Greetings
My name is Michael Chen, but most frequenters of the HT forums know me as Michael TLV. I calibrate as a hobby and have been doing so since 1999. I am a member of the Lion Audio/Video Network of top calibrators that travel the country.
I've been an enthusiast of home video ever since 1980 when my parents bought the family's first Betamax vcr. The hobby grew from there to constant upgrading of equipment and the addition of poorman surround sound in those early days.
Hooking up people's systems was the big thing back then and I could wire up anyone's system and even teach them how to use it after 10 minutes of study. Sort of a slow "pretender." By the early 90's I was operating a hobby business hooking up a/v systems for people and contracting this service to the local department stores and repair shops.
In the late 80's the first calibration video laser disc came out and that spelled the beginnings of video calibration for myself. I had been a keen reader of all that a fellow named Joe Kane wrote about image calibration. By 1997-98 when the colour analyzing equipment first became available at an attainable price, I maxed out my credit card and took that plunge. Thus started my life as a full fledged video calibrationist.
I had the slight advantage over others in that I had actually spent the previous 8 years reading and studying up on the theory before and practicing the physical stuff on tv after TV anyway. Learning the equipment was a piece of cake. Although making the capital investment meant that playtime was over. Getting my ISF credentials was next and I simply saw that as a necessary evil. Something one needed to get additional credibility ...
I continue to do this calibration work as a hobby, carefully balanced with my day job occupation. I'm considered to be one of those "traveling calibrators" that goes across the country when there is the need for no nonsense calibration. The areas of the continent that I routinely cover are the Pacific Northwest (including Spokane, Seattle, Portland, Vancouver,Victoria and all points in between about 4 times a year), Eastern Canada (Toronto-GTA, Ottawa, Montreal twice a year), Winnipeg, Regina, and even Las Vegas come CES time. When I am not on a calibration tour, my primary local service areas are Calgary & Edmonton and Central / Southern Alberta.
The members of the Lion Audio/Video Network are Video Calibrationists ... not just ISF calibrators. We do a whole lot more where ISF ends.
Current video equipment includes the Philips Colour Analyzer, Progressive Labs CA-1 Colour analyzer, Progressive Labs CA-1-CE, Progressive Labs CA-6XAnalyzer, Colorfacts 6.0 & Accucal Software with the GretagMacbeth spectroradiometer, Accupel HDG-3000 signal generator, and the AVS TV Pro Optical Comparator. I also have the I2C equipment for applicable Mits units and the Pioneer C3 Remote and Panasonic plasma Special Remote.
For audio, I use the Sencore SP295 Sound Analyzer.
I am equipped to handle CRT, DLP, LCD, Plasma and other display technologies out there like DILA and LCOS.
I am unaligned with any store fronts so I have no false loyalties. I am free to criticize any type of display device on the market. The man with the brutal truth ... as I am not there to tell you how great your equipment purchases are. I only care about the image.
Contact Information:
Email me from this site directly or visit the Lion Audio/ Video Consultants site at Lionav.com.
Regards