HDTV Forum

ISF Calibration Feedback

I had the good fortune to locate one of Joe Kane's original class of ISF techs, Robert Busch, and he spent the afternoon at my house yesterday calibrating my new Hitachi 42HDT55 (42" ALiS PDP). What an unbelievable result! I thought I had pretty good pq before; I now know that, unless everything is spot on, you can't get all elements of the pic right a the same time. It is not just a matter of what "looks good". DVDs are like HD now, 3D with perfect color, black, white, & grey scale. There is also now no longer any sign of contouring. Leno in 1080i was like being in the studio. Even my nasty, overcompressed NTSC DirecTV and analog cable signals are vastly improved. I've been going thru my small DVD collection, and everything so far is incredible - Fifth Element, Toy Story, The Fast Runner, etc. If you can afford this service, do it; you will not be sorry.

best regards, billb....

ISF Calibration Feedback

I have been reading this forum for several months now and finally broke down and scheduled Richard for a calibration. He answered numerous questions both on the phone and by e-Mail, always in a prompt and courteous manner. He spent 5 hours with my Mits 65611 which I thought looked pretty good to begin with; answered 50 questions while he worked; explained everything that he did in language that I understood; and charged a reasonable price to top off the deal. If you need a calibration AND YOU SHOULD HAVE ONE PERFORMED - MY SET WAS TRANSFORMED FROM GOOD TO 3D LIKE, then you should not hesitate to call Richard FISHER AT Master Tech.

To say that I am pleased with his work is the biggest understatement of the year. THANKS RICHARD!!!!!!!!!!!

Buddy

ISF Calibration Feedback

I whole heartedly agree with Buddy. In January of this year I scheduled Richard to Calibrate my Hitachi 57SWX20B. Richard took the time to completely explain every test he performed, and answered every question I had concerning the TV's performance.

Richard first started out by showing me some Color and Picture issues with the factory settings, then explained how the Calibration would or would not deal with them. Once the Calibration was completed I could see the difference made with my TV.

After two months of viewing I couldn't be happier with my set. I am not one who posts very often in forums, but I felt this thread was something I needed to speak up about.

For the job he performed, the knowledge he passed on, and the price he charged, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Richard. It was a job well done !

John R

ISF Calibration Feedback

From Mastertech's Email...

Richard,

Thank you for this information. I appreciate your continued customer service. I must admit that I am very impressed with how knowledgeable you are with your craft. I am also grateful with the "consideration" that you extended to me. I will be happy to refer to you my friends. In fact, a number of them dropped by yesterday, and they could not believe the picture quality they saw from my 65-inch RPTV. All of them agreed that the "tweak" was well worth it. I will convince my co-worker to have their new 55-inch Mitsubishi be profesionally calibrated. Again, thank you so much.

From a happy viewer,

Mark

More on West Coast ISF

I realized this morning after I posted that Richard is on the east coast and probably doesn't do much work in northern CA. It took me a bit of digging to find Robert Busch, because he is listed in ISF as based in Santa Rosa, CA, a long drive from my SF Bay area home in San Mateo. My initial searches were frustrated by the fact that most SF area listings are for HT dealers who only service equipment if they sell it. Robert was recomended to me by another independent who was too busy to do my job, and he will travel as far south as San Jose. On the ISF site, he is listed as "Busch Home Theater", and all the info you need is there, including a link to his website. Richard, I can't thank you enough for elevating this issue in your forum, and giving all of us the information we need to truly enjoy our video investment.

Bill Broach
Design Manager
Santa Clara Standard Products
Portable Power Systems
National Semiconductor

ISF Calibration Feedback

I've experienced the same sort of results from my recent (August) calibration performed by Eliab of Avical.

I can

ISF Calibration Feedback

I have a Pioneer PDP4330HD

It is HD recieivng the Dishnetwork through the echostar 6000 set at 720P. I had it calibrated by Richard Fisher and was the right thing to do! Colors are beautiful!!

Paul

A belated thanks, Richard

For your help a few months ago when I was searching for a ISF tech in my area. As you can see, I'm very, VERY happy with my results. I'm now a believer in recommendations though, as I wasn't really pleased with the calibration performed by someone else on my previous set. As in any profession, some are much better than others. In my instance, my calibrator spent around 12 hours or so working his magic, was both friendly and professional, answered many questions, volunteered much information, knew exactly what he was doing and took his time to do it right, and all the while it was a pleasure having him 'visit'.
If you recall, I live quite a distance from any ISF techs, and I suggested you take your services on the road (out of your area). I see a lot of ISF techs are doing just that (some touring the entire country, as mine does). You're doing a great job here, and I appreciate all the help you've given me. Thanks again!

Bill-T

ISF Calibration Feedback

When I bought my mits 55909 a year ago, I thought I had the best picture in the world. Then, I had Richard calibrate it. He spent the better part of the day tweaking things. I can't begin to describe how much better the video is. He also sold me on a video scaler (lumagen). While scaled analog cable can't begin to compare with HDTV, it does look quite nice. If I had to do it over again, I would still spend the bucks.

mgram

ISF Calibration Feedback

Calibration turned out GREAT. Yes, the TV did need to be set for both 480p and 1080i sources.

Please know that my set was really out of whack. Focus was not crisp, and convergence was way off (was seeing red shadows on some parts of the screen).

Now, the picture is sharp and real crisp, and the shadows are gone. Color?? I thought color was nice before; now I finally know what I have read about realistic colors in HD. I'm now watching a repeat of one of the Games of the Week in HD. The uniforms really look like the colors I see live, or fans wearing on the streets. The grass? I can now see the color shades of green across the playing filed. One cool thing is that my Flash Focus button is now programmed to return to the settings the calibrator set (a feature on this Sony set). On HDNet Movies, some movie was on, but I was floored by a simple box of GE lightbulbs...the yellow and blue for GE looked just like the box I bought yesterday in the store!!

I never used to use Warm for the color settings. I have read many times to use Warm, but the set always looked a bit 'greenish' to me. Now that the set was calibrated on the Movie setting (Warm), everything I am looking at is great with regards to color.

BUT, the calibrator did show me a problem I need to call a tech to inspect. The red shadow is gone on all but the very last line on the left; he showed me how he was trying to move the red in the convergence matrix screen, and it would move almost to where it should be, then would start backing off the other way. He did let me know that Sony's are known for maybe getting to 90% convergence and focus, but should call a tech. Anyone know any good Sony Techs in the Westchester County, NY area?

I just glanced up at the set now...still GOTW in HD....this is beautiful.

I do want to thank all of you that contribute to this site. I am learning along the way, and owe it to all of you!

Joe S