Tips on Getting A More Accurate Picture

Tips on Getting A More Accurate Picture
without hiring us to do a full calibration (or what to do until the calibrator arrives).

There are things that people can do to get a better, more accurate picture without hiring a professional isf calibrator (or, better yet, what to do until the calibrator arrives).

Follow the “Tips” below for initial settings on your TV. These won’t give you a perfect “calibrated” picture, but they will be much more accurate than the default settings on your set. (or, better yet, use these settings till we arrive to do a full calibration).
Use a simple “Set-Up” disc. These provide some test patterns that allow you to improve many of the adjustments provided in the sets user menus.

Option 1: What to do for a “better” (more accurate) picture right away.

Note: The picture may appear more “dull” than with the default settings – but shortly, the pictures will appear more natural and you will experience less viewing fatigue that comes from viewing overly bright images.

First, select a more accurate Picture Mode, these might be Custom or Cinema (Sony), Expert (LG sets), or similar modes on other brands.
Turn off any “enhancements” that might be on (such as “Black Corrector”).
Select a "Warm" Color Temperature. Initially, the picture may appear somewhat warm when compared to the "Cool" or "Normal" color temperature settings, but these are way to blue, and our eyes have become accustomed to the inaccurate color shading that these settings bring. Some sets offer more than one "Warm" setting, I'd suggest the less warm one (such as Warm1).
Turn down peak white for a comfortable (not overly bright) picture in your normal viewing environment. For Plasmas use the Contrast or Picture control. For LCDs use the Backlight control.

Option 2: Use of a "Set-up" DVD

There have been several very good "Set-up" DVDs on the market in the past (such as Video Essentials, Avia, and the Monster HDTV Calibration disc). While these worked well with standard DVD players, I no longer recommend them for use with Blu-ray players.

There are two good Blu-ray discs now available. For the first time user I recommend the Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics . It does a good job of talking the user through adjusting for the various adjustments. If you want a more comprehensive disc (but with less hand-hoIding), I would recommend the Spears & Munsil High-Definition Benchmark Blu-ray Disc.