01
MEASURE
A tristimulus meter and pattern generator establish exactly how the display is performing out of the box across greyscale, gamma and the full colour gamut.
ISF LEVEL I & II CERTIFIED CALIBRATOR
SEE THE FILM
AS IT WAS INTENDED.
Professional TV and projector calibration, home theatre audio tuning and commercial display calibration in Calgary and worldwide. Measured to industry reference standards using the same class of instruments used in mastering suites.
ISF LEVEL IISF LEVEL IISDRHDR10+DOLBY VISIONDOLBY ATMOSDTS:XSAMSUNGLGSONY5.1 / 7.1COMMERCIAL DISPLAYSISF LEVEL IISF LEVEL IISDRHDR10+DOLBY VISIONDOLBY ATMOSDTS:XSAMSUNGLGSONY5.1 / 7.1COMMERCIAL DISPLAYS
01 - DIRECTOR'S INTENT
Your TV doesn't know what
the director intended.
Your calibrator does.
Every film and television programme is graded on a reference display in a controlled room, to a defined standard. That is the image the director, the cinematographer and the colourist signed off on.
Consumer televisions do not ship in that state. Factory picture modes are built to win attention on a bright showroom floor, with boosted saturation, crushed shadow detail, shifted white balance and motion processing that rewrites the frame cadence the film was shot in.
Calibration measures what your display is actually doing and corrects it. Colour, greyscale, gamma, white level, black level, sharpness and motion are brought into alignment with the same standards the content was mastered against.
Accurate colour across the full gamut
Correct greyscale and white balance
Shadow and highlight detail preserved
Original film motion cadence restored
Calibration credentials
0+DISPLAYS CALIBRATED
I + IIISF CERTIFICATION LEVEL
0CALIBRATION PER DAY
0%MEASURED, NOT GUESSED
02 - THE METHOD
Four stages. One accurate image.
Calibration is a measurement discipline. Every adjustment is verified against instrument data, not against personal taste.
02
ANALYSE
Measurement data is plotted against the reference standard to identify where colour, white balance, gamma and luminance drift from target.
03
CALIBRATE
Service level and user level controls are adjusted through professional calibration software, including multi-point white balance and colour management.
04
VERIFY
The display is measured again and the corrected result is confirmed against target. You receive the before and after data.
03 - SERVICES
What Director's Intent Covers.
From a single television to a full home theatre to a commercial display estate.
01
Hollywood Standard TV Calibration
Full SDR, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision calibration. White balance, colour management, white level, black level, gamma, sharpness and film motion optimisation, taken to the director's intent.
DISCUSS
02
Projector Calibration
Screen matching, convergence, colour accuracy, contrast optimisation, lens alignment and full cinematic tuning for home theatre projectors.
DISCUSS
03
Surround Sound and Home Theatre Audio
Speaker placement, crossover setup, room EQ, dynamic range optimisation, dialogue clarity enhancement and full system balancing to match the original studio mix. 5.1, 7.1, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X.
DISCUSS
04
Home Theatre Setup and Optimisation
Device configuration, HDMI chain optimisation, streaming platform accuracy, gaming mode tuning, light networking and home theatre PC or Mac setup.
DISCUSS
05
Commercial Display Calibration
Menu boards, corporate signage, boardroom screens, offices, studios and retail environments. Accurate colour and correct detail visibility for food service, fashion, engineering, geology and oil and gas.
DISCUSS
06
Equipment and Buying Advice
Independent guidance on which televisions, projectors, receivers and speakers are worth your money, and which are not. Before you buy, not after.
DISCUSS
07
Travel Based Calibration
Calibration for televisions, projectors and home theatres anywhere in the world, where transit and accommodation are covered. Keith travels.
DISCUSSBook a service.
Pick the service, send the details, and Keith confirms a time. One calibration per day, so dates fill in advance.
NOT SURE WHICH?
Tell Keith what you have.
Describe the room, the display and what you watch on it. He will recommend the service that actually fits, or tell you if you do not need one.
Start the conversation04 - ACCURACY
A better picture is not always a more accurate picture.
Turning saturation up makes an image louder. It does not make it correct. The goal is a screen that reproduces the mastered image as closely as the panel physically allows.
MEASURED DELTA-E0.8
Instrument data, service level controls and verification. Reference accuracy for your specific display.
05 - WHAT GETS MEASURED
Nine parameters. Every one of them verified.
Nothing on this list is adjusted by eye.
Colour Accuracy
White Balance
Black Level
Gamma
Contrast
Motion
HDR Luminance
Dolby Vision
Colour Management
06 - ENVIRONMENTS
Two rooms. One standard.
HOME CINEMA
For people who care about how a film actually looks and sounds in their own room. Televisions, projectors, surround systems and the full signal chain behind them.
- Televisions
- Projectors
- 5.1 / 7.1
- Dolby Atmos
- DTS:X
- Streaming
- Gaming
COMMERCIAL
For businesses where colour fidelity is not decorative. Product has to read correctly on screen, and it has to read the same on every screen.
- Menu Boards
- Corporate Signage
- Boardrooms
- Retail
- Studios
- Reference Displays
07 - PORTFOLIO / CALIBRATION
The work behind the image.
Calibrated screens do not photograph honestly. These are the instruments, the patterns and the environments the work actually happens in.
TRISTIMULUS METER
GREYSCALE RAMP
WAVEFORM READOUT
DRIVER ALIGNMENT
LENS ELEMENT
SIGNAL CHAIN
Every screen is different.
Every calibration is measured.
One service per day. However long the display takes.
08 - PRICING
Transparent, flat rate pricing.
All prices in USD. Quoted per service, not per hour, so the clock is never the thing deciding when the work is finished.
01MOST BOOKED
TV Calibration
$399ALLOW 2 HOURS MINIMUM
Full SDR calibration using professional meters, pattern generators and calibration software. Greyscale, gamma, colour management, white and black level, sharpness and motion.
- Pre and post measurement data
- SDR, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision
- All picture modes documented
02
Projector Calibration
$499ALLOW 3 HOURS MINIMUM
Comprehensive SDR calibration for home theatre projectors, including colour balance, gamma, white level tuning, screen matching and lens alignment.
- Screen and lens alignment
- Colour balance and gamma
- Room light assessment
03
3D Mode Calibration
+$399ADD ON, ALLOW 2 TO 3 HOURS
3D modes require a complete separate calibration pass. Added to a TV or projector calibration booking.
- Separate full calibration pass
- Added to an existing booking
- Per-eye colour matching
04
Audio Setup and Room Tuning
$249ALLOW 2 HOURS MINIMUM
Speaker placement, receiver configuration, crossover setup, room EQ and acoustic optimisation for 5.1, 7.1 or Dolby Atmos systems.
- Speaker placement and crossovers
- Room EQ and level matching
- Dialogue clarity tuning
05
Commercial Display Calibration
$499ALLOW 3 HOURS MINIMUM
Colour accurate tuning for menu boards, corporate signage and boardroom displays. True to life colour and clarity under high ambient light.
- Multi-screen colour matching
- High ambient light tuning
- Per-site measurement report
06
Consultation and Equipment Advice
$99 / hourBOOKED BY THE HOUR
Independent guidance on display selection, audio equipment and home theatre planning, before you spend the money.
- Independent, nothing to sell
- Display and audio shortlists
- Room and budget planning
Why this costs more than a two hour appointment.
A calibration priced by the job instead of the slot can take the time the display actually needs. Measurement, adjustment and verification are repeated until the numbers land, and the schedule is built around one service per day so nothing is cut short.
- Time
- Precision
- Professional instruments
- Experience across 3,000+ displays
09 - THE DIFFERENCE
Not a quick tune up.
Keith takes one service per day. That is a deliberate constraint, not a limitation of capacity. It means the display in front of him is the only display that matters that day, and the work finishes when the measurements say it is finished.
Every adjustment is made with professional grade meters, pattern generators and calibration software, the same lineage of equipment used to master the content you are watching.
And it is one to one. Ask as many questions as you like, before, during and afterwards. Keith never tires of talking about the art of film.
THE DESK. CALGARY, AB.
10 - ABOUT KEITH
Keith McRae.
ISF LEVEL I & II CALIBRATOR / 3,000+ DISPLAYS
Born and raised in the Highlands of Scotland and now based in Calgary, Keith has loved film and television for as long as he can remember. As a teenager it was the camera angles, the lighting, the scores, the colour and the photography. He would sit in front of his parents' television, fiddle with it, and think there had to be a way to make this look better.
That curiosity turned into an interest in television engineering, then a qualification as a Hollywood standard calibrator, then years at a boutique AV company. More than 3,000 displays later, the reason has not changed. When a television or projector is tuned to true reference, the result is mesmerising, and watching a client see their favourite film look organic and lifelike for the first time never gets old.
Film is an art form, alongside literature, painting, sculpture and music. It deserves to be experienced accurately. Keith is the person who makes that possible, and he will travel anywhere in the world to do it.
HIGHLANDS OF SCOTLANDBASED IN CALGARYISF LEVEL I & IIWILL TRAVEL WORLDWIDE
Calibration is part science.
Part art.
Part puzzle.
Every display is different. Professional calibration needs measurement and standards, and it also needs experience, visual judgement, a knowledge of film and an understanding of how an image is supposed to feel. Solving that puzzle is the part Keith enjoys most.
A SEPARATE PRACTICE
11 - VIDEOGRAPHY
The other side of the lens.
Keith shoots cinematic 4K event videography at charity galas, runway shows and red carpet events in Hollywood, Las Vegas, Miami, San Francisco and Houston. It started as filming runway shows for the enjoyment of it and posting clips, and it turned into models and fashion brands asking for the original footage. This is a creative practice, not part of the calibration service.
Follow the creative side.
The grid is shot and colour graded the same way the calibration work is measured.
12 - CLIENT FEEDBACK
What clients say.
PLACEHOLDER FEEDBACK. TO BE REPLACED WITH VERIFIED CLIENT TESTIMONIALS.
13 - FAQ
Questions, answered.
If your question is not here, ask it directly.
It is the process of measuring how a display actually reproduces colour, greyscale, brightness and contrast, then adjusting its internal controls until it matches the professional standard the content was mastered to.
Because out of the box it is showing you an interpretation, not the image. Factory modes boost saturation, shift white balance, crush shadow detail and add motion processing. Calibration removes the guesswork and shows you the graded image.
The Imaging Science Foundation trains and certifies calibrators against the same imaging standards used across the film and television industry. Level I and Level II cover display theory, measurement practice and advanced calibration workflows.
A television calibration needs at least two hours, a projector at least three. Keith books one service per day, so the work takes the time the specific display requires rather than the time a schedule allows.
Yes. HDR10+ calibration is included in the television service alongside SDR, covering EOTF tracking, colour volume and peak luminance behaviour.
Yes, on displays that expose the necessary controls. Dolby Vision calibration is part of the television service.
Yes. Projector calibration covers colour balance, gamma, white level, contrast optimisation, convergence, screen matching and lens alignment.
Yes. Audio setup covers 5.1, 7.1, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, including speaker placement, crossover configuration, room EQ, dynamic range and dialogue clarity, balanced to the original studio mix.
Yes, anywhere in the world, provided transit and accommodation are covered. Local work is based in Calgary.
Yes. Menu boards, corporate signage, boardroom screens, retail displays and studio monitors, including environments with high ambient light.
All major display manufacturers, including Samsung, LG and Sony. Keith has worked across more than 3,000 displays.
Time and measurement. A retail appointment is a fixed slot with a quota behind it. A professional calibration is priced per job, uses mastering grade instruments and software, and is verified with data before it is called finished.
Yes. Consultation and equipment advice is a standalone service, covering displays, projectors, receivers, speakers and full home theatre planning. Independent, with nothing to sell you.
14 - BOOK
See what the director
wanted you to see.
Professional calibration for televisions, projectors, home theatres and commercial displays. In Calgary, and anywhere worth travelling to.
15 - CONTACT
Start the conversation.
Tell Keith what you are working with, the room it lives in, and what you want out of it. He will come back with a recommendation and a time.
PHONE403-589-4737
INSTAGRAM@keithmcrae_
SERVICE AREA
Calgary and area. Travel based calibration available worldwide.