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I had my my Sony 57inch CRT delivered yesterday and I must say that my jaw dropped when a dropped in a DVD. Im expecting a cable HD box soon.
My question is has anyone had their sets calibrated but prefered the picture before calibration?
I called a local tech thats listed on the ISF website and he quoted me $125. I was surprised since I have read of prices varying from $500 and up. Does this sound right to you?Thanks
Follow Ups:
My Christmas present to myself is going to be an ISF Calibration by a guy near Cleveland O. He`s charging me $340.00 for two inputs ,which seem`s resonable enough. But he doesn`t do Convergeance as part of his calibration. Should I be concerned? Should I pay extra to have him do it?
TIA!
Chris
...unless you have a fixed pixel display such as a plasma, LCD or DLP that doesn't require convergence. It's maybe not quite as important for direct view unless you have pincushioning or geometry problems.Convergence is key IMO for CRT RPs.
If you watch black and white material you may want to consider asking for a second gray scale setting at 5400K in addition to the color setting of 6500K. This can be done if your set has two or more settings, commonly marked "Neutral", "Warm", or "Cool". I've had this second setting on my last three displays and it makes a difference with old movies, etc., as they look more natural.And I agree with the posters below that $125 is not going to get you a full fledged ISF calibartion.
For $125, you're not getting a calibration from an ISF cetified tech. Techs with ISF certification fees usually start off at around $250 - $300. They go up from there, depending on what additional calibration you need. Whether or not you want to get an ISF tech to do your calibration is up to you, but for the money, I wouldn't trust someone who is not ISF certified.But before you go spending any money for a tech to do calibration, get yourself a copy of Digital Video Essentials. It's available on the internet for $17 - $24. Using this disc, you will be able to get the display close to its capabilities (90% or so) by using the picture settings in the display's user accessible menu.
If, after you've used DVE, you still feel that the display is not performing as well as it should, you might want to proceed with a tech doing the calibration. In that case, make sure you have at least 100 - 200 hours (1 - 2 months) of use before going this route (plenty of changes occur in this initial time-frame).
Here's a link to the DVE information (see Index, Album Notes, DVD Highlights, etc):
I got the name of this tech right from the the ISF website. Now, I didnt actually speak to the tech directly, just the receptionist.
I wondering if the price is "from" $125... more like an a-la-carte menu. I need to contact them again for clarification.Thanks for the link. After the "wow factor' wears off from my new toy, I'll probably go this route.
sounds like you would only get color balancing for that, with no convergence. Many techs charge extra for convergence, depending on how out-of-whack the set is.To me, the critical convergence that my tech did (Joe at Showtime Calibrations in Dearborn Heights, Michigan) was as valuable as the color balancing. He charged $340, and it was money well spent.
You don't say what your tech charged, or why you called to get other prices after you have your set calibrated. Were you unhappy with the results?
Hi C.B.
You misunderstood me.I haven't had my set calibrated yet. I'll have it done after a month or so of usage.I guess I should ask this tech if convergence is included in the price. What other questions should I ask?
Thanks again
such as what type of viewing you do normally (off-the-air NTSC vs. DVD movies) and what sort of room lighting you normally prefer.He should also ask to do the calibration in a darkened room, or at night, and if that's not possible, then there should be some way of darkening the room. Joe brought aluminum foil along to cover the windows, just in case!
If your tech isn't interested in these kinds of details, then chances are he won't be as thorough, or do as good a job as Joe did for me.
BTW, you probably have exactly the same set I have (Sony KP-57WS510), and yes, the picture was excellent right out of the box. But it will get even better after calibration!
Note--you should log at least 100 hours on the set before calibration. Unless you do an extraordinary amount of TV watching, one month probably isn't enough--I waited six months to do mine.
Actually, its the kp-57WS520. I guess the "20" is this years model.Have you tried the Video Essentials disk as Joe Murphy suggested above with the Sony?
the ISF tech had a copy--but I need to get one for myself.Be sure to have a movie on hand that you're familiar with, so that you can check the results afterwards. A SuperBit version would be good.
...especially for CRTs.How much the calibration costs depends on what the tech does. You might ask the calibrator what the $125 includes. Most RPs I know started at about $200.
I haven't seen a CRT RP that didn't improve after an ISF calibration. If your set was one of the very rare ones that wann't delivered in "torch mode" - the contrast, sharpness and brightness cranked up - you are are amazingly lucky.
Even my 34" CRT improved after calibration.
I recently purchased a Mitsubishi HC900 DLP projector. I have been reading on this forum about the improvement calibration make. Is calibration recommended or even an option for this projector? I purchased a service plan with the projector, so cost doesnt really matter; the service plan will cover the calibration if I can have it done.
Is there any particular way of finding/choosing someone to calibrate it? About how long should i expect it to take?
Thanks for the help.cheese
always helpful.Some have suggested that I have at least 100 hours of usage before having it calibrated. Agree?
Also, if you dont mind answering, Im having an HD cable box installed sometime next week. Should I have the box installed via the DVI/HMDI input(only one on my set) or the component video?
What about DVD player connection. Should I keep the DVI/HMDI input available for that?Thanks again,
Emil
...it takes about 100 hours for a display to settle. Most calibrators won't work on a set with fewer hours. If you're a tweaker, you could always play with AVIA or Video Essentials discs and postpone a pro calibration. (But I truly think an ISF calibration is a good investment.)If you have a DVD player with DVI output, I'd connect it via your set's DVI/HMDI. I think that would yield the most benefit.
But you might ping Joe Murphy for a second opinion.
Enjoy the new display - you will love it.
Emil, I'm going through exactly the same thing as you. I'm one step behind you however. I'm having my Samsung DLP 46 installed (hopefully) next week. Intech Audio, who is installing this baby, prefers to use component cables from the HD box, rather than DVI. They get better results. Maybe with my particular set. HDMI is definately the way to go from DVD to TV. As to calibration? Been doing loads of research. Bottom line? Calabration after the 100 hours of burn in seems is the way to go. Without a doubt. Even if it's only (at the worst) 10 % better, isn't that worth it? 10% of a million bucks is still a respectable amount. Yes? I'll post, post calibration. peace, warren
I have taken the ISF calibration class and currently working toward the certification. Usually for $125 you'll get only one input calibrated. From the class and what I've read in the class text, convergence should be included in the initial calibration. Make sure the set is on for at least 30 minutes before the calibration. There are different methods of calibration, but in general the calibrator should first check focus and convergence. Then center up the user controls and adjust the basic 5 (brightness, contrast, color, hue, and sharpness) using either the service menu or internal (circuit board) controls to calibrate the set so the calibrated settings are also the default settings. This way you have a one-button default. He should also check the white balance with a calibrated sensor and adjust the service menu drive and cutoff controls at two different IRE levels (usually 80IRE and 20IRE) so the white balance is the same at different brightness levels. If the appropriate settings are available, he will also setup the display for day and night viewing. He can also give advice on the correct viewing distance for screen size and the type and amount of bias lighting.The Video Essentials/Avia DVDs are good tools to use for calibrating the DVD input since it takes into account the player and cabling, but not really as accurate for setting up SAT, OTA, or CABLE inputs since it assumes the DVD player output is at reference. An ISF certified technician will have a signal generator he can use to calibrate the other inputs, either with or without your cables.
Some ISF certified technicians can also perform Home Theater sound calibrations, such as correct levels, crossover, proper subwoofer placement, room corrections.
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