Kex,

I recommend that you buy one of the calibration DVD's. When you look at the cost of one of these discs (even the expensive ones) it is a very small amount compared to the purchase price of your HDTV or an ISF calibration. You may be surprised too that just as it is more difficult than most people think to set audio speaker levels by ear, it is also difficult to get picture settings anywhere close to normal without some sort of guide. In the big scheme of things, I think these calibration DVD's are well worth their cost. I know that Woochifer often times mentions the Sound & Vision (I think that's the right one) Test DVD, which is less expensive than the others and he seems to think it's pretty good. Maybe you can lure him here for some comments.

I have the AVIA disc, which I purchased several years ago for around $40 and I have been very happy with it. I don't regret for a minute having spent that much for it. Also, you might check with the rental stores or even Netflix (if you're a member) to see if they carry one of these DVD's -- then you wouldn't even have to buy the disc if you don't want to. Just a thought.

Q