John, I'm not sure why JC would tell you not to use the auto setup, unless there is a problem that Axiom has found with the Pioneer receivers and the auto setup mode. What many folks do, myself included is run the auto setup and then perform additional tweeks on the receiver if the sound is not to your exact liking. With my Denon I used the auto setup, then ran some sound checks with an SPL meter and found the Denon did exactly what it was supposed to do and everything sounded great, so I left it alone.
With the new LCD's and Plasma's even with the Avia DVD's they are still hard to get everything dialed in. I finally did what Lucv13 suggested and found online what the professional calibration numbers were for my set and went from there. I would suggest you try his link, put your model# in and try what they suggest, you may end up liking the picture, and not have to go to the trouble of using a calibration DVD.
