Hi, before I start, I know this has been mentioned in a few other posts out there but I have been unable to keep up with the forums lately due to a lack of time so I don't know about more recent posts. Anyway, I was just thinking that, WHF reviews always say that when you buy a TV you should ALWAYS take time to set it up to get the best from your new set. I was wondering if it would be possible for the settings that were used in the test to be transfered across to the reviews themselves. The reason for this is that, if you are like me, then the picture on a TV never looks at it's best. I will set up my TV and then an hour later decide that a different group of settings is better, this can go on for hours which can become annoying and I never reach a final prefrence. If WHF could put the review settings on the actual review then it would possibly save many people a lot of time whilst setting up their TVs for the first time, especially in the case of TVs such as the Philips 42PFL7603 which are reported to have very in-depth settings. Also it would mean that users would be able to get the best from their sets, and as this seems to be a point that WHF tries to get across in many reviews, this would be very helpful towards showing what a difference a little bit of tweaking can do to the overall performance. I would like to hear your thoughts on this and also those of any WHF team members as this is a feature I would love to see in future reviews. ;-)
A little bit extra from WHF reviews?
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Wightknight
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There used to be an article on the website entitled How to boost your TV's performance. One paragraph stated:
"So, the basic rule of thumb is to turn everything down: roughly speaking, brightness should be set at about 45 percent, contrast to 65 percent, and colour to about 50 percent. Turn sharpness controls off altogether, and if your set is equipped with digital picture processing modes, we recommend you experiment by keeping them turned off, too."
I have kept a copy of it and always use these figures as my starting point, then tweak from there. Often, these settings are close to perfect.
"So, the basic rule of thumb is to turn everything down: roughly speaking, brightness should be set at about 45 percent, contrast to 65 percent, and colour to about 50 percent. Turn sharpness controls off altogether, and if your set is equipped with digital picture processing modes, we recommend you experiment by keeping them turned off, too."
I have kept a copy of it and always use these figures as my starting point, then tweak from there. Often, these settings are close to perfect.
You can also check out our How to get the best from your TV video, which has more handy hints and tips.
Wightknight:There used to be an article on the website entitled How to boost your TV's performance.
How to boost your TV's performance is still very much alive...
How to boost your TV's performance is still very much alive...
Choppy_Balboa: I was wondering if it would be possible for the settings that were used in the test to be transfered across to the reviews themselves. The reason for this is that, if you are like me, then the picture on a TV never looks at it's best. I will set up my TV and then an hour later decide that a different group of settings is better, this can go on for hours which can become annoying and I never reach a final prefrence. If WHF could put the review settings on the actual review then it would possibly save many people a lot of time whilst setting up their TVs for the first time
I completely agree with Choppy, I think that this would be very helpful for us inexperienced users. I have heard the usual response to such requests being that "it depends on your room" and "personal viewing preferences", which is fair enough. However, my view is that the settings used by the experienced review testers would still provide an excellent starting point (as a rule you guys know which things can be disabled and which can be enabled etc). I was hopelessly lost when I got my KDL40Z4500 (and I certainly would not consider paying £250 for a professional calibration, that would be out of the question), so trawled the internet for some guidance and eventually found a forum where test settings had been posted. I applied these to my set and with a minimal bit of tweaking (that even I could cope with) I got a very good picture, without feeling the need to make further constant adjustments. [EDITED BY MODS - HOUSE RULES] These other guides suggested are still a bit too generic for me (just my opinion).
I completely agree with Choppy, I think that this would be very helpful for us inexperienced users. I have heard the usual response to such requests being that "it depends on your room" and "personal viewing preferences", which is fair enough. However, my view is that the settings used by the experienced review testers would still provide an excellent starting point (as a rule you guys know which things can be disabled and which can be enabled etc). I was hopelessly lost when I got my KDL40Z4500 (and I certainly would not consider paying £250 for a professional calibration, that would be out of the question), so trawled the internet for some guidance and eventually found a forum where test settings had been posted. I applied these to my set and with a minimal bit of tweaking (that even I could cope with) I got a very good picture, without feeling the need to make further constant adjustments. [EDITED BY MODS - HOUSE RULES] These other guides suggested are still a bit too generic for me (just my opinion).
Why not invest into a SpyderTV, at around £120 it is a fantastic bit of kit and give much better resuts over a human eye and once you have finished using it you can sell it for almost as much as you paid for it!
D.J.KRIME:Why not invest into a SpyderTV, at around £120 it is a fantastic bit of kit and give much better resuts over a human eye and once you have finished using it you can sell it for almost as much as you paid for it!
You'll be able to watch Chelsea lose to Liverpool on it fella
You'll be able to watch Chelsea lose to Liverpool on it fella
JoelSim:
You'll be able to watch Chelsea lose to Liverpool on it fella
No need mate as will be at both legs of the tie ultimatly to send the Liverpool fans back home crying as we did before
You'll be able to watch Chelsea lose to Liverpool on it fella
No need mate as will be at both legs of the tie ultimatly to send the Liverpool fans back home crying as we did before
Wightknight
Well-known member
- Jul 29, 2007
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Andrew Everard:
Wightknight:There used to be an article on the website entitled How to boost your TV's performance.
How to boost your TV's performance is still very much alive...
Hey! Great to see it's still there!
Thanks, Andrew.
Wightknight:There used to be an article on the website entitled How to boost your TV's performance.
How to boost your TV's performance is still very much alive...
Hey! Great to see it's still there!
Thanks, Andrew.
As you don't know what standards the What?HiFi team use to
evaluate the TVs they review, if any, there would be little point in them
posting settings. If they use accurate and repeatable parameters like Rec.709
or Rec.601 for measurement, that requires the use of expensive equipment that
would not be of any use to you. Plus there is the factor that every TV, even
the same model, has manufacturing tolerances' of at least 10% variance. These
can be correctly set up but there is definitely a misuse of the word
calibration on these forums. What that word doesn't cover is front panel
controls which any user can set correctly when using the right test patterns
and a little knowledge. This is a basic set up, calibration covers correct
setting of the white balance and CMS which requires certain tools to get right.
Where What?HiFi could improve their reviews is by doing just
that, accurate measurement of the TV to industry standards that can be
repeated. This not only shows that the model in question can produce the
correct standard of picture quality, but will also help decide what engineering
and design has been put in to the display. It doesn't have to baffle people
either, as other reviews out there do the technical stuff but in a way anyone
can understand.
Using other people's settings is flawed, you have no idea
what sources, environment or indeed wall colour (yes that makes a huge
difference to perceived colour on screen), they have. If anything positive can
be said for settings threads is that they usually get people out of standard or
dynamic modes on their TVs which kill detail and colour balance.
evaluate the TVs they review, if any, there would be little point in them
posting settings. If they use accurate and repeatable parameters like Rec.709
or Rec.601 for measurement, that requires the use of expensive equipment that
would not be of any use to you. Plus there is the factor that every TV, even
the same model, has manufacturing tolerances' of at least 10% variance. These
can be correctly set up but there is definitely a misuse of the word
calibration on these forums. What that word doesn't cover is front panel
controls which any user can set correctly when using the right test patterns
and a little knowledge. This is a basic set up, calibration covers correct
setting of the white balance and CMS which requires certain tools to get right.
Where What?HiFi could improve their reviews is by doing just
that, accurate measurement of the TV to industry standards that can be
repeated. This not only shows that the model in question can produce the
correct standard of picture quality, but will also help decide what engineering
and design has been put in to the display. It doesn't have to baffle people
either, as other reviews out there do the technical stuff but in a way anyone
can understand.
Using other people's settings is flawed, you have no idea
what sources, environment or indeed wall colour (yes that makes a huge
difference to perceived colour on screen), they have. If anything positive can
be said for settings threads is that they usually get people out of standard or
dynamic modes on their TVs which kill detail and colour balance.
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