ISF calibration - how much and worth it?
-
Now Available: Tech Talk Podcast with Scott Wilkinson, Episode 19 Click here for details.
- Status
1 - 11 of 11 Posts
Joined
·
719 Posts
Scorpio....I haven't gotten it done myself and also are interested to see the results. You've been doing alot of AV shopping lately huh? I wish I have the money to be able to have all things delieved at once, I gotta do it piece by piece. Another good thing to do is to have the protective screen removed. I've heard that it'll help alot of CRT RPTV improve sharpness and rid most of the glare that you get when watching with ambient light. Although I don't think you need a ISF tech to come just to remove it, if you're going to have ISF come and calibrate, might as well tell him to remove it for you while he's there.
I waited 18 months to have an ISF calibration - I was using Avia and Sound & Vision discs in the interim. I was extremely impressed with the calibration - part of it was removing the glare screen but it also had to do with the fantastic color accuracy and picture clarity.
I plan on having it done annually after seeing the results - i also had the DVD player and DVHS player inputs calibrated at the same time.
Most of the stuff I have read on these boards and elsewhere has strongly recommended an ISF calibration after you have had the set for a few months. Having just done it I see why.
I plan on having it done annually after seeing the results - i also had the DVD player and DVHS player inputs calibrated at the same time.
Most of the stuff I have read on these boards and elsewhere has strongly recommended an ISF calibration after you have had the set for a few months. Having just done it I see why.
Joined
·
1,905 Posts
The bigger and the better the TV and content you're going to be watching, the more apparent artifacts will appear.
Buying a big RPTV and not spending 250 dollars to have it professionally calibrated, is like buying new tires and not having them balanced or aligned. It is a waste if you leave the performance in the box.
Buying a big RPTV and not spending 250 dollars to have it professionally calibrated, is like buying new tires and not having them balanced or aligned. It is a waste if you leave the performance in the box.
Quote:
I'd wait and see how I liked the picture out of the box, or perhaps use the Avia Calibration DVD. I found it interesting on my Panny LCD set, that the OOTB picture looked pleasing to me. Then I calibrated it with the Avia DVD, but arrived right back to the OOTB settings.
Kind of glad I'm not a meticulous videophile, and have to spend $400+ to have my tv tweaked, to make it bearable to watch.
| Originally posted by Sc0rp10n having a toshiba 62hmx84 delivered in 1-2 weeks. should i get it ISF calibrated? how much is it going to run me? |
Kind of glad I'm not a meticulous videophile, and have to spend $400+ to have my tv tweaked, to make it bearable to watch.
I know that DLPs have a 100-hour or so break-in period. I'm not sure about other technologies.
But like the tire analogy, think of it as getting a $3000 suit and not having it tailored to fit your body (leaving the sleeves and pant legs too long, etc.). Some sets have great factory settings, while others need a lot of tweaking to get right.
I've done all my tweaking and calibrating on my own. It would be easier to have it done professionally, but it's not really an option, and I feel I've done a great job calibrating on my own anyway.
Besides color, one thing that really, really helps is getting the brightness (black level) and contrast (white level) right. You can at least get the brightness level correct for your TV input by checking the pillar-box or letter-box bars on different channels, and adjusting it to the point where noise disappears / blacks become black and not light grey (stand close to the set and watch the black levels change as you adjust brightness). Adjust the contrast (white level) to where you get whites and not light greys (INHD logo screens are good for this - with white and the light colors swirling). Blacks should be black, whites should be white, and all the tones in between should be a good gradation from black to white. If the contrast is too high or brightness too low, you lose detail on both ends.
Matrix Reloaded is one of my favorite "steaming rat" (tweaking by eye) test discs. In Chapter 3 (Upgrades), Neo comes up and is handed the earpiece. You should be able to see his jacket and the buttons on it, without it all appearing as one blob of black (adjust brightness/black level). The scene just after that, where the ship comes back to Zion to dock, and the people are in the virtual set, plugged in - The background should be 'white' but you should still be able to see detail on their clothing and everything on screen. If your contrast is too high, it will be white, but the detail will all be washed out.
This site has a lot of great info and tips on calibration:
http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/exper...ofexperts.html
And these sites are great for calibrating for HTPC inputs:
http://www.mooneyass.com/testpatterns/ (Phillips Pattern Generator program)
http://www.displaycalibration.com/
But like the tire analogy, think of it as getting a $3000 suit and not having it tailored to fit your body (leaving the sleeves and pant legs too long, etc.). Some sets have great factory settings, while others need a lot of tweaking to get right.
I've done all my tweaking and calibrating on my own. It would be easier to have it done professionally, but it's not really an option, and I feel I've done a great job calibrating on my own anyway.
Besides color, one thing that really, really helps is getting the brightness (black level) and contrast (white level) right. You can at least get the brightness level correct for your TV input by checking the pillar-box or letter-box bars on different channels, and adjusting it to the point where noise disappears / blacks become black and not light grey (stand close to the set and watch the black levels change as you adjust brightness). Adjust the contrast (white level) to where you get whites and not light greys (INHD logo screens are good for this - with white and the light colors swirling). Blacks should be black, whites should be white, and all the tones in between should be a good gradation from black to white. If the contrast is too high or brightness too low, you lose detail on both ends.
Matrix Reloaded is one of my favorite "steaming rat" (tweaking by eye) test discs. In Chapter 3 (Upgrades), Neo comes up and is handed the earpiece. You should be able to see his jacket and the buttons on it, without it all appearing as one blob of black (adjust brightness/black level). The scene just after that, where the ship comes back to Zion to dock, and the people are in the virtual set, plugged in - The background should be 'white' but you should still be able to see detail on their clothing and everything on screen. If your contrast is too high, it will be white, but the detail will all be washed out.
This site has a lot of great info and tips on calibration:
http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/exper...ofexperts.html
And these sites are great for calibrating for HTPC inputs:
http://www.mooneyass.com/testpatterns/ (Phillips Pattern Generator program)
http://www.displaycalibration.com/
Here's another site:
http://www.audio-ideas.com/columns/i...-high-def.html
"ISF Calibration of an HDTV Rear Projection Display
Andrew Marshall watches London Audio's Rick Ho ISF calibrate the
AIG Reference Pioneer PRO-710 HD and sees the difference"
http://www.audio-ideas.com/columns/i...-high-def.html
"ISF Calibration of an HDTV Rear Projection Display
Andrew Marshall watches London Audio's Rick Ho ISF calibrate the
AIG Reference Pioneer PRO-710 HD and sees the difference"
Quote:
Sorry if I confused you - I wasn't recommending an 18 month wait. I just happened to wait that long for all the reasons stuff happens in life
As for someone else's videophile comment - not that it was necessarily adressed to me but I'm not a videophile - I was just really impressed with the post -calibration picture. FWIW.
| Originally posted by Riley9208 I've read that ISF calibration is recommended after 100 hours of viewing. Is this true? If so, why wait 18 months? |
Sorry if I confused you - I wasn't recommending an 18 month wait. I just happened to wait that long for all the reasons stuff happens in life
As for someone else's videophile comment - not that it was necessarily adressed to me but I'm not a videophile - I was just really impressed with the post -calibration picture. FWIW.
Joined
·
188 Posts
So is there a consensus of opinion on spending the money to ISF a DLP?
1 - 11 of 11 Posts
- Status
Join the discussion
