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Basic Video Cal help wanted

post #1 of 14
3/5/12 at 6:54am
Thread Starter 
Hi guys. I am looking for basic video calibration help for my LCD TV. I have a 47LG50 [PDF] Been looking on the cal forums and there is a plethora of info on advanced cal. Does anyone have any links to basic calibration, ie, proper adjustment of the video settings, with links to any discs required, and the procedure? Also, I watch all my movies through a PS3. Thanks.
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post #2 of 14
3/5/12 at 7:02am
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=948496
That is the link to the free AVS disk. It has instructions videos, as well as all the patterns for basic and advanced. There is also a user manual in that thread.
You download, burn to a standard DVD and it only plays in a BR player or PS3.
If you want to buy something instead the Disney WOW disk is very popular and directed more to someone with no knowledge of calibration or so I have read. I would suggest trying the AVS disk first and see how it goes, if use correctly it is all you need.
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post #3 of 14
3/5/12 at 7:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by caper_1 View Post

Hi guys. I am looking for basic video calibration help for my LCD TV. I have a 47LG50 [PDF] Been looking on the cal forums and there is a plethora of info on advanced cal. Does anyone have any links to basic calibration, ie, proper adjustment of the video settings, with links to any discs required, and the procedure? Also, I watch all my movies through a PS3. Thanks.

The popular optical disc programs used for calibrating display systems all include tutorial instructions, either using audio narration or via text. The 'AVS HD 709' program is downloadable for free here on the forum. The 'Disney WOW' program is a good disc for beginners and includes more advance materials as well. Another good one is 'Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics,' which covers fundamental principles that the other programs lack. Be sure to check the collection of "sticky" threads in the "popular threads" section at the top of this area of the forum.
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post #4 of 14
3/5/12 at 7:25am
Thread Starter 
Thanks guys. Hope to get started on this tonight.
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post #5 of 14
3/5/12 at 5:47pm
Thread Starter 
got the disc burned and started some adjustments. A question I have is how far from the screen should I be when making the changes? I can notice more details up close obviously, vice the viewing position. thanks.
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post #6 of 14
3/5/12 at 6:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by caper_1 View Post

got the disc burned and started some adjustments. A question I have is how far from the screen should I be when making the changes? I can notice more details up close obviously, vice the viewing position. thanks.

That depends on who you ask. Brightness and contrast from seated position with the normal average lighting you will be viewing under.
If you set brightness (dark end of the scale) up close, then go sit in your seat, you may not see any detail in the dark area because it is to dark.
Sharpness.. that is another chicken or egg.. if you can not see the hallo from your seat you won't see it in moving video. But, if you sit close you can see it and get it adjusted more precisely. Let the arguing begin!
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post #7 of 14
3/5/12 at 7:52pm
^^^^ oops, you stepped into it now
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post #8 of 14
3/5/12 at 7:56pm
Got boots on!
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post #9 of 14
3/6/12 at 5:25am
Thread Starter 
lmao. nothing is "black & white" in this hobby is it? (pun intended!) Been doing all audio for last 2 years, and some of the "arguing" in that area has been going on for years.
Some of the hiccups I have run into so far with the video cal are:
  • "backlight" feature on my TV
  • "Black level" feature (low or high)
  • No color filter for setting color and tint
The backlight feature is some sort of monitor lighting or brightness (not brightness as in black levels). Similar to a laptop monitor where you can change how bright the display is by using the function keys. I am not sure where to set this, as it does affect where the black and white levels will be set afterward.

The "black level" option is either low or high. When set LOW, I have a hard time seeing all the gray bars during the black level (brightness) calibration (ie, the ones below the "reference black" bar), even if I crank it to 100. All that does is make all the blacks look grayish. If I set this option to HIGH, then I can see all the gray bars during the adjustments, as in the instructional pictures and videos, and can adjust it down accordingly.

As for the color filter, I will have to get a blue filter, or maybe even get a color meter. Any suggestions on a cheap color meter for an average joe?
I was able to get the sharpness set pretty low to elilminate halo-ing (around 18).

With everything that I could set by eye, I then changed through the presets (sports, vivid, etc) and noticed that the AVC 709 help disc menu screen looked WAY different than the other modes..the background didn't even look white or as good as those "other" presets...comments?
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post #10 of 14
3/6/12 at 5:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by caper_1 View Post

lmao. nothing is "black & white" in this hobby is it? (pun intended!) Been doing all audio for last 2 years, and some of the "arguing" in that area has been going on for years.
Some of the hiccups I have run into so far with the video cal are:
  • "backlight" feature on my TV
  • "Black level" feature (low or high)
  • No color filter for setting color and tint
The backlight feature is some sort of monitor lighting or brightness (not brightness as in black levels). Similar to a laptop monitor where you can change how bright the display is by using the function keys. I am not sure where to set this, as it does affect where the black and white levels will be set afterward.

The "black level" option is either low or high. When set LOW, I have a hard time seeing all the gray bars during the black level (brightness) calibration (ie, the ones below the "reference black" bar), even if I crank it to 100. All that does is make all the blacks look grayish. If I set this option to HIGH, then I can see all the gray bars during the adjustments, as in the instructional pictures and videos, and can adjust it down accordingly.

As for the color filter, I will have to get a blue filter, or maybe even get a color meter. Any suggestions on a cheap color meter for an average joe?
I was able to get the sharpness set pretty low to elilminate halo-ing (around 18).

With everything that I could set by eye, I then changed through the presets (sports, vivid, etc) and noticed that the AVC 709 help disc menu screen looked WAY different than the other modes..the background didn't even look white or as good as those "other" presets...comments?

With LCD you have a panel of liquid crystals that let light pass through them. The back light is just the light source that lets you see what the panel is displaying

So one way to adjust is to lower the back light for instance if the range is 0-100 set it to 30 and do the brightness and contrast. Then you adjust your backlight for eye comfort. It does not interact to much with the other picture settings. It is one of those settings that is safe to play with once everything esle is good.

Can't comment on the black level, I would set it to low. You do not want to see the bars below black, you want to see 17 a difference between 17 and 16 in the all black brightness pattern and you want to see 18-19 flashing in the the next pattern. Depending on the set you will get 2 different settings with each of these patterns, split the difference of go with the one that has bright and dark on the same screen

Set you color and tint to center default, 99.9 time out of 100 that is where it needs to be.

As to the preset, they are over blown, WAY to bright, and no where near correct and you are used to watching them.. Once you watch a properly calibrated set for a while you will not think the other looks good anymore. ;-)
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post #11 of 14
3/6/12 at 5:51am
Thread Starter 
Also, what is this ISFccc feature? (Imaging Science Foundation Certified Calibration Configuration) ?? Is it worth exploring?
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post #12 of 14
3/6/12 at 5:58am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by airscapes View Post

With LCD you have a panel of liquid crystals that let light pass through them. The back light is just the light source that lets you see what the panel is displaying

So one way to adjust is to lower the back light for instance if the range is 0-100 set it to 30 and do the brightness and contrast. Then you adjust your backlight for eye comfort. It does not interact to much with the other picture settings. It is one of those settings that is safe to play with once everything esle is good.

Thanks, I will start with that !

Quote:


Can't comment on the black level, I would set it to low. You do not want to see the bars below black, you want to see 17 a difference between 17 and 16 in the all black brightness pattern and you want to see 18-19 flashing in the the next pattern. Depending on the set you will get 2 different settings with each of these patterns, split the difference of go with the one that has bright and dark on the same screen

When I set it low, it seems that no matter how high I change the brightness, I can't see 17 & below...everything turns brownish/gray. Adjusting it makes all the blacks brownish, and has little effect on the test pattern. Really hard to explain. If I set it high, then when I raise brightness, the test pattern works like you expect when you change the brightness levels. Again, hard to explain, but when in LOW it seems that the black it 'locked' at the right spot or somthing...

Quote:


Set you color and tint to center default, 99.9 time out of 100 that is where it needs to be.

Roger that.

Quote:


As to the preset, they are over blown, WAY to bright, and no where near correct and you are used to watching them.. Once you watch a properly calibrated set for a while you will not think the other looks good anymore. ;-)

Yeah, everything seemed SUPER white and I noticed the levels for bright and contrast were both at 100, hah. and when I did the patterns, bright is around 89 and contrast low 50's (ish).
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post #13 of 14
3/6/12 at 6:14am
So if low is bad on the black level, the use high.. every manufacture mucks with things differently so you sometimes have to experiment and watch content to see if the setting helps or hinders.
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post #14 of 14
3/6/12 at 11:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by airscapes View Post

that depends on who you ask. Brightness and contrast from seated position with the normal average lighting you will be viewing under.
If you set brightness (dark end of the scale) up close, then go sit in your seat, you may not see any detail in the dark area because it is to dark.
Sharpness.. That is another chicken or egg.. If you can not see the hallo from your seat you won't see it in moving video. But, if you sit close you can see it and get it adjusted more precisely. Let the arguing begin!



Plus +1. . . . I agree, well about the depends who you ask part.
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