In the VHS/VCR hey-days (80s-90s), what could one do to calibrate tv's?
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I think back then the tapes would have the SMPTE pattern displayed at the beginning and/or end of the program material, that should help with basic calibration. Other than that most of the pro calibrators have pattern generators they can connect to the TVs via RS232 serial ports and whatnot and display the patterns on screen that way.
I think back then the tapes would have the SMPTE pattern displayed at the beginning and/or end of the program material, that should help with basic calibration. Other than that most of the pro calibrators have pattern generators they can connect to the TVs via RS232 serial ports and whatnot and display the patterns on screen that way.
Test patterns were on network television for an ISF to check. This was at around 11 am or 4pm in our area. There was also the spectrophotometer used to set RGB gains and test pattern generators but they were usually built into the sets themselves where for example there would be a red blue and green screen, then the convergence or focus screen. A service menu was sometimes needed for the focus or to adjust input signal strength etc.
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Greetings
The calibrator would also have a signal generator and use that.
regards
The calibrator would also have a signal generator and use that.
regards
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And CRT setup had a lot more to do with actual setup than so much calibration per se.
Today's digital televisions just do what they do, you just need to calibrate them.
Getting a CRT to perform properly, before you even get to calibrate, is an entirely different can of worms, sometimes a major major bucket of worms.
It's quaint that you can tackle a modern display and get it fully calibrated in a couple hours, and sometimes a great deal faster than that. Heck, toss in a CRT projector or RPTV, and you're talking about half a day of set up at least before you've even started doing anything remotely considered "calibration."
Today's digital televisions just do what they do, you just need to calibrate them.
Getting a CRT to perform properly, before you even get to calibrate, is an entirely different can of worms, sometimes a major major bucket of worms.
It's quaint that you can tackle a modern display and get it fully calibrated in a couple hours, and sometimes a great deal faster than that. Heck, toss in a CRT projector or RPTV, and you're talking about half a day of set up at least before you've even started doing anything remotely considered "calibration."
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The original calibration disc was 'A Video Standard' by Joe Kane. The original tri-stimulus color meter was by Philips and cost about $6K. There were optical comparators by ISF and earlier ones for setting gray scale by eye.
Best regards and beautiful pictures,
G. Alan Brown, President
CinemaQuest, Inc.
A Lion AV Consultants Affiliate
"Advancing the art and science of electronic imaging"
Best regards and beautiful pictures,
G. Alan Brown, President
CinemaQuest, Inc.
A Lion AV Consultants Affiliate
"Advancing the art and science of electronic imaging"
That video laserdisc is in my bookcase and am in the process of dubbing part of my laserdisc collection to DVD using a 25+ year old Magnavox player.
Play these for an example of really horrible PQ, it makes even the worst cable channel look like a BR.
That video laserdisc is in my bookcase and am in the process of dubbing part of my laserdisc collection to DVD using a 25+ year old Magnavox player.
Play these for an example of really horrible PQ, it makes even the worst cable channel look like a BR.
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It sounds like you have real problems in the duplication signal path. Also, there were definitely noticable differences in quality between various laserdisc players over the years. The early Pioneer Elite models were the best. At one point, they started building cheaper and lower quality players, but still used the Elite branding.
It sounds like you have real problems in the duplication signal path. Also, there were definitely noticable differences in quality between various laserdisc players over the years. The early Pioneer Elite models were the best. At one point, they started building cheaper and lower quality players, but still used the Elite branding.
Not much in the way of signal path choices. This old Magnavox (model CDV474) offers RF CH 3/4, composite video and stereo audio. That's it.
It feeds a Sony RDR-HX900 recorder which features a hard disk and DVD burner. The Sony connects to the LG 55LH90 TV via component.
Moreover the tray drive belt in the Maggie is totally disintegrated and weeks of searching failed to turn up a replacement. Substituted a rubber band which stretches too much so leave the cover off and give it an assist by hand.
Fortunately the drive belt for the laser carriage still works. This is a small rectangular belt, no replacement available and believe me a few years ago I looked at just about very O-ring and belt manufacturer on the web. Because of the age of this belt the laser head tracking is not perfectly stable which probably accounts for the poor video performance.
Finally the Maggie was never a match for the Pioneer Elite or indeed any of the Pioneer players. But for a player purchased 8/12/1989 ($440 Price Club no less) It is amazing that it works at all.
So it is what it is, but there are some Concerts, Ballet and Opera disks to copy where the sound is more important than the video. many of these are now appearing on BR but at outrageous prices.
Not much in the way of signal path choices. This old Magnavox (model CDV474) offers RF CH 3/4, composite video and stereo audio. That's it.
It feeds a Sony RDR-HX900 recorder which features a hard disk and DVD burner. The Sony connects to the LG 55LH90 TV via component.
Moreover the tray drive belt in the Maggie is totally disintegrated and weeks of searching failed to turn up a replacement. Substituted a rubber band which stretches too much so leave the cover off and give it an assist by hand.
Fortunately the drive belt for the laser carriage still works. This is a small rectangular belt, no replacement available and believe me a few years ago I looked at just about very O-ring and belt manufacturer on the web. Because of the age of this belt the laser head tracking is not perfectly stable which probably accounts for the poor video performance.
Finally the Maggie was never a match for the Pioneer Elite or indeed any of the Pioneer players. But for a player purchased 8/12/1989 ($440 Price Club no less) It is amazing that it works at all.
So it is what it is, but there are some Concerts, Ballet and Opera disks to copy where the sound is more important than the video. many of these are now appearing on BR but at outrageous prices.
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You probably can find a better laserdisc player on E-Bay, Craig's List, or a local specialist retailer for very little cost. I still have my main line Pioneer player that continues to produce a decent picture from my laserdisc collection. Composite video is the native signal the discs were mastered with. Some better players had S-Video outputs but the Y/C separator in the S-Video converter of the player would not necessarily be better than that in the TV.
Following your advice and looking at Pioneer laserdisc players on Ebay, I found a bewildering list of models and features, many of them combo players which do not interest me although that would not deter me.
So if I may impose on your good will again, please suggest some models that meet the following criteria.
S-video, component video and SPDIF audio, either optical or coaxial. And I do not mind flipping the disc over.
My Sony HX900 copies to it's HDD and has choice of SHQ, HQ, LP etc. along with capability to automatically reduce SHQ or HQ to fit a 4.7 GB DVD while dubbing. It has multiple component and S-video inputs and outputs.
Note: looks like the Pioneer Elite DVL-90 might be a good choice.
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http://cgi.ebay.com/PIONEER-Elite-DVL-90-DVL90-DVD-CD-Laser-Disc-Player-NR_W0QQitemZ290406400739QQcmdZViewItemQQptZDVD_Players_Recor ders?hash=item439d9202e3
Following your advice and looking at Pioneer laserdisc players on Ebay, I found a bewildering list of models and features, many of them combo players which do not interest me although that would not deter me.
So if I may impose on your good will again, please suggest some models that meet the following criteria.
S-video, component video and SPDIF audio, either optical or coaxial. And I do not mind flipping the disc over.
My Sony HX900 copies to it's HDD and has choice of SHQ, HQ, LP etc. along with capability to automatically reduce SHQ or HQ to fit a 4.7 GB DVD while dubbing. It has multiple component and S-video inputs and outputs.
Note: looks like the Pioneer Elite DVL-90 might be a good choice.
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I don't remember the old model numbers, but judging from the original price this is probably one of the better ones. Another way to determine the better Elite quality players is to look for one made prior to DVD capability. It would not have component video outputs, but would not need them for laserdisc signals anyway.
Looks like one of the 700 series would do the job for me, the 700 series are mentioned here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laserdisc
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http://cgi.ebay.com/Pioneer-Laserdisc-Player-CLD-D702-With-Remote_W0QQitemZ350320007186QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDom ain_0?hash=item5190b31812
Looks like one of the 700 series would do the job for me, the 700 series are mentioned here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laserdisc
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