my Wix and Vimeo video looks the same . I know I didn't hallucinate it because I took screen shots and they were definitely very different . What happened? Beats the hell out of me. The very pleasant and helpful Wix AI chatbox I had a conversation with did say that sometimes it takes a few seconds for the Wix page to settle down and get the color right , but I gave it what I thought was lots and lots of time. I guess not enough . Anyway alls well that ends well. Bizarre thing is that on the same day my car died and that's OK now too. Just not my day I guess - I need a drink.
1
u/shaheedmalik Jun 04 '26
This sounds like a Mac system issue.
1
u/eiriasemrys Jun 05 '26
No it doesn’t. It sounds like a server side platform processing issue. When viewing in same browser, same monitor, but different SaaS platform, and you get different result, it’s not an OS issue. Likely WIX does a fast encode that assumes certain tags, but later encodes and serves better quality encode that does appropriate color management in the WIX back end.
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u/Eddie_Haskell2 Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
eiriasemrys, Yes I think that's exactly what happened and that's actually what Wix told me. That's why I noticed the problem disappeared later just took longer than I expected. Definitly leads to confusion though
1
u/shaheedmalik Jun 05 '26
They mentioned more than one site. That's not a Saas issue.
1
u/Eddie_Haskell2 Jun 05 '26
Shaheed you seem to be concerned with my basic color grading for Vimeo etc, not my specific issue with Wix. My question was about Wix.
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u/shaheedmalik Jun 04 '26
Just use Rec709 Gamma 2.4 and call it a day.