Picture mode question

[slapdash_monkey]

Is it best to set the picture mode on your tv on "Dynamic", "Standard" or "Movie"???

[GGX]

There's more to calibrating a set than just choosing a picture mode.

[Deciazulado]

I would calibrate using "Standard" if "standard" means no alteration on your TV.

[Xen]

Using a Samsung? Standard means no change, Dynamic oversaturates, and movie over contrasts. Use standard.

[neos_peace]

First ask your self do you watch more tv or Movies, once you figure that out go through the different adjustments and se which one loks better to you.

[benricci]

Do yourself a favor - get your HD set professionally calibrated, it's well worth it. Or use a calibration disc if you want to do some of the basic adjustments yourself. The presets from the manufacturer usually make the picture look like crap.

[richieb1971]

Of all the HD TV's I've owned i've never once needed to calibrate anything. Apart from tweaking the contrast, sharpness and brightness I would say my picture is perfect. Or perfectly acceptable, or perfectly HD or whatever. Being LCD its never black black, but thats acceptable.

Unless your TV is in 100% darkness all of the time I don't see how this calibration stuff is supposed to work. Since lighting effects what you see as well as the technology in the box.

When I see peoples screenshots of noise and blur and what not, it cracks me up. Obviously someone bought the cheapest TV and expected miracles.

I don't like the idea that calibrating a TV sets it to one godly standard, because as many know, you may not like that setting. If one setting was all that was needed, i'm sure the TV's would look that way right out of the box.

People don't buy cars with square wheels then get them calibrated to round ones afterwards. Thats just silly.

[benricci]

Originally Posted by richieb1971

People don't buy cars with square wheels then get them calibrated to round ones afterwards. Thats just silly.

No, but cars need maintenance and tune ups to get them in ideal running condition. There are many calibration settings that are not available in the user menus, one of the biggest being overscan. There are also a number of more advanced color settings that are usually more precisely handled by a trained technician.

I'm not saying that you can't adjust some of the settings on your TV and get stunning results, but you may be surprised at how much better the quality is when you give your TV a "tune-up".

[plowmanjoe]

tv's don't look right out of the box because they sell better on the show room floor with the crazy settings. but if you want an accurate reproduction, you need to calibrate your tv.

[richieb1971]

My last TV had bland settings out of the box. All I did was added a bit of vibrancy. Are you suggesting sales people set these TV's by just switching them on as they come out of the box

I don't calibrate my laptop screen either and that looks amazing as well. You guys must have eye's that can see in 4 dimensions or something.

Seriously, on a scale of bad-good-very good- excellent. Most TV's can reach very good right out of the box with just a few notches moved on the settings.

The calibrators are out there to make it 110% spot on, but honestly, thats the difference between the 364th shade of blue and the 350th shade of blue. Unless your anal retentive it makes no difference in the real world. Especially when people are watching AVI's as an acceptable source on the same TV that look like shite.

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by richieb1971

My last TV had bland settings out of the box. All I did was added a bit of vibrancy. Are you suggesting sales people set these TV's by just switching them on as they come out of the box

I don't calibrate my laptop screen either and that looks amazing as well. You guys must have eye's that can see in 4 dimensions or something.

Seriously, on a scale of bad-good-very good- excellent. Most TV's can reach very good right out of the box with just a few notches moved on the settings.

The calibrators are out there to make it 110% spot on, but honestly, thats the difference between the 364th shade of blue and the 350th shade of blue. Unless your anal retentive it makes no difference in the real world. Especially when people are watching AVI's as an acceptable source on the same TV that look like shite.

I'm glad that you don't have to calibrate your set to make you happy- however, many of us do. Many sets are not set up differently for multiple inputs out of the box, and they aren't set up specifically for what you're feeding it- HDMI high-def, composite video/dvd, etc.

Sharpness, contrast and other "smoothing" settings are often beefed up to make images pop and dvd's and standard def material look good. However, that makes a mockery out of blu-ray. Also coming into the equation is your sitting area/the lighting and other factors. Seriously, if you can't see the difference, why are you even messing with HD to begin with?

[mdm1699]

Originally Posted by benricci

Do yourself a favor - get your HD set professionally calibrated, it's well worth it. Or use a calibration disc if you want to do some of the basic adjustments yourself. The presets from the manufacturer usually make the picture look like crap.

Calibration is a waste of money, unless you are calibrating for each source and different viewing conditions.

[benricci]

Originally Posted by mdm1699

Calibration is a waste of money, unless you are calibrating for each source and different viewing conditions.

We'll just agree to disagree. I don't see much sense in spending a large amount of money on an HD set, and then not bothering to invest a small amount more to make sure it's set up properly.

The difference is worth it to me, and I suppose that's all that matters. Like I mentioned earlier, if you're not down with paying an ISF tech, at least spend the $20 on a calibration disc and do the basics yourself. At the very least, you'll have a point of reference for for what different settings should look like, so you're not just eyeballing it.

I mean, come on. There are even used copies for a paltry $15. I see no excuse not to do at least that much.
http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Video-...2709844&sr=1-1

[richieb1971]

I use my PS3 for everything, so there is no composite, svideo, component or anything like that. Just one setting for HDMI and I watch TV obviously but I don't really care for calibrating for that.

My TV caters for input calibrating but to be honest the only one that needed tweaking was the VGA port. Again, it looks similar if not the same as my laptop screen just bigger.

I do have the help of a TV wizard though that runs his own forum and reviews the odd TV for www.hdtvtest.co.uk though. However, after using his calibrated settings I still found myself making a slight tweak here and there.


Again, a fully calibrated TV is like making a F1 car go fast round a race track. But as soon as you started putting bumps in the road you need a 4x4 SUV. And then it rains and you need to change tires sometimes. One setting is never going to be perfect for a TV. The only thing your doing with a calibration disc is making it look perfect for the calibration disc. Its like I.Q tests, the only thing they are good for is to see if your good at I.Q tests. I can't really say more than that really. Its the same with monster cables, if you really feel your getting $100 worth of quality out of it then fair enough, but its not necessary for 99.9% of people. Getting 90% of the best is sometimes adequate enough.

The people posting pictures with terrible grain and noise have faulty TV's. Either by input, or cable or something. There is no calibration disc that is going to get rid of some of those results we have been seeing. Thats like putting a band aid on a broken leg.