Just wondering. I heard a month was good, but I don't think I can wait that long, you guys think a week will be enough?

just an opinion..the longer you get used to your current pic the harder it may be to get used to a calibrated pic..it takes some getting used to for some

the harder it may be to get used to a calibrated pic..

Any change involves some adaptation. Most humans appreciate a change from distortion to accuracy, when they learn they've been used to error. If you've always viewed the world through tinted glasses, a change to clear lenses can look different at first. Would a cinematographer want his audience to view his movie on a tinted screen or neutral white? "It's all about the art," Joe Kane.

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

"Advancing the art and science of electronic imaging"

The reason for the "month" guideline has more to do with making sure you don't end up with a defective display more than anything else.

The reason for the "month" guideline has more to do with making sure you don't end up with a defective display more than anything else.


Ahh gotcha. Well I checked for dead pixels, didn't see any, everything else seems to be alright.

Another reason for waiting is that there may be some minor image quality shift in most display types until "broken in." Lamps can change over the first 60 hours or so, CRTs can drift, etc. Waiting for early product failure is a legitimate concern, as is giving the owner time to work through all operating modes, features and options to verify they work properly. Calibration work is not reimbursed by the display's vendor if the set has to be replaced or repaired.

Yeah, I think I'll give it a couple weeks george, thanks for replying.


Couple more questions, when calling the calibrator to set up an appointment, what kind of questions should I ask him to make sure he's a good calibrator, etc ?

Any change involves some adaptation. Most humans appreciate a change from distortion to accuracy, when they learn they've been used to error. If you've always viewed the world through tinted glasses, a change to clear lenses can look different at first. Would a cinematographer want his audience to view his movie on a tinted screen or neutral white? "It's all about the art," Joe Kane.

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

"Advancing the art and science of electronic imaging"

quite true but again some dont like the change in image right away as they have gotten use to the vivid over saturated settings out of the box the longer they have viewed their set.
Thats all I was getting at

quite true but again some dont like the change in image right away as they have gotten use to the vivid over saturated settings out of the box the longer they have viewed their set.
Thats all I was getting at

Yeah, also true, my friends were over yesterday and on the menu they kept telling me to turn brightness up and use vivid instead of standard.

I remember calibrating one gentleman's LCD display last year when the hockey playoffs were underway. When I finished, he immediately turned to a game that was being shown in HD. His first impression was not good...he thought the ice surface looked all wrong - it was no longer bright white like it was before!

I asked him if he had ever been to see an NHL game in person and he said he had many times. I asked him what the ice looked like in person. He paused and said "OK, now I get it!" After that, he was absolutely thrilled with the results.

Hmm, I know photos are not a very accurate source but does anyone have any photos of a set before and after calibration by a professional?

Just wondering. I heard a month was good, but I don't think I can wait that long, you guys think a week will be enough?

The recommendation to wait is mainly for value purposes. Most displays will shift the most in the beginning of their lifetime (or the bulb's lifetime), so say the first 100 hours things will be changing a lot. If you were to calibrate immediatly upon receiving the display, it would be best to have the calibrator back to tweak it again as things settle in. Most people would rather not add this extra cost in the ideal situation, so they only want to have the calibrator out once. Waiting until the set settles in gets them the most value out of the single calibration.

Remember that ideally you'd calibrate the set immediatly, and then tweak it again shortly thereafter as things settle in. The point of waiting isn't that you *shouldn't* calibrate early on, you most certainly should, but just that you get a better value by waiting if you're only going to have the calibrator once.

So I recommend doing a self-calibration with Avia, DVE etc immediatlely, and then having a pro come in after the set has broken in for a while.

I agree Chris. There is some (even if it's minor) shift in performance early in the display's life. An adjustment (even if by "eye" - see this calibration forum page: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/printthread.php?t=585527&p=6368677) should be done right away - using a calibration DVD is preferred, of course.

NOTE: The links in this Forum don't work at this time. The post referred to, above, is in the Calibration FAQ (sticky thread).

The biggest reason for delaying a pro calibration is that the probability of display failure is the highest in the first month, or so. Actually, in home use, this "early (infant) mortality" usually takes around 250 hours (80% - 90% of that is most likely in the first 100 hours, though).

Yeah, I think I'll give it a couple weeks george, thanks for replying.


Couple more questions, when calling the calibrator to set up an appointment, what kind of questions should I ask him to make sure he's a good calibrator, etc ?

akj27,

Here is a tutorial that we wrote on the subject in order to better assist you:

Hiring a Video Calibration Technician (http://www.avical.com/articles/hiring_a_video-calibration_technician.html)

Best,

Dave

akj27,

Here is a tutorial that we wrote on the subject in order to better assist you:

Hiring a Video Calibration Technician (http://www.avical.com/articles/hiring_a_video-calibration_technician.html)

Best,

Dave


That tutorial was great, thanks a lot! Now where should I post asking for feedback on a certain calibrator? I was gonna have these guys do it:

http://www.custominstallation.com/

That tutorial was great, thanks a lot! Now where should I post asking for feedback on a certain calibrator? I was gonna have these guys do it:

http://www.custominstallation.com/

This thread is one of the only ones I have seen that provides feedback on various people.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8242226#post8242226

I would ask for references from them if you want feedback from their clients. Finding their clients on the net is not likely to happen.

I will say most of the people I have met that have an installation business are not very strong on the calibration side. Their background is focused more on wiring, construction and equipment sales. Calibration of audio and video is not something they tend to excel at.

This site offers a contact list of serious independent calibrators: http://isfforum.com/

The public portion of the site is part of the ISF's official limited access forum for professional calibrators only. The members are screened by the ISF and pay a fee to access the private technical discussions. Therefore, participants are commited to their craft. Only these ISF Forum members are listed in the public directory.

Well I only have 2 options I think, in my area. Those guys in the link I posted, which I found through the isf website, or Jesse Power, however, I don't know if I should trust someone who claims he/she is an ISF calibrator on a forum, I don't know. Anyone ever heard of him/her?

Well I only have 2 options I think, in my area. Those guys in the link I posted, which I found through the isf website, or Jesse Power, however, I don't know if I should trust someone who claims he/she is an ISF calibrator on a forum, I don't know. Anyone ever heard of him/her?

You have way more than two options. Several calibrators like myself travel in that region. Some will travel from NY and others from further away.

I would also look at www.isfforum.com. Members of that forum are certainly ISF certified and have more than average interest in the craft.

I would also require someone to use a spectroradiometer/spectrophotometer on your display type.

I find that most peoples surround sound is a bigger mess than the video. I would explore that as well. Setting up multichannel audio is not a simple matter and the automated systems found in many receivers are not sufficient to deliver the goods in most cases.

You have way more than two options. Several calibrators like myself travel in that region. Some will travel from NY and others from further away.

I would also look at www.isfforum.com. Members of that forum are certainly ISF certified and have more than average interest in the craft.

I would also require someone to use a spectroradiometer/spectrophotometer on your display type.

I find that most peoples surround sound is a bigger mess than the video. I would explore that as well. Setting up multichannel audio is not a simple matter and the automated systems found in many receivers are not sufficient to deliver the goods in most cases.

http://www.isfforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=69&sid=bb97e7031f703162d4f921bfa72c7510

Thats the only one I can find for my area.

By the way, I'm currently stuck with 2.1, and I don't have the cash right now to buy a new set of speakers and receiver, so the calibrator would only have to calibrate the tv.

I got my set calibrated last week and have only been able to see some improvement in color (with SD content ) and minor improvements in black (with HD content). I was using the CNET settings that they recommended for my set and I was pleased with the picture, I thought it look really good. I had my set for about two months before I was squeezed in for an earlier calibration date last week.

So I'm not seeing a big difference that I had expected, but I'm guessing it's because I was so used to seeing the images with the CNET settings which I was told were pretty good for general use.

N.C. timestamp 9:20:27 AM