Images unexplainably changed

[Giampy]

I have hundreds of photos downloaded from Internet. I have perfectly fine-tuned those photos with regard to brightness, contrast, colours etc... I look at them by the viewer of Windows Xp.
Few weeks ago some of those photos, and some of them only, suddenly appeared slightly red. I perfectly remember to have fine-tuned them too.
Such thing, really unexplainable, has thrown me in a deep uneasiness and uncertainty.
I am sure my question is hopeless: can you explain what has happened?

[fenixproductions]

Does your software save embedded color profiles?
It can to may lead to many issues in various applications (i.e. Firefox or others).

And more:
http://regex.info/blog/2012-03-27/1964

[IainB]

Check your video display settings.
When this happened to me, it was because I had put everything onto a new laptop, and then, noticing that the very nice display screen was too bright for my eyes, started frigging with the video display controls. This included the brightness, contrast, colour and gamma settings. I got the display to a state that seemed to suit my eyes/perception, and then noticed that images I had in my Picasa database and that I had previously tuned to perfection on my old laptop+display did not look quite right now on the new and adjusted display! (Not surprising really when I thought about it.)

RULE:
What you see on your display is what you perceive from the display after the computer graphics have translated the image for you according to video display settings. If the display or its settings have been changed somehow, then the same images that appeared fine before may well look different/odd now.

I reconciled the variability in my case with the fact that any published images had been adjusted in good faith and that it was too tedious to go back and readjust everything.
Belts and braces recommended: I could always go back to the originals in Picasa if I wanted, as I rarely delete or overwrite important image originals.

[barney]

A problem encountered in the past.  Spent many hours [supposedly] fine-tuning images 'til they looked just right (for a Website).  Then I saw them on someone else's machine and they were kinda shabby.  After that, saw them on someone's Mac, and they were putrid/horrid/unpretty.  (See sidebar:  I didn't learn.)  The absolute best you can do is tune them for your particular system and ignore, if possible, how they'll look elsewhere.  My rule has become:  don't mess with 'em ... not worth the effort.

Sidebar
I also did the same thing for a somewhat important corporate meeting.  The projector made a total hash of all my efforts, even rendering some of the images incomprehensibly.  I did not get a gold star for that presentation  .

[Shades]

Seems like a screen calibration is necessary. Maybe you use a different color profile on your monitor. Or a different color profile from the driver software from your video card.

[tomos]

I think the question is:
what changed?

I'm presuming you would have told us about new hardware. Could it simply be monitor aging, or does that fact only some files changed rule that out?

[Giampy]

what changed?

That's just the point: in my PC and monitor nothing is changed.

Any Internet page, any program, any photo, the desktop, and so on... everything is fine for years. Some weeks ago instead, those few photos have spontaneously got that slightly red veil. No reason.

I have realized that veil is not permanent. If I open/close the viewer more times, if I jump among the photos, that veil sometimes disappears and the next time it may appear again.

[Shades]

With the last description you might entertain the possibility that you experience the first signs of a "dying" monitor.

[Giampy]

My monitor is perfect. No doubt. Those few photos instead still show their variable behaviour without a known reason.
I feel the reason is a software matter. I suspect the viewer of XP ("rundll32.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\shimgvw.dll,ImageView_Fullscreen %1") is conditional on something... but I don't still understand what.

In the meantime, since 29 August, have you got some idea?

[barney]

Did at one (1) time have a CRT monitor that utilized channels (whatever that meant  ).  I'd get varying image output depending upon what else was happening - graphically, I presume, but don't know that for certain.  The monitor in question - do not recall the brand, damn it - required special/specific drivers, beyond the standard fare.  Could this be a driver conflict issue?  Don't have a clue how you'd hunt it down, though, other than trial and error.  (Note that the drivers in question were self-updating ... one of the reasons I ditched that particular monitor ... I want more control than that  .)

[Giampy]

I apologize if I bore you with personal matters. I hope my troubles may be useful/interesting for someone else too (but I don't believe it).

Could this be a driver conflict issue?  Don't have a clue how you'd hunt it down, though, other than trial and error

There is a little new: yesterday I have seen those images just while they were changing colour.

I look at an image. It's normal. If I open other windows (for example I start 7Zip, Explorer, the window of the properties of the files etc...), within some seconds the image slowly becomes reddish. If I close those new windows, within some seconds the image slowly returns to normality.

[barney]

There is a little new: yesterday I have seen those images just while they were changing colour.

I look at an image. It's normal. If I open other windows (for example I start 7Zip, Explorer, the window of the properties of the files etc...), within some seconds the image slowly becomes reddish. If I close those new windows, within some seconds the image slowly returns to normality.

That sounds like a power/GPU issue.  Is that box on a UPS?  Reason I ask is that a couple of years back something somewhat similar where I live.  LCDs are not quite so sensitive to power fluctuations as CRTs were, but I'd see ... differences? ... nothing I could specifically identify, much less describe, but the screens changed.  Turned out to be power line fluctuations.  I got some small TrippLite UPS units.  Not much bigger than a lot of surge protectors, but they smoothed the power situation to the extent that I no longer see - or maybe just not notice? - any visible changes.

Might be worth checking out.  Borrow a recording watt meter, then see if you're getting variances.  And check that your outlet voltage is what it's supposed to be under load.  Hardware can be affected by brownout conditions in ways that are not readily obvious.