[kesava108]

Hi.. new to forum and not highly technical, but this looks like a good place to find info on all things A/V!


Looking for advice on how important it is to calibrate your TV. I just bought a Samsung LN T3242H and the sales guy tried his best to sell me the calibration service for $250. This seemed outrageous to me, but want to hear from this group on the issue. Can this possibly be worth it?

He insisted it was not something I could do myself. He also said I need to watch the tv for 100 hours before they will come out and do it. They use a CD and say it can take from 2-4 hours.


This is all new to me, so appreciate any advice you may have!

Kesava108

 

[cavu]

Use the THX Optimizer found on all THX disks and follow the instructions carefully. You will probably achieve 80% of a formal calibration. Certainly the basics will be covered.

 

[nm88]

Do your own calibration.

 

[nsbjkb]

I guess the best answer for you is are you happy with the picture quality you currently have? If so, forget about tweaking. If not, you can always follow the thread of your particular set and make adjustments according to other owner's settings. I did that with my new Panny and found a setting (after 3 or 4 different tries) I am really happy with. If you do decide to tweak just be sure to record your current settings in case it looks worse.

 

[Disco Nected]

Follow the instructions on the thread on this site for your TV and how to calibrate it. Most people are happy with those settings, and chances are you will be as well. And something else to think about, you may not like a strictly calibrated set, for example you might like more punch. Those settings on this site are what most people like...


Also for $250 I think that service is over rated by a large amount. Profit, Profit, Profit.


I calibrated my Sony 52" following the settings on this site, and it looks much much better, and much better then the store display model. Also now i know how to do it I can tweak things to my liking.

 

[dBond]

Does self calibration go much beyond adjusting the basic settings on your TV?


For example, as a designer I need to calibrate my monitors using colorimeters EyeOne hardware/software. Is such a package even close to worthwhile on a TV?


How in depth are the instructions? Are they similar to the self calibration process found on a Mac for example?


I find that with TVs I can do it fairly well visually. But looking at things with that kind of critical eye has become second nature to me due to my work.

 

[cavu]



Quote:
Originally Posted by dBond /forum/post/12905730


Does self calibration go much beyond adjusting the basic settings on your TV?

The THX Optimizer (included with all THX movies) provides calibration for "Blacker than Black" (BTB) ("Brightness"), "Whiter than White" (WTW) ("Contrast"), colour saturation and tint. You would also want to defeat ALL "automatic" settings (DNEi, etc), set your "Sharpness" to "Standard" and set your Gamma to 6500 ("warm"). This will get you REAL CLOSE!


Dedicated calibration disks such as DVE are more complete/advanced and will assist in setting gray scale, etc. Test patterns on HD-Net will help in setting your cable/sat box once you understand the basics.

Quote:
How in depth are the instructions?

On the THX Optimizer it is like paint by numbers simple.


Spending a "lot" of money for an ISF calibre setup on a small screen LCD is a waste, IMHO.

 

[nm88]



Quote:
Originally Posted by dBond /forum/post/12905730


For example, as a designer I need to calibrate my monitors using colorimeters EyeOne hardware/software. Is such a package even close to worthwhile on a TV?

Of course, if the TV has a CMS with meaningful controls (most don't). I use an i1 both to generate ICC profiles for my monitors for Photoshop and to fix the color issues on my Sharp GP1U.

Quote:
Originally Posted by dBond /forum/post/12905730


How in depth are the instructions? Are they similar to the self calibration process found on a Mac for example?

Download HCFR, it's very easy to use and is compatible with the i1. It will do everything you need.


If your set doesn't have CMS controls, you can at least do a more precise calibration than you could with simple color filters. It's simple and well worth it if you already have the hardware.

 

[AlexInvision]

Some people are happy with the picture out of the box, some do there own setting and some get it calibrated. Your eyes tell the truth and everyone sees it differently. Do a search on the forum on how calibration has helped people and then make your decision.