I've made three attempts to calibrate my 1st generation Sony SXRD RPTV. The 1st time thru I used an earlier version of Color HCFR along with my i1 Pro meter. The results were less than stunning, although some improvement was noted (the main issue at that time was not being able to correct gamma response which varied from 1.8 to 2.6). Shortly thereafter my set started degrading with the infamous "Green Blob" issue and for various reasons it took quite awhile before I finally got around to asking Sony to fix the problem. After it was fixed it became watchable again but it clearly needed to be calibrated (by then I was watching most everything on another display though). When I finally got around to calibration attempt number two I used the latest version of Color HCFR along with my i1 Pro meter. This time around though I was armed with the knowledge of how to correct the gamma response (many thanks to Chad B for posting this info). After hours of tweaking the picture was showing an immense improvement but it was still not where I wanted it, especially at IRE levels below 30%. I reasoned that the low light weakness of i1 Pro was the main obstacle to achieving a better calibration. Cutting to the chase I ended up buying a Chromapure/Chroma 5 package from Tom. While waiting for the new stuff to arrive I dialed in the calibration as best I could with HCFR and the i1 Pro. By doing this I figured I could find out how well the Chroma 5 and i1 Pro correlated and I also wanted to see how calibrating with Chrompure would compare to calibrating with Color HCFR, which by now I was getting fairly adept at using.
Along came my ChromaPure/Chroma 5 package via insured Priority Mail. It was nicely packed and arrived safely and quickly. Asides from watching demo's on the ChromaPure site I dove into the calibration not knowing what to really expect (other than having to learn new software which can be anywhere from easy to complex). Going into this I had a preconceived notion that the Chroma 5 probe was going to be the just the ticket for getting the calibration fine tuned (especially below 30% IRE) and that using ChromaPure instead of HCFR would be perhaps a bit more straightforward but would yield similar end results as HCFR.
It turns out that my i1 Pro and Chroma 5 readings were quite similar above about 30% IRE but the Chroma 5 is clearly more adept at lower IRE's (this is just as Tom had stated in various posts here and in an email exchange between us). As to ChromaPure vs HCFR I am no expert but I do think one could get similar results using both software packages. That said it's what ya gotta do to get to those end results. IMO Chromapure gets you there quicker and in a far more straightforward (and intuitive) fashion. Don't get me wrong, HCFR is decent freeware but Chromapure is professional grade calibration SW that is easier for the novice (me) to use than HCFR. Its lay out is terrific. Being able to view gamma response in real time is brilliant. I jumped around a bit to tweak gamma before grayscale (grayscale adjustments on this Sony don't affect the gamma response too much but gamma response settings do affect grayscale because there are individual R,G,& B gamma [cut and gain] adjustments). The end result is terrific - grayscale Delta-E errors are quite acceptable and the gamma response is fairly flat above 30% IRE (it's starts drooping below that but it never gets horrible). Unfortunately I cannot generate a report because that requires Excel and being a Mac guy, I do not own a PC version of Excel.
One minor annoyance I noted is this - I used the AVS Calibration DVD and Chromapure does not follow either the HCFR or Calman order for colors (ChromaPure wants them is this order (IIRC): W, R, G, B, Y, C, M. It would be terrific if this DVD is updated to support Chromapure in addition to Calman and HCFR. I may take one more pass at calibrating using Tom's DVD patterns which should be in the proper order (but the AVS DVD is fantastic and it would be a shame if it isn't updated for Chromapure).
The bottom line is I'm very happy with the purchase. The ChromaPure/Chroma 5 package cost $600, which is not cheap but I can calibrate my displays whenever I choose. Alternatively I could have had my displays professionally calibrated just twice for that price so in the long run I'll be money ahead. The Chroma 5 meter works better than my i1 Pro at low light levels and I'm quite confident I could not have gotten the calibration as good as I did below 30% IRE using the i1 Pro. Going into this I was less sure of the Chromapure benefits over HCFR (other than not being able to use Chroma 5 colorimeter with HCFR) but in this instance one gets what one pays for. HCFR is decent but Chromapure is several notches better: It's much more refined and far easier to use (IMO). For me it was well worth the $200 price of admission. Perhaps I should not have been surprised - Chromapure is software written BY an ISF Calibration expert who has a keen understanding of the calibration process. But I expected the software to be competent and fitting for the job at hand. What I wasn't sure of is how well crafted and user friendly it was going to be to use but it turns out that it's quite excellent in that regard and is quite intuitive to use. I never pushed the help button once during calibration: Only when I was done did I look at the help section and see how really excellent those files are. They are clear and concise and contain all the info needed to help you understand what you need to do. All that is left to really figure out is where to find the proper adjustments in the service menus.
All I can say is WELL DONE TOM!
Along came my ChromaPure/Chroma 5 package via insured Priority Mail. It was nicely packed and arrived safely and quickly. Asides from watching demo's on the ChromaPure site I dove into the calibration not knowing what to really expect (other than having to learn new software which can be anywhere from easy to complex). Going into this I had a preconceived notion that the Chroma 5 probe was going to be the just the ticket for getting the calibration fine tuned (especially below 30% IRE) and that using ChromaPure instead of HCFR would be perhaps a bit more straightforward but would yield similar end results as HCFR.
It turns out that my i1 Pro and Chroma 5 readings were quite similar above about 30% IRE but the Chroma 5 is clearly more adept at lower IRE's (this is just as Tom had stated in various posts here and in an email exchange between us). As to ChromaPure vs HCFR I am no expert but I do think one could get similar results using both software packages. That said it's what ya gotta do to get to those end results. IMO Chromapure gets you there quicker and in a far more straightforward (and intuitive) fashion. Don't get me wrong, HCFR is decent freeware but Chromapure is professional grade calibration SW that is easier for the novice (me) to use than HCFR. Its lay out is terrific. Being able to view gamma response in real time is brilliant. I jumped around a bit to tweak gamma before grayscale (grayscale adjustments on this Sony don't affect the gamma response too much but gamma response settings do affect grayscale because there are individual R,G,& B gamma [cut and gain] adjustments). The end result is terrific - grayscale Delta-E errors are quite acceptable and the gamma response is fairly flat above 30% IRE (it's starts drooping below that but it never gets horrible). Unfortunately I cannot generate a report because that requires Excel and being a Mac guy, I do not own a PC version of Excel.
One minor annoyance I noted is this - I used the AVS Calibration DVD and Chromapure does not follow either the HCFR or Calman order for colors (ChromaPure wants them is this order (IIRC): W, R, G, B, Y, C, M. It would be terrific if this DVD is updated to support Chromapure in addition to Calman and HCFR. I may take one more pass at calibrating using Tom's DVD patterns which should be in the proper order (but the AVS DVD is fantastic and it would be a shame if it isn't updated for Chromapure).
The bottom line is I'm very happy with the purchase. The ChromaPure/Chroma 5 package cost $600, which is not cheap but I can calibrate my displays whenever I choose. Alternatively I could have had my displays professionally calibrated just twice for that price so in the long run I'll be money ahead. The Chroma 5 meter works better than my i1 Pro at low light levels and I'm quite confident I could not have gotten the calibration as good as I did below 30% IRE using the i1 Pro. Going into this I was less sure of the Chromapure benefits over HCFR (other than not being able to use Chroma 5 colorimeter with HCFR) but in this instance one gets what one pays for. HCFR is decent but Chromapure is several notches better: It's much more refined and far easier to use (IMO). For me it was well worth the $200 price of admission. Perhaps I should not have been surprised - Chromapure is software written BY an ISF Calibration expert who has a keen understanding of the calibration process. But I expected the software to be competent and fitting for the job at hand. What I wasn't sure of is how well crafted and user friendly it was going to be to use but it turns out that it's quite excellent in that regard and is quite intuitive to use. I never pushed the help button once during calibration: Only when I was done did I look at the help section and see how really excellent those files are. They are clear and concise and contain all the info needed to help you understand what you need to do. All that is left to really figure out is where to find the proper adjustments in the service menus.
All I can say is WELL DONE TOM!
My idea was to put the projector out of focus when taking the off screen readings, but I'm not sure if this really achieves anything this way. Of course you can't put a TV out of focus anyway, hence my 5 point averaging suggestion.
