this is not true man. Rtings uses CR-250 and CR-100 to measure the displays. All recent apple displays measure quite well, above average and close to reference.
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Do I lose my factory display calibration if I erase my Mac?
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this is not true man. Rtings uses CR-250 and CR-100 to measure the displays. All recent apple displays measure quite well, above average and close to reference.
There are two kinds of display calibration hardware and software.
Hardware calibration measures the display response and then calculates a table or matrix that is stored directly in the firmware of the monitor. Hardware calibration changes how the display firmware interprets the values that are sent to it. MacBook Pro displays are hardware calibrated. You can erase the Drive 1000 times and the original factory calibration is still there.
Now, factory calibration quality is pretty variable. Unless you receive a calibration report with your factory calibrated display with all of the Delta values listed, you have no idea how well the screen is calibrated nor do you know how complex that calibration curve is.
This is where software calibration comes in. When you make an ICC profile, you are changing what the OS sends to the display to get the display to look better, this is software calibration. Many hardware calibrated displays still require software calibration to really hit the Mark.
Software calibration on the Mac can only ever be “good enough.” macOS only supports the simplest of color correction profiles for displays.
If you wanna go really deep into any of this, go and hang out on the displayCal forums.
Hardware calibration measures the display response and then calculates a table or matrix that is stored directly in the firmware of the monitor. Hardware calibration changes how the display firmware interprets the values that are sent to it. MacBook Pro displays are hardware calibrated. You can erase the Drive 1000 times and the original factory calibration is still there.
Now, factory calibration quality is pretty variable. Unless you receive a calibration report with your factory calibrated display with all of the Delta values listed, you have no idea how well the screen is calibrated nor do you know how complex that calibration curve is.
This is where software calibration comes in. When you make an ICC profile, you are changing what the OS sends to the display to get the display to look better, this is software calibration. Many hardware calibrated displays still require software calibration to really hit the Mark.
Software calibration on the Mac can only ever be “good enough.” macOS only supports the simplest of color correction profiles for displays.
If you wanna go really deep into any of this, go and hang out on the displayCal forums.
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It is unfortunately more complex. https://hub.displaycal.net/forums/topic/macos-struggles/
Prove that the factory calibrations of the monitor are deleted. You can't, because you're making it up and have no idea what you're talking about.
You are right. Plenty of proof it has a genuine hardware calibration. It’s hard for some people to let go. Especially when they are experts. I feel that. But hey, I’d rather be happy than right.
MacOS itself only supports matrix transforms, no lookup tables. When the display is well behaved from the factory matrix correction can result in low delta E.
high resolution instruments like CR-300 required to calibrate Apple PFS displays costs $16,000 so its not practical for users to do it at home. Something like the studio display includes multiple hardware calibrated modes targeting different primaries and gamma. Its quite good already for most uses.
You can find the recommended instruments for calibration on apple support. They are all very expensive.
Use Full Calibration in the Pro Display Calibrator
On your Mac, you can recalibrate supported displays using a spectroradiometer.
support.apple.com
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I wish people would stop spreading false information on these forums.
So much confusion. 
macOS creates a so called factory profile for third party displays which is based on some basic colorimetry data found in most modern display's EDID. This profile can be safely deleted (it will be recreated when the display is next connected). This profile is technically lost when the Mac is reset, but it obviously does not matter.
The display's factory calibration (I mean the panel specific calibration done in the factory) resides in a display's firmware (in the form of look-up tables which the display uses to figure out how to translate the input signal to the panel using its display specific EOTF formula) and is meant to correct panel specific deviations so the display produces the proper colors with some reference input and (if possible) in a multi-monitor setup the same display model (from a close batch) look the same next to each other - this usually ensures that the display generally has an acceptable output with the factory calibration. Some displays also have reference modes (like sRGB, Adobe RGB etc) which should make colors right when a corresponding pre-installed profile is selected in the OS. The quality of the factory calibration varies. All this won't be affected by a Mac reset/reinstall. The factory calibration and the factory profile created in macOS based on the EDID should not be confused, they are two different things.
There is then custom calibration and profiling. Profiling means that we set the display to some baseline mode and then using a hardware calibrator tool we measure the display's actual optical output to the various color signals we send using the computer and then build a color profile (which describes what is the optical result to various electrical input signals) based on that. This custom profile is meant to help the computer figure out more precisely how to produce the desired optical result (envisioned by the content creator) by sending the right signals to the display. Some displays have built-in options to fine-tune the calibration at display side (even most entry level displays have some kind of color, gamma, contrast etc controls) and some professional displays can be as or even more nuanced about it than what a computer can do with a profile (in this case instead of messing with a custom profile the calibration can be done entirely at the display side - this simplifies deployment as a single reference profile can be used on the computer). Then of course the combination of both can be done at the same time (correcting some things at the display side, other things at the computer side, but this can result in confusion). The custom profiles stored on the computer will be lost with a reset and might require painstaking work to recreate it so it is a good idea to back these up. Custom calibration at the display side will not be lost (until one resets the display itself).
Hope this helps (or maybe it creates more confusion).
macOS creates a so called factory profile for third party displays which is based on some basic colorimetry data found in most modern display's EDID. This profile can be safely deleted (it will be recreated when the display is next connected). This profile is technically lost when the Mac is reset, but it obviously does not matter.
The display's factory calibration (I mean the panel specific calibration done in the factory) resides in a display's firmware (in the form of look-up tables which the display uses to figure out how to translate the input signal to the panel using its display specific EOTF formula) and is meant to correct panel specific deviations so the display produces the proper colors with some reference input and (if possible) in a multi-monitor setup the same display model (from a close batch) look the same next to each other - this usually ensures that the display generally has an acceptable output with the factory calibration. Some displays also have reference modes (like sRGB, Adobe RGB etc) which should make colors right when a corresponding pre-installed profile is selected in the OS. The quality of the factory calibration varies. All this won't be affected by a Mac reset/reinstall. The factory calibration and the factory profile created in macOS based on the EDID should not be confused, they are two different things.
There is then custom calibration and profiling. Profiling means that we set the display to some baseline mode and then using a hardware calibrator tool we measure the display's actual optical output to the various color signals we send using the computer and then build a color profile (which describes what is the optical result to various electrical input signals) based on that. This custom profile is meant to help the computer figure out more precisely how to produce the desired optical result (envisioned by the content creator) by sending the right signals to the display. Some displays have built-in options to fine-tune the calibration at display side (even most entry level displays have some kind of color, gamma, contrast etc controls) and some professional displays can be as or even more nuanced about it than what a computer can do with a profile (in this case instead of messing with a custom profile the calibration can be done entirely at the display side - this simplifies deployment as a single reference profile can be used on the computer). Then of course the combination of both can be done at the same time (correcting some things at the display side, other things at the computer side, but this can result in confusion). The custom profiles stored on the computer will be lost with a reset and might require painstaking work to recreate it so it is a good idea to back these up. Custom calibration at the display side will not be lost (until one resets the display itself).
Hope this helps (or maybe it creates more confusion
).
I think by now it’s clear that what the OP is afraid of losing after an erase and reinstall of macOS won’t be lost.
Indeed.
Just wanted to give the OP an even more complete peace of mind about letting that factory color profile go.
Couldn’t have said it better. Hardware presets, vs hardware calibration, vs software calibration (profiling). All three have their place. But if we turn to the original question, asked at the head of this thread, no, you cannot erase the factory calibration that Apple performed and embedded in the firmware. You can erase any further profiling that you may have done.So much confusion.
macOS creates a so called factory profile for third party displays which is based on some basic colorimetry data found in most modern display's EDID. This profile can be safely deleted (it will be recreated when the display is next connected). This profile is technically lost when the Mac is reset, but it obviously does not matter.
The display's factory calibration (I mean the panel specific calibration done in the factory) resides in a display's firmware (in the form of look-up tables which the display uses to figure out how to translate the input signal to the panel using its display specific EOTF formula) and is meant to correct panel specific deviations so the display produces the proper colors with some reference input and (if possible) in a multi-monitor setup the same display model (from a close batch) look the same next to each other - this usually ensures that the display generally has an acceptable output with the factory calibration. Some displays also have reference modes (like sRGB, Adobe RGB etc) which should make colors right when a corresponding pre-installed profile is selected in the OS. The quality of the factory calibration varies. All this won't be affected by a Mac reset/reinstall. The factory calibration and the factory profile created in macOS based on the EDID should not be confused, they are two different things.
There is then custom calibration and profiling. Profiling means that we set the display to some baseline mode and then using a hardware calibrator tool we measure the display's actual optical output to the various color signals we send using the computer and then build a color profile (which describes what is the optical result to various electrical input signals) based on that. This custom profile is meant to help the computer figure out more precisely how to produce the desired optical result (envisioned by the content creator) by sending the right signals to the display. Some displays have built-in options to fine-tune the calibration at display side (even most entry level displays have some kind of color, gamma, contrast etc controls) and some professional displays can be as or even more nuanced about it than what a computer can do with a profile (in this case instead of messing with a custom profile the calibration can be done entirely at the display side - this simplifies deployment as a single reference profile can be used on the computer). Then of course the combination of both can be done at the same time (correcting some things at the display side, other things at the computer side, but this can result in confusion). The custom profiles stored on the computer will be lost with a reset and might require painstaking work to recreate it so it is a good idea to back these up. Custom calibration at the display side will not be lost (until one resets the display itself).
Hope this helps (or maybe it creates more confusion
I do feel very reassured from this thread, thank youIndeed.
. Was concerned at first based on Mr Fox's comments.No, the factory display calibration won't be lost. Display calibration is typically stored in the monitor's hardware, so resetting the system won't affect it. After a factory reset, your Mac should still have the same display settings unless manually altered.
Wait... this is actually a really intriguing question -- especially as someone who resets devices via an Apple Configurator 2 Restore (the nuclear option that literally wipes the entire physical drive -- replacing the EFI and everything). @waydabber Any idea if I'm still 'safe' in this situation i.e. will the display still end up as color-accurate as before?
Not really. It's a question that shouldn't have been asked as the answer is plainly obvious. There is no universe in which a MacBook in 2024 would lose its display calibration when someone blows away the OS. Thread should never have been made in the first place.
Moderator Note:
Looks like OP's question has been answered. Thread closed.
Looks like OP's question has been answered. Thread closed.
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