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Topic: HDTV Calibration

Jennifer Pan
THE JEN!

Posts: 1219
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 10-12-2008 01:50 AM

Anyone here familiar with HDTV Calibration, possibly even certified by ISF or THX?

Also has anyone gone through the THX optimizer?

Good to know that lowering the backlight prolongs the life of it.

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Mark Ogden
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 943
From: Little Falls, N.J.
Registered: Jun 99

posted 10-12-2008 10:10 AM

The THX optimizers found on many DVDs are a good start towards basic contrast/brightness/hue/color calibration, which is all most sets need. I personally recommend and often lend out the 10th anniversary DVD of Toy Story 2. Not only does it have the THX set-up, the film itself great for making subjective judgments after you have run the optimizer, it is quite flatly “lit”, and the various characters all have been designed with very good flesh tone.

If you want to take things a step further, seek out the Joe Kane “Video Essentials” DVDs, now available in blu-ray. There are more comprehensive test signals here, along with some narrated instructions. Some of the things you will find, however (zone-plate patterns, modulated ramps, etc.) can be complicated to interpret and are not clearly explained. There are very good subjective tests on the discs as well, video and audio.

When using either of these discs, it will pay to have a blue filter handy for the color and hue tests. The Kane discs come with cheap ones, stopping by a photo store and picking up an inexpensive Kodak 80 B or C filter will make the job easier.

Please, in the name of God, do NOT throw away your money by having an ISF chucklehead come to you house to “calibrate” your set. The whole thing is a load of consumer-high-end-make-them-paranoid-and-get-their-money hooey, and after they are finished dicking around and you tell them that you liked it better before they started, they look at you like you just shot the Easter Bunny.

Finally, check out AVS Forums. They have a wealth of tweaking information posted there; many threads are specific to individual model sets.

[ 10-12-2008, 11:20 AM: Message edited by: Mark Ogden ]

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David Stambaugh
Film God

Posts: 4021
From: Eugene, Oregon
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 10-12-2008 10:24 PM

quote: Mark Ogden
Finally, check out AVS Forums. They have a wealth of tweaking information posted there; many threads are specific to individual model sets.

While that's true, a lot of the information posted there is useless. Look up the threads on the Samsung 650 series LCD and try to find what you're looking for, let alone sort out the good info from the worthless. There is much silliness there with price talk being forbidden so people refer to amazon.com as "Big River". "I ordered my Sammy from Big River and when they delivered it there was no sticker on the bezel like the one at Circuit City so I refused delivery on it! The 2nd TV had the sticker, but when I turn the backlight on 10 and look at a completely black screen, in a darkened room, I can see a flashlight in the corner, so I'm returning this one too! Plus if I stand way off to the side the image has purple haze!" Way too much stuff like that. Some of those threads have hundreds of pages and thousands of posts, but very little helpful information.

I'm not convinced that an ISF calibration is really necessary. The tools are readily available for buyers of these TVs to do a pretty good job setting them up.

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 10-12-2008 11:40 PM

Price talk forbidden at AVS Forums? When did this happen? I recently asked something like "Will Best Buy allow me to walk in and pay cash for this expensive receiver without me buying a warranty?" I asked since usually many stores would rather lose a sale than a warranty. If I was not confident enough in the product I was buying that I felt I needed a warranty, I'd probably look into another brand. Anyway, I got immediate replies saying that they purchased the unit from Best Buy/Magnolia without the warranty and didn't receive any guff from the anuscakes who work there.

My Sony 34XBR960 definitely needs some kind of professional calibration because each input and resolution is different with weird artifacts. It's not something that the standard color/brightness controls can fix. Even the service menu can't fix it without screwing up the other resolutions. But I've basically said "fuk it lolz" and will just get a new TV and sell this one to a homeless person.

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David Stambaugh
Film God

Posts: 4021
From: Eugene, Oregon
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 10-13-2008 09:51 AM

quote:
LCD Flat Panel Displays (347 Viewing)
This area is ONLY for the chat on LCD Flat Panel displays. It is to be used to chat about the display type and not to use to attack it as compared to other displays. LCD CHAT ONLY. NO PRICE TALK/NO RETAIL LINKS PLEASE.

Once in a while a moderator will delete a series of price-discussion posts but the rule seems to be largely ignored.

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 10-13-2008 09:54 AM

I guess that applies in only that particular section.

Also, it is a myth that LCDs don't have burn in. They most certainly do.

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Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 10-13-2008 01:17 PM

Most home sets are so far that simply doing the usual setup with SMPTE bars and then tweaking to make skin tones look right will yield a huge improvement in about five minutes.

Geometry issues are harder to fix and usually require either entering a service menu or opening up the set (not recommended unless you know what you are doing).

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Jennifer Pan
THE JEN!

Posts: 1219
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 10-13-2008 02:10 PM

The fact that Best Buy charges $300 to have the set calibrated by one of their Geek Squad people is ridiculous.

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Mark Ogden
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 943
From: Little Falls, N.J.
Registered: Jun 99

posted 10-13-2008 03:22 PM

quote: Scott Norwood
Geometry issues are harder to fix and usually require either entering a service menu or opening up the set (not recommended unless you know what you are doing).

There really aren't such things anymore, in plasma and LCD sets, except for a little bit of basic centering, if even that. Geometry issues went out with CRTs, and good riddance to them, too. I used to have the same set that Joe has, the Sony 34XBR960n CRT model. Made a lovely picture, IF you could ignore the nearly 10% vertical and horizontal overscan, the laughable flat-field response, the never-quite-perfect beam landing and the lack of a true horizontal un-bowed line anywhere away from the center of the raster. I fooled around for hours in the service menu with a Sencore TSG attached, but I never could get the 16:9 right without screwing up the 4:3, and vice versa. Finally, I got rid of it and got a Sony XBR5 LCD. I doesn't have quite as smooth a picture, but it IS geometrically perfect, absolutely zero overscan and perfect convergence (mostly 'cause there's nothing to converge anymore).

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David Stambaugh
Film God

Posts: 4021
From: Eugene, Oregon
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 10-13-2008 03:59 PM

quote: Mark Ogden
Geometry issues went out with CRTs, and good riddance to them

Amen to that. Also focus, blooming, and convergance issues. I have a circa 2001 Sony WEGA XBR 27" flat-tube that was capable of putting up a very good NTSC image, but perfect geometry and convergance were out of the question. I was able to eliminate the worst of the overscan in the service menus though.

LCDs (and plasma) have their own set of problems but they've really caught up with the best of CRTs.

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 10-13-2008 04:16 PM

Dave, you're right! Way back when I repaired TV's and the trinitron was new... about 1971 or so replacing a Trinitron CRT was a major job... You had basic convergence adjustments on the neck that got the center in good but then you had to actually glue small magnets to the funnel of the tube to get the corners converged. This extra magnetism always threw geometry way into left field. Later when I worked in broadcast and we had Tektronix monitors with Trinitron crts in them they had all the typical convergence adjustments that a tri-gun crt had and then some... including adjustments specifically for geometry. Thsoe were way cool monitors!!

When I was at Dolby last week they had on display outside the screening room a new LCD monitor that was capable of 20,000 to 1 contrast ratio! That was an amazing monitor but also carries an over 20K price tag!

Wow! The old and the new stuff is miles apart....

Mark

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 10-13-2008 04:18 PM

quote: Mark Gulbrandsen
When I was at Dolby last week

Now I feel really bad for Brad.

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 10-13-2008 05:17 PM

And where the heck were you?

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 10-13-2008 08:06 PM

Avoiding you. [Smile]

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 10-13-2008 08:32 PM

quote: Joe Redifer
My Sony 34XBR960 definitely needs some kind of professional calibration because each input and resolution is different with weird artifacts.

Geez, you'd think in this day and age with "plug and play" technology, you could buy a tee-vee set where you don't need to hire a technician to plug in the sumbitch. [Roll Eyes]

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