First let me say this is my first HDTV, following a Toshiba (pre-DLP RP). I thought i did my research well in my quest for best picture/value. I think i made the best choice until recently.
Ive had my 55VT50 since Mid November. It has well over 200 hours of mixed content/source use. Streaming video, BD, Xbox. Initially, we started out in game mode until I noticed some IR artifacts from the xbox. Quickly reversed course and poured thru the forums and discovered I needed to break this in with much lower brightness and contrast, so I put a moratorium on the xbox with static displays and focused on running the display with a heavy diet of BD and full screen mode, pixel orbiter on etc. This has pretty much eliminated the stubbon IR...but my concern looms.
Now onto the crux of my dilemna...I want to enjoy this TV and not sweat about the kids burning it up or gaming with potential for more IR. I want the best PQ out of this thing and am really on the fence as to whether I return it and trade it in for a lower maintenance LCD. I know Ill be sacrificing PQ.
If I am to keep my VT50, I will want to calibrate it. I considered HD Video Essentials, Disney WOW etc & the AVHD709.
I started with dnice's controlcal thread. I did not use the color slides as I figured I had broken the TV in already. I used his initial suggested settings and tried tweaking the set against the AVHD709 patterns. I think my set is WAY OFF. The black levels are no where near what the AVHD patterns suggest on the Basic Settings...I stopped there.
I feel im competent enough to calibrate this myself but am hesitant to pull the trigger and buy the ControlCAL profile for my VT50. (I cannot justify a professional calibration) Im concerned about bricking my set. Will the ControlCAL settings forfeit my warranty? Will the improvements gained from using CONTROLCAL be worth it? I know this is a very subjective question, but I need to be better educated to make a decision one way or another. Keep it, live with it as is, swap it out for an LCD or pull the trigger and get ControlCal in an effort to get the most out of my set. I see other folks calibrating with other products and meters...what am I getting into here?
Ive had my 55VT50 since Mid November. It has well over 200 hours of mixed content/source use. Streaming video, BD, Xbox. Initially, we started out in game mode until I noticed some IR artifacts from the xbox. Quickly reversed course and poured thru the forums and discovered I needed to break this in with much lower brightness and contrast, so I put a moratorium on the xbox with static displays and focused on running the display with a heavy diet of BD and full screen mode, pixel orbiter on etc. This has pretty much eliminated the stubbon IR...but my concern looms.
Now onto the crux of my dilemna...I want to enjoy this TV and not sweat about the kids burning it up or gaming with potential for more IR. I want the best PQ out of this thing and am really on the fence as to whether I return it and trade it in for a lower maintenance LCD. I know Ill be sacrificing PQ.
If I am to keep my VT50, I will want to calibrate it. I considered HD Video Essentials, Disney WOW etc & the AVHD709.
I started with dnice's controlcal thread. I did not use the color slides as I figured I had broken the TV in already. I used his initial suggested settings and tried tweaking the set against the AVHD709 patterns. I think my set is WAY OFF. The black levels are no where near what the AVHD patterns suggest on the Basic Settings...I stopped there.
I feel im competent enough to calibrate this myself but am hesitant to pull the trigger and buy the ControlCAL profile for my VT50. (I cannot justify a professional calibration) Im concerned about bricking my set. Will the ControlCAL settings forfeit my warranty? Will the improvements gained from using CONTROLCAL be worth it? I know this is a very subjective question, but I need to be better educated to make a decision one way or another. Keep it, live with it as is, swap it out for an LCD or pull the trigger and get ControlCal in an effort to get the most out of my set. I see other folks calibrating with other products and meters...what am I getting into here?
