To Calibrate or Not to Calibrate? - Axiom Message Boards

Inquiring minds want to know! How many of you have had your televisions calibrated?

I'm cheap...I believe in the value of an ISF but not for an ED plasma. I've used Avia and would consider an ISF when I go to a full 1080p plasma.

The problem with the poll, Amie, is that those who've never had their sets calibrated have no basis for comparison. Even if they've seen a calibrated set, unless they've been able to compare it to the same set before calibration, they aren't able to say if there was an improvement or not.

They certainly can tell you if they are completely happy with the improvements they made themselves, but that is no indication they wouldn't be happier, or not, with an ISF calibrated TV.

What would be helpful is if those who've had their sets calibrated would tell us if they preferred the change, didn't like the change, or didn't really notice much difference.

In that spirit, I'll tell you that, yes, I feel there was an definite improvement. An ISF calibrated HDTV, being set to a cooler temperature (i.e lower light output), is usually much easier on the eyes and extends the life of the bulb (if any), and the HDTV itself. And, I find the black levels are improved, and colors are more natural and true.

The only complaint I have about having an ISF calibrated HDTV (other than the price of calibration

) is that, in some cases, that lower light output causes a few (and only a few) HDTV shows/movies, and a few DVDs, to seem a bit darker than I'd like. However, the fact that my DLP bulb slowly and moderately dims over time may have something to do with that, and why it is recommended that HDTVs be calibrated every year.

Other than that, I've been happy enough with the improvements of ISF calibration to have my first HDTV calibrated twice, and my current HDTV calibrated once, with its second calibration due this November. Others, including you, may feel differently.

Amie, are you offering to come to Iowa and calibrate my projector.

Hopefully when my Avia II arrives I can tweak it some more.

Is this heaven? No, its Iowa

Ive calibrated my plasma with the Avia disc. It looks great to me.

Jack you are starting to sound like a scientist.

I've been considering getting our 50" RPTV setup with ISF calibration but have not yet pulled the trigger. I would never bother to do anything with the LCD we have on our other floor. I'm sure the innards of the RPTV could use some blacker material and focusing of the lenses.
The odd time it gets a bit green and i'm a bit worried one of the guns is failing.
Still, for the cost of $400, more than 10% of the unit, i have to wonder if the cost is really worth it.

Quote:

Jack you are starting to sound like a scientist.

Now there's a terrifying thought.

(taken as a compliment, though

)

Quote:

I've been considering getting our 50" RPTV setup with ISF calibration but have not yet pulled the trigger. I would never bother to do anything with the LCD we have on our other floor. I'm sure the innards of the RPTV could use some blacker material and focusing of the lenses.
The odd time it gets a bit green and i'm a bit worried one of the guns is failing.
Still, for the cost of $400, more than 10% of the unit, i have to wonder if the cost is really worth it.

Yes, at the price, I can completely understand anyone passing on a calibration.

If there had been a selection for would consider it but cost is of concern. i would have selected it.
Jake

If you search hard enough on the net, you can find the optimum settings for your set.

Quote:

If you search hard enough on the net, you can find the optimum settings for your set.

Yes, but the "optimum" settings should require entering the service menu, not be confused with the user menu (temperature, brightness, contrast, etc.). Entering the service menu, unless done by a professional, usually voids the warranty. And, if you goof, it is possible to turn your new HDTV into a 100 pound doorstop.

Yes, absolutely. The default settings in the service menu should be recorded prior to any changes.

Quote:

They certainly can tell you if they are completely happy with the improvements they made themselves, but that is no indication they wouldn't be happier, or not, with an ISF calibrated TV.

Happier, very likely. Poorer, most definitely.

Going into the service menu is something that i HAD to do at one point. Not long after we received the tv, i noticed green and red fringing around the edges of shoulders and corners. A thorough search on the HTSpot revealed the flaw for RPTVs and their convergence issues. Although the tvs have a 9 point convergence which is accessible by the regular menu, it did not solve the problem. After reading more on HTSpot, i found information regarding my exact model and how to go into the service menu and setup the 56 point convergence calibration.
Now THAT made a huge difference and it is the only tweak i continue to check every few months. Two other friends of mine with similar models have since asked for the instructions to do this with their Toshibas.
I did recheck my colour, tint, etc. settings with the S&V disc recently, but it appears that all those settings are still fine.

I have read about some ppl who've had the ISF calibrators come in though and do alot more than these kinds of steps including adding ultra black felt lining to the inside of the cabinet, removing the anti glare screen, focusing lenses and setting black levels more accurately. I suppose if i looked hard enough for information and took apart some of the tv (now that we are 5 years after buying, 4 years past warranty), i could probably do most of these tweaks myself. I really don't know if they are worth $400 to have someone else do it, unless i really get that lazy.

If you want to get optimum performance out of your gear audio or video you have to calibrate. No ifs or buts about it. The question which I believe is the gist of Amie's poll is to what level you want ot take the calibration. For audio equipment I do it all myself but for video... that's another ballgame.

With video equipment I do what I can with Avia, S& V and other discs, then tweak the service menu using a Spyder Pro to hold me over until my ISF guy (Michael Chen of Lion Consultants from Calgary) does his bi-annual tour. The difference in quality is well worth the price since its much closer to production standards as the director/studio intended. Moreover an ISF technician calibrates the display to optimize the image based on your particular player.

However having had five displays ISF calibrated I have to say not all of them benefited to the same degree. One of the displays for example had a very linear greyscale out of the box which is one of the mandatory adjustments and I could have accomplished the colormetric adjustments with my SpyderPro. The other four looked garish at first and natural after the ISF calibration which to me was well worth the cost compared to the price of the displays.

Quote:

...my ISF guy (Michael Chen of Lion Consultants from Calgary)

Whadaya know! My ISF guy is Greg Loewen of Lion A/V Consultants.

Yet another example of great minds thinking alike, Jack.

Those guys at Lion are the best, always up to date on the latest models and technology.

Mt DLP is 4 years old and it is the second or maybe even the 3rd generation set from Samsung. Out of the box it was really quite good IMO. But I read all the statements from others who had their's done so I paid for a "paper" calibration from an ISF certified person who worked on several of my exact model and he said that the most important settings were nearly identical in all of them. It cost me about 25% of the normal price and I applied the changes myself and the results were very good. Were they better than OTB??? I would have to say yes, but not that much better.

I think in the early days when all these HD-TV's started coming out the manufacturers didn't know how to set them up properly. After many years of complaints, and people returning the sets because they looked like crap, the manufacturers realized that if they expected people to pay mucho $$$$$ for a TV, then it better look good OTB.

So while an ISF may have been needed 4 or 5 years ago, I think that today the need is much less. Just my experience.

I had my 27" CRT calibrated. Mmm hmm.

This thread inspired me to Calibrate my Toshiba 46H84 46" Projection with the Avia CD I previously just used audio sections from.

All my adjustments were within roughly 15% of where I already had it set but I'm thinking I saw greater than 15% improvement. Hard to put a number on it but I am pleased.

Colors seem more natural and I thought I had it pretty good before. I wouldn't say that the clarity improved but things do look sharper overall.

I still have one thing that bugs me though. Even in HD, when there is a large area of a washed out color, say a grey or light blue sky, I see sort of a hazy flickering. Not a flashy light kind of flickering but your eyes can see very feint movement in the colors, probably at an individual pixel level. In the lower end of the non-HD, like older TV shows, it's down right a digitization effect almost.

It seems to be more in the processing than the picture settings. I'm usually the only one who notices it unless I tell people to look for it but once you know it's there, it's disappointing. If anyone has advice, I'd be glad to hear it. If this is the sort of thing professional calibration can remove, I might even consider it.

Seems to be TV related as it happens with both the satellite Dish and DVD providing signals. Existed on my old Sat. receiver as well.

I see no suggestions offered to the above dilemma. I'm not complaining but I'll bump once, just in case. Otherwise I'll just resign myself to having a to live with it until the far off year that I can finish my room for the projector. It's really not that noticeable but you guys have me spoiled for details now. heh heh.