My PRO-111FD Calibration Results - Now with *New* Pic Comparisons

I had Eliab of Avical over earlier today to calibrate my PRO-111FD. I had him out before to calibrate my Samsung DLP, and I couldn't wait for him to arrive and go to work on the Kuro.

Pre-calibration the display was easily the best looking I've ever seen at factory settings. However, the picture was definitely too warm and too green. While D-Nice's settings certainly helped, I felt that I was still missing the accuracy and, to a certain extent, the sort of natural richness of the calibrated DLP.

Enter Eliab. He set things up as follows:

Pure mode for very dim to pitch-black conditions
ISF Night for moderate lighting
ISF Day for extreme lighting
Movie mode for B&W material

The results are absolutely outstanding. I've now acheived the accuracy and richness that had been missing before. Combined with the amazing contrast ratio, level of detail and depth of the Kuro, I can scarcely imagine a better picture at this size.

I also find that each mode works as advertised. In low light to lights-out conditions, Pure mode performs best.

Once the lights go on, ISF Night more than makes up for the difference. It provides that extra pop that cuts through the brighter environment. I also find that I prefer it for gaming.

ISF Day came out at over 45ftL even with Powersave Mode 2 engaged, and I actually feel that it's almost too bright, even with all of the lights turned on. I imagine I'll use it only rarely for especially sunny days.

Anyway, I've been trying to run through my favorite movie scenes, but it's slow going. I'm having a difficult time tearing myself away from how good everything looks, so moving on to the next scene isn't easy.

All in all, as great as the display is out of the box and with minor tweaks, a pro-calibration takes it to another level. It almost feels like a light veil was lifted off of the screen and I'm now seeing everything with crystal clear, accurate clarity. If you're on the fence about getting it done yourself, don't be. Do it!

Here are some comparisons of the different modes. These pictures were taken with ALL lights turned ON and all windows open on a sunny day and with Powersave Mode 2 engaged on the set. The conditions in the room are as bright as they can get.

Please Note: These were taken with a hand held camera held by non-steady hands. I am a horrible photographer and these pictures are in no way representative of what the display actually looks like. They are merely for the purposes of comparing brightness.






Pure Mode (all lights on, windows open):






ISF Night (all lights on, windows open):






ISF Day (all lights on, windows open):

ISF Day is way too bright at night, IMO. Even in the conditions I took those pictures in I think I still prefer ISF Night, but it's a close call. You can clearly read the sign under all modes. Believe me, my atrocious photography skills seriously show in these pictures.

Yes, the differences are mainly in how much light output you're seeing. At night with the lights off, Pure mode looks like the ISF Day pic does. The vividness and "punch" is all there. It's simply dependant on your viewing conditions, which is why the flexibility of the Elite panels is a great advantage to have.

Ok, I went back and took some better pictures. I adjusted the camera settings some and I feel that the brightness level on these is more accurate to real life (especially Pure mode), however the image quality of course is no where near what it is in person. I also took these from a tripod so they're a bit less blurry overall.

These were taken with 8 lights turned on in the room and 3 windows open with the sun shining in.

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Pure (all lights on, windows open):






ISF Night (all lights on, windows open):






ISF Day (all lights on, windows open):

Eliab is highly professional and always a pleasure to deal with, whether he's chatting with you in detail about your TV's calibration or about your beer preferences.

His rates vary depending on your set and what you're having done. You can check them out on his website here: http://www.avical.com.

Yes, I agree that they are far from optimal. However, I do feel that the 2nd set of pictures is a pretty good representation of the variation in brightness between the 3 modes, even though Pure doesn't look quite so flat, nor does ISF Day look quite so overblown. And I think the variation in the Elite logo has at least in part to do with the reflection off of the center channel. More light = brighter reflection. That'll be addressed soon, though.