I am going to get the above TV this weekend but am hopeless at setting TV's up. Does anybody have settings that they are happy with so that i can use them to start with please. I will be watching Sky, both HD and SD and blu ray. If What hifi can remember the settings they used from their review a couple of months ago that would be brilliant.
Sony KDL 37W5500 Settings.
- Thread starter shep1968
- Start date
Ah, well. The trouble is, that's like asking someone to fast-forward you to the final score of the Man Utd v Chelsea game without actually watching the game. You're missing all the detail, the fun and the satisafaction!
You will find much more experienced guys on here telling you that you need to set your TV up in your room with your lighting and viewing conditions. And the thing is - they're right.
The way I see it, you have three options, ranging from basic to expert, but I'm sure you'vre read all this already:
1. a THX-certified DVD / BD
2. the Home Digital Essentials DVD / BD
3. a sensor and some callibration software.
Personally, I graduated from 1 through 2 and am now at 3 and only now am I satisfied with my picture.
So I think going straight for someone else's settings is doing yourself out of your best picture.
By the way. It will be 3-0 this season.
You will find much more experienced guys on here telling you that you need to set your TV up in your room with your lighting and viewing conditions. And the thing is - they're right.
The way I see it, you have three options, ranging from basic to expert, but I'm sure you'vre read all this already:
1. a THX-certified DVD / BD
2. the Home Digital Essentials DVD / BD
3. a sensor and some callibration software.
Personally, I graduated from 1 through 2 and am now at 3 and only now am I satisfied with my picture.
So I think going straight for someone else's settings is doing yourself out of your best picture.
By the way. It will be 3-0 this season.
Mez:
Ah, well. The trouble is, that's like asking someone to fast-forward you to the final score of the Man Utd v Chelsea game without actually watching the game.
By the way. It will be 3-0 this season.
To Chelsea!
Seriously tho Mez is right, there are no ideal settings for a TV as ambient conditions among many other factors such as equipment used with the TV and even cables, all affect the correct settings.
And 2 identical models of TV can differ slightly in regards to their inital colour balance and starting points with regards to white balance.
A good starting point is and DVD with the THX test paterns (these really are very simple to use) then there is a chance you may well be happy with these settings you have as at the end of the day it is you who will be watching the set daily.
Ah, well. The trouble is, that's like asking someone to fast-forward you to the final score of the Man Utd v Chelsea game without actually watching the game.
By the way. It will be 3-0 this season.
To Chelsea!
Seriously tho Mez is right, there are no ideal settings for a TV as ambient conditions among many other factors such as equipment used with the TV and even cables, all affect the correct settings.
And 2 identical models of TV can differ slightly in regards to their inital colour balance and starting points with regards to white balance.
A good starting point is and DVD with the THX test paterns (these really are very simple to use) then there is a chance you may well be happy with these settings you have as at the end of the day it is you who will be watching the set daily.
Can you borrow one? Most of the Pixar animated films have the THX callibration menu. Without at least that you'll find it impossible to judge using just content.
But if you're looking for just a general guide, you'll probably find that with your factory settings, your contrast is too low, and your brightness, colour (saturation) and sharpness settings are too high. Beyond that, and especially if you have an advance colour management system on your set, you really, really need to get some test material.
I'll get thrown out of the callibrators' club for saying all that ... lol
But if you're looking for just a general guide, you'll probably find that with your factory settings, your contrast is too low, and your brightness, colour (saturation) and sharpness settings are too high. Beyond that, and especially if you have an advance colour management system on your set, you really, really need to get some test material.
I'll get thrown out of the callibrators' club for saying all that ... lol
The Blu-ray version of THX Optimizer isn't out yet, but the DVD one will do you just fine - full list here of the hundreds of DVDs that include it: sure you or your friends own one of these.
The trouble is - it won't.
You can play the DVD on your blu-ray. The only difference will be between the SD and HD colour gamuts but that's not worth worrying about at that level of callibration.
I'd stop banging your head against that brick wall ... it must be hurting by now!
You can play the DVD on your blu-ray. The only difference will be between the SD and HD colour gamuts but that's not worth worrying about at that level of callibration.
I'd stop banging your head against that brick wall ... it must be hurting by now!
Clare Newsome:The Blu-ray version of THX Optimizer isn't out yet, but the DVD one will do you just fine - full list here of the hundreds of DVDs that include it: sure you or your friends own one of these.
I could well be wrong but I thought there was a THX Optimizer included on the Wall-E BD.
I could well be wrong but I thought there was a THX Optimizer included on the Wall-E BD.
In theory there is not real benifit of the THX test paterns being on BD over DVD apart from the convergance test patern being correct for a FULL HD set so correct adjustment to overscan can be assesed. Setting contrast and brightness should not differ From BD to DVD vastly not sholud the colour settings taht are achievible without using a sensor with TINT being redundant unless setting up for NTSC.
First of all, my set faces my lounge window, so you might not want the backlight as bright as me. Also, I use just the Cinema mode for tv/dvd viewing and use the "Common" Target Input. I use Cinema because the sound seems much better in this mode. I use Surround for films and turn it off for normal tv.
Picture Settings -
Backlight 6
Contrast 78
Brightness 40
Colour 60
Col Temp Neutral
Sharpness Min
Noise Reduction Off
Mpeg Off
Motionflow Standard
Film Mode Auto 1
Advanced Settings
Black Corrector Low (I have no idea if this actually does anything)
Adv Con En Off
Gamma +2
Auto L L Off
Clear White Low (Again, does this actually do anything?)
Live Colour Low
White Balance All 0 (Have fiddled about with, but again it doesn't appear to change anything)
Sound Settings -
Treble +8
Bass Max
Balance 0
Auto Vol Off (This makes the adverts the same sound level as the programmes)
Volume Offset +3
Surround See Above
Voice Zoom +5
Sound Enhancer On
Dual Sound Stereo
I have got to these settings after 3 weeks of experimenting with them. I dont pretend to be some kind of expert, but I am very fussy about how the picture looks. I have used the settings on HDTV.org, for the 40w5500, but I found the picture settings they suggested to be very dark and lacklustre.
I hope this helps you on your way to happy viewing.
Picture Settings -
Backlight 6
Contrast 78
Brightness 40
Colour 60
Col Temp Neutral
Sharpness Min
Noise Reduction Off
Mpeg Off
Motionflow Standard
Film Mode Auto 1
Advanced Settings
Black Corrector Low (I have no idea if this actually does anything)
Adv Con En Off
Gamma +2
Auto L L Off
Clear White Low (Again, does this actually do anything?)
Live Colour Low
White Balance All 0 (Have fiddled about with, but again it doesn't appear to change anything)
Sound Settings -
Treble +8
Bass Max
Balance 0
Auto Vol Off (This makes the adverts the same sound level as the programmes)
Volume Offset +3
Surround See Above
Voice Zoom +5
Sound Enhancer On
Dual Sound Stereo
I have got to these settings after 3 weeks of experimenting with them. I dont pretend to be some kind of expert, but I am very fussy about how the picture looks. I have used the settings on HDTV.org, for the 40w5500, but I found the picture settings they suggested to be very dark and lacklustre.
I hope this helps you on your way to happy viewing.
I looked through the list that Claire kindly posted of thx authorised discs and saw that Pearl Harbour was on it. We have that, awful though it is, and i ran through the calibration exercise. I dont have the special glasses that help on one of them and i couldn't discern any difference on the test pattern for sharpness but the rest of them came quite close to those posted on here with the exception of the backlight. Mine is set at 2. Blu ray looks lovely but at the moment pictures through sky on sd are making us a little goggle eyed. I hope that is because i have just muted the colours and brightness a little. There is some blurring and lixellation close up but i suspect that is more to do with the quality of signal than the tv settings. We have gone from a 32" to a 37" and it only makes the picture 12 cm wider. We are sitting around 3 metres from the screen.
Well i have just watched my first blu ray disc on the new tv. All i can say is oh my god what detail and colour. Say die hard 4.0. Not eh best film but looks beautiful. One thing though, at first i felt sick watching the film. Then i turned the motion control off. What a difference. Big screen, exquisite picture. I am in blu ray heaven. As a subscriber to what hifi, thanks to all there for the reviews, i have just spent the best part of a grand on a tv and blu ray relying on your review and i am glad to say it doesnt seem like money wasted.
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