Who here has CALIBRATED their HDTV ?

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Who here has CALIBRATED their HDTV ?

I have...
3
33%
I have not...
0
No votes
I have not but want to learn how...
6
67%
 
Total votes: 9

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Knightt
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Who here has CALIBRATED their HDTV ?

Post by Knightt »

An extension to the previous thread.

viewtopic.php?t=24513

We have a 'pretty good baseline' baseline to begin discussion.

Those of you who own an HDTV, how many of you have calibrated your HDTV ? Is this new information for anyone ?

I want to start a thread on calibration and if you have not, give you an idea on how to do it WITHOUT paying over $200 to have it done for you. This way may not be 100% compared to the calibration equipment but I tell you what...(I have a secret and I am beatiful) MY HDTV looks MUCH better after doing this myself AND I have probably added years onto the life of the TV.

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sd2416
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Post by sd2416 »

was unaware of this

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Post by etos45 »

sd2416 wrote:was unaware of this
That makes two of us, I think? Would this have something to do with when you change the bulb? I know when I changed mine, the picture has been a little more pixelated than before the old one went out.

But, then, it's in the gaming section... :?

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Post by Knightt »

OK, more on this when I can put it together... it REALLY helps if you have a Blu-Ray player. I don't suppose any a yous got one-ah dose ?

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Post by Drift »

Will it work with the integrated Blu-ray in a PS3?

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Post by Knightt »

Drift wrote:Will it work with the integrated Blu-ray in a PS3?
Yes that is a Blu-Ray player, dude. It is what I used. More on this in a bit.

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Post by Knightt »

You will also need a blu ray disc (such as Donnie Brasko or Ratatoulie) to obtain Sony's calibration tool.

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Post by Drift »

Knightt wrote:
Drift wrote:Will it work with the integrated Blu-ray in a PS3?
Yes that is a Blu-Ray player, dude. It is what I used. More on this in a bit.
Just thought I'd clarify as sometimes the bits in consoles don't work as cut and dry as you would expect.

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Post by Knightt »

Drift wrote:
Knightt wrote:
Drift wrote:Will it work with the integrated Blu-ray in a PS3?
Yes that is a Blu-Ray player, dude. It is what I used. More on this in a bit.
Just thought I'd clarify as sometimes the bits in consoles don't work as cut and dry as you would expect.
ahh I gotcha...

OK here is the deal. You NEED to calibrate your HDTV. Factory settings do not cut it and do NOT give you your best picture quality AND can take off years of your HDTVs lifespan. You can have this done by a professional with a calibration tool but cheapest I could find was $200 at Best Buy. To do this yourself you will need just about any Sony Blu-Ray and a keypad remote, if using a PS3 use the triangle key to get to your keyboard:

There are a few adjustment where the included test patterns can be particulary useful for getting the best possible picture. Most of our discs have at least 4 test patterns included, SMPTE bars, monoscope, ramp and cross hatch. The first adjustment I usually concern myself with is the black level or "brightness". Bring up the colorbar signal and pause your player. Turn up your monitor "brightness" and confirm that all 3 pluge chips are visible in the lower right hand corner of the screen. If all three can be seen, then you have confirmed that your player and monitor are passing signals "below black". Next, adjust the brightness control down until the right chip is just visible. You now have an optimum black level setting. Put the player back into play mode and chapter skip to the next pattern, the monoscope and pause once again. Ideally, you should see a complete image with 16:9 shown at the corners and no truncating of the triangles. If you don't see the full image, check if you monitor supports "full pixel", "dot by dot" or some other description of a mode that allows a 1:1 relationship between the incoming signal and the pixels on your display. Some displays do not allow the disabling of "overscan" so you will not be able to make this adjustment. The monoscope is also useful for checking over sharpening, or filtering of the image. Ideally the round patterns comprised of wedges should be clear, sharp with no asymetrical gray bars or ovals. Distortions in the pattern usually indicate that a scaler is being used in the display. Also check that the squares comprised of 2x2 pixel black squares are distinct. If sharpening is used, the black or white portions of these squares is often exaggerated. And finally can you read the text on the bottom of the pattern for the company that created it? If you can, you are likely getting a full 1920 x 1080 image.

Of course there are many other important settings for Contrast and color, but these settings need to be adjusted according to your average room light. I recommend turning off all of the processing that is available in todays displays such as Noise reduction, DRC (Sony) or whatever a given CE company happens to be calling their image enhancement feature. If you have a good blu-ray disc, "Black Hawk Down" for example, you should be able to see the film grain from the original master faithfully reproduced. If it looks mottled or irregular, there is a good chance your display is using noise reduction or other processing and hurting, rather than helping the picture quality.

I await your questions should you have any.

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Post by Knightt »

I have noticed a decent improvement in the quality of my picture AND that my 'resolution' was WAY off until after the calibration. It may not be 'that calibration machine' but it is a very affordable way to get you 'just about there'. Meaning as close as you can get without running it through that expensive HDTV treatment.

I would one day like to get it done but I can see spending $200 on it right now.

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Post by wallywest »

i cheated and stole settings from other people who have my tv. i found them on an audio/visual forum. i know that not every tv is identical, but it seemed like a lot of work. the thread reponses seemed to have quite a bit of consistency, so i picked a popular group of settings and took the short cut :D

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Post by sd2416 »

Knightt wrote:OK, more on this when I can put it together... it REALLY helps if you have a Blu-Ray player. I don't suppose any a yous got one-ah dose ?
ps3. I need to replace my screen on the tv anyway as it has a few "rubs" on it. Figure ill get it calibrated at the same time.

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Post by Daniel Jackson »

sd2416 wrote:
Knightt wrote:OK, more on this when I can put it together... it REALLY helps if you have a Blu-Ray player. I don't suppose any a yous got one-ah dose ?
ps3. I need to replace my screen on the tv anyway as it has a few "rubs" on it. Figure ill get it calibrated at the same time.
What are "rubs"? Is that another term for screen burn in?

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Post by sd2416 »

not quite scratches but marks on the screen

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Post by Knightt »

wallywest wrote:i cheated and stole settings from other people who have my tv. i found them on an audio/visual forum. i know that not every tv is identical, but it seemed like a lot of work. the thread reponses seemed to have quite a bit of consistency, so i picked a popular group of settings and took the short cut :D
That is also a good way to do it, just with the calibration test patterns you can fine tune it to YOUR eyesight or taste. Just as long as you get it calibrated so that you can get the best out of your system. Me, I was just shocked with how much better things looked and the tv just 'felt' better to watch and play 360/PS3 games on. Even my regular DVDs which are upscaled through the PS3 look fantastic. (or maybe I am just all geeked out LOL)

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Post by wrunow »

I have copies of the original Avia disc for calibrating and also the blu ray version of Digital Video Essentials, anyone here is welcome to borrow these or you can rent them from Netflix.

I personally feel it is essential to use one of these to calibrate your tv yourself, although if you don't have one there is a quick calibration tool on some of the THX discs, I think "The Incredibles" has it and a few others.

It costs about $300 dollars to have a pro do an ISF calibration, I have so far chosen not to spend the money to have this done on my projector, although I may if I ever finish my dedicated theater/mancave.

More info and settings for your display can probably be found here:

www.avsforum.com

That's the other place I hang out, although I don't post there as much as I don't feel as knowledgable as most of the guys there.

Mark

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Post by JohnnyRnR »

I don't have a TV worth doing it on, but I have calibrated the reference monitors at work. For those questioning whether a PS3 is an adequate Blu machine, apparently Criterion is using them as their reference players. 'Nuff said.


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