ISF Calibration Worth The Money?

[EQ3282]

I've noticed a couple of threads about this topic, and was wondering myself.

It seems that the argument for the pro calibration is getting the best possible picture out of whichever set you purchase. Kind of like purchasing a house and renovating the kitchen for ideal usage.

The main argument against has been is it worth it to spend between 10% to 50% of the purchase price of a set to have it calibrated when a "by your eyes" adjustment or purchasing a calibration disc can produce an acceptable/good picture. This side of the argument can be summed up as buying a brand new car, but having to put thousands of dollars into it for it to drive with optimal performance.

Have at it folks, but keep it clean and civil.

[FlipperWasIrish]

Not again, as you said, there are already threads on this issue. Just read them.

[kareface]

If you're getting a TV that costs more then 1000$ then it should be done w/o question. I'd take a TV a few hundred dollars cheaper that was calibrated over an uncalibrated one that cost a few hundred more.

[ryan4blu]

1000% yes.

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by kareface

If you're getting a TV that costs more then 1000$ then it should be done w/o question

I kind of agree...but...

Some TV's do not have the necessary adjustments in the service menu to be very beneficial via professional calibration. In which case it would almost be a waste of money.

[Johnny Vinyl]

This whole calibration thing is kind of ridiculous in one sense. I mean, not until Hi-Def TV's came on the market did anyone ever have to spend money on a calibration...whether that be with a disc or through the service menu. You bought a TV, plugged it in, connected your cable and your audio and wham....A PICTURE! My Sony was the same as your Sony!

Now, all of a sudden, we have to spend additonal funds on calibrating our TV's...why? I'll tell you this, I won't be spending $300 on a Pro-Cal for a TV I spent $1,000 of my hard earned money. It should be ready to connect like my old CRT!

John

PS~ I know the technologies are different...I'm just saying....why does it need to be.

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by John72953

not until Hi-Def TV's came on the market did anyone ever have to spend money on a calibration...whether that be with a disc or through the service menu. You bought a TV, plugged it in, connected your cable and your audio and wham....A PICTURE! My Sony was the same as your Sony!

Your old CRT still had picture adjustment settings! But it did not have access to motherboards and microchips etc that allowed for a more precise user adjustment.

Sure, we all loved anything and everything on TV...heck even VHS was acceptable at one point in time.

...But as you said, technology is different and the option to tweak is simply a benefit.


You can:

A. choose to enjoy what you have, care not for calibration.

B. tweak your TV a little bit more for the pure satisfaction of knowing you can!



In the end its all personal preference.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

Your old CRT still had picture adjustment settings! But it did not have access to motherboards and microchips etc that allowed for a more precise user adjustment.

Sure, we all loved anything and everything on TV...heck even VHS was acceptable at one point in time.

...But as you said, technology is different and the option to tweak is simply a benefit.


You can:

A. choose to enjoy what you have, care not for calibration.

B. tweak your TV a little bit more for the pure satisfaction of knowing you can!



In the end its all personal preference.

It did indeed have picture settings and I used them to set my preference surely. I did the same with my Plasma. I bought the DVE HD Basics disc and set it to where I thought it looked good.

But I think you know what my point was. We really shouldn't have to be spending all of this extra money on calibration.

In fairness though...if I had the money to blow I would certainly love to get a Pro-Cal done....but I don't.

John

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by John72953

We really shouldn't have to be spending all of this extra money on calibration.

That's the beauty of it...YOU DON'T!

(who has a gun to your head??? )

In fairness though...if I had the money to blow I would certainly love to get a Pro-Cal done.

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by John72953

This whole calibration thing is kind of ridiculous in one sense. I mean, not until Hi-Def TV's came on the market did anyone ever have to spend money on a calibration...whether that be with a disc or through the service menu. You bought a TV, plugged it in, connected your cable and your audio and wham....A PICTURE! My Sony was the same as your Sony!

Now, all of a sudden, we have to spend additonal funds on calibrating our TV's...why? I'll tell you this, I won't be spending $300 on a Pro-Cal for a TV I spent $1,000 of my hard earned money. It should be ready to connect like my old CRT!

John

PS~ I know the technologies are different...I'm just saying....why does it need to be.

I kinda agree with you john . I personally would not pay to have it done . I bought A calibration disc 20 Bucks , And was able to achieve A wonderful picture from the disc .

Sure I spent 3,000 dollars on my TV , But that Just does not mean that I should do it because it cost so much .

20 bucks is way better than several hundred bucks .

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

That's the beauty of it...YOU DON'T!

(who has a gun to your head??? )

That's an interesting point you make. After I calibrated my TV according to the DVE HD Basics instructions, I noticed little difference from how it looked out of the box (other than a contrast, brightness tweak for my room).

Are you saying calibration is over-emphasized? You obviously know a lot more about this than I do, so please....what's your take on the issue?

John

[jibucha]

Hello

All televisions should be calibrated; no exceptions!

Certainly many do not care about having their picture quality representative of what the product really is; confusing, as I wonder why purchase and view at all?

If you never clean your windows, car or home, then you probably would not have your television operating as it should be expected. Otherwise, why would you not have it performing as it should be intended?

Does anyone watch television with colored sunglasses; it would seem that they typically do, as without proper color adjustment?

Calibration, regardless perception and cost, is really a basic proper adjustment to video standards, and always should have been available since the early days of television in the 1950's. Unfortunately, until laserdiscs became available, we as consumers were never informed of this simple adjustment set for reasonable performance.

Would you ever own an automobile and not change the engine oil and filter, and have an engine tune up? I think not!

Thank You

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by John72953

Are you saying calibration is over-emphasized? You obviously know a lot more about this than I do, so please....what's your take on the issue?

First, Id just like to point out Ive never had a pro-calibration done to any of my TV's. I have always used the DVE disc, and I'm content with that.

But that is not to say a professional calibration does not provide any benefit, because in all honesty it does.

But the way I look at it is like this:

1. Some TV's would benefit more than others...if out of the box the color decoding is way out of whack, a good pro calibration could fix this (as well as possibly using a disc). But nothing worse than watching golf on a neon green course and Tiger Woods' skin color rosy pink! (of course that's my opinion, some people might like neon green. )


2. Some TV's do not offer access to necessary adjustment options that would warrant paying money for someone to adjust. It's not worth $400 for someone to come over and only raise/lower the contrast level and brightness!

But if they could get full control over Gamma, Gray scale, ISF Day/Night modes etc...$400 might be worth it to some folks.


3. You have to ask yourself...cost vs. benefit?

Some people can afford to spend that kind of money, some people would rather buy groceries. Some people see it as a good investment, some do not.

Some people would like to squeeze that extra bit of accuracy if they can, others could care less.


4. Paying someone does not necessarily mean they will do a good job! You should hire someone with experience and hopefully good customer feedback. The guy at Bestbuy might be ISF certified, but that doesn't mean he knows' what he is doing!




In the end, whether its worth the money or not is different for each individual. It's all personal preference/choice...

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

First, Id just like to point out Ive never had a pro-calibration done to any of my TV's. I have always used the DVE disc, and I'm content with that.

But that is not to say a professional calibration does not provide any benefit, because in all honesty it does.

But the way I look at it is like this:

1. Some TV's would benefit more than others...if out of the box the color decoding is way out of whack, a good pro calibration could fix this (as well as possibly using a disc). But nothing worse than watching golf on a neon green course and Tiger Woods' skin color rosy pink! (of course that's my opinion, some people might like neon green. )

2. Some TV's do not offer access to necessary adjustment options that would warrant paying money for someone to adjust. It's not worth $400 for someone to come over and only raise/lower the contrast level and brightness!

But if they could get full control over Gamma, Gray scale, ISF Day/Night modes etc...$400 might be worth it to some folks.

3. You have to ask yourself...cost vs. benefit?

Some people can afford to spend that kind of money, some people would rather buy groceries. Some people see it as a good investment, some do not.

4. Paying someone does not necessarily mean they will do a good job! You should hire someone with experience and hopefully good customer feedback. The guy at Bestbuy might be ISF certified, but that doesn't mean he knows' what he is doing!




In the end, whether its worth the money or not is different for each individual. It's all personal preference/choice...

Thank you for that.

I have to say this though...I am much more inclined to pay attention to the audio side of my Blu-ray experience than the video side. That may sound somewhat sacreligeous, but it's the truth. I usually calibrate my Panny about every 3 months or whenever I see something that strikes me as odd. I wonder at times if that is only the movie or the actual calibration of my set.

John

[42041]

Unless you're doing color-critical work, close enough is good enough.

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by 42041

close enough is good enough.

...only in a game of horse shoes and hand grenades!


sorry couldn't help it.

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

...only in a game of horse shoes and hand grenades!


sorry couldn't help it.

[42041]

Originally Posted by John72953

This whole calibration thing is kind of ridiculous in one sense. I mean, not until Hi-Def TV's came on the market did anyone ever have to spend money on a calibration...whether that be with a disc or through the service menu. You bought a TV, plugged it in, connected your cable and your audio and wham....A PICTURE! My Sony was the same as your Sony!

Now, all of a sudden, we have to spend additonal funds on calibrating our TV's...why? I'll tell you this, I won't be spending $300 on a Pro-Cal for a TV I spent $1,000 of my hard earned money. It should be ready to connect like my old CRT!

John

PS~ I know the technologies are different...I'm just saying....why does it need to be.

With digital signal processing, it becomes a lot easier for bad engineers (and consumer electronics is ridden with terrible engineering) to muck up the picture with various "enhancements" and plain stupidity. You don't need to be a calibrator to turn all that crap off though, but you do need a calibrator with expensive instruments if you need a reference picture... IE, you work in photography or film post-production.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by 42041

With digital signal processing, it becomes a lot easier for bad engineers (and consumer electronics is ridden with terrible engineering) to muck up the picture with various "enhancements" and plain stupidity. You don't need to be a calibrator to turn all that crap off though, but you do need a calibrator with expensive instruments if you need a reference picture... IE, you work in photography or film post-production.

Naw...I'm just a regular guy that wants a good picture!

John

[ryan4blu]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

First, Id just like to point out Ive never had a pro-calibration done to any of my TV's. I have always used the DVE disc, and I'm content with that.

But that is not to say a professional calibration does not provide any benefit, because in all honesty it does.

But the way I look at it is like this:

1. Some TV's would benefit more than others...if out of the box the color decoding is way out of whack, a good pro calibration could fix this (as well as possibly using a disc). But nothing worse than watching golf on a neon green course and Tiger Woods' skin color rosy pink! (of course that's my opinion, some people might like neon green. )


2. Some TV's do not offer access to necessary adjustment options that would warrant paying money for someone to adjust. It's not worth $400 for someone to come over and only raise/lower the contrast level and brightness!

But if they could get full control over Gamma, Gray scale, ISF Day/Night modes etc...$400 might be worth it to some folks.


3. You have to ask yourself...cost vs. benefit?

Some people can afford to spend that kind of money, some people would rather buy groceries. Some people see it as a good investment, some do not.

Some people would like to squeeze that extra bit of accuracy if they can, others could care less.


4. Paying someone does not necessarily mean they will do a good job! You should hire someone with experience and hopefully good customer feedback. The guy at Bestbuy might be ISF certified, but that doesn't mean he knows' what he is doing!




In the end, whether its worth the money or not is different for each individual. It's all personal preference/choice...

yup and thats why i had the best in my area do my plasma.

http://perfecthometheater.com/perfec...ater/index.htm

this guy is amazing and he was at my house for 6 1/2 hours. he did everything to my plasma and all the levels came within a 1/2 percent to being perfect his name is zygmunt, guy is incredible with knowledge and what he does. my plasma is absolutely amazing looking!! best $400 i spent!!