Sony V2500 Calibration and Reference Information

The purpose of this thread is to post calibration, test, and other useful reference information regarding the Sony 1080p V2500 (and V25L1) series HDTV LCD's which can be easily located rather than being buried among general discussion posts.

The main discussion thread for these sets is at: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=702114.

An excellent and extensive FAQ posted by garsh is located here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&&#post9607046

[Note: post copied from main V2500 discussion thread]

V2500 PC/Laptop HDMI and VGA testing/calibration

I. Resolutions

VGA (horizontal x vertical, aspect ratio):

1400 x 1050p, full
1280 x 768p, wide
1280 x 1024p, full
1024 x 768, full
800 x 600, full
640 x 480, full

Note: nvidia set to Discrete Monitor Timing (DMT) for the above. Choose Auto Adjust on V2500.

DVI->HDMI:

1920 x 1080p, wide
accepts lower input resolutions


II. Grayscale calibration using "Reference White (Black) Calibrator 1280x768.gif"

VGA:

Default settings calibrated. Display Mode = Text, Backlight = 3, Picture = 80, Brightness = 50, Color Temp = Neutral.

DVI->HDMI:

Standard: Backlight = 3, Picture = 80, Brightness = 65, Color = 50, Temp = Neutral.

Custom: Backlight = 3, Picture = 80, Brightness = 70, Color = 50, Temp = Neutral. Advanced: Color Space = Wide, all else off.

Note: Sharpness = Min and Noise Reduction = Off for Standard and Custom. When Picture or Brightness is pushed past around 80, it causes the white scale to begin to appear beige rather than gray/silver. This happens with both the HDMI and VGA input. The Brightness settings seem precise. A change to a lower value caused the background to appear to change. All bars, black and white, between 0 and 255 show up with Custom. Standard is very close, and its Brightness is the best for it. I don't know why Standard and Custom differ slightly, but they do. All settings in Advanced for Custom are off except Color Space set to Wide, and it doesn't account for the Brightness setting difference. In any case, Custom seems best, and Standard is very, very close.


III. Calibration using the GetGray DVD and PowerDVD

VGA: Black went up to reference black (16), white down to reference white (235).

DVI->HDMI: The same as for VGA.

Note: DVD software players (at least PowerDVD) appear to automatically set Video RGB levels.


IV. Testing using the Phillips Test Pattern Generator at 1280 x 768, zoom normal or full.

VGA: Failed the multi-burst and cross talk patterns. There were dramatic, headache inducing, shimmering and column-creating effects with vertical bars as large as 5:5 white to black pixels. No such effect was seen for horizontal bars. Think of a box with thin black (or white) vertical bars. Instead of appearing gray due to the pattern, the box shimmered and appeared to be a series of columns with alternating very dark vertical and white bands.

HDMI: Passed all tests including the above. Single pixel vertical lines appeared solid and created a uniform gray appearance at a distance. Zooming showed minimal scaling effects, only those to be expected at a single pixel level (you can't scale to a fraction of a pixel).


V. Conclusion

DVI->HDMI input on the V2500 is superior to its VGA input at the same resolution due to vertical noise/cross-talk. VGA shows its analog nature even with heavy gauge cables. No problems were seen with the DVI->HDMI input which appeared stable, crisp and clear while matching patterns 1-1 down to the single pixel level.


VI. Reference Links

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/...Generator.shtml

 

reference calibrator 1280x720.zip 131.4365234375k . file

Inputs
1. S Video + Composite Video + L and R RCA Audio
2. S Video + Composite Video + L and R RCA Audio (on side)
3. Composite Video + L and R RCA Audio
4. Component (Y Pb Pr) + L and R RCA Audio
5. Component (Y Pb Pr) + L and R RCA Audio
6. HDMI + L and R RCA Audio
7. HDMI
8. VGA (RGB) + Audio jack

Outputs
Digital Out (Optical) Audio
L and R RCA Audio
Headphones jack Audio

Capabilities
HDMI: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
Component (Y Pb Pr): 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i
VGA (RGB): 640 x 480, 800 x 600, 1024 x 768, 1280 x 768, 1360 x 768, 1280 x 1024, 1400 x 1050

I calibrated using the GetGray Calibration DVD on my LiteOn DVD Player/Recorder using a component input (input 5).

Later I ran across CNET's Calibration for HD-DVD using HDMI. I was surprised at the close match (esp. since it was my first attempt at calibration). I think this shows the fundamental similarity of the XBR2/3's and V2500's. Note also the similarity between component and HDMI and a DVD and HD-DVD source.

CNET's calibration for the XBR2 in a dark room with a 1080i HDMI source, the Toshiba HD-A1 HD-DVD player:
http://reviews.cnet.com/Sony_KDL_40X...ag=tip-2506754

Below are CNET's settings and my settings in parentheses:

Mode: custom
Backlight: 3 (4)
Picture: 93 (98)
Brightness: 56 (Avia 46 to 56 GetGray)
Color: 50 (46)
Hue: 0 (0)
Color Temp: warm2 (neutral)
Sharpness: 33 (minimum)
Noise reduction: off (off)

Advanced settings

Black corrector: off (off)
Advanced C.E.: off (off)
Gamma: low (off or low)
Clear white: off (off)
Live color: off (off)
Color space: normal (wide -- but not sure)

Display area: full pixel (full pixel)

Power saving: low (low)
Light sensor: off (on)

Comment: The XBR2/3's may have different sharpness settings than the V2500's. I wouldn't set our sharpness that high -- the default is 15 and that's too high. I'd recommend Min or at least 10 or below. Re: Color Temp., Warm 2 may be better. I didn't calibrate colors, only grey scales.

Update: Using Avia, calibrated Brightness to 46 using Avia (from 56 using GetGray previously).

I did with the HDMI and VGA settings. When calibrating VGA and HDMI (see earlier post), I noticed the whites turned a beige color when Picture was pushed too high. I tried the Clear White but it seemed to not give the right color (in comparison to what I was seeing on my laptop's lcd screen -- kind-of silver instead of grey). Instead, w/ those settings I just kept Picture below that "beige" threshold. Actually, the default settings for VGA nailed the calibration grey-scale. And, I made the HDMI match that.

I'll have to re-examine the DVD settings since I did them before noticing that effect. But it surprised me how closely they matched (in the ballpark) cnet's calibration. Maybe the Clear White might be useful -- though cnet has it off.

Interesting that we came that close w/ you using Avia and me using GetGray... and close to cnet's settings. For others, note that this is for dvd's. I used a component input, Joe and cnet used hdmi for a dvd and hd-dvd respectively. It seems it's the type of source that's important for settings.

Re: your lower brightness... w/ your gamma set to low that'd compensate for the lower brightness... I'll give that a try. I'm not sure about gamma... when I pushed it too much it created a kind of solarized pq. After having this set for a while I'm trying for as natural a pq as possible. But low might be good.

Re: the lines seen w/ broadcasts. I see that every once in a while on my laptop and crt (w/ external tuners)... so just a source thing. I just keep my set on full pixel since it doesn't really bother me much. The good thing is this shows the v2500's aren't overscanning but the full pixel is working as it should: showing the exact source.

Custom and Standard settings for OTA. These aren't calibrated (since there's no patterns to use), but seem good.

Mode: custom [ standard ]
Backlight: 6 [ 8 ]
Picture: 80 [80 ]
Brightness: 50 [50 ]
Color: 40 [40 ]
Hue: 0
Color Temp: warm2 [ neutral ]
Sharpness: minimum
Noise reduction: off

Advanced settings

Black corrector: off
Advanced C.E.: off
Gamma: low
Clear white: off
Live color: off
Color space: wide

Display area: full pixel

Power saving: low
Light sensor: on

For Standard, I just turned noise off and sharpness to min, temp to neutral and color down to the low 40's. For custom, the same as standard but temp to warm2 and color space to wide (for broadcast; normal for dvd's). So, the default is fairly close. cnet said warm2 was the closest to some standard, so I use that when it's available in custom. As for turning color down... I noticed some pink sweater on some show that almost glowed at 50 and turned it down to get rid of that. Somewhere in the lower 40's seems to make colors more natural yet still have plenty of saturation.

Not sure about gamma... either low or off seems good.

Todd: In a medium to low light room. The backlight setting doesn't have a strong effect on gray scale calibration settings (brightness, picture etc.) so it's mostly subjective preference. When I turn light sensor off, there's a big jump in overall brightness... I just figured I'd use it. I think most xbr2 calibrations have it turned off, as does cnet.

This thread doesn't get so many posts as we v2500 owners are a minority while the crowd flocks to the bells and whistles and floating glass I'd appreciate your settings.

it sure does... clear and crisp ones in fact Now how about those settings?

btw, one of these days we're going to get 1080p over vga... it can be done through the xbox 360, so it's just a matter of time. why? because it's there.