Congratulations on your new television! But wait, why doesn't it look as good at home as it does in the showroom? Unfortunately, can showroom tricks fool you when shopping for a new TV or computer? Avoid showroom gimmicks that cost you money Buying a new TV or PC? Avoid Showroom Tricks That Cost You Money Over the years I've become more and more resistant to their tactics and approaches, thanks mainly, I think, to the realization that they haven't been entirely honest with me. Read more . But don't worry, I'll help you set up your TV so it looks perfect.
With flat screen televisions, calibration is very important. Without getting too technical, calibration is the act of optimizing your TV's output so you get the best pictures. At its extreme, this is an objective exercise done with professional tools, but for this article, we'll stick to home solutions only.
Even for your home, you can hire a professional calibration expert from THX or ISF to do it, but it will cost you at least $150. That's money you should be spending on buying a bigger TV. TV Buying Guide:How To Choose The Right TV For Your Living Room TV Buying Guide:How To Choose The Right TV For Your Living Room When it comes to buying a TV, there's a lot more to it than what's on a spec sheet . By the end of this guide, you'll know exactly how to choose the right TV. Read more ! And while there are free online tools to calibrate your monitor 5 Online Tools to Help Calibrate Your Monitor 5 Online Tools to Help Calibrate Your Monitor The value of a good monitor will be lost if you don't take the effort to carefully calibrate your monitor. Here are five online calibration tools to make the process easier. Read More So what can you do instead?
The easiest and simplest way to get the calibration right is to rely on free expert advice. The internet is a wonderful resource for such information. So first find out the model number of your TV and then look it up at:
Once you get the optimal settings for your TV, just go to your TV's menu and adjust the settings as recommended. It's that simple.
I hope you have a Blu-ray player, and if you don't, borrow one (or a PS3) from someone you know for a day. Then all you have to do is head over to Amazon and order a calibration disc that will walk you through the process of optimizing your TV step by step.
There are three drives you should consider for this:
Depending on which one you choose, the calibration discs will guide you through the setup process to optimize your TV. I went through the tests they all do and for most average users I would recommend either the Disney World Of Wonder or the AVS HD 709. The former is much easier to use but the latter is free - your call.
I'm probably going to rage about this in the comments section, but stick my neck out and say it:home calibration isn't perfect. If it's your TV, it should look good to your eyes, and viewing is subjective. Also, your TV's output is going to differ depending on the lighting in the room, so the way it appears in the day and the way it appears at night will be completely different. While there is an objective optimal setting for your TV based on scientific parameters, it may not seem like the best to you. In which case, feel free to ignore any expert's advice and go with what suits you best.
If you want to set up your TV to look good to you and do it with minimal effort, you'll need to set it up at a glance.
1) Identify the target: If it's a shared TV, don't be selfish and set it up perfectly for yourself. Remember, it's subjective, so you should cater the calibration to the largest consumer. Find out what time of day TV is watched at home most often and by whom. It may not be you who watches TV the most, it may be your partner, your children or a parent. Once you identify the person and the time, ask them to be free in that time slot to set up the TV. If that person is you, then great! For the sake of this example, we'll assume it's you, but you can also extrapolate all of this to a third party.
2a) Grab the right movies: What movies are you most familiar with? Among them, choose a bright and lively movie (The Incredibles) and a dark movie (The Dark Knight Returns). Make sure they are high resolution files! Blu-rays are ideal, but if not, get the 1080p file from somewhere (as long as you have a 1080p TV, if not, get a 720p file). What is 1080p and 720p, you ask? We went over this in our TV slang finder. 8 Common Terms You Need to Know Before You Buy Your Next TV 8 Common Terms You Need to Know Before You Buy Your Next TV When you're out shopping for a new TV, you might be a little confused by the many options available, all the features they have and the jargon you need to get into. Read more.
2b) Grab the correct photos: What are your favorite photos of home? Choose the ones you have seen many times on different screens..
3) Get Calibrator References: Download the original size of Mark Sydow's Reference Calibrators, shared by Flickr user Stan_Chase:Reference Black Calibrator | White Reference Calibrator
4) Transfer: Transfer all of Sydow's media and reference calibrators to a USB flash drive (provided your TV can play all file formats) or Blu-ray Disc. Start playing.
5) Sit at the optimal distance: I hope you already have the optimal size TV for your room, as I suggested in the TV buying guide TV Buying Guide:How to choose the right TV for your living room TV Buying Guide:How to choose the right TV suitable for your living room When? There's a lot more to buying a TV than what's on a spec sheet. By the end of this guide, you'll know exactly how to choose the right TV. Read More
6) Black gauge: Turn on the reference black calibrator image on your TV. Here are Sydow's instructions:“Adjust the brightness so that bar 17 is barely visible and bar 16 (reference black) is not (blends into the background blacker than black). Do this first with the Black 1-24 screen, then fine-tune with the Black 15-19 screen.”
7) White Caliper: Turn on the white reference calibrator image on your TV. Here are Sydow's instructions:"Adjust the contrast so that 235 (reference white) is clearly distinguishable from the background, and as many maximum right white values as you feel appropriate after reading the posts and evaluating your own source material." . I find that setting values up to 245 to be visible produces the best results on my system.”
8) Color temperature: Now that you've set the brightness and contrast, it's time to adjust the color temperature. Among the shortlisted photos, play images with the people in them:people you know personally, and preferably photos where you were there. Adjust the color temperature of your screen to better reflect the skin tones of people in photos.
9) This is the best part: Now you can watch those movies! Play through the entire animated movie. Since you've seen it so many times, you know what it is. “supposed” To look like to your eyes. So take note of any changes in color, brightness or contrast details, and the sharpness of elements. Repeat the exercise with the full dark film. Your notes will read like "it's too dark to see Batman in here" or "there are weird pixels around Mr. Incredible's face." If a setting issue is cropping up in both movies (such as sharpness), adjust it. If it only appears in one movie, forget it and let your settings be.
And there you have it, your TV is as good as it will get without being subjected to calibration by DVD or professional equipment.
Over the course of optimizing TVs for many people, I've relied on many tricks from other users (like Sydow's benchmark calibrators) and created a few of my own (like using your own photos you're familiar with). I'm sure you'll have a few secrets of your own to getting the calibration right, so please share them in the comments below.
