**Official** Sony GWIV Tweaks Thread

[nixima]

I have not been able to find a good tweaks thread for the GWIVs so I'll give it a shot as I am getting tired of searching through the GWIV Owner thread.

I just received my 55WF655 a few days ago and I am very pleased with it so far. I ran the AVIA disk through my PS2 using s-video and my DVD player using component. I am running pro mode with power saving on. After running through AVIA I do not have too many significant changes from the pro mode defaults, just reduced sharpness down to 18.

Has anyone performed the UMR tweaks for GWIII and/or GWII? If so, have the results been favorable? Are there changes that should be made to UMR's settings?

What non-service-mode settings are you people finding to provide the best results for your inputs?

I'd like to get some feedback before I venture into the service menu )
Thank you!!

[TH3_FRB]

I used the THX Optimizer to adjust my settings. Ended up with the picture (contrast) maxed, brightness at 24, color saturation at 40, sharpness at 30. At first I was concerned about the contrast setting, but it looks the best and I used the test screen properly so I decided to just enjoy it and stop thinking about it. I'm using "standard" mode on a 42WE655. I applied the same settings to all my inputs...dvd via component, Moto 6200 via component, and OTA DTV via internal tuner. I'd really like to try a ND filter to improve the blacks but don't feel like pulling the set apart to experiment right now. Initially I thought the picture (on all sources) should be a little more crisp as it appeared a bit soft in general. I've since gotten used to it I guess. It might be similar to the HD2+ vs HD3 DLP chips where one produces a softer "smoother" picture and the other a more crisp (some say "enhanced") picture.

[fretbored03]

Here are the current settings on my KDF-50WE655. I began with umr's GWIII tweaks because they seemed like a good place to start. They did make an impressive difference, and I have been able to tweak things a little more using the AVIA patterns.

I'm using Pro mode for all inputs.

Color Temp is neutral.

Noise Reduction is off.

Mild Mode is off.

Advanced Video is set to CineMotion for 480i sources (all other input formats don't give the option to change this).

USER MENU ADJUSTMENTS

Picture Max (63)
Brightness 37
Color 37
Tint 0
Sharpness Min (0)

I had originally set the above values slightly different than listed here. After I made the changes below I went back and re-tweaked these. I used the respective AVIA patterns to determine the best value.

Category DCP-ADJ1

RDRV 131*
GDRV 140*
BDRV 102*
RCUT 255*
GCUT 242*
BCUT 255*

*These values are directly from umr's GWIII tweaks. I doubt they are the optimal settings on the GWIV, but I don't have the equipment to do a proper gray scale calibration. In any case, they are still much better that the OOTB settings.

Category DCP-ADJ2

SHOF 15

Category MID-5

MVLC 1
MHLC 1
MVLS 0
MVFM 4
MHFM 4

The above values improved the resolution significantly. I used the AVIA sharpness test pattern to determine the best value for each.

Updates:

11/4/04 -
I had inadvertently swapped a couple of the values under the DCP-ADJ1 category. This has been fixed.


11/4/04 -
Just wanted to add that (so far) I've applied these settings to the following sources ONLY:

480i (DVD connected via component)
720p (OTA HDTV)
1080i (OTA HDTV)

These settings may or may not work for other source types. There is at least one report that they are not optimal for 480p sources. I'll test this when I can get a chance.

[nixima]

fretbored03....are those the only fields you changed in the service menu?

[fretbored03]

Originally posted by nixima
fretbored03....are those the only fields you changed in the service menu?

Those are the only ones. I haven't done adjustments for overscan yet, which may or may not change the values above. I'll post them if they do.

[mrcoaster]

Thanks for posting this. I'm very interested in the tweaks as I'm strongly considering the 60XS955...

[wahoodude23]

Originally posted by fretbored03


USER MENU ADJUSTMENTS

Picture Max (63)
Brightness 37
Color 37
Tint 0
Sharpness Min (0)

Why did you set the sharpness to 0?

[nixima]

From umr's GWII/GWIII thread:

"The user sharpness setting (USHP) is interactive with several other service menu values (SHF0, MVLS, MHLC). The set will appear too soft if you use a 0 value for USHP without changing the other service menu values to the values listed. You may also prefer more enhancement than a value 0 for USHP offers after all of the other values are changed."

I'm not 100% clear on what he is saying but the way I read it is that it helps in tweaking the service menu settings if you start out with the sharpness at 0. I'm guessing this setting also provided the correct output with the AVIA or THX sharpness pattern also.

[robshdtv]

New to tweaking the Sony KDF55WF.....is entering the service menu the same as the GWIII? If so I'm looking to center my picture on widescreen movies. It appears the top bars are a little smaller then the bottom. (Tried several different movies) I have also posted this on the GWIV owners thread and someone said it might be a service menu adjustment. The built in overscan +/- setting corrects it a bit but it needs just a few clicks more. Does anyone know or have tried to do this?

Thanks,

-R

[fretbored03]

Originally posted by wahoodude23
Why did you set the sharpness to 0?

I started with USHP at 0. (Force of habit from my days calibrating CRT displays I guess.) The changes to SHOF, MVLC, MHLC, MVLS, MVFM, and MHFM improved the resolution such that USHP could be left at 0.

[fretbored03]

Originally posted by robshdtv
New to tweaking the Sony KDF55WF.....is entering the service menu the same as the GWIII? If so I'm looking to center my picture on widescreen movies. It appears the top bars are a little smaller then the bottom. (Tried several different movies) I have also posted this on the GWIV owners thread and someone said it might be a service menu adjustment. The built in overscan +/- setting corrects it a bit but it needs just a few clicks more. Does anyone know or have tried to do this?

Thanks,

-R

Entering service mode is the same. The GWIV, however, requires you to press the Jump button on the remote twice to get to the service data.

Also, some items such as those accessible through the user menu (UPIC, UBRT, USHP, etc.) have a tendancy to "snap" back to their original values if you try to change them through the service menu. It wasn't really an issue, though, because they can be changed through the user menu.

I still havent had a chance to do overscan adjustments yet, but the service data items should be under the MID-1 category. (DHPH/DVPH for horizontal/vertical position and MDHS/MDVS for horizontal/vertical size.)

Be extra careful with items in the MID-1 category. (i.e., don't change something unless you know what it does.)

Actually, that advice goes for all categories, I guess.

[marcelval]

Great to see this thread started! I am getting to the point where I want to dive into the service menu. I find pro mode to just be too soft.

[nixima]

fretbored03....I think you have a couple of the settings flip-flopped, GDRV and BDRV. They should be...

Category DCP-ADJ1

RDRV 131*
GDRV 140*
BDRV 102*
RCUT 255*
GCUT 242*
BCUT 255*

[Naldi]

I just got a KDF-50WE655 two days ago and looking to tweak a couple settings, but I can't find any of the categories fretbored03 mentioned in the service mode. I have the categories TH3_FRB mentioned in another thread:

TELETEXT
MSP SIZE
MSPMO
MSPSEL
MSPFNC
MSP3714G
CCPS 1
CCPS 2
CCPS 3
CCPS 4
CCPS 5
CCPS 6
CCPS 7
CCPS 8
CCPS 10 (CORRECT..."CCPS 9" DOES NOT EXIST)
CCPS 11
DELAY 1
DELAY 2
OSD
CC M
CC S
CC T
ID
OPB GA
OP GA
OP VS
VERSION
CXA2209Q
AP
DLBY
BUSSW
CXA2103
CXA2163
2D COMB

what am i missing? Can I not do umr's tweaks?

thanks

[robshdtv]

Is this the correct key strokes to get in to the service menu on the GWIV?

To Enter Service Menu Press {Display - 5 - Vol+ - Power (While off)}


And is this the right catagory for adjusting the overscan on the 480i inputs? (taken from the GWIII tweaks thread)

MID2 is input specific for 480i inputs
RHPL - Adjusts Horizontal display Position for 480i
RHSL - Adjusts Horizontal display size for 480i
replace H with V for vertical

Thanks,

-R

[Naldi]

I'm sorry... I realized you need to hit "jump" several times to get the appropriate categories.

[fretbored03]

Originally posted by nixima
fretbored03....I think you have a couple of the settings flip-flopped, GDRV and BDRV. They should be...

Category DCP-ADJ1

RDRV 131*
GDRV 140*
BDRV 102*
RCUT 255*
GCUT 242*
BCUT 255*

You are correct. I inadvertently swapped the numbers. I have corrected it in the original post.

Thanks!

[gwood]

Why do you have to take a risk doing the umr-style tweaks on GWIV models (change the tweaks in the service menu)? Do the AVIA, THX, or DVE do its job enough to satisify your needs???

[fretbored03]

Originally posted by gwood
Why do you have to take a risk doing the umr-style tweaks on GWIV models (change the tweaks in the service menu)? Do the AVIA, THX, or DVE do its job enough to satisify your needs???

There's only so much you can do without going into service mode. Some people are fine with it, some people are not.

If you want to try to squeeze the best picture possible out of your display, you will need to go into the service menu and take the associated risks. (Or pay someone else to do it for you.)

[nixima]

I made the changes from fretbored03's post #3 to all my inputs last night. Some observations...
o Navigating through the service menu was not as frightening as I imagined. I used umr's GWII/III instructions along with fretbored03's settings
o umr's GWII/III tweaks did not change all the values under MID-5 that fretbored03, so I assumed fretbored03's values were good
o Most of the default settings for the video3 input matched the tweaked settings in the service menu. This seemed strange to me.
o I had to change the user settings back to the pro mode defaults (with maxed out picture) on my video6 input (Sony progressive scan DVD via component cables). I ran Avia and the color and sharpness were way off using fretbored03's settings.
o fretbored03's user settings produced a great picture on my video1 input (PS2 via s-video). I didn't think the settings would be that differnt between my video6 and video1 inputs but they were.

So I guess the big conclusion is that these tweaked values do not produce a great picture in all instances. There is a great variation depending on the video input and DVD player.

[fretbored03]

Originally posted by nixima
I made the changes from fretbored03's post #3 to all my inputs last night. Some observations...
o Navigating through the service menu was not as frightening as I imagined. I used umr's GWII/III instructions along with fretbored03's settings
o umr's GWII/III tweaks did not change all the values under MID-5 that fretbored03, so I assumed fretbored03's values were good
o Most of the default settings for the video3 input matched the tweaked settings in the service menu. This seemed strange to me.
o I had to change the user settings back to the pro mode defaults (with maxed out picture) on my video6 input (Sony progressive scan DVD via component cables). I ran Avia and the color and sharpness were way off using fretbored03's settings.
o fretbored03's user settings produced a great picture on my video1 input (PS2 via s-video). I didn't think the settings would be that differnt between my video6 and video1 inputs but they were.

So I guess the big conclusion is that these tweaked values do not produce a great picture in all instances. There is a great variation depending on the video input and DVD player.

I had not tried the settings yet with my DVD player set to progressive. I have only used them with 480i, 720p, and 1080p. I'll see if I can try it tonight.

I have updated the original post to reflect this.

[wahoodude23]

Originally posted by nixima
I made the changes from fretbored03's post #3 to all my inputs last night. Some observations...
o Navigating through the service menu was not as frightening as I imagined. I used umr's GWII/III instructions along with fretbored03's settings
o umr's GWII/III tweaks did not change all the values under MID-5 that fretbored03, so I assumed fretbored03's values were good
o Most of the default settings for the video3 input matched the tweaked settings in the service menu. This seemed strange to me.
o I had to change the user settings back to the pro mode defaults (with maxed out picture) on my video6 input (Sony progressive scan DVD via component cables). I ran Avia and the color and sharpness were way off using fretbored03's settings.
o fretbored03's user settings produced a great picture on my video1 input (PS2 via s-video). I didn't think the settings would be that differnt between my video6 and video1 inputs but they were.

So I guess the big conclusion is that these tweaked values do not produce a great picture in all instances. There is a great variation depending on the video input and DVD player.

Sorry for the newbie question: How do I access the service menu? I assume this is different from the setup menu on the TV?

[nixima]

I strongly recommend printing out the instructions from umr on this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=331875

Here is the navigation info from there:

To Enter Service Menu Press {Display - 5 - Vol+ - Power (While off)} If you do this quickly after you turn off the set the lamp will not shutdown. You have about 3 seconds to avoid a lamp restart.
To Save Settings Press {Mute - Enter}

To Navigate Service Menu

Up Item Press {1}
Down Item Press {4}
Up Category Press {2}
Down Category Press {5}
Increment Data Press {3}
Decrement Data Press {6}

[Reyfam]

I think I goofed a little last night as I was following some of the UMR's tweaks for the DCP-ADJ-2. I thought I was in the SHOF category and dropped the setting down to 15 as recommended I was in the field before that which is very similar something like SFOH or SFHO I don't recall exactly as I'm at work right now. In any event they are both now set at 15.

Does anyone know what the default setting should be? It does not appear to have had an impact on any of my HD component settings for my DVD player or HD Satellite box. However, my Dish SD PVR (S-video) settings now appear to have some severe black crush to them.

Would I be able to get the default settings if I connect the PVR to one of the other (s-video) inputs (1, 2, 3 or 4) which I did not make any changes to?

Thanks everyone!

[nixima]

Originally posted by Reyfam
I think I goofed a little last night as I was following some of the UMR's tweaks for the DCP-ADJ-2. I thought I was in the SHOF category and dropped the setting down to 15 as recommended I was in the field before that which is very similar something like SFOH or SFHO I don't recall exactly as I'm at work right now. In any event they are both now set at 15.

Does anyone know what the default setting should be? It does not appear to have had an impact on any of my HD component settings for my DVD player or HD Satellite box. However, my Dish SD PVR (S-video) settings now appear to have some severe black crush to them.

Would I be able to get the default settings if I connect the PVR to one of the other (s-video) inputs (1, 2, 3 or 4) which I did not make any changes to?

Thanks everyone!

I think someone posted the default settings in the GWIV Owner's thread....I'll try to look this up this weekend on my set...

[mineral99]

Just got my 60in XS955. I'm experiencing a lip synch audio delay problem. I'm connected from the XS to my HT receiver with the TV speaker tunred off. Is thier a tweak in the service menu that can fix this problem?

[marcelval]

I just did the tweaks that fretbored suggested on my Video 1 (SVideo) input. This is what my DirecTivo is hooked up to. Previously pro mode was just way too soft to watch on this input, now it's decent. Unfortunately I can't view any test patterns while makeing the tweaks, but it still came out ok. Pro does not have the pop of Vivid, but vivid now seems a bit over enhanced and blacks are too crushed. Previously I used standard mode which I still like, I may have to try out some tweaks on standard and see how that works out. Pro has better blacks than standard though.

It was not as scary as I thought it would be going into the service menu. I did setup a special device on my MX500 remote to navigate the menu. I put the category/item navigation on the directional pad, the item incr/decr on the channel +- buttons, and setup lcd buttons with the DISLP, 5, VOL+, input, and jump functions. I thought about making a macro to enter the service mode with, but that seemed like it might be dangerous...

Next up will be tweaking my DVD on HDMI...

[TH3_FRB]

Better chance it's the material then your set. Do you have the same lip synch problem with all cources...OTA, DVD, cable/sat?

Originally posted by mineral99
Just got my 60in XS955. I'm experiencing a lip synch audio delay problem. I'm connected from the XS to my HT receiver with the TV speaker tunred off. Is thier a tweak in the service menu that can fix this problem?

[skipcooney]

Can someone suggest optimal settings for those of us who are not brave enough to enter the service menu? Which mode, color temp, noise reduction, picture, brightness, color, hue, sharpness, mild mode, cinemotion, DRC, and power saving settings?

My inputs are HD cable with cablecard, 480i DVD (component input), and 480p Relpay PVR (component input) . My TV is the kdf-42we655.

[Sean_S]

I cannot get any service menu changes to save on a 55wf655. When I press "mute" to save I get the word "write" in green for a few seconds, but the value will snap back after a few seconds...sometimes after a minute or so. Has anyone else experienced this? I cannot adjust ANY settings from cuts and drvs to the mvls settings.

Sean