Calibration Tales

[Blu-Dog]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

...using a calibration disc gets the owner to take his TV off the torch mode factory presets.

OK, granted. But anyone can do that.

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

...Simple fact that you believe the average user can adjust his/her settings to near perfection disqualifies the entire statement.

WHOA hold on there, Tex...

There is no such thing as "near perfection", as I noted in my post. Remember all the factors I mentioned that affect the picture? Please tell me that you don't think there is "near perfection" in a cable signal, OTA broadcast, or game box hooked up with component cables...

They'll all look different, and viewers will have different preferences for each. Though they probably won't adjust for them.

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

For one, some manufacturers do not offer a selectable option for each and every individual setting that is used to produce the picture.

Definitely not, on the low end. But then, I'm sure you're not advising that someone buying a $600 Dynex pay $400 for professional calibration.

On the higher end, those settings are adjustable.

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

...Second, the critical settings are often found in the Service Menu. Which the average user should NEVER go into to mess around with.

Absolutely, 100% agreed. Those settings are for baseline adjustments for major components after service-bench level parts replacement. User settings are "tweaks" for those baseline adjustments, I think we can agree. And on quality equipment (Sony, Samsung, Pioneer, Sharp Aquos, LG high end, you name it) those are pretty broad-ranged tweaks, wouldn't you say?

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

...Third...

Have you ever had a TV professionally calibrated before?

Family member bought the Best Buy calibration, for the same set I have (his is the XBR 46", versus my 52", otherwise the same). The results were fantastic.

It looked just as good as mine.

Which has been adjusted (not calibrated beforehand...simply adjusted) by my own amateurish hands.

Look, here's my beef. I simply won't agree that quality televisions are so far off the baseline that it takes a 10% upcharge in cost for a new HDTV owner to get what he paid for; that is a stunning indictment of the quality and engineering that goes into decent equipment. It simply is not borne out by my experience, or people who, like me, are extremely critical of expensive electronics.

I know that quality varies by manufacturer, and even model line; I also concede that production line quality can vary, even vary widely. But it's simply going to retard adoption of HD video when people who aren't as technical as we are get the impression that a service must be performed that is 10% to 20% the price of their device, just to get it to the point where it looks good. That does not match facts in the real world, even for videophiles.

I will also state that if this is a real need, sets need to come with light meters and safe user adjustments to get this process done. A TV serviceman can come out and fix my set for less than $200. But simply to adjust it costs two or three times that much? This makes no sense.

I spent my time in the military operating and maintaining radar gear, and the first decade of my working career working in a very well known research laboratory, constantly calibrating test equipment of all kinds. The need for calibration of equipment is obvious to me. I also know the difference between baseline calibration, and adjustment, and the effects of calibration drift.

Consumer equipment generally requires far less tolerance of calibration error than the stuff I used then, though some of the consumer electronics I see now are far more reliable than others. If we want to talk calibration, we must also discuss the maintenance and test cycle for this stuff - something I've not heard once in any of these threads.

I've actually performed calibration, on some pretty exotic stuff. I don't do it on my Sony sets; there's no need.

Have you ever done calibration on electronics, personally?