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PNxxD550 advanced calibration unlocked!/Calibration Thread

258K views 779 replies 183 participants last post by  jack54 
#1 ·
Welcome!

For Posterity in this thread.. if you could post your firmware version and country purchased as well. that would be great! My firmware is 2011/02/11_001007.(CAN) you can check the firmware version from "menu, support---software upgrade"


The D550 series is IMO the best panel for the PQ/BUCKS! It has virtually the same panel as the higher end models of the Samsung '11 lines. Series 5,6,7,8.


The only thing the 6,7,8 series have is AR filter/RealBlackFilter/10pt Calibration/Smart TV Functions.


We now have a way to unlock the 10point advanced calibration on our awesome mid range TV's in the D550 series. This makes IMO our sets a high range set. With this we can have virtually the same PQ as the highest end set. Better color accuracy and grayscale.


I am not talking about blacks... that is another thing.. but imo it's totally subjective unless you have the panels side by side.. and even then.. i think it's 50% wishfull thinking and 50% placebo. lol..


anyways..


onto the instructions.. eh?
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USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. I, AND NO-ONE ELSE IN THIS THREAD ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY MISHAPS WITH YOUR SET.
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Turn off display and punch in the following "Mute - 1 - 8 - 2 - Power" to enter service menu.


Enter the Option menu.


Highlight the set name it should say D550. click left until you come upon D7000. Select it and then exit option menu back to main menu.


Now if you want you can enable Cal-Day, Cal-Night. this will give you 2 more picture modes so you can store some more settings for PQ.


it is in the Expert menu. Enable the d/n and then exit to main menu.


Now shut off display. and turn back on.


You now have extra options as the d7000 d6500/d6900 d8000 have.


The only catch is.. the hdmi ports get muddled and you have to crossmatch them for them to work.. crossmatching is explained below.. basically you need all 4 ports plugged in for crossmatching to function 100% and give you all ports working fine.. if you don't have access to 4 devices to use hdmi with.. then you can use the "idle port" fix that is explained below and in this thread as well. previously it was thought that you couldn't have all ports working maybe only 3 and the using of the idle port.. but when full crossmatching is applied.. the is totally negated and we can indeed use all 4 ports fine and dandy!

The HDMI ports get crossmatched to the port names in the source menu.

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Crossmatching Explained.. Further information about Idle ports and Crossmatching to obtain and use all 4 ports on your SET


Crossmatch the ports you need.. Note--((the ps3 on my set when turned off ceases to function via HDMI this causes a break in the chain and screws ups the crossmatch/idle port. (total crossmatching Gives you the total use of all 4 ports)


Idle port still applies if you are using say 2 or 3 its essentially still a crossmatch because you need the opposite side for it to work *idle port* and if you crossmatch the idle port.. the idle port will function.. and so on and so forth.


In this thread. the term crossmatching is used to denote the unusual problem we have when needing a port to function correctly. you need a matched port on the other side.. (cross-match). the crossmatching is normally fine because we usually have all the devices on and plugged in via hdmi in the chain and of course having the (idle port).. so if all devices function correctly and the idle port is working then crossmatching is fine.


but.. when you have an idle port and another link in the chain(ps3-hdmi) that turns off.. it can cause issues with crossmatching. (e.g. the port crossmatching to the ps3 will cease to function.. causing a chain problem...


this can be moot if you just crossmatch the port to an port that doesn't need to be used all the time.. and again.. this may not be an issue to all.. and just my bug.


it's just good to hash this out.. i was going to post more about the crossmatching but needed to figure out some more things first. now i have posted it we can see what if any other issues we have.


you an see the crossmatch for your ownself by plugging in each port via hdmi. then checking all sources. now unplug each one and you see that they are all matched to one another.


The crossmatching theory that i have found negates the idle port.. because if you have all 4 ports plugged in and HOT WIRED to a LIVE SOUCE... All Ports Function Fine!


Hence the Crossmatching.


so... there it is.

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You need 2 HDMI plugged in to have 1 HDMI. You need 3 HDMI plugged in to have 2 Sources. and last but not least.. you need 4 HDMI plugged in to have 3 sources..


This is the catch.. it's not a big deal.. because with HDMI splitters and AVR's.. it isn't a problem.. but for some it may be an issue.. You have to have an actual HDMI LIVE WIRE plugged in.. as in it has to be SOURCE TO SOURCE.


For instance.. i have my devices as so.


HDA1-HD DVD player. Plugged into port 2. it shows up in menu as port 4


I have my PS3 plugged into port 3 and it shows up as port 2 in menu.


I have my pc plugged into port 4 and it shows up in menu as port 1 DVI/PC.


Now because of the crossmatch between ports.. We in this thread have determined that you need what we have coined as an IDLE port.


My "idle" port is port 1 on the back of the unit. It presumably would have been port 3 but i haven't tested it as i have no sources left.. It is simply plugged into the "HDMI OUT" port on my AVR. I have currently decided to matrix all the sound to 2.1 through my AVR via Optical from my TV. This is easier for me now.. when i get a better AVR and Better Player e.g Top of the line Samsung, or the like with Analogs.. i an do HD sound.. but it is what it is..


I dug around the threads and found these to be my favorite settings for the set.


They were from the d8000 calibration thread you will no doubt parse and see below.


The set was calibrated by CHAD. He is a very good calibrator by virtue of his reputation on AVS and elsewhere.


Here are my Advanced Calibration Settings.

Mode:Movie

-------------

Cell Light---20

Contrast---95

Brightness---53

Sharpness---5 (((I prefer 20)))

Color---50

Tint---50/50

Black Tone---off

Dynamic---off

Gamma--- *(-1)* I prefer 0 or +1 i think it was calibrated for very dark room?

Rgb Only---off

Flesh Tone---0

Motion Light---off

xvYcc---off

Color Tone---warm2 (i prefer warm1) Standard for 3d settings.

Digital Noise---off

Mpeg Noise---off

I choose to run cinema smooth for BD's.

----------------

Color Space

_______

Red_r-----43

Red_g-----6

Red_b-----5

_______

Green_r-----14

Green_g-----50

Green_b-----1

_______

Blue_r-----3

Blue_g-----0

Blue_b-----47

_______

Yellow_r-----48

Yellow_g-----50

Yellow_b-----5

_______

Cyan_r-----15

Cyan_g-----49

Cyan_b-----51

_______

Magenta_r-----44

Magenta_g-----6

Magenta_b-----48

________________

White Balance

----------------

r_offset-----25

g_offset-----25

b_offset-----25

r_gain-----25

b_gain-----25

g_gain-----30

________________

10 Point Calibration

-----------------------

r1--------(1

g1-------(0

b1-------(1


r2-------(-4

g2-------(-3

b2-------(-4


r3-------(1

g3-------(1

b3-------(0


r4-------(0

g4-------(1

b4-------(1


r5-------(2

g5-------(2

b5-------(3


r6-------(1

g6-------(1

b6-------(2


r7-------(0

g7-------(0

b7-------(0


r8-------(-1

g8-------(-1

b8-------(-1


r9-------(0

g9-------(0

b9-------(-1


r10-------(1

g10-------(0

b10-------(-3




For 3d. I use this mode. but turn on dynamic contrast to high. black level to max. make sure the gamma is +1 and brightness is at 60.


Hope this works for u.


It took me 2 hours to calculate and find all these things and type out.



enjoi. and please keep this thread alive and post!!! and contribute.


Hopefully we get more interest in this and lots more folks.


I will post Blwn's settings and others below soon. so we can hopefully get some good info and contrast between what we find good with our advanced calibration settings for this set.
 
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#628 ·
well after using the hack for about the last 2 months , and my main priority being gaming on the 360 i have found a way to get a almost identical picture to what im getting with the hack, except this way the picture is slightly better!! ok.. you need to have the xbox connected to hdmi/dvi port 1. then you need to rename the connection to pc by using your remote and hitting source, then tools, then edit name. rename it to pc. on your xbox select enhanced colour space.. my settings on the tv are..


(in pc mode)

picture mode: standard ("entertain" is good aswell, slightly more dynamic pic)

cell light: 20

contrast: 96

brightness: 67

sharpness: 100.. its totally different when in pc mode. i see no jagged edges etc. i have it on 20 for tv, etc.

screen adjustment: 16:9 .. screen fit not a option.

gamma: 0

white balance: r offset 24, g offset 27, b offset 24.. r gain 22, g gain 24, b gain 21

warm 2

hdmi black level normal.


if you got a xbox try it out. awesome pic. dont give me **** about the sharpness on a 100 until you try it either lol. i wouldn't have believed it either, but im tellin you no jaggies in pc mode.


also for standard tv (foxtel) im using janos666 settings from page 10, and WOW!. awesome.
 
#630 ·
did you make sure you used hdmi/dvi 1 port? Is your 360 out putting in 1080p? if you have done the hack you need to have the idle port as port 1 and the 360 connected to port 3. If they are the tv will go black for a second when it changes modes. I have done some research and it says that the way tv's are told to send the image should be different to the way it sends the image from a gaming console. the pc mode is the right mode for gaming. It is a much cleaner pic. If you have done it right and try my settings you will definitely see a vast improvement. i cant believe how much better it looks. others say it just helps ping for online gaming, i tried pc mode on my samsung lcd and it didn't help the way it does on this tv. get it to work and let me know what you think
.. the colours are also more accurate, the greens are greener , the reds are redder, there is more depth to the colors etc, which is in contrast to when i tried it on my lcd which got a washed out pic as a result. I am now in love with the tv lol, no more fkn around with picture settings lol.. IM DONE
 
#631 ·
I truly didnt see a difference in PC to Regular mode. I would change the mode back n forth from PC to DVD.


I find setting expanded and HDMI level to Low looks very good. Maybe the game I had wasnt the best for it, Battlefield 3 but I truly didnt notice a big change by going to PC mode and the settings you posted.


But hell to me it all looks amazing haha
 
#632 ·
really? im not one to tell someone that what they are doing is wrong cos its all up to what looks best for you, but i have done a fair bit of research into expanded and the hdmi levels, and you should either have the xbox set to expanded and hdmi black level normal with source as the source, or xbox on standard and hdmi black level low. black level and standard are both sending 16-235, while expanded and normal are sending 0-255 for the colour range. if you have xbox expanded (0-255) and the tv expecting low (16-235) you will end up with crushed blacks, loss of detail in dark areas etc. you havent experienced that with bf3? thats what i used to get my settings right aswell lol. after doing proper calibrations and **** lol.
 
#636 ·
hi i guys, so i finally broke in my set and want to try this 10 pt calibration. i want to get an hdmi splitter however every single one from amazon.ca (i'm from canada) has terrible reviews, everyone saying basically it doesnt work. now since were just using this to basically sending a signal and not really wanting to split the feed into 2 displays, does it matter which hdmi splitter we get??? also i noticed that volblood recommended a hdmi switcher. but doesnt the switch only send one signal at a time?? or am i better off getting a switcer??? sorry for all the questions and thanks in advance
 
#638 ·
Hello everyone (first time posting here)!


I just purchased the D550 and was pleasantly surprised to find this thread! It has been incredibly helpful and the calibration help is tremendously appreciated!


So I have gone ahead and changed around the settings in the service menu and have set the panel to the D7000, unlocked and adjusted the settings. Great stuff.


Strange thing is though, the touch buttons on the the set are no longer working! Not a huge deal as I use the remote 99.9% of the time, but it is peculiar nonetheless.


I can't get to the TV to check the exact firmware but last I check (3 days ago it was up to date). Also, I purchased it in California, US.


I searched fairly vigorously through the thread and I don't think I saw anything on this, but if I missed it, I apologize!



Slightly off topic, this is my first plasma and was wondering with this panel (and in general), if after the break in period you experience better PQ. Also, what break in length would you recommend?
 
#639 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by guest1321 /forum/post/21504736


Slightly off topic, this is my first plasma and was wondering with this panel (and in general), if after the break in period you experience better PQ. Also, what break in length would you recommend?

All consumer displays drift throughout their lifetimes and with plasmas it is generally thought that the most change relative to other time periods will occur during the first 150 hours. The use of "break in" slides is highly questionable. Picture quality will not improve with time and at any given time the TV requires calibration to produce the most accurate picture it is capable of displaying.


Get a calibration disc so that brightness, contrast, sharpness, color, and tint can be adjusted by eye. Adjustments of 2p grayscale, 10p grayscale, gamma, and the color management system controls are pretty much useless without external equipment.
 
#641 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by buzzard767 /forum/post/21505368


All consumer displays drift throughout their lifetimes and with plasmas it is generally thought that the most change relative to other time periods will occur during the first 150 hours. The use of "break in" slides is highly questionable. Picture quality will not improve with time and at any given time the TV requires calibration to produce the most accurate picture it is capable of displaying.


Get a calibration disc so that brightness, contrast, sharpness, color, and tint can be adjusted by eye. Adjustments of 2p grayscale, 10p grayscale, gamma, and the color management system controls are pretty much useless without external equipment.

Great, thank you for the information!


In your experience, would the settings in OP be applicable to most other d550's is every panel fairly different?
 
#642 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by guest1321 /forum/post/21507061



In your experience, would the settings in OP be applicable to most other d550's is every panel fairly different?

Calibration settings usually don't transfer well and you probably have no more than a 50/50 chance of picture improvement. If you input the settings, the next thing you should do is use a calibration disk to see if the new settings have Brightness, Contrast, etc. set properly.
 
#643 ·
Does anybody's USB port work? Im trying to play some SBS 3D movie files.

This hack is not really an improvement unless you get your TV calibrated IMO. As buzzard says settings dont usually transfer over 100% Everyone's tv is different ages, some tv's are not even in the same region and the models differ, not to mention the difference in the external environment and and slight variations on each panel. Just because you switch your TV model to d7000 it just doesn't instantly become better its what you do with the settings it unlocks which are useless, unless you have the correct equipment and programs. So although its a great useful hack for certain sets ( who ever pays the 2-5 hundred dollars to get it calibrated) its pretty much pointless otherwise.
 
#645 ·
Does anyone know if this TV passes through 5.1 Dolby Digital/DTS streams from the HDMI input to the Digital Optical out?


Or does it only do 2 channel pass through?


for example:


XBOX(set to Dolby Digital)-> HDMI -> TV

and

TV -> Digital Optical Out -> Receiver

=

Dolby Digital on Receiver?


Thanks,


Kyle
 
#646 ·
Hi guys.


I´ve got a big Problem. By changing my D579 into 7000

i inadvertently change something else, so i got a pink tinge all over.


I havent found a wasy to rechange it.


Only under the point AVG --> HDMI Configuration --> Failure


Is there a way to completely reset everything to the standard 579 ?!
 
#647 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Thucydes /forum/post/21516762


Does anyone know if this TV passes through 5.1 Dolby Digital/DTS streams from the HDMI input to the Digital Optical out?


Or does it only do 2 channel pass through?


for example:


XBOX(set to Dolby Digital)-> HDMI -> TV

and

TV -> Digital Optical Out -> Receiver

=

Dolby Digital on Receiver?


Thanks,


Kyle

According to the manual, only 2 channels will be passed
I wanted to do the same thing
 
#648 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ragnar30 /forum/post/21520760


Hi guys.


I´ve got a big Problem. By changing my D579 into 7000

i inadvertently change something else, so i got a pink tinge all over.


I havent found a wasy to rechange it.


Only under the point AVG --> HDMI Configuration --> Failure


Is there a way to completely reset everything to the standard 579 ?!

Read the whole thread, I came across a post last night with the exact issue, someone pointed out a fix and it worked, sorry I can't remember what page, but it can be fixed
 
#649 ·
Did you mean this Post:

Quote:
No, you can use this image for auto calibration or even try to set it manually using the AVSHD709 test disk (these are basically contrast/brightness settings, separately for the primary color channels).


I suggest to set the values to 128x3, 0x3 before you hit the calibration again. After the first Success, increase the higher values and decrese the lower values by ~5 and run the calibration again.


My results are 139x3, 49x3, so expect something similar

or this:

Quote:
Okay here they are. This is the Australian PS model but should be the same.


I wanted to go in and try switching it to a 7000 model to unlock the advanced calibrations. Ended up switching back for now until I can get a solution for my HDMI inputs not working. (Tried a passive splitter but it has handshaking problems - audio dropouts etc.)


Pity cause I have an Eye-One Pro and have already run through the AVSHD/Color HCFR calibrations on the 2 point white balance, but can't seem to get rid of some red push/oversaturated yellows...
 
#652 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ragnar30 /forum/post/21520760


Hi guys.


I´ve got a big Problem. By changing my D579 into 7000

i inadvertently change something else, so i got a pink tinge all over.


I havent found a wasy to rechange it.


Only under the point AVG --> HDMI Configuration --> Failure


Is there a way to completely reset everything to the standard 579 ?!

Attach your computer via HDMI to one of your inputs change the TV input so that you see your computer and use this image on full screen on your computer, go to the service menu go to where it says failure hit the right keypad on your remote it should say wait then success. The file is attached
 
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