should or shouldnt

Greetings


You either want image accuracy or you don't. If you are happy with what you have as it is ... then you are not a candidate for professional calibration.


Calibration is not about getting you an image that you necessarily like ... it is about making it look the way it is supposed to look. Liking it really has nothing to do with it.


What is the answer to the question of 2+2=? Calibration Gives you "4" ... It is what it is ...


Fortunately if the calibration is presented the proper way, the client will have a much greater understanding of the process as well as the "why" aspect of it.


That said ... providing a person with a calibrated image, but not the knowledge that is needed along with it, the value of the calibrated image withers away. Answers without understanding of the question are not worth very much.


So if you don't (even half) understand why you should be getting it calibrated ... then you probably should not do it.


Regards

Greetings


Then you really are not a candidate for professional calibration as well.


When presented correctly, a client is taken through the entire calibration process step by step ... buying in ... as it were to each step.


When you understand each step ... and why it is set that way ... you end up where you end up. Both with a calibrated image and with more knowledge as well. You also get to know which parameters have limitations and why somethings are not set in stone.


You are asking to see the image ... but without the necessary knowledge ...


Regards

Greetings


I am not trying to sell you on anything ... most that want calibration have already convinced themselves that it is something they want. You have not.


Seeing the end result without the necessary knowledge is meaningless. You are not in a position to make an informed decision about its worth.


If you think you are ... then calibration really isn't for you.


A calibrated TV in a sea of incorrectly set up blue TVs is the only one that looks wrong.


regards

Greetings


And this leads to ... The two biggest questions on people's minds when they want to consider professional calibration.


Q1. Will I see a difference?


Q2. Will I like what a calibrated image looks like?


A1A. No one without actually looking at your TV set up knows what your TV image looks like. I don't know what state the TV comes in out of the box ... and I don't know what image modes you are using so without that bit of information ... how can any calibrator tell you one way or another ... especially over the phone or email.


A1B. Subjectivity ... Value Judgement. Small changes to some people are proclaimed to be night and day improvements. Large changes to other people bring yawns and statements like ... "I don't see a difference." What type of a person are you? Unless we can see the world through your eyes ... this part cannot be answered as a yes.


A2. Professional calibration is about trying to get the image to be as accurate as possible. As faithful to what the film makers want the image to look like within the limitations of the TV world. It is about making 2+2=4. Nothing more. No one can guarantee that you will like what 2+2=4 represents. Maybe you like the answer to be 9 ... or 90 or 9999 ... because those answers please you more. Calibration is about getting it as accurate as possible within the limitations of your TV set. That is it. Get the image parameters to meet the proper setting standards.


Regards

There is still way too much misunderstanding and misinformation about display calibration in the consumer electronics market and this forum. This is not something only a "Yoda" can understand. It's not science fiction or mysticism. Simple logic may seem foreign to many consumers because they have grown up on encouragement to "follow your heart," "do your own thing," "trust your feelings," "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," "different strokes for different folks," etc., etc.


You either value image fidelity on its own merits or consider personal preference of greater importance. The whole purpose of display accuracy is to preserve image fidelity, not to appeal to each individual viewer's unique taste.


A TV does not produce the program. It should be a neutral instrument that allows us to experience a program the way it was designed by the original artist. The viewer does not produce the art. Would you consider for an instant wearing colored glasses on a tour of The Louvre? Could many elements of the works of art there be enjoyed with colored glasses? Certainly. Wouldn't most viewers prefer to view those art works as the originator intended, rather than tinted?


U2 front man, Bono, is usually photographed wearing tinted glasses of various colors. It appears he lives his life this way most or all of the time. He wouldn't be a good candidate for display calibration, based upon the value of image accuracy, unless he watches TV without colored lenses.


Many calibrators have for years promoted their services as a way to get "better looking" pictures from a display. Wouldn't you like to get a better image from your TV? What about the many complainers on this and other forums who consider their calibrated TV too dark, or that the colors now don't "pop?" There have been many dissatisfied calibration customers advising others to avoid calibration services altogether. "Just trust your eyes," has been the mantra.


I have become convinced over the years that "better" has to be more clearly, accurately, and honestly defined. That is what Michael is doing as well. An educated consumer is far less likely to be a disappointed consumer. A "sold" consumer is frequently a disappointed one. With a calibrated TV you are getting a more accurate picture that will more faithfully convey video programs as they were conceived. Calibration has nothing to do with individual taste or a personal concept of what "better" is. In the world of imaging science and display industry standards, neutral is correct. A monitor that alters the signal fed to it is wrong. What goes in should come out. Any change to the original program induced by the display is correctly understood as distortion. Many consumers prefer distorted television pictures. Calibration will remove or reduce image distortion. Will you like the picture? That's completely irrelevant.


When you pay a technician to calibrate a display, it's his objective to make it perform according to video industry standards and introduce as little distortion to the program as possible. You can fiddle with the user adjustments to your heart's content after he leaves. At least the calibrator did his job, earned his fee and provided a reference set of picture settings that provide for optimum image fidelity from that display. If you want to feel better about how your TV looks, perhaps you could call Dr. Phil.


If you want to see if you "like" how a calibrated image appears, perhaps you could arrange a tour of your local TV station. Just ask them to show you a calibrated broadcast monitor. If you want to see how your TV looks after calibration, you will need to hire someone to adjust it properly. If you want to hear how your piano sounds after it is tuned, you would have a difficult time finding a professional tuner willing to perform the service, then also be willing to fore-go being paid for his time if you decide you prefer the way it sounds untuned.


Best regards and beautiful pictures,

G. Alan Brown, President

CinemaQuest, Inc.


"Advancing the art and science of electronic imaging"