Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Anyone paid a professional to calibrate their TV?

Hey now, what's going on here . I found these guys who are local to me and are professional calibrators. They are ISF certified, anyone heard of them?

You could always buy a meter and do it yourself.

Test disks will help, but as Blackburn told you, you still can’t tweak grey scale, gamma or the color primaries / secondaries.

I use Calman and an i1-Pro meter. You can buy less expensive meters and download free software that will work for you. It’s a fairly straight forward process.

Totally non applicable to you because every situation is different but here is my story.

I found I gained a very satisfying increase in quality by using the tests and color eye filters provided with the Avia disk. It removed some coloration issues that were not bothering me but were never quiet right. More importantly, it all but removed my trouble with the snowstorm effect on large patches of light colors like a grey or light blue sky. That one was bothering me. HD was crystal clear except looked like VHF signal whenever there was large patches of light color.

Interestingly enough, until the tweaks removed this effect, I couldn't stand watching my first HD movie, 300, which many others tout as reference quality. It's painting like backdrops looked like fuzzy crap until I calibrated.

Have you tried using settings on AVS posted by other owners of the 550?

I have done this for both my LCD and plasma sets and found settings that I am quite happy with.

Yes, I've had my DLP professionally calibrated and, though it costs more than I like, I consider the expense well worth it (YMMV). My initial thoughts were not what I would call night and day. I even thought the TV too dark at first. But, as time went by, I began to notice subtle improvements. The picture just seemed more natural; more realistic; more like looking through a window rather than looking at a video screen (varies with source quality, of course).

My recommendation is to contact several other respected calibrators, explain the green tint and, without mentioning what Doug Blackburn had to say about it, ask them if they think calibration would solve the problem, or if the TV itself has a problem which needs service. If other calibrators give you a reply similar to Doug's, then I would think a professional calibration would be worth it to you.

You can search for ISF calibrators near you at the ISF Web Site. You can also search for calibrators at the usual forums. Be sure any calibrator you use is ISF trained.

I can personally recommend the guys from Lion Audio Video Consultants. My TVs have been calibrated by Gregg Loewen. He is a regular particpant at the Home Theater Forum and really knows his stuff. He tours annually to Maritime Canada (December and July-August). If Peterborough is in Maritime Canada you may be able to get on his July-August tour.

If Greg can't do it, I know of others who use Michael Chen and have been happy with his work. His tour schedule is listed on the same web page as Greg's tours.

You can ask your green tint question using the form at the bottom of either gentleman's web page.

I used AVIA II dvd and did my own calibration, can't imagine my Panny Plasma looking any better, and I'm picky.

Even with today's technologies, if you still want to max out the monitor's capabilities, provided you can find an experienced person with the appropriate equipment AND software, I believe it is well worth the expense. I have two RP CRT's in my house including a 7 yr. old Toshiba 65" 1080i set and it basically looks as good as the day it was delivered. Blu-Ray is great even over 1080i.

For me there are TWO very good reasons for strongly considering calibration. One that has already been mentioned and probably the most important for color accuracy is grey-scale. I have seen large screen plasma and LCD sets in stores today, specifically a Panasonic that I noticed that had a definite leaning towards the green in its picture. Some will have leaning towards the red, others towards the blue. Unfortunately you won't necessarily notice it unless you can compare it to other sets at the same time in the same room. This problem is especially noticeable during dark scenes and will affect the color balance at all levels of brightness. Some sets give you a limited capability of adjusting the different colors(Green, blue and red) internally, but without the proper measuring equipment, you could end up making it worse.

The second reason is voltage. As we all know, in the BIG BOX stores they have a bunch of sets on together cranked up because of the bright lighting to make them all look impressive. The problem is, when you get one of these in to your home it will probably be way to bright. Usually it is the contrast up way too high which is voltage and I have seen alot of these sets, when measured , up over D9000 when the proper measurement for accurate color reproduction is around the D6500 level at all levels of brightness. So what does this mean? Bring down the contrast level of your set to where it should be and that set will last and maintain its color balance considerably longer. My CRT's are a perfect example of that.

I believe the bottom line question is not whether to calibrate or not. The question would be, is the $250-$400 cost of a professional calibration worth it vs. a $20 DVE HD Basics (I used) or Avia do it youself calibration. I would imagine the professional would be better. I'd also guess that the DIY calibration would get you to 80-90% of what the normal viewer would be able to discern.

As with many things, the value of more bucks for marginal, if even noticeable improvement is worth it to each individual. That is a call only you can make for yourself. I would highly recommend investing $20 on the DIY route. It is a bit of a learning curve, but I really enjoyed learning what went into creating a picture on the TV machine. If you are not one who enjoys that kind of thing AND don't mind spending for the pro. then that is a good way to go. So it is more of a personal preference, than an objective choice.
Cam, good luck.

Jack, Jack, Jack.... I've told you before: You ARE looking out a window. And the lady in the bedroom across the way is NOT appreciating it. Again.

Remember the chart I made for you?

Enjoy watching TV ----> Living Room
Police knocking on door ----> Bedroom