Calibrating for limited RGB range using Windows 7 over HDMI

So, I've just come across the charming information that calibrating an HDTV to REC.709 using a PC is fraught with dangers, viz:

1) HDMI drivers don't always send the limited RGB range despite it being mandated

2) Video playback software can play merry havoc in the same way

I'm hoping to cut through all the bull and ask for advice on how best to calibrate an HDTV for DVD and Blu-Ray using Windows 7 Home Premium such that I can be sure I'm send the most appropriate video information possible. Here's my specs:

1) MacBook Pro
2) Windows 7 Home Premium
3) Thunderbolt to HDMI adapter
4) HDMI cable
5) HCFR Colormeter software 3.0.4
6) X-Rite DTP-94 colorimeter
7) AVS's own HD 709 patterns in MP4 format

I use the MacBook Pro (1) running Windows 7 HP (2) to both send the patterns (7) to the HDTV using cables (3) and (4), and read back using colorimeter (6) and software (5).

Help?

nodixe: the whole thing really is a bit of a minefield. Let's say your PC is connected to an HDTV using an HDMI port on the PC:

1) Apparently some HDMI drivers are incorrectly set-up to send full-range RGB instead of limited-range RGB, which is the standard for HDMI. This means your DVD or Blu-Ray (both of which use limited-range RGB) may not appear optimally on the HDTV.

2) If you send a PC game over a properly-functioning HDMI, that means its blacks and whites are being crushed, because PC games use full-range RGB.

3) I suppose it's also possible that some PCs automatically switch between sending full-range and limited-range RGB over HDMI. That'd be nice. But how do we know? Apparently the only way to tell is to know in advance what the image ought to look like.

4) Some video playback software apparently incorrectly sends full-range RGB instead of limited-range (or does other stuff maybe) when playing DVDs and Blu-Rays, so that's another thing to consider, as this will mess with your output.

So, in order to properly calibrate an HDTV from a PC we have to:

A) Make sure the pattern playback software is sending the images completely unchanged, and at the proper limited-range RGB

B) Make sure the connection between the PC and the HDTV is also sending the correct signal for what we want: limited-range for movie files, DVDs and Blu-Ray; full-range for games and at all other times.

There's probably something else. Input from those experienced with these matters would be really appreciated. At the very least, it would be great to have some way of determining exactly what is being sent by our PCs and received by the HDTV.

:-s

Thanks for the feedback and the link. I've now been able to confirm, thanks to information on the linked page: I wasn't sure, until I read this, whether "16" should correspond to black or not. Now I know it should, and that the washed out appearance of my Satellite STB and TV Input is down to some flawed aspect of my calibration process.

Now I just have to determine which aspect. I suspect it may be Windows Media Player, but any advice in that respect would be appreciated.

Thank you.