Is HDTV Calibration worth it?

[jsteinhauer]

Originally Posted by franklinpross

At the beginning of any CNET review of any TV they do a review on, they
say specifically that the recc. settings are subjective. This depends on room lighting, the source,personal preference . . . . actually what does that mean?

This is in some respects true. Your room determines pretty much determines what an appropriate peak luminance should be to avoid eyestrain. But it does not change what the color of gray should look like. The source and other equipment also change what the SETTINGS should be, but they don't change white, black and the colors. White and gray should not have blue or red tints to them, if you want them to be ACCURATE. If you like gray to look pink than it if perfectly okay to watch it that way. Just don't call it accurate.

Is that like saying a steak should be cooked only one way? Or all cars should be BLACK? Does it mean that just because somone went to college they are assumed to be
intelligent? . . .no . . . .of course not . . . .

We could argue about the steak. Not all cars should be black. A truly black car should be truly black, not blue-black and not gray, unless you want a blue-black or gray car, which is okay, but don't call it black. This, like the 120Hz concept, is difficult for many to understand. There is only one accurate picture. You can modify that picture to suit your preferences, but they are not accurate. You can play a round of golf with your buddies and give mulligans, and have a blast, but that is not playing by the rules. 49 + 50 is about one hundred, and in many applications, you can simply consider it 100, but that's not accurate either. Colors and grays are numbers. Only one set is correct.

imho, even though folks go out and buy calibration discs or use techs
to tune-up their TV sets . . . .does that mean that everybody else is NOT seeing the RED color they're supposed to? Or that the SHARPNESS they are living with isn't what the maker of the set wanted them to see?

The maker of the set doesn't care how you watch your set. But a filmmaker sees his/her product on a standard display, and would probably like you to see it that way, though I'm sure some don't care, as long as you pay for it. Chances are, out of the box, the red, gray, black, white and sharpness are not accurate.

What I'm saying is that this mania of calling ISF or whatever - is silly.

This is in the face of everyone who desires to see an accurate rendition of a picture. Let's just agree that for some individuals, an accurate picture is important, and for others, it is not, and there is nothing wrong with that.

There is only one way to see an HDTV picture. And that is what the buyer likes looking at. It's America.

Agreed! There are 300 million ways to see a picture. BUT, there is only ONE accurate picture.

was there such clamour over black and white TV in the 50's. Not at all.
You plugged it in, made it brighter or darker, punched up the contrast
and lo and behold . . . . . . magic.

Don't make such a big deal out of this . . . .


OK . . . . . . ready . . . aim . . . FIRE . . . .

It's not a big deal, really. It bothers a lot of people, though, that some want to invest in calibration and it bothers a bunch of others that some don't. I don't care how you or my next door neighbor watch television or movies. But I myself am interested in getting the most accurate picture I can with the resources I choose to expend. People posting in this forum ask all the time whether calibration is worth it. If you read these threads, the vast majority of those who say it is have had it done, and the majority who say it is not worth it, have not had it done. That says a lot.

I for one admit that I have not had an ISF calibration done. I have spent many hours with a consumer level colorimeter, free software, my PC and my display and Blu-ray player, and I think I have achieved a result that would be hard for a pro to make a noticeable improvement on. Every time I watch a well done movie and I see true black, excellent shadow detail for a LCD display, and when I am not blinded during very bright scenes, I consider it time well spent.