[AJCxZ0]

I picked up an Avera 55EQX20 55" 4K Ultra HD LED TV (2017) on sale for $249.99 delivered after a $40 rebate. This is a no-frills, no-HDR, dumb UHD TV which includes composite and component video inputs and a blinding splash screen. It's perfect for my viewing location and media source (Roku Premier+).

As mentioned in other threads, these Avera Equinox displays look terrible out of the box but can be tuned through the Picture and Service menus (MENU 1 1 4 7).

Before I start tuning from the store-display bright and unnaturally sharp default settings, I thought I'd see on what settings in both the Picture and Service menus others had settled for a good UHD picture. Please share yours.

 

[Otto Pylot]

You might want to pick up the free AVS HD709 calibration disk and adjust the basic settings. It won't be a calibration but it may be all you need. Using settings from another tv can be very problematic because component tolerances can vary considerably from tv to tv, even within the same model line so what looks great on another tv may not look so great on yours. Besides, you want to adjust your tv based on its own component tolerances and not just adjust it to another tv.

Getting into the SM can be a very bad thing to do if you don't know EXACTLY what you are doing. Codes you find online may be slightly different for model numbers and board/firmware version numbers (they can change from build to build of the same model). Pressing the wrong command or even hitting Enter at the wrong spot can brick a tv to the point that only a service engineer can bring it back to where it is supposed to be and set at at the factory during the QC/QA process.

 

[AJCxZ0]

You might want to pick up the free AVS HD709 calibration disk and adjust the basic settings. It won't be a calibration but it may be all you need. Using settings from another tv can be very problematic because component tolerances can vary considerably from tv to tv, even within the same model line so what looks great on another tv may not look so great on yours. Besides, you want to adjust your tv based on its own component tolerances and not just adjust it to another tv.

Getting into the SM can be a very bad thing to do if you don't know EXACTLY what you are doing. Codes you find online may be slightly different for model numbers and board/firmware version numbers (they can change from build to build of the same model). Pressing the wrong command or even hitting Enter at the wrong spot can brick a tv to the point that only a service engineer can bring it back to where it is supposed to be and set at at the factory during the QC/QA process.

Otto, that is all good advice and I appreciate you sharing it.

While I certainly intend to visually calibrate using reference sources, I was hoping to learn was something like the settings published by D-Nice for the 2010 Panasonic plasma TVs so that I can start my tuning from much closer to the eventual settings than the defaults. This would include which features to turn on and off, basic adjustments to the Picture menu sliders and - from what I've read and seen for myself - some tweaks which can only be made in the (fairly simplistic) service menu.

 

[Otto Pylot]

Otto, that is all good advice and I appreciate you sharing it.

While I certainly intend to visually calibrate using reference sources, I was hoping to learn was something like the settings published by D-Nice for the 2010 Panasonic plasma TVs so that I can start my tuning from much closer to the eventual settings than the defaults. This would include which features to turn on and off, basic adjustments to the Picture menu sliders and - from what I've read and seen for myself - some tweaks which can only be made in the (fairly simplistic) service menu.

There is nothing wrong with trying someone else's settings. That's a great way to learn how the different settings work together. Some folks find that borrowing settings does produce a pq that they like. As long as you're aware that if your pq looks terrible, it's not necessarily your tv but how far the components are from the tv that the settings were derived from. And just to be clear, the only way to calibrate your panel is with a light meter and software. Any other method is just an adjustment, be it by eye or with a disk. There is nothing simple about a Service Menu. Everything you need should be available to you via user options. Most of the calibration/adjustment settings are associated with Movie Mode. Other modes, like Game, PC, etc will have options that are not available (grayed out). Good luck if you venture into the SM and be careful.

 

[AJCxZ0]

Good luck if you venture into the SM and be careful.

Thanks.

Some time back I did some eyeball tuning using AVS HD 709 videos with excellent results: a surprisingly improved picture after some significant adjustments from factory settings, but still not quite where I want it.

Despite not having the brightness/contrast quite right, lacking HDR and the backlighting being far from even, this panel can still do an impressive job with demo UHD videos.

I'll post my settings when I finish the next round of tweaking.

 

[daftande]

Thanks.

Some time back I did some eyeball tuning using AVS HD 709 videos[/URL] with excellent results: a surprisingly improved picture after some significant adjustments from factory settings, but still not quite where I want it.

Despite not having the brightness/contrast quite right, lacking HDR and the backlighting being far from even, this panel can still do an impressive job with demo UHD videos[/URL].

I'll post my settings when I finish the next round of tweaking.

Can you post the picture setting that worked best? Thanks in advance!

 

[AJCxZ0]

Can you post the picture setting that worked best?

While I have yet to finish the job and recently noticed what appears to be a deficiency in red, these are the current settings:

 

[Otto Pylot]

Looks like you may have to use a colorimeter to adjust the settings to be as close to rec.709 standards as possible. By eye or adjusting with a disk may not be enough depending on how sensitive the controls are.