How to Calibrate a Flat Screen HDTV
Televisions are usually preset in what is referred to as showroom settings. This is where TVs are set to torch mode, where the display is set to be very bright to look good on a showroom floor. This means high energy use and poor color accuracy. These settings are not ideal for home use. There are several ways to calibrate your TV and fix these issues. The easiest and most cost efficient way is to do it yourself. Changing basic picture settings within your TV menu allows you to change brightness settings, contras settings and color & tint settings. This means that you can customize the picture to match your preferences. The best way to do this is to have a movie playing on your television. You can then pick out certain scenes to pause at that are ideal to help you calibrate the TV with your own eye.
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Instructions
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Fast Forward through video footage and find a dark scene. A dark scene is best to adjust brightness (Black levels.) Using your television remote, adjust the brightness setting higher or lower. At this point your goal is to get as much detail possible in the dark portions of the image.
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Find a bright scene. A bright scene with a lot of white is ideal to adjust contrast (White levels.) Using your remote, adjust contrast levels up and down to match your preferences. At this point your goal is to get as much detail possible in the white image. After adjusting contrast you may have to take a step back and readjust your brightness levels.
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Find a video clip with bright colors. A bright scene with a lot of color is best to adjust color and tint. When adjusting, try to make colors look true to real life. Be careful not to make your display overly vivid. For example, skin tones will look slightly orange and unrealistic.
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Tips & Warnings
Purchasing a calibration DVD is a good option for some.These DVDs have scenes and images that are ideal to use to calibrate your TV set. These DVDs will still require you to go through the TV menu and change picture settings as listed above.
You can likely find a calibration disc already in your own DVD collection. THX is a high-end video and audio quality assurance company. The purpose of the company is to make sure that the original video and audio quality intended by the filmmakers can be recreated in movie theaters and even home theaters. On many THX DVDs you will find something in the menu titled the THX Optimizer. The THX optimizer displays a series of different images and gives you instructions to change you different television picture settings. These include contrast, brightness, color & tint and aspect ratio. Just be sure to follow the instructions that are given to you throughout the process.
Other calibration discs can be purchased for as little as $15.
For the best results, you will need a professional calibration. This can cost several hundred dollars, and technicians generally charge more for every input they calibrate. Unlike the previously mentioned options, the technicians change settings in the service menus of the TV set that is not easily accessible to consumers. It is not recommended for non-professionals to tinker with these service menus because you could do serious and permanent damage to your TV.
