For my current regular old Toshiba 27" 4:3 tv, when it was under factory warranty, I called to have a repair person come out because I felt there was too much red in the picture and that there was a lot of bending in the corners, and someone came up and basically went into the service menu and adjusted it to the best they could. And it was covered under factory warranty.

So why doesn't this correspond to hidef displays? Couldn't you just have a service call done and say the colors and black levels, etc. aren't accurate and have the service person adjust it under warranty?

Hope that's not too dumb a question -- thanks!

Did they resolve the red tint? Many service techs aren't trained or equipped to perform calibrations. Geometry correction controls are minimal or non-existent for consumer CRT televisions.

Because they don't adjust it to be "accurate" at the factory. If you have obvious picture structure problems like poor geometry, noticeably "off" colors, tinted blacks, etc., those are things they'll respond to. But it's guaranteed that the tech will eyeball these things. No colorimeters, templates, or other specialized tools that calibrators use.

For my current regular old Toshiba 27" 4:3 tv, when it was under factory warranty, I called to have a repair person come out because I felt there was too much red in the picture and that there was a lot of bending in the corners, and someone came up and basically went into the service menu and adjusted it to the best they could. And it was covered under factory warranty.

So why doesn't this correspond to hidef displays? Couldn't you just have a service call done and say the colors and black levels, etc. aren't accurate and have the service person adjust it under warranty?

Hope that's not too dumb a question -- thanks!

Let me give you a real world experience.

I had a tube go out on my Sony HD CRT. It was under a 5 year EW.

The repair was done by Tweeter. All their repairs are done in 1 place in the state.

The Tweeter (or ex-Tweeter local tech as of last week) that I normally dealt with for years knew what I do for a living and knew it had to be right - he told the home office this.

Bottom line, the set was sent back to me with all type of problems.

It was picked up and sent back to the central repair of Tweeter. They put in ANOTHER tube (remember we are talking a $1500 part here). And sent it back.

It had another issue. The local tech thought it was in some of the circuit boards, so he replaced those. Still no go.

We detailed exactly what the problems were (for example on a 75% white field in 1080i through the HDMI port only) etc etc.

After 2 trips across the state and 2 $1500 tubes, not to mention multiple circuit boards, the head of service for the state personally went over the repair before it was sent back the last time.

It was better, colors still off and certainly the lines were not completely straight. They stated that this was no pro gear and this was the best it was ever going to look (remember at this point we are talking roughly $5000 worth of parts this year for the TV (that cost 1/2 that new!) - not to mention incredible man hours, 3 pick ups and deliveries of the TV as well as transporting it across the state 6 total times).

3 hours of intensive work in the SM got the lines straight. Another 2 hours to get the set to D65.

Now, if they cannot do better than that at the Service Center for Tweeter at the state where they do have state of the art test gear, how much better do you think a local repair by someone who does not have the proper test gear and calibration equipment is going to work out for you?

That all makes sense! It would be cool if there was a calibrator who was also an official repair person and could charge it to the warranty (but then I guess they wouldn't be making the money personally).

I just don't think I'll be able to afford the calibration once I get my display... but I guess I can try some regular (non service menu) settings that people post around here (and give Video Essentials a shot).

Plus, I'll be moving in a year, and I don't know if calibration really takes into effect the room/lighting/etc. you're in -- but, if so, then it would be a waste of money to do it while I'm living where I'm at now...

Thanks for the info!

Manufacturers warranties do not cover adjustments unless there are gross picture errors. Even then, most require special authorization to pay for any such adjustments. The rates for warranty repairs are very low to start with, and most techs are not trained in calibration at all. Most these days don't even understand the nature of the signal or the image that is reproduced and are just parts swappers. Calibration techs are often the butt of jokes and ridicule by service techs and manufacturers service reps. The manufacturer wants to get a set working with the minimum of cost and understand that the performance standards of most consumers is very low.

It would be cool if there was a calibrator who was also an official repair person and could charge it to the warranty (but then I guess they wouldn't be making the money personally).

Does the word "fraud" mean anything to you? It does result in criminal charges and jail time.

Does the word "fraud" mean anything to you? It does result in criminal charges and jail time.

Ugh... Obviously (at least to me), I meant it would be cool if it could "legally" be done that way (meaning, it was included in the warranty "repair"). So, yes, that word does mean something... Bea Arthur is a great actress. Oh, wait, that's "Maud"...