# Flat panel calibration - gimmick or good idea?



## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

Just scored a 40" Sony Bravia display. LCD, 1080p, 120 Hz. It was a Best Buy score. They wanted us to also use their Geek Squad or whatever they're called to come by in a month's time to "calibrate" the display. Future Shop offers much the same thing - a tech comes into your home and tweaks the TV from its stark, high-contrast factory settings, giving your TV two modes to work in (daytime and night-time). They gave us a quick demo of what they mean, showing us two identical large-ish displays (probably 46" or so), one calibrated, one factory. The calibrated one definitely had more detail in shadow areas but it looked curiously washed out. The factory unit was certainly very inky in its shadows and there was certainly less detail - and there was an overall cyanotic cast to the display. But it was certainly bright and eye-popping. To my wife and I, the results were inconclusive at best.

Now this calibration thing ain't cheap. Three bills, before taxes. Until the end of tomorrow, there's a special where it's $199. We ended up scored the TV, an LG Bluray player on sale and an HDMI cable (and an amplified RCA flat digital antenna). But we held off on the calibration thing. Wanted to ask some of the home theatre enthusiasts out there what their take on this calibration stuff is. So I'm hoping to get some responses soonish.

So have at it. Is it worth the dough? How much of it is an applied science - in other words, can you have variable results depending on which tech does it for you? Did those of you who did it notice an improvement, dramatic or otherwise? The Best Buy guys geekdudes said it also prolongs the life of the unit as they dial down the power consumption. Is this smoke and mirrors or what? I was just wondering if this offer is like those extended warranties which make these companies so much extra dough.

Opinions/advice welcome, thanks.

Oh, and another thing. I've set up the unit and the set can't find a single digital channel, even though I've been told by various sources that I should be able to get a minimum of five freebies. I've set up the antenna every which way, including bypassing the amplifier and plugging it directly into the back of the Bravia. Nothing doing. Neither sitting flat nor hanging vertical - high up on the wall or whatever. I guess we'll be returning the antenna. It's not a deal-breaker to be denied some free digital channels (we ditched our Rogers cable bundle nearly a year ago because we just couldn't justify the expense to ourselves - so now we've just got it for internet). But I won't say I don't feel a bit let down. The TV is in our bedroom, on the third floor of our house. I don't know what the problem could be... so any ideas there, it'd be much appreciated. Cheers.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

The "calibration" is a rip off. Calibrate it yourself until you find it pleasing.


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## groovetube (Jan 2, 2003)

people calibrate their tvs? Really?


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## MLeh (Dec 23, 2005)

Sets in the store will have the picture turned way up to compensate for the bright lighting in the store. You'll definitely extend the life of the TV by turning it down.

Don't waste your $$$ though - it's simple enough to do yourself. Just RTFM.


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## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

professional calibration can substantially improve a tv's image quality, but i wouldn't trust best buy or future shop to do it correctly.


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## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

Thanks, all. Just what I figured. We'll adjust it ourselves. Geekdudes said that people normally make it worse by doing their own calibration._ Yeeeeeeah_. All I think I'll do for the moment is dial down the brightness a tad.

Got the antenna issued licked, as well. Took a bit of contortion and dancing around perched on me tippy-toes but I'm pulling in 9 HD channels. Good enough for me.


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

Proper calibration makes a big difference. 

*Check out this guy* who does it in the GTA for very reasonable price. TV looked amazing after he was done. 

Personally used him and as you read the linked thread, pages and pages of positive reviews. 

I wouldn't trust Geek squad to change my toilet paper roll.


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## chrisburke (May 11, 2010)

Pretty much ANYTHING the geek squad offers is a rip off "convince ppl they need this" scam job.. 


Sent from my iPhone 4 using Tapatalk


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

I know a panhandler who will wipe that screen with an oily rag for a loonie.


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## groovetube (Jan 2, 2003)

Max said:


> Thanks, all. Just what I figured. We'll adjust it ourselves. Geekdudes said that people normally make it worse by doing their own calibration._ Yeeeeeeah_. All I think I'll do for the moment is dial down the brightness a tad.
> 
> Got the antenna issued licked, as well. Took a bit of contortion and dancing around perched on me tippy-toes but I'm pulling in 9 HD channels. Good enough for me.


I'm guessing you have a good eye max. It isn't hard to make most panels look great anyway.

It took me a while to position my hd antennae, but I've not paid rogers now 1 1/2 years along with an apple tv, won't look back.


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## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

Groove, how many digital channels are you pulling down? Just curious. I'm relieved to have gotten any after more than two hours of moving it here and there, but maybe in time I'll try again and see if I can't get more.

Agreed, we'll do the calibration ourselves. Begin by making it less bright, and maybe desaturating a tad. Otherwise, seems fine to me.


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## johnnyspade (Aug 24, 2007)

I have a friend that does this type of work, or used to, so he calibrated my TV and hooked up a home theatre system for me. The difference was night and day to what I had done myself. Would I have paid $200? I would now, having seen the difference it made but I wouldn't have at the outset as I thought what I had done looked great.


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## jlcinc (Dec 13, 2002)

Max said:


> Groove, how many digital channels are you pulling down? Just curious. I'm relieved to have gotten any after more than two hours of moving it here and there, but maybe in time I'll try again and see if I can't get more.


Max,

You can enter your postal code here and find out how many channels you can get. Depending on where you are located you should get at least 11 channels and maybe some from Buffalo. I am in Hamilton and get 11 channels from Toronto. 

Here is the link to enter your postal code.

TV Fool

John


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## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

Nice site, jlcinc. Thanks for the link. Looks like I'm getting about what I expected for the placement of the antenna. I didn't go with a rooftop option... maybe down the road. More often than not we're just watching DVDs on the set anyway.

Ehmac: thanks for that guy's link. Looks like he knows what he's doing and it's a lot less than the jokers at BB are charging. Glad I passed on that scam. I'm going to set it up myself over the next month or so and see if that's good enough for our purposes.


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## jlcinc (Dec 13, 2002)

I didn't go rooftop either, although mine is in the attic and I have a pre amp. If you want more information about antennas and pre amps just ask. What type of antenna did you get?

John


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## groovetube (Jan 2, 2003)

Max said:


> Groove, how many digital channels are you pulling down? Just curious. I'm relieved to have gotten any after more than two hours of moving it here and there, but maybe in time I'll try again and see if I can't get more.
> 
> Agreed, we'll do the calibration ourselves. Begin by making it less bright, and maybe desaturating a tad. Otherwise, seems fine to me.


if you're trying inside the house, i takes some trial and error. What kind of antenna do you have?

Initially I was just trying things out. I got the standard one most people get for 30 bucks at above all on bloor, The big rectangle one with the 3 bow ties in front.


I have a 3rd floor, that easily looks right over the rooftops of the houses in front of me, I face downtown, so I can see the tops of the financial buildings and the cn tower. I found height, to really help, and pointing in the right direction. When I thought I had all the channels I could get, lifting it 18" literally gave me 4 more.

The summer I plan to fully commit and go with either a rooftop or even install a tv tower fullout.
channels I get:

2-1, 2-2, 2-3 (NBC, sorts network, retro tv

5-1 cbc

7-1 abc

9-1 ctv

11 analog chch I have to either point the other way (to hamilton) to get the digital or get one of those double antennas

19 tvo

25 cbc french 26-1 26-2 if you're entertained by insane christian right wing tv

29-1 fox 29-2 country music channel!

36 cts, doesn't always come in

41-1 global

44-1 omni 2

57-1 city

64-1 omni 1

66-1 sunTV

I haven't been able to pick up 4-1 (cbs). But I don't have the pre amp, and my antenna setup is still experimental at this stage not a permanent install. Once I do and get a number more channels, why pay rogers?

The quality is actually better than rogers. The link jlcinc gave is very good.


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## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

Will get back to you guys... cheers.


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## Andrew Pratt (Feb 16, 2007)

> professional calibration can substantially improve a tv's image quality, but i wouldn't trust best buy or future shop to do it correctly


Very true. If you wanted to do the basics then buy Avia (linky) and at least run though the basics. That will get you as far as you can without getting into the service menu's which is where the ISF techs that ehMac used do their magic. At the very least use the Movie mode or a Natural mode not Vivid as that's unnatural and hard on the TV.


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## Rps (May 2, 2009)

Max, I have the 40 inch LED and it is good right out of the box. I think calibration is just a cash grab.


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## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

OK, it's an RCA digital flat amplified antenna. Multidirectional. I forget what it cost; around sixty-five beans. Don't know if that was over-spending or what; it's one thing I really hadn't thought to research, having been fixated on the TV the last few weeks.

The way I have the antenna set up now, it's without the amplifier component. Trying it with that attached, I could find no digital signals and some of the analog channels I did get seemed to have even worse reception. Having removed the amplifier from the chain so that the antenna was jacked directly into the back of the Bravia, and having finally found a spot on the ceiling where I could begin to reel in channels, I left it at that. This is a house that's probably just shy of a century old and it's a semi. It probably began its life as a two story with a generous attic; someone long before us made into a proper room and built a deck off of the back end, sitting over the larger, deeper second and first floors. We're in a low-rise area and our front faces west - downtown. But there are no windows on the west side of our bedroom - we have a sloped wall there. I'd be interested in investigating how to get more channels. But as it is, since the antenna is now placed on the ceiling (not too terribly high a ceiling either - I only have a few inches of clearance over my head when standing in the bedroom), it can't be placed any higher. I suppose I could go outside - it's a flat roof over the bedroom.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

I love the way everyone tore down their antenna masts because they had cable!


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## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

Yeah... don't know if this place ever had an antenna mast - never seen any evidence of it up top... but sure. Progress demanded it! Cable was king.

Which reminds me. I have sworn off of cable TV. We haven't had it for about a year now and it's definitely a savings for us. But If in fact I could ever pick and choose my own bundle - to cherry pick only the channels I want, and not have to take on a single channel I have zero interest in - I _might_ be tempted again. Alas, even the channels we loved were inundated with commercials. I simply can't stand that. Paying for the dubious privilege of being relentlessly subjected to pitch after pitch... _yikes._


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

I still have cable and have watched about 5 hours worth of programming in the last three months, I suspect if I cut the service nobody in the house would notice, and I may very well do that.


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## The Doug (Jun 14, 2003)

Max, just curious - which model did you get?

I am still planning on going HD later this year and was more or less set on a Panasonic plasma but after reading / thinking / comparing I'll very likely go with a Bravia (EX500 series or higher). Plain ol' LCD or LED-lit still TBD.

This website offers decent reviews, comparisons, and tech-talk.


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## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

Doug, it was Sony Bravia something or other. Main facts: LCD (saw the significantly more expensive LED version of the same thing and couldn't tell a diff in terms of picture quality), 40", 1080p, 120 Hz. We like it a lot so far. This is replacing a Panny 21" tube TV from 1999! So it's a dramatic step up for us.

Truth is, we'd been looking at Costco, Best Buy, Futureshlock, etc. and we saw great models in the size range we wanted (high 30s, topping out at 40" max).... nice models from LG and Samsung in particular. I think they're all quite competitive. There were also some models from brands we'd never heard of and we steered clear of those.

MF: Your kids are pretty grown up, right? My pal has two boys, aged 6 and 3, and he thinks that they'd riot if he cut off the cable. I believe he justifies the expense on the grounds that the cable-equipped TV functions as sort of an electronic babysitter; he'd be loathe to admit it but I think that's the case. Us, we're quite happy to have given cable the boot. Too much money, period. It's bad enough having a smart phone and paying for criminally dear data plans in this country.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

One, age 12. Doesn't watch TV at all, although he watches occasional TV episodes online. The TV screen is a vehicle for playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl and little more. At Age 6 he was still watching some shows, though.



Max said:


> MF: Your kids are pretty grown up, right? My pal has two boys, aged 6 and 3, and he thinks that they'd riot if he cut off the cable. I believe he justifies the expense on the grounds that the cable-equipped TV functions as sort of an electronic babysitter; he'd be loathe to admit it but I think that's the case. Us, we're quite happy to have given cable the boot. Too much money, period. It's bad enough having a smart phone and paying for criminally dear data plans in this country.


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## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

My pal's kids tune into the cartoon channel, but they also use the screen for Wii gaming like crazy.


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## Sonal (Oct 2, 2003)

Max said:


> Which reminds me. I have sworn off of cable TV. We haven't had it for about a year now and it's definitely a savings for us. But If in fact I could ever pick and choose my own bundle - to cherry pick only the channels I want, and not have to take on a single channel I have zero interest in - I _might_ be tempted again. Alas, even the channels we loved were inundated with commercials. I simply can't stand that. Paying for the dubious privilege of being relentlessly subjected to pitch after pitch... _yikes._


I just cancelled my cable... and just in time for Rogers to do another price hike!

Like you, I could be tempted into cherry-picking my own bundle, but the channels I watch are so full of reruns most of the time that it's hardly worth it. 

I'm reading all this antenna information with interest, however. My condo faces east, but I may be moving in a few weeks, and the new place has windows on 3 sides.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

Sonal said:


> My condo faces east, but I may be moving in a few weeks, and the new place has windows on 3 sides.


Is this the new place in Vienna?


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## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

Heard tell it was Barcelona.

I'm telling ya, Leslieville just doesn't compare.


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## Sonal (Oct 2, 2003)

Even classier.... I'll be spitting distance from the Hooker Harvey's.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

Max said:


> I'm telling ya, Leslieville just doesn't compare.


Hell, it wasn't even a _ville_ until they put up those signs. Besides, that place went downhill when they closed Toronto Groceteria.


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## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

'afore my time, fraid.


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## jlcinc (Dec 13, 2002)

Sonal said:


> Even classier.... I'll be spitting distance from the Hooker Harvey's.


Whoa you mean Gerrard and Jarvis, you should get great OTA reception in that area.


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

Was researching what other people thought of colour calibration for flat panel displays. Found this question posted with a really good well rounded *answer* 

"The overwhelming majority of consumers such as yourself do not need a display calibration; professional display calibration is far more a luxury than a necessity for consumers, especially if your viewing habits are more casual than critical. Best Buy, it should come as no surprise, has a bad habit of overstating the case when it comes to display calibration.

Most of today’s better quality fixed-pixel displays, including Samsung’s A650 series HDTVs, have specific picture modes and settings that will provide acceptable gray-scale (aka white balance) and D65 (6500 K CCT) color performance directly out of the box - often much better than the displays manufacturer’s offered to consumers not long ago. You should also be aware that some consumers who receive professional display calibrations and/or optimize the picture fidelity of their display are unhappy with the results, often feeling the video image is dull, soft and lacks punch. *When it comes to video image fidelity ‘better’ is purely subjective, accuracy is not.*"

*Read the rest... *


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## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

Agreed. Colour accuracy is not critical for me. I just don't want to watch a TV with noticeable colour casts, or heavy-handed contrast, and other such extremities.


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## Glipt (Aug 7, 2003)

Calibration makes a big difference if it is done right. Most TVs do not have the proper user accessible contolls to adjust grey scale and colors (primary and secondary) and it is therefore necessary to access service menus which in sone cases damage the unit and void the warranty. When I purchased my plasma TV it was the worst looking one in the store. I specifically chose my TV because it had the proper controls on the regular user menus. It is nessary to have a light meter. I have the eye one D2. There is some free Software they will use the eye one D2 to correctly read the colors and shades from a calibration DVD such as Avia or there is a free HD that you can download. If you are technically inclined and have a whole afternoon and evening on you hands it makes for an interesting project. There is a very detalialled tutorial on how to use the software as well. PC only unfortunately but worked well in Virtual Box (also free) with win2k. Took me 6 hours on my first try. Didn't have a laptop so had to haul the Mac Pro out to the living room. Awkward getting used to using the TV remote, bluray remote and resting the computer screen all at the same time. Especially because the TV control menus disappear after 30 seconds. The process is very detailed and technical. After doing the work I understand why it costs so much. This was done far more often by people who had spent in excess of $10,000 for thier TV. Doesn't seem as reasonable when your TV only costs $600. 

How did it look? Amazing. I was very impressed. The biggest difference is in the shadow and highlight details. For example, most film source material has uneven lighting on peoples faces. With factory settings the details ate often lost and the one side of their face is mostly black. Or, if you can see the details then black is actually a light shade of grey. I am actually colorblind so having the colors finely tuned is not something I would notice. However, the individual saturation of each color can be set and this is what helps things like grass from looking neon or cartoony, especially in sportscasts.

All that said most people probably wouldn't notice or even care. The same runs true with most people who go to a movie theater and can't even notice if the digital tracks are on or off. I was surprised when I saw the big boxes offering this. Not sure if they would do a very good job or not. One problem had to do with the source. Now that there are a wide range of inexpensive TVs most of them do not do a good job if displaying video so no amount of calibrating us going to do much good. If you haven't spent a lot if money on your TV you might not notice that much if a difference between doing it by eye on your own or having it professionally calibrated.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

But a lot of it even depends on whether you like to watch action movies, sporting events, or use the monitor to play video games. Set the monitor for one and the other use suffers. I have seen people very happy with blacks that looked dark blue to me, because the entire array was pleasing to them. On the other hand, I go nuts unless black is black, so that one setting is the deal breaker for me.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

Another question: once you have the monitor calibrated, how long before you're supposed to have it calibrated again. I assume this isn't a one-time thing.


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## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

I wonder. All I can tell you is that the Geek Squad pair who tried to up-sell my wife and I argued that you need to 'burn in' a monitor for a 100 hours before it's proper to tweak the settings. They likened it to getting a new car and how it's wise to baby it for the first 5000k - don't gun the engine, no quick cold starts in the winter, that sort of thing. These cats didn't mention that you might have to recalibrate down the road; even if that was true, it wouldn't be in their best interest to freak their potential customers out. The one lead geek who did most of the sales pitch even clarified that "I'm not a salesman, I'm a technician," as if it didn't matter to him what set I bought. Yet he and his pal dogged us from the get-go. They were pleasant enough types and never tried to play the heavies, but at the same time they were persistently 'on-message' about how this would make everything sooooo much better.

I imagine that by the time you noticed a degradation in the display you would in all likelihood be inclined to skip a second calibration and want an entirely new unit anyway. Who knows. I am hoping to get five years out of this thing at least; am I being optimistic here?

The way I see it, I'm a graphic designer and I've never had my monitors calibrated; nonetheless, I still get work. I suspect much of this is overblown. I was initially inquiring because I was concerned that there was perhaps a technical issue I wasn't aware of - something which might have a negative impact on the life of the display - I suppose that's true of the power consumption as dictated by the default factory settings, but I figure that if I dull it down from maximum brightness and take out some of the heavy contrast, I'm good and the display will last somewhat longer.


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## Glipt (Aug 7, 2003)

"I go nuts unless black is black."

Me too. This is a problem with the newer displays. Old CRTs did a much better job of this. Plasma is better at blacks than LCD. Your black level will actually determine how much your colors 'Pop'. Too low a black level will wash out your pictures. Too high a black level will destroy all your shadow details. That is why grey scale calibration is so important. This makes sure that all shades of grey from 10% -to- 100% are displayed at exactly 6500 degrees or D65. This is usually measured in 10% intervals from 0% black to 100% white. You adjust your monitor or TV at the 30% and 70% spots using test patterns on the test disc. There are controls for RGB for each spot. After these are set all the rest should fall into place within an error margin of less than 10 or better less than 3 (which is indistinguishable with the eye). Most monitors will fall well out of range at <20% and >80% but there is not much noticeable detail in these ranges. I was able to have all my ranges above 20% fall within <3. Getting an accurate reading at 0% is usually impossible as most monitors with 'switch off' at that point or plasma will always leave a slight glow that will throw the reading off.

GREYSCALE & COLOUR CALIBRATION FOR DUMMIES


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## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

Max said:


> I wonder. All I can tell you is that the Geek Squad pair who tried to up-sell my wife and I argued that you need to 'burn in' a monitor for a 100 hours before it's proper to tweak the settings.


for plasma TVs that's about right (some people even suggest 200 hours to break it in). You want the individual phosphors to have gone through the rounds so they're evenly worn across the screen.

I don't think this is a serious issue with LCDs, but i think it'd make sense to get a few days of use just to eliminate the possibility of a lemon before you spend time/money calibrating it.


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## groovetube (Jan 2, 2003)

I find a -huge- difference in the blacks between the samsung lcd, and the newer samsung led we got not long ago. Color in general pops waaaaaay more on the led though. Definitely had to turn that baby back a bit.


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## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

Yeah, since this is an LCD display, I was wondering if we couldn't start tweaking it after only a week's use.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Meh, I own three Samsung LCDs and tweaked them all to our preference within days. Never moved them since.

Key word here Max is "preference". Pick yours and forget all the so-called advice. I know what I like and enjoy all my sets tweaked the same way. Funny thing though, when my neighbours drop in for a drink, they all go "wow" what a picture.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

Max said:


> The way I see it, I'm a graphic designer and I've never had my monitors calibrated; nonetheless, I still get work. I suspect much of this is overblown. I was initially inquiring because I was concerned that there was perhaps a technical issue I wasn't aware of - something which might have a negative impact on the life of the display - I suppose that's true of the power consumption as dictated by the default factory settings, but I figure that if I dull it down from maximum brightness and take out some of the heavy contrast, I'm good and the display will last somewhat longer.


I used a CRT monitor for years and thought it was the cat's ass--even as it was becoming hopelessly unusable. My eyes adjusted to it and I kept telling people that I would only replace it when I got something at least as good as that Eversonic. I was literally horrified when I put it side by side with the new monitor--I had been looking at a piece of degraded junk that I thought was great because I had nothing to compare it to.


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## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

True enough. Hazard of the gig; proof positive that it helps to shift your surroundings from time to time, just to get a fresh perspective. Look at your work on someone else's monitor, for example.

Display gear ages, corrodes. It happens so slowly you can be forgiven for not noticing. You have to compare after significant intervals to note what's happened.


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

*Another good article and video on TV Calibration. *

Important excerpt and part is that there is a standard out there for how TV should look. If you go to a TV store like Best Buy, the TV's look all slightly different. All of them look pretty good actually. If you do like SYNC does and adjust them to a picture that you like, you're golden. 

All the TV's look really good these days. 

Some people just want their TV to be exactly at that standard... As close to the way the TV producer or directer intended it. They also want just that little extra accuracy and correction for black points, grey adjustment and highlights. 

When I can the guy calibrate my TV, with the flick of the switch, he could toggle between before and after. Before hand, I though my TV looked really, really good, and anyone who saw it thought so to. But after calibration, he had an image on the screen and he pointed out the shadows, highlights and colour tone. Anyone looking would be able to see the improvement. 

Most people who come setup a TV and home theatre system like the guy I had come in (Which was just over a $100) also helped with a lot of other setting for the home theatre, the PVR and my Blu Ray player. He pointed out that many blu ray players have the capability to play DTS-HD Master Audio (a lossless audio format), but most come with it disabled some older receivers don't support it, so it has to be turned on. He set this up for me. (A bonehead thing I didn't read in the manual). Which is great because I have a really nice speaker setup. Blu Ray discs that have DTS-HD Master Audio sound amazing. 

There's also a few tips and tricks to setup the Rogers PVR. There was quite a few other things he optimized and it was worth every penny.


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## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

Our problem with the demo we saw at the store, rigged or otherwise, was that the "corrected" display had a contrast so low that the display looked anemic and washed out. I love cinematic detail as much as any movie buff, but what we saw was seriously underwhelming. It lacked any kind of punch - looked like a fine grey screen was between us and the picture. Not my idea of an improvement at all.

Guess it comes down to degrees, really.


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## FeXL (Jan 2, 2004)

Macfury said:


> I used a CRT monitor for years and thought it was the cat's ass--even as it was becoming hopelessly unusable. My eyes adjusted to it and I kept telling people that I would only replace it when I got something at least as good as that Eversonic. I was literally horrified when I put it side by side with the new monitor--I had been looking at a piece of degraded junk that I thought was great because I had nothing to compare it to.


<snort>

I laugh because this is probably where we're at, too.

Have a 29" Sony CRT that was born in '94. The budget just can't take the hit for a new TV right now. That & the TV just doesn't -seem- to have a bad image. I'm sure time will tell otherwise...


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## groovetube (Jan 2, 2003)

if you're going to watch tv on a crt, those sony wegas etc were one of the best tvs to watch.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

+1. The final SONY wide-screen CRT with HD was amazing.


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## jlcinc (Dec 13, 2002)

Macfury said:


> +1. The final SONY wide-screen CRT with HD was amazing.


My neighbour a DOP for over 20 years still has one in his garage that he swears he is going to get repaired because it had the best image quality of any TV he has owned. He now has 3 or 4 LCD's so I really doubt that anyone is going to help him carry that monster back into the house. You have to admit LCD/LED/Plasma's are so easy to lift and move.

John


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