I have to agree. . . I would not have BB calibrated any TV of mine for any amount. At best they would likely spend 1 hour and only do one input ( usually a DVD or Blu-ray player source). I have seen displays in some BB that show two of the same TVs, one calibrated and one not. The one that "IS" calibrated looks indeed as though they MAY have used a meter on it of some sort but who knows. One recent owner of a plasma TV had BB calibrate his TV and he said it was too dim for his room and tweaked things a bit higher after the tech left to suit his taste. He did write down and record his settings before readjusting them. A good idea in any case.
As far as calibration in general. TO me there are a lot of "ifs" to deal with. If you get it done even by someone claiming to be a professional you should get verification of his NIST certified equipment and "if" the tech has not ever worked on your brand/model of TV it may give mixed results, and you may need to "get used to " picture settings" that are not what you expect. Generally, a calibrated LCD picture will be much dimmer than what you see in the store. But a good calibrator would give you a "day" setting and a "night " setting" taking into consideration your room size, distance from the screen, and ambient lighting. But wait.. there's more.
Other alternatives are buy and learn to use a pair or so of hobbyist grade colorimeter and spectro meters. This
may give you good results, and then again maybe not. Be prepared to spend hours and weeks and months of your time and possibly becoming addicted to making many calibration runs while you learn and always wondering if you got it right. There is as much discussion on this aspect of calibration as there are members here on AVS.
Or. .. . buy one or more discs to do your own Media Assisted Settings such as Disney WOW, Spears & Munsil, or even the free AVS HD709 disc here on AVS. Many will argue this is not a "calibration", but the truth is that calibration is not necessary to get an excellent picture on most TVs today as many are so much better out of the box than even a few years ago. As long as you turn down things like the LCD panel back light and use the Media Assist Discs to make basic settings. In all the LCD TVs (at least 7 in two years) I bought for myself, family and friends, I do not recall any that stated you must get the TV calibrated for good picture quality. I would at least recommend your spend $30 and learn how to use your picture controls yourself and then see if you wish to spend anymore. If you're at least willing to do that, you may be pleasantly surprised.
That said, depending on how exacting your standards are, you may choose a calibration. Others here on AVS will certainly tell you how it is imperative for picture "accuracy", showing what a director intended, so called image fidelity, and on and on. Often what is ignored though is that there is so much variation in program material from cable, satellite, streaming video, DVD and Blu-ray that is becomes a bit moot as to any real benefit for a consumer grade TV.
My opinion and experience has been, bottom line, unless you have a dedicated home theater and/or projection system, you shouldn't need a calibration on a consumer grade TV.
As someone who is very wise once said, "
Don't let those with self proclaimed expert opinion and self defined facts "nervous" you into thinking you need something. . . that you don't"
