What to look for when getting a set pro calibrated

Excellent question. I just got a new 6010 and can say I will be having it calibrated as well. Though I still have another 100-150 hours before I should get it done. I too would like to have some input on this topic.

apply the RGB tweaks from the settings thread by dnice to your set tonight and i bet you cancel the pro-cal this weekend.

I wouldn't cancel your appointment. Those gain cuts will get you even closer to ideal, but not all the way there.
BE CAREFUL when going into the service menu, as "if" you mess something up you will not be covered by the Pioneer warranty.
I personally did it though and as long as you go slow and are careful you should be fine.


As far as the ISF tech. you can ask him what equipment he will be using and post that and his name here to find out what others think.

There is discussion about this stuff in the Calibration forum, but here's an article from Sound and Vision magazine . . . .

"What you can expect when an ISF technician comes to calibrate your TV":
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/art...3&print_page=y

In addition to the above stuffs, like any contractor you employ get a list of references, and ask if those people are pleased and got what they paid for. My local BB had ISF guys with 10’s of years experience but none of them were willing to give me a reference list, even a corporate list.
The next calibrator I called faxed me 60 of his past private and corporate accounts, he wasn’t shy.
I did call 3 individuals from his list, one guy was oblivious to the technical details but said he was incredibly happy with the picture quality and would recommend etc.

The guy who did my tv also calibrated a game mode for me, in addition to calibrating my notebook computer also he went though a pot of coffee and all my digestive biscuits I am well pleased.

i think the key is to get the calibrator to do a calibration for the input from the TV as well as the input from the DVD player after he gets the D65 settings in the service menu - calibrating the DVD input is much easier than calibrating the tv input (lots of tools on dvd) - for example on my tv - using User mode with my DTV: color = -13 ; from my dvd player it is -6 : but i use movie for dvds and those setting are totally different than user. Also, other setting are different - don't let him tell you that the settings from all inputs are the same because they are not!!!!!!!!!!!!

one other thing - dnice's sm settings are so close to d65 that basically you are wasting your money with a calibrator.

The article in Post #5 states it is crucial for contrast and brightness to have the set calibrated under the same lighting conditions that you use to watch TV. Since the majority of my viewing is at night, I need to have it calibrated at night? How long does it typically take a ISF calibrator to calibrate?

1) yes theoretically
2) about 2 hours

I thought the same thing. How about having the calibrator set up two calibrations on different presets. One for day viewing and one for night.

Can you simulate night conditions? Temporarily block incoming light from outside?
If so, then you can have it calibrated during the day.

EAGLES - Unfortunetly no. There is an eight foot slider out to the pool that does not have blinds or anything. There is also a high window (12' ceiling) that allows light in.

BIGBAD74 - A day and night setting would be good, but that would mean the calibrator would have to come twice?

Well if you cant simulate the night time light conditions then I would think so.

You missed my point. This wouldn't be a permanent thing, just anything temporary to block the light.
You could put up a sheet from a bed temporarily while the calibration is taking place, no?

EAGLES - Oh! Yes, I did miss your point. I didn't even think of that. Sure, I can tape some paper (or a sheet or something) off the slider and the high window. Good idea. Didn't really want to schedule the calibration for nighttime.
And the calibrator can do both day and night simulation.

Then you are golden
I hope this isn't a BB calibrator though. As for the same money you can get better.
If you need options PM me where you live and I'll give you some.

EAGLES - PM sent.
Thanks.

The short answer is, record some broadcast test patterns on your DVR.

The long answer is:
As you know, calibration is different for each input device. That is, you need a separate calibration for each source, e.g., DVD player, Cable (or satellite, or whatever you get your TV feed from), Game Console, etc.

Moreover, it helps if you can send Test Patterns and standard Color Bars from each source, so you can calibrate them according to a standard. Now, with your DVD player, it's easy to transmit a Test Pattern, because you can just buy a calibration DVD and pop it into your DVD player, and voila, it will send the Test Pattern from your DVD player to the display.

What is trickier, is getting your TV Source (cable, satellite, or whatever you use for your TV feed) to send a Test Pattern. What you need here, is basically for your TV Broadcaster to broadcast a Test Pattern, so you can have the Test Pattern coming in through your TV Source. In the old days, when stations did not run Shows 24 hours a day, they used to sign off at night and broadcast a Test Pattern during the night hours; this way you could calibrate your TV (at night, at least).

Nowadays, Test Patterns are rarely broadcast. With the advent of HD, however, some of the HD stations do run a Test Pattern. When I checked a year ago, INHD (now called Mojo) and HDNet used to display Test Patterns on Sunday morning. The name of the Test Pattern Show was something like "Test Pattern" or "HD Tune Up". At that time, the INHD test pattern was actually inaccurate colorwise, but the HDnet test pattern was helpful.

So, if you record one of these Test Pattern shows, it will help calibrate your TV Broadcast source.

Meanwhile, let me just say that even if your display is perfectly calibrated, you will notice that individual TV stations use slightly different color scales, and individual shows use different color scales, and if you watch old movies, the deteriorating film stock will also shift the colors etc. So, ideally, you would need a different calibration for each show you watch. That is to say, there is no one perfect calibration that will be optimal for every show, because the shows themselves sometimes (often? always?) have skewed colors. Nevertheless, a good calibration will get you into the right ballpark; then if the show does not look right, you can be confident that the fault is with the show itself, rather than with your TV calibration. (Nevertheless, the show will still look off.)

Dufusyte...outstanding post...it is for many of the reasons that you mentioned that I remain on the sidelines re. pro calibration...there are too many inconsistencies and variables regarding source and content.

In my case, the CNET recommended settings got me where I want to be...a very nice one-size-almost-fits-all setting for my Panny 50PZ700U.

BLUE-MIDNIGHT...Good Luck with the pro calibration...report your satisfaction with the results.

I saw his post as a bigger reason to calibrate.