How to Calibrate Your HDTV...

[jkwest]

...according to MSN

A reader wants to avoid having to pay several hundred dollars to calibrate and optimize the image on his new HDTV. Tech expert Joel Johnson says you don't have to pay a professional to get great fidelity at home.

Q: I purchased a new HDTV, and the store I bought it from has offered to “calibrate” its picture for a few hundred dollars. Isn’t this something I can do myself?

A: Out of the box, most new TV sets are tuned to catch eyes from the showroom floor, not to accurately reproduce colors and images. Properly calibrating your TV by fixing the brightness, contrast, color and sharpness settings will give you a better picture, and, as a bonus, could also save electricity and extend the life of your set. Most TV retailers are more than willing to send over a trained technician to tackle the calibration conundrum — and why not? They often charge up to $500 for the service. But there’s no reason you shouldn’t save some money and do it yourself.

For the best results, we suggest buying a device that does most of the work for you. Products such as the $200 Datacolor Spyder3TV attach to your TV screen and take color readings that allow you to easily adjust the settings. And while buying a pricey product may not cost much less than hiring a technician, you can keep your new purchase around and use it repeatedly.

A cheaper way to tune your set is to pick up a calibration DVD. These typically walk you through the calibration process by using a series of clips that help you adjust each setting. (“Turn the contrast up until you just barely see the black tie floating over the black background.”) One I like is the THX Optimizer, which actually comes bundled for free on many THX-certified DVDs. (Hint: Most Pixar and Lucasfilm DVDs have it.) However, to use it, you’ll need a pair of THX’s special blue-filtered glasses ($2 plus shipping). The blue filters provide a known color tint, which will help you adjust the settings.

Of course, the cheapest way to tweak your TV is simply to eyeball it. Your efforts won’t produce a technically precise picture, but you should be able to dial in a pleasing image that suits your tastes. Start with brightness, then move on to contrast, color and, finally, sharpness, says Mark Schubin, a television engineering consultant. Tune the brightness to the lowest setting, then slowly move it up until the darkest points on the picture begin to brighten. Leave it at just below this point. For contrast, color and sharpness, begin at the midpoint. From there, raise the contrast as high as you can without making the blacks look milky, tune the color so skin tones look realistic and raise the sharpness until the picture begins to look artificial. And while your TV’s preset “Movie” or “Theater” modes may give you a well-balanced picture, avoid the ones labeled “Vivid” or “Sports” — they’ll make your movies look like cartoons.

One last point: There is no catchall configuration that works for every room or TV. In fact, the same TV could benefit from different settings at different times of day. Thankfully, most sets allow you to save several custom configurations, so unless your TV is in a pitch-black home theater, you should program in at least two settings — one for daytime and one for night.

Thought someone might find something useful in this article...

[crackinhedz]

yeah, lets not listen to MSN.

...especially the part about eyeballing it to dial it in.

[BigRedEE]

the article ends with "one for daytime and one for night." how would they differ? should the night time be brighter or dimmer? I would think with a darker room you wouldnt need the tv as bright...but could be wrong

I like the article though, thanks

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by BigRedEE

"one for daytime and one for night."

there are sets that allow for you to program a day and night mode. Like the Pioneer Elite's.

But for the average user with a Vizio, trying to calibrate for "day" and "night" would mean using two different modes, which would have completely different results unless it had been previously calibrated by a professional.

Again, not the best article to go by.

[JamesKurtovich]

I googled my calibration settings.. they make the PQ more "warm" and natural.

[jsteinhauer]

Originally Posted by BigRedEE

the article ends with "one for daytime and one for night." how would they differ? should the night time be brighter or dimmer? I would think with a darker room you wouldnt need the tv as bright...but could be wrong

I like the article though, thanks

For daytime, if your room is sunlit, you will want an overall brighter picture, but that doesn't mean turn your brightness up. It will probably be best to turn your backlight up, instead. However, you would still want to calibrate fully your day setting and your night setting.

What I have gathered from the always accurate internet is that for flat panel, direct view displays, it is generally accepted that 30-40fL of luminance at peak white is good for dimly lit rooms, such as one with a bias-lit display.

In a bright room you might be better off with 50-60fL.

For a gamma of 2.2, which is what most select, your luminance at 10% gray should be about 0.6-0.65% of that.

There is nothing wrong with that article.

[Twitch9]

I picked up Digital Video Essentials Blu-ray, the web site had it on for $14, half price. Works very well i use it on Home theatre installs i do, you can't always google the settings because lighting and room conditions come into play.

[thaajdogg]

Agreed use the Blu-Ray DVD Essentials, also able to purchase on this web site.


http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?id=551

[jsteinhauer]

DVE is useful, but it's not the end-all. It doesn't have primary and secondary color windows, and it doesn't have near-black and near-white grayscale windows. If Avia came in an HD version, I would prefer that. You can also download some free test patterns.

[Twitch9]

I agree that avia is better for calibration, but until blu-ray version is released DVE is the only one out that will do newer LCD or Plasma

[ControlCAL]

I recommend you stay away from the Spyder Series and consider the X-Rite Display 2 Series (LT, 2, Gamma 5)*..

ColorHCFR is available for Free and there is CalMAN ($200) which is used by many Professional Calibrators.

*For Plasmas, I recommend that you look at the X-Rite Chroma 5 and/or I1 Pro minimum.