Official Sony XBR4/XBR5 calibration thread - Page 7

Yes, that's correct, the DRC is not supported for 1080p per the manual, and is greyed out with my PS3 for all picture modes.

Thanks for your testing, Brandon. I've enjoyed and appreciated your comments for quite awhile.

Pete

I think i'm gonna do the same thing, even though there probably isn't shiznit that they can do about it. Tell me what they tell you and ill do the same.

I was using this on the previous XBR4 (the settings on the replacement XBR4 are a bit different and still being tweaked)...
Backlight:3
Picture:84
Brightness:46
Color:52
Hue:0
Color Temp:Neutral
Sharpness:0
Noise Reduction:Off
MPEG NR:Off
DRC Mode:Off
Black Corrector:Off
Advanced C.E.:Off
Gamma:Off
Clear White:Off
Color Space:Std.
Live Color:Off
White Balance:
R - gain:-6
G - gain:-4
B - gain:0
R - bias:-2
G - bias:-2
B - bias:0

Alright everyone, just put the set on Standard, dial back both green settings to -5, put motionflow on Standard, Cinemotion off and call it a day.

edit - I noticed that in Standard the DRC palette settings automatically change when I change between an HD and an SD channel.

edit - It's now Jan 28 2008 and I can't decide if I like Motionflow & Cinemotion or not. I seem to change them for different movies & programs. Standard isn't the worst setting but if you tweak custom you can probably come up with a better result.

Yes, it's true for me.
I get all the local HD stations (always numbered 2.1, 4.1, 7.1 etc..), and I now get a lot of digital stations between channels 90 and 123. My old TV was HD, but did not have an internal HD tuner. The cable on both sets goes straight from the wall into the coax input. I get all the new channels only on the XBR4, and I'm guessing it's because of the built-in tuner.

so whats the best calibration settings guys? i get my 52 xbr4 on saturday, and dont wanna bother trying 8 different setups...

which one is the best so far?

thanks

Just to get you started follow my advice in post 184. Once you get used to the set then start to experiment with Custom.

hello guys, i'm from france and i'm taking a look at what's up around here with the settings of this beauty (here it's the 40X3500!!!) I've got mine since last friday, and it's pure happiness. i'll post my HD settings later, wich ones are used with my Ps3 for games, BD and DVDs....

well for games, i have the mov. enh. on "std" and the cinemt. on "auto1". this gives real smoothness to the action and it can be compared with a 100Hz mode!!!

otherwise, anyone with great SD settings??for cable. here in Fr. we haven't got true HD std tv yet...

thx

Sign up and on the UK avforums.com and post a review on X3000/X3500 thread!!!We want owners there!!!!!

So after a bit of tweaking, I still think the red isn't as it should be, but it isn't as bad as I thought. What I am realizing is that many, many DVD transfers are Horrible!!! I watched the Incredibles and it looked pretty good. Reds weren't too bad and a relatively clean picture. I then watched Cars and the picture is very noisy! Halos and noise all over and colors just a bit off. I played the same DVDs on my computer and the picture issues were the same and the colors weren't too far off.

This TV brings out the best of the best programs, but you will really notice defects in a bad transfer!

I am going to try to get a VGA splitter and send the Xbox signal to both a computer monitor and the XBR4 to compare the colors on both right next to each other.

Is anyone experiencing this problem:

I receive all HD programming thru Directv. All of my 720p stations look way better then the stations I receive in 1080i. Is this normal?

I have a 52XBR4 and I am pretty happy with it. I don't have anyway of viewing 1080p yet, so I can't rule out any other problems.

Can anyone help me here with settings. I have used a lot of the posted setting and I can see some changes, but the 1080i is terrible.

Thanks

I alot of your post i see that people recomend putting the display area to full pixel. I am playing oblivion on the ps3 and the full pixel option isn't avaible just normal, -1, -2, and 1. is this because oblivion is 720p or can i not doit in custom or when the ps3 is hooked up . i can change when the cables on but that looks horrible.

I also think that overdone makeup is more pronounced on HD channels. Some real bad.

Joey,

Are you still using the out-of-the-box 'Vivid' setting (the following may apply to 'Standard', as well)? If so, see the previous posting sabout the hdguru review. In that review, hdguru notes that in the factory-default settings, 1080i signals are not deinterlaced properly, and you end up viewing at half resolution.

In short, if you haven't already, change your picture mode to 'Custom', and adjust from there. If you're already in 'Custom' then I don't know what to say beyond the fact that 1080i looks great on my set.

HTH,
-alex

Curiously I found the "out of the box" settings looked pretty darn good. I tried a few of the settings posted here and IMO the picture looked worse rather than better so I changed back to mostly default settings. I have been trying different settings for the enhancers and noise reduction etc. but I haven't made a final conclusion yet. I checked colors with DVE and the default colors were right on according to my eyes using the R, G and B filters.

I do notice some channels and some programs look slightly off color but I think that's the source and not the TV. The majority of the SD and HD programming looks great to me. SD DVD also generally looks great. The reds on the 49'ers and cardinals jerseys Monday night looked bright red.

I have compiled a spreadsheet with the settings I have seen in this thread and my current settings but I'm nor sure how to post it so others can review it. I would appreciate any suggestions on the best way to do that.

I am a little surprised at the wide range of settings others are using. I guess it just confirms the idea that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I do have a question. When I check the info header it shows 1080i regardless of which channel I'm viewing (SD or HD). I set the cable box to pass thru (SA 8300HDC-DVR/HDMI) so I expected the TV to upconvert to 1080p. Why would I see only 1080i?

Absolutely, but I think news directors are in a real dilemma. HD is so revealing, it actually amplifies facial flaws. Some anchors, who would otherwise look great in person or in SD, just look old and withered in HD.

The alternatives are to use heavy pancake' makeup, or silkscreen the video, as they do on The View'.

Men seem to fare better with heavy makeup than women, unfortunately. If you compare the 6 o'clock CBS news with its NBC counterpart here in New York, it's clear CBS has superior lighting and makeup, but the females sometimes look like ghosts.

Either way, I still find it mesmerizing to watch.

Is "custom" the only setting that I can use to get my signals properly?

Thanks,

Joey

This is something I'm not so sure about (the hdguru article was unclear to me on this point). I know for sure that 'Vivid' does not work properly, and I also know for sure that 'Custom' does. However, I'm not so clear on 'Standard' and 'Cinema'.

Personally, I would tend to stay away from these presets, regardless. If you really like the way 'Vivid' or 'Cinema' looks, you should be able to recreate it under 'Custom' by cranking up the Picture, Sharpness, and especially Brightness and Backlight settings (to mimic 'Vivid' you will almost certainly want them higher than the settings posted on this forum). You will also probably want to turn on some of the Advanced Settings (black corrector, advanced CE, the various color options, etc...) if you're really after a 'Vivid' duplicate.

All of this begs the question of whether you would actually *want* to mimic 'Vivid'.... I'll leave it to the true videophiles to explain all the reasons you don't want to do this, but suffice it to say that all three primary colors are way too hot, the brightness is blown out, and blacks are severely crushed. Now, the eye-searing nature of these settings may provide an initial WOW-factor, and it may even look pallid to your eye when you switch to settings that are actually accurate vs the showrooom-ready, let's-out-bright-the-other-sets-on-display 'Vivid' settings, but if you're concerned with displaying an image that accurately represents the source material, and that looks natural and realistic instead of like some sort of half-animation, colorized acid trip, then you *really* want to switch it to custom first, and then tweak the settings from there.

All that being said, maybe someone else can clarify whether 'Standard' and 'Cinema' show the same deinterlacing problem as 'Vivid'.... no matter what the answer, though, steer far clear of 'Vivid'.

HTH,
-alex

[minor edits for grammar and spelling]

there are NO cable channels in 1080p, only 720p or 1080i

Maybe you do not have it set to pass-thru. I have also a SA 8300HD DVR.
To set it to pass thru, click twice the settings button. Go to Set-Formats.
when you get there, click the right arrow, look for pass thru or auto DVI/HDMI.
Click on A button (colored yellow) to accept changes; then, click exit button.

Who are you replying to?

Joey

I also wondered about why there were such differences in posted settings, but have found one illustration why. I used the moving black bars pattern from the old SD Avia to set black level (brightness). With a PS3 I got an optimum at 50-51, similar to the defaults. With an SD DVD player through component I got an optimum of 36. (I could have probably tweaked the picture settings on the DVD player to match the PS3, but it was only a temporary setup.)

As for the info header, it appears to be simply showing the source format.

Pete

Check here http://russblack.net/qamwiki/en/United_States for local QAM channels available in your area. I found several dozen in the Denver area and they all come in. Some are clearer than what comes through the cable box.

I just picked up my 40 XBR5 today. I am not going to hook it up until tomorrow night, because I am taking it to college. This is my first LCD TV, and to be quite honest some of the different settings are over my head. I have been trying to read through different posts to figure out what is going on. Can someone explain to me the "vivid" and other picture mode problem? Also, if there is anything else I need to know about owning an LCD tv or anything I should do with this one let me know. Thanks.

I do have a question. When I check the info header it shows 1080i regardless of which channel I'm viewing (SD or HD). I set the cable box to pass thru (SA 8300HDC-DVR/HDMI) so I expected the TV to upconvert to 1080p. Why would I see only 1080i?[/quote]


This is for one_eyed_pete.
I think you do not have it pass thru. You click twice settings button on the cable box remote control. Look for set-format. click the right arrow. Select Pass-Thru or auto dvi. Click on the letter A. (yellow colored) button on remote to accept changes. Finally, click on exit.

The TV only displays 1080p.. The TV is just showing you what the signal is (aka your cable is 1080i)

Here's my suggestion. Start with "custom" and just start tuning the picture and brightness to your liking. And then maybe the color and hue. After that. Leave that part alone.

Move on to the other settings like Cinemotion and Motion Enhancer and start tweaking to see what they do FOR YOU!

That's what I've done.

My favorite settings are "custom" and "vivid (but toned down a bit)."

I use "custom" most of the time. But I use "vivid" for ESPN HD.