path: root/README

NAME
	crt-calibrator - CRT monitor calibrator utility for Linux VT

SYNOPSIS
	crt-calibrator [FILE]

DESCRIPTION
	crt-calibrator is an interactive tool that guides you through
	calibrating your CRT monitors. When done, the program will
	print gamma-ramp information that is useful when setting
	the calibrations automatically. If FILE is specified, this
	information is stored to that the file named FILE.

	The program cannot be run from inside X, it is required that
	it is run from the Linux VT, otherwise known as the TTY.

NOTES
	crt-calibrator should not be used to calibrate LCD (neither
	LED or TFT), plasma monitors, or OLED. It should only be
	used to calibrate monitors with nice gamma-curves, such as
	CRT monitors. Not monitors with sigmoid-curves.

RATIONALE
	Few users have calibration hardware, and CRT monitors can
	be sufficiently calibrated manually without them. However,
	before crt-calibrator the best way to calibrator CRT monitors
	was to have specialised test images, with colour bars and
	samples. But this requires expertise, the common user will
	know how to contruct these images or the best procedure for
	applying the corrections. And it is tedious if you do not
	find any interactive tool for change changing the settings.
	The alternative why was to use test pictures that relied on
	you deciding what looked most realistic rather than the
	image itself telling you. But that's not all, to my knowledge,
	this is actually the first program that runs outside a
	display server.

SEE ALSO
	analyse-gamma(1), blueshift(1)