I have the GetGray calibration disc, and currently have a cable box, upconvert DVD player, and xBox 360 hooked up. I have no plans for buying a bluray player until at least the end of the year, and probably not until next year. What's the best device to use for calibrating TV/cable viewing (61" Samsung 1080p DLP)?

Greetings

YOur disc and the upconvert player ... all you have ... cross your fingers and hope it gets you close to stuff like cable.

Better than doing nothing at all. :)

Regards

Cool, thanks Michael!

Your TV/cable programs will vary in quality and levels from one program to another, one cable tuner to another, and one channel to another. Your DVD player can be used, as Michael suggested, to make adjustments through your display's various video inputs, to emulate the types of signals coming from other components that use those inputs. As you experience over time how programming generally looks on DVD, you will acquire a general sense of how video programs should appear from other sources. It's rare to non-existent to have test patterns available from broadcast and cable sources.

In theory, all video programs and devices use the same fundamental imaging industry standards when they are composed/produced. In practice, however, there can be deviations from standards during production and/or deterioration of the integrity of the signal along the delivery path. Periodic adjustments of user menu picture controls will inevitably be necessary to compensate for non-linearities in various programs, or from various source devices. An educated eye can spot when whites or blacks are getting clipped, color levels are over-saturated, etc., etc. Understanding the features and functions of picture control your display and source components offer will allow you to make subjective corrections as you deem necessary. That's about as close to calibrating TV/cable signals as you'll be able to get.

Best regards and beautiful pictures,
G. Alan Brown, President
CinemaQuest, Inc.

"Advancing the art and science of electronic imaging"

Thanks for that explanation George, makes a lot of sense.

DigiLord calibrates each input according to the source, following only his own eyes as a guide.