What do you use to calibrate your TV set?

[Woochifer]

A little late to the game (I thought this was an old topic that got bumped, but obviously I was mistaken!) ...

I bought the calibration disc initially for the audio tests, but I found that the biggest improvement was on the video side.

For my current 32" analog TV setup (as well as for the audio side), I've been going back to the Sound & Vision setup disc. It's the simplest one to use, and with the limited controls available on my TV, the extra color filters included with the Digital Video Essentials DVD aren't really put to good use. For one thing, the adjustments on my TV cannot optimize for all three color tests -- anytime I optimize the setting with one color test, it throws off the others. The S&V disc uses only the single blue filter tests, which are a lot easier to balance out.

When I calibrated my TV the first time around, the tests really pointed out how out of whack the factory settings were. The sharpness and brightness were set way too high, the color levels were very low, and the hue was off. And that seems to be common with the TVs that I see in stores.

However, when I start shopping for a HDTV, I do plan on bringing both the S&V and DVE discs with me to see for myself how well I can calibrate the TV using just the user-adjustable controls. From what I've been reading, that factor might sway me more towards the Pioneer Elite models because they include an "ISF" calibration mode as well as independent color level settings for each primary group. The regular Pioneer models have a more rudimentary set of adjustments available, as does my parents' LG plasma. With the cost of an ISF calibration and the fact that tinkering with the service menus can void the warranty, how well I can calibrate a TV with a simple DVD such as DVE will definitely be a consideration.

On other forums, I've read that the need for an ISF calibration will vary a lot between TVs. Some manufacturers' user-accessible controls can set the display close to reference levels, whereas others pretty much need service menu adjustments to bring the picture reasonably close to reference.

[tdst]

Wooch,

Just to let you know, I had a real nice Zenith 42" plasma that I dialed in with DVE, and it really did a great job. Alas, my "real nice" Zenith took a dump, and they replaced it with a refurbished LG 42" plasma that looked like sh!t! Once again, I dug out the DVE, and after fine-tuning, got it too look about as good as a refurbished set can look. Now you've got to realize, I'm no audio or video phile, but my point is, it was fairly easy to use for a layman, unless you wanted to get real technical, and it can do that too. And one other note- I called LG and told them to come get their piece of crap TV, and they're going to send out another model which is supposed to be much better, but I still bet I get some kind of refurbished thing... I've also been told plasma TVs are one of the few rare things where an extended warranty may be worth the money...