what do you use to calibrate your TV?

[f0rge]

saying this almost makes me cringe with embarrassment, but right now i'm using the out of the box picture settings for my panasonic.

it's great for movies and TV, but there's been some recent video games i've played (most notably gran turismo 5 and grand theft auto 4) where the blacks and shadows are way way too dark and quite honestly it looks like crap.

originally i was waiting for the HDDVD/BLURAY version of Avia 2, but they keep pushing it further and further back so lord knows when that will happen.

so what are you guys using to tune your HD sets?

[Woochifer]

I use Digital Video Essentials for video calibration (don't currently have a HDTV). Panasonic is known for way overshooting the brightness and contrast settings out of the box. For a HDTV, you'll want to recheck your settings depending on if the output resolution is 480, 720, or 1080. If you have an upscaling DVD player that can vary the native output signal, use those settings.

On the audio side, I use the Sound & Vision Home Theater Setup DVD. I find that I get better results with those test signals than with DVE. It's made by Ovation Software, the same company that produces the Avia calibration discs.

BTW, how do you like GTA4 so far? I'm reading good things about it, but it will be a while before I get it (for one thing, I never finished GTA San Andreas!).

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

I use the Sencore system for calibration. Since the studio I work for has the system to calibrate our editing bay monitors, I get one of the video guys to come up to the bay area and give my RPTV, and CRT based front projection system a tune up every six months. All it cost me is a cheap round trip plane ticket, a lunch, and a dinner.

[bfalls]

Sir TtT, which Sencore generator did he use? I have a VT403 I got a few years ago. Before I started working for Sony I thought about starting a side business performing calibrations. Now I don't have the time. Maybe after DTV is mandatory I'll get back into it. It would make my wife happy that I'm finally using the very expensive piece of gear. It's much better than using a DVD since it also takes into account the cable and any effect the DVD player has on the calibration. The DVD is OK for the DVD input but for any other input it's guess work.

[pixelthis]

saying this almost makes me cringe with embarrassment, but right now i'm using the out of the box picture settings for my panasonic.

it's great for movies and TV, but there's been some recent video games i've played (most notably gran turismo 5 and grand theft auto 4) where the blacks and shadows are way way too dark and quite honestly it looks like crap.

originally i was waiting for the HDDVD/BLURAY version of Avia 2, but they keep pushing it further and further back so lord knows when that will happen.

so what are you guys using to tune your HD sets?

I used to go into the service menu, etc, but now I dont bother.
I turn the contrast down from the default (which is usually torch mode) and in the case of
lcd TURN DOWN THE BACKLIGHT TO 50, ALSO.
During well lit conditions you'll have to boost both a bit, during dim or nonexistent light the opposite to enhance blacks.
Thats really all that is nessesary for casual watching.
Dont go into the service menu unless you know what you're doing , unless you want an expensive paperweight.
Modern sets arent nearly as finicky as older, obsolete CRT models, so you dont have to fly a tech in every six months to adjust it( like he does that).
But if you're makin stuff up make up something good
JUST REMEMBER, those controls are there for a reason, mainly that every video source
is different, and needs adjusting for its own characteristics.
Its great if your set has several presets, you can pick one for playstation, sports, movies, etc

[f0rge]

so i looked up my set on AVSforums last night and tried a couple of the settings they had listed there. TV still looks fine but GTA4 was even darker and actually duller. so i cranked up the in-game brightness/contrast (something i've never had to do on any other game) and it helped with the lighting levels but it made it look like crap. i'm starting to think the game is just supposed to look like that.

i think i'm going to have to pick up one of the calibration discs you guys mentionned. is Avia 2 any good? or are the one's you're using better?

as for GTA4 itself, everywhere is giving it a 10, so far it's not a 10 for me, more like a 7.5, but then again i'm probably only like 4 hours into it and the game is minimum 25 hours. so i'm going to give it more time before i make a full judgment.