Fine tuning an LED LCD TV?
 

Just got a 60" Samsung from Costco. Pretty good right out of the box.

Besides just dorking with settings, what's the best way to maximize settings and get the best picture?

I have seen calibration/setup DVD's out there.

What say ye?

Thanks
-B

Best option is to have it professionally calibrated. However, that will probably run you $250+. If you just want to get it "close enough" then a calibration DVD is definitely a worthwhile investment (along with access to your TV's service menu). I've had decent results with the Avia DVD. For something in the middle, there are products out there that include calibration discs + a color-meter for the screen. Something like this:Spyder4TV HD Color Calibration System

look on the back of your DVD's. some come with a setup one them. there is a sysmbol, but i forget what it is. not much i guess. you might do a search.
i used it on mine, but there are some chanels/shows that i use different settings.

I had my 55" Samsung LCD LED calibrated by the "geek squad" for $200. Two "geeks" spent about an hour with a laptop hooked up doing a bunch of things to the TV. HUGE difference and worth every penny. I don't know if you could get the same results with a DIY dvd.

I'll second the Geek Squad tweaking. When my wife and kids got me my big screen for Christmas 3 yrs ago they opt'd for the Geek Squad treatment.
After watching how it was done, I don't think I could have fixed it as good as they did. The tech told me mfg's usually set the TV's up with a setting that'll make them look good in a store setting since they don't know which ones will be put on display.
I recommend them. It is pricey, I don't know if I would have done it on my own, but if you really want to enjoy watching your new TV, it'll be worth it.

Is this tuning necessary for plasma tvs too or just LCDs? Mrs. Lee and I are giving ourselves a new tv for Xmas and I'd like to avoid an add'l. $200 cost.

subd

$450 to $550 for 50 + inchers and they want you to spend $200 for cal. / setup and another buck and half for the extended warranty. Some of these extras could be near half the cost of the damn TV.

There are a number of products out there for the dIYer. I have one from Home Essentials and another from Avaya I believe.

Every tv I have ever seen is set up to POP at the store. These are not real colors. In order to see the real thing, you need to calibrate your tv.

I think you can buy the calibration dvds for about $10-20. It generally takes me about an hour.

I must not be as particular as most of you. I open the box, set up the tv, turn it on, fiddle with the settings and enjoy the show. I sure wouldn't spend any money getting it calibrated.

It seems all panel types are shipped with the controls at factory setting: over saturated. The AVIA disk works if you follow the steps. Then do it again.

Ian

I actually looked up settings for my new TV. Someone had spent a bunch of time calibrating a couple of them and posted the settings.

I set mine that way and it looks quite a bit better, and was free and easy.

So that's a good start.

I believe there is some confusion between adjust the color/pic settings vs calibrating via the service panel. They are 2 different parts of the menu.

If you have a good-quality TV, switch it away the super-saturated "display" setting designed to make it stand out in the store and find the setting which looks the most realistic. The name varies, even between years from the same manufacturer.

For a Sony Bravia, you're done, right there; although you can work through the first 25-30 test screens in something like this Amazon.com: Digital Video Essentials: Optimize Your Home Entertainment System: Digital Video Essentials: Movies & TV until you're convinced, if you like :)

That's what I did, it looks great to me.

But I guess unless there's something to compare it to, it's hard to know if it's really as good as it can be.

Those calibration charges seem really high, though! Also, can the calibration ever be lost?

Yep, and run it again every few months, as colors/settings can/will shift over time/age.

I would be hard pressed to shop around for the best deal and then spend all the money I saved to have a kid stop at my house, fiddle with 3 or 4 buttons and then charge me a couple of hundred bucks? Are we trying to find a hidden treasure in what we are viewing or simply enjoying a football game? Most TV's are too bright and saturated out of the box that can fixed with 10 minutes of research and a remote. If you really want to make things easy, get a TV that is THX certified like my Pana Plasma. These are already tuned to be certified. Turn on the TV, switch it to this setting and watch. There is a certain way to set up you TV in a pattern that gets it right 99% of the time. If that extra 1% is worth a few hundred bucks, go ahead. As far as Best buy, I would avoid anything they offer, including their $75 HDMI cables and extended warranties.

Here's one. You can find hundreds of them. If you don't like this one try another. Take the $200 and have a nice dinner!

http://reviews.cnet.com/basic-hdtv-tips/

Hey there,
Before you shell out $200 to let some high school drop out plug a laptop into your TV, head over to the AVS Forums, here's the link: LCD Flat Panel Displays . This is like the Pelican Parts of AV gear. Do a search for your model of TV and you'll have a bunch of "expert" advice on how to properly set it up. the forum is used and populated by many top engineers in the professional film/video industry and you'll get a lot of great, albeit uber-technical advice there.

good luck,
Michael

Get a calibration DVD, I think mine is called The Ultimate DVD

Mainly made for projectors but good for getting your black level good

What about another $100.00 enviromental fee!!!!!! WTF is that? That was news to me when I bought a little 32" for the bedroom!!!!! I didn't even know you had to "tune" a TV?