LCD TV Calibration — Getting Your Money’s Worth
Posted by hdtv buying guide on June 20, 2009 under LCD HDTV | 
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If you’ve ever messed around with the screen settings on an old cathode-ray television, you know there are are dozens of combinations of tint, sharpness and color saturation. A few wrong turns of the knobs, and it’s a chore to get it all back together.
The same is true of liquid-crystal display, or LCD TVs. But instead of knobs, there’s a vast web of menus, sub-menus and electronic codes. A few wrong clicks of the remote here, and your television may need professional help.
Even if changing the settings on your television feels like a bad idea to you, it probably needs to be done. The default factory settings for most LCD televisions are far too bright. The settings that caught your attention in the store could well be garish and hard to watch at home. Often, there are color settings available that make a more realistic picture for in-home viewing as well.
Like most jobs around the house, there are two ways to do it: by yourself or with professional help. A professional calibration involves a visit from a trained technician, who will tap into your television’s software to optimize the settings. He or she will take into account your room’s light levels, along with the distance from the TV to the optimal viewing point. Expect to pay a few hundred dollars for this service.
But, just like re-hanging those sagging gutters, you can do it yourself. You likely won’t get as deep into it as a pro, and it may not be the absolute best settings, but you can do it better than the default.
There are a few settings on which to focus, once you learn to navigate your television’s menus:
- brightness
- contrast
- sharpness
- color and
- tint
Used together, they can combine for a realistic, life-like picture.
The first order of business is turning off any “picture enhancers” built into the TV. They’re just artificial programs that may not fit your viewing style.
Next is brightness. There’s a good chance it’s cranked all the way up. If you’re in a room that’s always very bright, it may have to stay that way. But if you aren’t, turn it down to a level that looks acceptable for you. Head next to contrast, where you’ll be adjusting the white levels. Aim for a balance between the whites and blacks — neither should be overpowering.
Sharpness settings will sometimes put a hard edge on objects on the screen, making them look sharper than they should be. Aim for a natural look. Do the same with color and tint. The green grass of a football field might look ultra-bright under the default setting, but grass isn’t actually that bright. Knock it back a bit.
There are a number of DVDs and Blu-ray discs to assist with do-it-yourself calibration. On each, the disc prompts you to change certain settings with onscreen levels and graphs. Many Blu-ray discs come with a THX Optimizer built in to allow you the best viewing experience possible.
Even if you don’t want to dig through the menus, there are a few very easy things you can do. For one, don’t use the “vivid,” “game” or “sports” settings. They often crank up the brightness too high. Also, use the power-saving mode if possible. It turns down the screen’s brightness to a level designed to save a bit of electricity.
You spent a lot of money for that HDTV — get the most out of it by watching the best possible picture.
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