TV Calibration

[Arnwulf]

Ok, question for all you TV gurus out there. I have a fairly new (bought about 3 months ago) Panasonic Viera plasma tv. It came with a pre-calibrated "THX" mode that darkens the screen and changes the settings to supposedly make the TV set up for optimal viewing for movies and such, but I'm looking for something that would calibrate it for everyday use.

I know there are DVDs and such you can get to calibrate your TV picture, is there any one that you recommend?

[Blabj]

If you have any way of plugging the monitor into your computer or accessing this website, this is definitely the way to go in terms of calibrating it correctly.

http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/

Pre-calibrated settings are a joke, they aren't calibrated for the ambient light in the room, which will make a big difference in how you perceive the image coming from the screen. Make sure when you do the test to have your lighting in the room how you'd normally view watch the television, and be careful if you adjust it during the day with light shining on the screen, you might compensate by turning down the brightness or contrast, then realise it's very dark once you watch it at night.

[Isiolia]

It depends on your goal.

Chances are the THX mode on your TV isn't calibrated exactly right either. You need to account for ambient lighting, variations in the panel itself, or even the actual source device in some cases.

Keep in mind, of course, that "calibrated" may not mean it looks like you really prefer. It's meant to be accurate according to industry reference levels. For some of us, that -is- what's preferable. However, there's no sin in just setting things how they look good to you. It's your TV. Plus, well, if you have a decent eye for color you may be able to get things pretty close by eyeballing 'em. I tend to.

You may also be able to find settings on AVS forum or the like that other people with your same model of TV have found to be good. Using that as a starting base may at least get you into the ballpark.

That being said, the simplest place to start is to look through your DVD collection. Occasionally there are discs with a THX Calibration Utility or the like on them (my T2 Ultimate Edition has one, I think some of my Disney DVDs as well). While not as comprehensive as the specialized discs you can buy (I have this one, for example), you'll probably get similar results.

Another route, depending on what source devices you have, is to simply look on the web for calibration images. Effectively, that's all the discs tend to net you, along with an explanation of what you're doing and why.

Or, if you're not averse to spending more money, you could get a professional to come do it for you.

[Arnwulf]

Thanks for the advice, I think I will poke around and see if there's others that have their preferred setups with my same TV model, I actually forget the model number offhand, i think its the G10. I just know that the setup I have now is decent but I don't like the fact that the contrast is almost all the way up and if I turn it down it screws up a bunch of other stuff. I could mess with it to get it just right on my own, I'd just prefer to take the lazy way and have something that gives me good guides to go by.

[kareface]

If you have a nice plasma like that you should consider getting it ISF calibrated. It'll look a lot better and in most cases it'll use less power after it's calibrated. If you spent more then 700 or so $ on your TV you should always opt for calibration. It's like a different TV after.

[Epical]

I made the mistake of going to AVSForum and looking up the "best" calibration settings for my 42" Aquos. It was actually quite a lengthy thread, and I tried about 6 completely different settings, none of which looking as good as the default out-of-the-box settings (which for some reason seem to be different than factory defaults? Nothing looks as good as it used to now). My point here? If you're going to calibrate, you should go through the settings yourself, don't get lazy and copypasta someone else's... it probably looks completely different in their setup.

[Darus Grey]

I made the mistake of going to AVSForum and looking up the "best" calibration settings for my 42" Aquos. It was actually quite a lengthy thread, and I tried about 6 completely different settings, none of which looking as good as the default out-of-the-box settings (which for some reason seem to be different than factory defaults? Nothing looks as good as it used to now). My point here? If you're going to calibrate, you should go through the settings yourself, don't get lazy and copypasta someone else's... it probably looks completely different in their setup.

A lot of people say the same thing, I think a lot of it has to do with fact that people are used to the odd colors and high brightness of default modes and different = worse, even if objectively better.

Most people don't know that live action movies aren't typically supposed to be bright, colorful and vibrant.

[Appie]

Chances are the THX mode on your TV isn't calibrated exactly right either.

If it is the G10, chances are it actually wasn't, but Panasonic released a firmware update to fix it. Was something with the secondary colours, with that patch it follows the D65 greyscale standard accurately. So technically your TV is already properly calibrated with THX on. As for calibrating it when sun shines and lamps etc. I dunno, I just close curtains/turn off lamps when it fucks up the image XD

Also another question, can you access white balance on your G10 with THX on? Panasonic released the THX G10 in Europe as V10 (300 euro more than our G10 lol) but you can't access white balance on the V10 with THX on. The reason that matters is because in a few years the phospors lose some and you can adjust it with white balance. UK got shafted even more on their G10, it has no white balance while Europe's mainland does have it, luckily for me I don't live in the UK, got an EU G10 myself.

I should add that they released a firmware update at least for EU's V10, I just assume you got it there too for your G10.