Calibration Tales

[VinnAY]

Originally Posted by Blu-Dog

I've heard some astounding tales about how calibration of televisions is required to get the optimum picture. Prices of $300 to $400 are tossed around, along with impassioned claims about how the picture is so much better, etc.

This is usually followed up by earnest advice to call up some ISF cowboy, who will be coming soon to your area, just fixing up all the "crappy TV image" problems of new HDTV owners.

It is also interesting to note that this whole cacaphony is a recent event in this forum; I get the distinct impression that it's a sales job.

Calibration is simply a baseline adjustment to agreed-upon specifications. The controls accessible to any television owner will allow you to reach this same baseline. Unless the set is damaged or malfunctioning, any set is capable of a brilliant image, and personal preference is as good as any pre-determined setting.

Anything can be calibrated. An oven; a radio tuner; a dimmer switch for an incandescent bulb. Anything.

It won't make food taste better, or a radio station come in more clearly, or a light any better to read by. It's simply an adjustment.

It's DEFINITELY not worth hundreds of dollars. HDTV owners would be much better served buying Blu-Ray movies, or paying the cable bill for six months.

This level of disinformation is confusing to folks who come here, looking for advice on how to spend the thousands of dollars for high-tech gear - who are then told that it must immediately be serviced, or their investment is useless. I'm stunned that this kind of nonsense has gone basically unchallenged.

The sole value of calibrating a set is to establish baseline settings from which personal adjustments will give known, objective results. For the vast majority of folks, these settings will differ. Settings are based on:

- Media source (Cable, OTA, SDDVD, Blu, game unit, etc.)
- Media content (Film with all the different typs of photography, TV shows, even game modes)
- Media connection (HDMI, component cable, coax connection, etc.)
- Ambient light (Bright area, dim area, room lighting and type, etc.)
- Viewing distance and angle (ideal distance and angle, non-ideal, etc.)
- Power source (clean filtered power, unclean power)
Environmental conditions (differences in heat and cold, dust, etc.)

While calibration may be needed after servicing, a new, quality HDTV is factory preset with adjustments close enough to key in variations well within the bands of tolerance. There is no "voodoo" to it. Simple pre-sets may not be optimum; but all can be dialed in to the user's preference, which may change based on all of the conditions seen above.

It's also obvious to anyone who understands electronics that any calibration setting can "drift" over time. No setting is set in stone - and every factor listed above can change over time. There is no telling how long any setting will hold, and it may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

At this point, defenders of this ISF calibration stuff are generally saying, "well, I spent $400, and I say it looks better" are simply making noise. If anyone prefers to have an accurate baseline calibration, that's fine. It's not necessary; you can paint your screen purple, if that's what you want to do.

But to tell people who are trying to put together the huge sums it takes to by HDTV gear that their money is wasted if they don't bring in some "expert" (and I have huge doubts about that, don't get me started) to twiddle with settings, using a cheap lightmeter, and then walk off with enough money to start a respectable Blu library, is very, very bad advice.

To all considering buying a set: read the reviews, look at it in a store, and then buy it where the price is best. You will definitely enjoy it, and you don't need a serviceman until, with your untrained eyes, you know the thing is definitely malfunctioning.

I've challenged it numerous times, but not to the degree that you have! I've also voiced myself about:

Breaking in a plasma for 100 hours - Total BS

Breaking in speakers - More Total BS




Have fun with it but you're going get flamed big time for your opinion.

[gearyt]

Originally Posted by VinnAY

I've challenged it numerous times, but not to the degree that you have! I've also voiced myself about:

Breaking in a plasma for 100 hours - Total BS

Breaking in speakers - More Total BS

you forgot breaking in

speaker wires
power cables

etc

[Blu-Dog]

Originally Posted by gearyt

you forgot breaking in

speaker wires
power cables

etc

I break in subwoofers. By playing the heck out of them. They sound better after they're broken in. I can prove it.

The fact that I connect a bigger amp has nothing to do with it, I swear.

[Semp1]

if you read the OP post he understands that ISF calibration brings out colors that's based on a service menu's color temperature which on many newer tv's is more and more accurate out of the box. The op also states if you read it carefully that the factory pre-sets have enough setting to adjust your set close enough to be tolerable to save yourself $400. Take his opinion for what it's worth I personaaly fully agree with him and feel that isf calibration while slightly better than an eye balled non service menu calibrated set in my opinion is not that much better than a set that you mess around with your self. The whole point of isf calibration is to go into the service menu and adjust the color temperature to accurate degree, every thing else is done based on agreed opinion.

[reallyagi]

And this theory on personal taste is BS!!! There is a target gamma or else ITS WRONG?? Again, save yourself the money and do it yourself.
Ask any blu-ray reviewer if their sets are calibrated, if not their video reviews are worthless.

[JR8300]

Originally Posted by reallyagi

And this theory on personal taste is BS!!! There is a target gamma or else ITS WRONG?? Again, save yourself the money and do it yourself.
Ask any blu-ray reviewer if their sets are calibrated, if not their video reviews are worthless.

I agree with a lot of what you are saying...I have never charged someone $400 for a calibration. I always recommend that people buy their own meter and do it themselves...

Did you pick up the Eye-one LT?

[reallyagi]

Originally Posted by JR8300

Did you pick up the Eye-one LT?

I hear that's the best one, but the Spyder Pro was available from my work at no cost (I borrowed it )

[JR8300]

Originally Posted by reallyagi

I hear that's the best one, but the Spyder Pro was available from my work at no cost (I borrowed it )

It's the best entry level meter for sure...I think it's like $138. What software did you use?

[Blu-Dog]

Originally Posted by reallyagi

I hear that's the best one, but the Spyder Pro was available from my work at no cost (I borrowed it )

Loan it to me, before Crackinhedz lives up to his name and I can wear a Frisbee for a hat.

[Halcro 1]

Originally Posted by VinnAY

I've challenged it numerous times, but not to the degree that you have! I've also voiced myself about:

Breaking in a plasma for 100 hours - Total BS

Breaking in speakers - More Total BS




Have fun with it but you're going get flamed big time for your opinion.

Speakers need to be broken In TY .....

[Blu-Dog]

Originally Posted by Halcro 1

Speakers need to be broken In TY .....

Specifically, the rubber surrounds on speakers need to be broken in, and only if they're thick. It doesn't take long, and only affects them slightly before being broken in.

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by Blu-Dog

Specifically, the rubber surrounds on speakers need to be broken in, and only if they're thick. It doesn't take long, and only affects them slightly before being broken in.

The drivers themselves need to break in. They are too rigid to begin with and have to become more compliant.

Rich

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by Halcro 1

Speakers need to be broken In TY .....

VinnAY has argued with me on this several times that speakers don't need any break in what so ever and that they do not change their sound after break in. He has also insisted that electronic equipment does not need any break in/burn in and the same for any cabling, speaker or otherwise. As I recall, when I brought up breaking in of new cars, he indicted that they needed none.

Rich

[Halcro 1]

Originally Posted by naturephoto1

VinnAY has argued with me on this several times that speakers don't need any break in what so ever and that they do not change their sound after break in. He has also insisted that electronic equipment does not need any break in/burn in and the same for any cabling, speaker or otherwise.

Rich

electronics and cabling sounds better and speakers after break in....speakers move @ in the enviroment that I work in (15000) watt Pro sound the speakers need to be broken in every show , Thats why at I concert the sound being played through the PA isnt loud and as tome goes on the PA gets louder there is a reason for it ....

[Blu-Dog]

Originally Posted by naturephoto1

VinnAY has argued with me on this several times that speakers don't need any break in what so ever and that they do not change their sound after break in. He has also insisted that electronic equipment does not need any break in/burn in and the same for any cabling, speaker or otherwise. As I recall, when I brought up breaking in of new cars, he indicted that they needed none.

Rich

Modern engines no longer need break-in, but it's better to drive them carefully for a while to be sure nothing was built wrong.

My Corvette engine didn't need break-in when I got it; every Corvette engine is run at wide open throttle, through a full tank of gas, at the factory. Before it goes in a car.

But a conductor? It does not need break-in. Perhaps where it is joined is questionable; bad solder jobs, sloppy connections, are all revealed only after being run for a while. But if made correctly, they do not require "burn-in", or "break-in", unless they are temperature sensitive and need to warm up for every cycle of operation.

[Halcro 1]

Originally Posted by Blu-Dog

Modern engines no longer need break-in, but it's better to drive them carefully for a while to be sure nothing was built wrong.

My Corvette engine didn't need break-in when I got it; every Corvette engine is run at wide open throttle, through a full tank of gas, at the factory. Before it goes in a car.

But a conductor? It does not need break-in. Perhaps where it is joined is questionable; bad solder jobs, sloppy connections, are all revealed only after being run for a while. But if made correctly, they do not require "burn-in", or "break-in", unless they are temperature sensitive and need to warm up for every cycle of operation.

Modern drag race and circle track engines need to be broke In for the most part although not like engines of old

[Blu-Dog]

Originally Posted by Halcro 1

Modern drag race and circle track engines need to be broke In for the most part although not like engines of old

True, but I bet the fact that they run twice the compression of an economy car has something to do with that.

And they're built to even tighter tolerances, too. Are you into engines?