How to calibrate your HDTV LCD Television

Anyone spending lots of money to buy a HDTV compatible LCD television, expects a rich audio-visual experience. It should be worth the money spent.

When the picture and experience is not up to your expectations, what would you do ?

The first answer is to first check whether all inputs are in good working order.

Next, the answer is – “calibrate you television”. How do you go about doing that?

But before starting with that let us give you a few useful tips any television owner should know.

1. Don’t keep the factory settings.
2. Ambient light and internal lights matter.
3. Try avoid the dynamic mode setting.
4. Calibrate each level separately.
5. Check your level of black.

Now let us talk about the approach you can take to solve the problem of calibrating your TV.

# The first approach is fairly simple. You call in on hire professional help. It will be expensive but a good solution to your problem, especially if you are setting up a home theatre

# The second approach is to get a calibration DVD to guide you through.

There are various DVDs with calibration instruction available. Check out here for some calibration aids:

The THX Optimiser

The THX logo can be spotted on commercial DVD. THX Optimizer offers a quick and easy solution for calibrating. It helps setting colour, tint, contrast and sharpness. It also helps checking speaker assignments, phase and crossovers on your surround sound system. Some of the Optimizer’s tests require a special pair of blue glasses, that you can buy via mail order.

Imaging Science Foundation HDTV Calibration Wizard:

This calibration system has been co-created by Imaging Science, Microsoft, and Monster Cable. this disc puts you through calibration without excessive unnecessary technical jargon.

The HDTV Calibration Wizard uses live video instead of test patterns. They’re easier to look at, and give you a better sense of what your TV’s picture will be.

Digital Video Essentials:

This DVD may not be as easy to use as the HDTV Calibration Wizard. The DVD from Joe Kane Productions offers the most exhaustively complete consumer-level calibration. Not only does it walk you through video calibration, but it also helps you set up your audio and the room environment, as well. Mastered in 2001 and released in 2003, it’s also a bit outdated

Another DVD to be considered is the AVIA Guide to Home Theatre.

The AVIA Guide to Home Theatre is set for:

• Home theatre owners who want to get the ultimate in system performance
• Home theatre enthusiasts who are planning an upgrade or a whole new system installation
• Professionals who want to make use of the extensive array of test tones and patterns together with advanced test equipment such as spectrum analysers and light meters in the calibration of AV gear.

# The third approach is to do it yourself.

Here we like you to consider the “few useful tips any television owner should know” that we had given earlier. Now to guide a little further.

The most reliable method will be to use the Calibration DVD. But to do it yourself you need an excellent eye for details. Thoroughly read manual and related literature to get an understanding of calibrating. Then follow the following steps:

Different manufacturers have different names to controls, invariably these are the levels you’ll be adjusting:

1. Black Level can be found on Brightness control
2. White Level, usually on Contrast/Picture
3. Sharpness or Detail
4. Colour Saturation, usually on Colour/Chroma
5. Colour Tint, also Hue

• Control the lighting in the viewing room. Optimal lighting is to be derived by controlling the ambient light. We suggest that a 6500K bulb in a lamp be placed behind the TV. This will reduce eye strain .
• Select the right viewing. Use the resources section to calculate the proper position, preferably eye level, directly in front, appropriate to screen size.
• Choose the proper viewing distance. Sit at eye level with your TV, preferably directly in front of it, at the appropriate distance for the size of your screen. For the proper distance, use the calculator in the Resources section. This is the optimal position to calibrate your TV.
• Go to Setting menu of the TV. Turn the backlight way down. backlights can wash out black levels, Turn it up later if necessary.
• Insert your favourite home theatre disc into your DVD player. Make sure your DVD player is properly connected to your LCD TV.
• Once you get the TV right for the DVD input, note down your video settings. Re-enter them for each of the other inputs. (Check it with HDTV input signal) This is the fastest and easiest solution but its accuracy is questionable.

Remember that a setting that’s perfect for HDMI may not be right for coaxial cable. And two different HDMI sources may require different settings. Use only the controls of the television for adjustments. Now go the following simple steps:

• Calibrate the black level first on your LCD TV. Adjust “Brightness” setting on your TV until the black areas of the screen look as black as possible.
• Next calibrate the white level. Again, adjust the “Contrast” setting on your TV until the white areas appear to be true white.
• You may have to repeatedly adjust both the “Brightness” and “Contrast” settings to find the optimal balance.
• Adjust the colour and image quality. adjust the “Sharpness” setting to increase the overall image quality.
• Finish by adjusting the colour settings.

Related posts:

1. How to calibrate an LCD TV
2. Advantages of High Definition Television (HDTV)
3. Where to find video sources for HDTV?
4. LG Announces LCD HDTV With THX certification
5. More about HD-Ready LCD Televisions