Arguments for and against calibration

[Series1boy]

I've watched wolverine on bluray and I can definitely see a vast improvement now. The dark scenes in particular are now more detailed and don't have the patches of fuzzy it had before. Also, skin tones are now pretty good as before the faces look liked they had jaundis.

the sky program was a 2006 film on Disney so I suspect it is poor quality any way.

really pleased now. Mark did say it won't make vast improvements, just fine tuning a fine engine I already have. I will see how it goes with various BD's.

Big boss - I have day and night settings and was set to the correct 1.

 

[Son_of_SJ]

Series1boy ........your 64" Samsung 8500 plasma is a fantastic set

sonof sj my friend, it is I jog3004 that has the samsung, Series1boy has a VT

Oops! But I'm glad that, a few hours on, series1boy seems much happier now with the calibration of his 50VT65! I expect that you, jog3004, will be as happy on Monday when your big Samsung plasma is done also!

 

[bigboss]

Big boss - I have day and night settings and was set to the correct 1.

It was mr malarky who asked the question, not me.

 

[Son_of_SJ]

So I'm not the only one to mis-identify someone, then!

 

[theflyingwasp]

Apart from the obvious benifets from a calibrated screen when it comes to movies .no one seems to have commented on how good gaming looks post calibration

with everything set up properly colours are popping (super mario world 3d) and dark levels in games look great due to the black levels being spot on (the last of us)

 

[strapped for cash]

Now then, is that because you're now used to the colours in your set?

Well, it's better to have correctly balanced colours than not.

Nobody's really discussed the difference calibration makes to image depth.

This is partly down to correct brightness and balance settings; but has as much to do with shading and other monocular depth cues that are more accurately represented when the television is set up properly (i.e. greyscale, colour saturation and hue are hitting targets.) Correct balance at closer to black grey shades also improves shadow detail.

There are manifold benefits to calibration; but you have to live with a calibrated TV for a while to appreciate many of the improvements.

 

[BenLaw]

So, no doubt then, strapped, you would describe a calibrated TV as 'more immersive'?

 

[Son_of_SJ]

Apart from the obvious benifets from a calibrated screen when it comes to movies .no one seems to have commented on how good gaming looks post calibration

In my case, that'll be because I don't game.

 

[FennerMachine]

Gaming...

After applying the calibration settings to the SCART input my Sega Saturn games look better.

 

[strapped for cash]

So, no doubt then, strapped, you would describe a calibrated TV as 'more immersive'?

I won't attempt to grapple with a term writers have exhausted thousands of pages trying to define; but sure, go on then...

 

[rocketrazor]

Out of interest, what settings are the brightness and contrast after calibration? With image retention an issue does the calibration turn these settings up possibly making it more of an issue, especially when gaming.

cheers

 

[jog3004]

Calibration finished. I highly recommend Jules from Displaycalibration.co.uk, he patiently explained all aspects of the calibration, pointing out the improvements before & after calibration, spending six hours for what I consider a very reasonable price. The difference now is noticeable from the little time I've watched the tv since Jules finished. Interestingly, Jules commented that the VT calibration was better than the samsung, mainly on black level & marginally on 3D for crosstalk, but the differences were only very slight. He also stated though that the brightness levels than can be achieved on the F8500 were better than the VT, making it better for daytime viewing screen, which was one of the main reasons I chose the Samsung. Unlike a few on the forum who were a little underwhelmed post calibration, I can immediately see better colour, detail & depth, this is despite Jules stating that the out of box movie mode was quite good, but the 3D was shockingly out. The calibrated colours were also slightly under saturated. Now for some serious viewing time.

 

[bigboss]

Out of interest, what settings are the brightness and contrast after calibration? With image retention an issue does the calibration turn these settings up possibly making it more of an issue, especially when gaming.

cheers

I don't think so. If anything, many people have commented that their TV was actually "darker" than pre-calibration!

 

[Series1boy]

Bit of an update.

i've watched a couple of Blurays (wolverine and star wars atack of the clones) and plenty of sky HD. I've noticed since calibration the bluray picture quality is far better in terms of dark scenes, blacks and skin tone is more natural.

With my sky HD viewings, well this is a different story. I've noticed since calibration, if the broadcast isn't top notch then you can see all the inperfections, the colour palet seems washed out and some of the skin tones seem to have a hint of yellow. when I watch sky news or a discovery program then the pic quality is very good? With programs such as Blackilist, the pic colour and dark scenes seem to be more washed out.

I then reverted back to my original picture setting 'normal' and this picture is very blue and dark. So, I suppose your eyes do get used to certain settings eventually. I am now back to isf...!

My disappointment is with sky HD and I appreciate this is in 1080i but the skin tones and washed out colour are getting me down a little. Is this normal and should I give it more time with sky and what does every body else think?

cheers

 

[Son_of_SJ]

Series1boy, you sound a bit as I felt immediately after calibration - I was happy with blu-ray, but ordinary Freeview TV (I don't have sky) seemed not quite right somehow. However, that feeling passed, and I now think that, in particular, the LG 60PZ950T in the kitchen and the Pioneer 428XD in my bedroom, which are by far the two of my four televisions that I watch most often, are fantastic with both Freeview and with blu-ray. Stick with it though. Of course, your dissatisfaction with Sky may be because the Sky transmissions are a bit off, so you are now (post-calibration) seeing them as they really are, which may be simply not very good! I don't know for sure, as I don't have Sky, and as Freeview really does seem so good now, even a non-HD channel like Quest, I'm unlikely to be getting Sky. Going back to the pre-calibrated settings for Freeview is like watching a shop LED on Vivid or Dynamic, not something that I would now choose to watch for an extended (more than three minutes) time.

 

[mr malarky]

Bit of an update.

With my sky HD viewings, well this is a different story. I've noticed since calibration, if the broadcast isn't top notch then you can see all the inperfections, the colour palet seems washed out and some of the skin tones seem to have a hint of yellow. when I watch sky news or a discovery program then the pic quality is very good? With programs such as Blackilist, the pic colour and dark scenes seem to be more washed out.

My disappointment is with sky HD and I appreciate this is in 1080i but the skin tones and washed out colour are getting me down a little. Is this normal and should I give it more time with sky and what does every body else think?

That doesn't sound right to be honest, certainly wasn't my experience with sky HD (it's not as good as BluRay but shouldn't be that bad). How old is your sky HD box, and what are the 'picture' settings set to in the sky box's options menu?

 

[Series1boy]

It's a 1 TB sky box about 2 years old. I've tried both the automatic resolution and 1080i settings and they are both the same.

ive now reverted back to my normal mode for sky HD because the picture is far better in terms of sharpness, colour and you don't get the dreadful green/ yellow skin tones.

ive spoken to Mark hodgkinson who did my TV and he says I need toget used to it, however I've tried and the picture is not as good.

ive looked at various forums and the isf calibrators other people have used spent at least 5 to 6 hours calibrating their TV. Mark did mine in 3.5 hours and explained mine was easy to do. I'm not saying this is not right but I'm not happy with the final outcome of my picture.

im no newby to cinema systems and my 46pz85b in the bedroom has a better picture than the calibrated mode on my VT65 although when the VT is set to normal mode then it does out perform the 46PZ in all areas.

i don't think there is a problem with my VT because it is fine in all other modes.

I'm not impressed and I feel I have waisted £250 to gain a far worse picture. Even the wife has noticed the difference and that says a lot because they can never tell the difference between anything LOL!

 

[Son_of_SJ]

Series1boy, just to clarify a few things:

1, are you still happy with the calibration when you are playing Blu-Rays?

2, I know that you have Sky, but if it's not too much trouble, are you able to use an ordinary Freeview or Freesat aerial, even temporarily? If you can use something other than SKY for ordinary TV watching that should determine whether the Sky box is the true cause of your dissatisfaction.

3, Mark's colleague Stephen Withers took about nine hours to calibrate my four televisions (in sequence, LG 60PZ950T, Samsung PS64D8000, Pioneer PDP 428XD, Pioneer PDP LX5090). Stephen did say that my Pioneers did not have as extensive or as useful calibration controls as the more modern televisions, so did not take as long to calibrate. How long a calibration takes will also depend on whether you have day, night or 3D settings done, so time taken isn't necessarily a measure of how thorough a job the calibrator did. But let us know if you CAN use something other than Sky.

 

[mr malarky]

Steve spent about 3 hours calibrating my ZT, so the time period sounds about right (he could have done it much faster to be honest if I hadn't kept asking questions all the way through).

Has Mark sent you a report of your pre and post calibration reports? We're obviously no experts but if you could post the reports we could all compare them against our own and let you know if anything looks significantly different.

It does sound odd that the BluRay picture has come out so good yet the sky picture is so off, could be worth swapping round the HDMI cables in case you've got a faulty cable?

 

[ellisdj]

It's a 1 TB sky box about 2 years old. I've tried both the automatic resolution and 1080i settings and they are both the same.

ive now reverted back to my normal mode for sky HD because the picture is far better in terms of sharpness, colour and you don't get the dreadful green/ yellow skin tones.

ive spoken to Mark hodgkinson who did my TV and he says I need toget used to it, however I've tried and the picture is not as good.

ive looked at various forums and the isf calibrators other people have used spent at least 5 to 6 hours calibrating their TV. Mark did mine in 3.5 hours and explained mine was easy to do. I'm not saying this is not right but I'm not happy with the final outcome of my picture.

im no newby to cinema systems and my 46pz85b in the bedroom has a better picture than the calibrated mode on my VT65 although when the VT is set to normal mode then it does out perform the 46PZ in all areas.

i don't think there is a problem with my VT because it is fine in all other modes.

I'm not impressed and I feel I have waisted £250 to gain a far worse picture. Even the wife has noticed the difference and that says a lot because they can never tell the difference between anything LOL!

Somehting sounds a miss here - I cant see a pro calibrator getting it wrong, I really cant and if your blu ray picture is good then the calibration is right. I assume you have not seen another calibrated image before? You can cross reference against some picutures I have posted on the 65VT65 Thread if you want. This will give you an idea - not meant as an exact science.

Now my experience of sky is that some channels broadcasts are horific and if they are not HD then I am sure they wont be set to REC 709 and that could be why some things look off in colour. When you have a calibrated screen when its bad it really shows up as bad the VT65 I find really shows things for the better or worse. So this could be why ... not saying for definate

But there is no way on gods earth that calibrating the TV (if done right obviously) will make the picture worse

 

[Series1boy]

Since my post I've tried BBC HD news and Jonathan Ross all in HD and the pictures are excellent. When I watch a series of blacklist or elementary in HD then they are not as god as they were before. So from what a few of you are saying, since my calibration my VT is now showing the difference between a good and bad program picture quality. My mode normal before didn't. The bluray is very good too.

I have a spare sky HD box in the bedroom on the 46pz and I've tried this on my Vt and it's the same.

so taking all the above and every ones advice, this is the reason why i am now seeing the differences. Is till have the dodgy skin tones though and I've asked Mark how this can be rectified to which I'm waiting for a response. I will also post the graphs when I receive them too.

thanks for all of your help and I'm sure I will get there.

 

[Series1boy]

I've just spoken to Mark on the phone and we discussed my problems and he explained the only fault he could find with the VT when he reviewed it on av forums was the green tints on the face. He also explained they will be far less on the non isf modes but then everything else will be out of sync so it's a case of the less of two evils....

We discussed the colour palet being washed out and he confirmed that this is how it should look when calibrated and I'm used to it being brighter in the normal non isf mode. Is this everybody else's experience with this part?

 

[Series1boy]

ellisdj can you send me the link to the thread with the picture settings please as I cant find it :doh:

 

[jog3004]

I have to confess the biggest difference I noticed was with sky. The picture improved dramatically via sharper pic, much better colours & depth, however, it is not as forgiving with poor transmission programmes. My bluray is excellent with the same improvements as above, however, I'm not as impressed with the 3d picture, which in my opinion does not seem any different than previous. Jules spent about 6 hours calibrating my tv.

 

[ellisdj]

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/tvs-and-projectors/two-full-uk-reviews-of-the-panasonic-tx-p65vt65b-plasma?page=11

Again this is not intended as an exact science just a suggestion to aybe help you out