Do I need a professional calibration?

[Anonymously Submitted]

Am buying a new led hdtv--do I need a professional (Geek Squad ffrom Best Buy) callibration///

[Richard]

They probably told you did, but you don't, and I am an ISF calibrator.

There are great reasons to calibrate, like not only wanting the best picture possible but mostly an accurate picture that lets you see everything you are supposed to with the correct colors. Check it out...

http://www.isfforum.com/

Based on customer feedback you would be better off letting one of them do it instead.

[eliwhitney]

" GEEK SQUAD " .. experts @ local stores - - -

Dear " A.S. " - -

Richard was TOO politically-polite / being very cordial ...

DON"T ever consider using any of their " services!" ... their expertise / training / equipments typically amount to an afternoon's training at most rather than what IS actually necessary for the services & procedures of a Legitimate, licensed ISF Calibrator !!!

And, it's a "shame" that you DID get that new HDTV there, as well, for that matter - - - I'll wager the most expensive steak dinner in town that your associated "second shopping cart" upon which their sales assistant INSISTED was as costly & filled with totally-unnecessary, silly, hugely-costly items as that over-priced HDTV! ... E.G. = "Line Conditioners, $199 Cabling via "M" because it was absolutely VITAL, Extended Warranty, ad infinitum ...

eli

p.s - another "example" of the Nonsense @ your store = Your new set is NOT all-new technology in-the-slightest! ... simply another LCD HDTV which utilizes a set of LEDs for the backlighting, be it Full or Edge ...

[Rodolfo]

The author removed this post for personal reasons, and prefers to be disconnected from this thread.

[Richard]

Merely creating a perception of quality imaging is easily achieved by an end user or installer by adjusting the controls to their satisfaction; you don’t need a calibration disc or calibration to video standards to create that perception! Watch TV, watch DVD and Blu-ray and adjust accordingly.

Rodolfo suggests using a calibration DVD and self calibrating. On one hand that’s a good idea because it will give you a sense of what is going on and better appreciation of what you and the calibrator are trying to achieve, although without instrumentation, such methods are clearly limited to providing a better image only. I can’t tell you how many people successfully calibrated the basics of a display with a calibration disc making their picture better. I don’t see how anybody could conclusively know that. On the other hand this may not be a good idea because when I show up to calibrate, and the customer has attempted this, inevitably some or all of the controls are set incorrectly and one of the manufacturers presets actually performs better. If you have no experience with quality video imaging it’s likely you will have a difficult time fully understanding what you are trying to achieve with each pattern and with each display technology. You could just as easily make your image worse playing with a calibration DVD.

Rodolfo grinds an old axe over how manufacturers do not provide a calibrated display that meets video standards. Yet just because a display is calibrated at the factory does not mean you will get correct images connected to your system nor in your home depending on ambient light conditions. You can buy a THX certified display and THX will still tell you to get a professional in your home for final calibration; to have inspected what you and THX expected! With plasma you have phosphor wear that must be corrected for over time.

If you want your display and system to meet video standards, you will need a professional calibration with instrumentation along with the experience of a calibrator in your home.

My client base is all over the map for income, lifestyle and screen size yet they all have one thing in common; the desire to experience video standards, and in turn fully experience the expression of art as intended by the artist. Your desire for this experience is the only ingredient that matters and that’s pragmatic common sense for how to spend or not spend your money as well!

[Rodolfo]

The author removed this post for personal reasons, and prefers to be disconnected from this thread.

[umr]

Here is a comparison of a BB calibration to an independent. http://homecinemaguru.com/?p=430

Here are some things to consider if are going to do this yourself. http://homecinemaguru.com/?page_id=42

Not spending some effort or money on audio and video setup is a mistake if you want the most from your system.

[Rodolfo]

The author removed this post for personal reasons, and prefers to be disconnected from this thread.

[Richard]

Rodolfo is really hung up on this price issue... Obviously, if I want to experience video standards, I don’t have any choice but to pay about $400 to make that happen. This is a lifestyle choice and nothing more.

On one hand Rodolfo goes out of his way to assure us he supports the concept of professional calibration yet on the other hand he goes out of his way to create linear arguments of relative cost to convince us otherwise, suggesting you might be satisfied with your own adjustments. Yet making your own adjustments has nothing to do with your desire to experience an image based on video standards that requires instrumentation to achieve. Clarity appears to have been lost due to his personal agenda.

The cost relation I always do is not about income or value to a person, but is about the relative cost of the calibration compared to the price of the set. I was clear on my note when I extended that relation to cars, house items, etc.

In my view, it’s your lifestyle, your money and I think you, the reader, should do what ever makes you happy. Rodolfo acts as if the reader is unable to observe the obvious relationship of cost and appears to be on a mission to save you from your unwitting self before you drop $400 to calibrate a display that is unworthy, according to his personal agenda.

For years, the common marketing template hype has been that if you spend gobs of money it is wise to calibrate simply due to relative cost (along with an assortment of other expensive items that appear inexpensive based on relative cost). Rodolfo uses this same argument to suggest calibration does not make sense for him in the current market because the price of a display has dropped so dramatically. Under such pretenses, one reasonable conclusion is that if you want to calibrate you should spend even more money on more expensive display simply to justify the service even though the end result won’t be any better (it could be worse). How is that common sense? Under such pretenses one could conclude that even if an inexpensive display can be calibrated well you are wasting your money to do so simply because the display wasn’t expensive enough. How is that common sense? Because a 50" plasma display was $4000 years ago professional calibration made sense, but now because that same display is only $900 there is no reason to professionally calibrate? How is that common sense? None of this cost analysis even bares a direct relationship with achieving video standards in your home on your display.

Pragmatic common sense would suggest that the only reason to calibrate is because you have a desire to experience an image based on video standards. Fulfilling that desire is not directly related to the cost of the display but rather the ability to calibrate the display. Price and brand alone doesn’t directly determine how well any given display calibrates or performs and plenty have been hood winked into believing such anecdotal conclusions!

If you have no interest in calibration why should you spend the first dollar to have the service performed? Pragmatic common sense suggests that is a waste of money, regardless of the marketing approaches, such as the ever useful cost relationship, that may be used to get calibration money out of you. I repeat, merely creating a perception of quality imaging is easily achieved by an end user or installer by adjusting the controls to their satisfaction; you don’t need a calibration disc or calibration to video standards to create that perception! Yet spending money on a service you don’t really understand, want, appreciate or care about is common sense simply because your stuff costs more?

The only thing that has changed between now and years ago is that the overall price of acquiring this desire, display plus calibration, has fallen only because the price of the display has fallen. All that matters in the end is that the display can be properly calibrated, regardless of price. In today’s market, you can get video standards in your home for way less than you could years ago for the same size display. That’s great news if you desire video standards!

You could just as easily make your image worse playing with a calibration DVD.

Adding to that... And it’s likely the end user won’t change the controls due to the false sense of security that naturally comes with performing this process, another common attribute of self calibration I regularly witness; I did what the disc said so this must be what correct looks like. If you don’t know how this stuff works then you need somebody who does because a calibration disc can improve your picture for little money when used properly. A professional calibrator can do that and more, taking you to the next level providing accurate color and gamma.

[Rodolfo]

The author removed this post for personal reasons, and prefers to be disconnected from this thread.