Bestbuy offering TV ISF calibration.

[dragonwr86]

Best Buy uses a sencore eye for their calibration. Apparently they do a greyscale/color and use the service menu. My neighbor had a calibration done by them. I went over to watch, and to be honest I was decently impressed with the guy. I think for the most part he knew what he was doing. I know for a fact thought that CC uses the spyder pro or whatever and just uses the user menu to do their calibrations. I think that's why their cali is only $149. The BB tech said that the sencore eye they use is worth $10k. Any one know if there is one or can find that model?

[lucasskywalker1]

Just the thought of having a car that says "Geek Squad" on it parked in front of my house would be embarrasing.

For those who are fortunate to live in the greater Boston area you have a GOD of HT amongst you at the DEDHAM BB location His background is as Follows ISF Certified, Electronics engineering Degree for Michigan State, 18 yrs. prior employment with Hewlett Packard in California, he comes with Sencore Equipment and gives a computer print out when he's completed his calibration displaying your prior factory settings and reccomended settings and finally your post settings. He was the first Calibration Expert in Southern NE for BB and with phone calls that I made directly to Sencore engineering regarding BB inability to access calibration for both Day and Night Setting (exclusive at the time to Elite Displays only) they supplied him with the $1,200.00 interface tool so he could do both. While here he calibrated the TV, the receiver, the Bluray, CD and Speakers. He has been here on 3 separate occasions and on his final trip with interface tool in hand he found for Sencore 2 bugs in there system of which immediately contacted the engineering people at Sencore and corrected the problems with them. I can't speak for the rest of the countrries BB locations but I have and will always Genuflect (that's bow to my knees and worship his presence) James White of the Dedham BB. By the way my Pioneer Elite 60" Plasma out of the box was factory set at 8100K which translates into premature burn out. Everyone do yourself a big favor do your homework and get a proper calibration done.

[lucasskywalker1]

Look at my previous reply regarding calibration. The one important piece of information that I have as yet to see qouted on any of the forum website I belong to is the reccomendation that not only after your first 100-200 hrs. break-in time should you get a calibration but also on the 1 yr. anniversary after that cal you can determine how frequently you should have the service done(based on degradation) which depend mostly on 2 factors: Quality of Product and viewing hours per year. Take a Panny for instance under the same typical viewing circumstances will have less percentage of degradation than say a Magnavox or Olevia so the requirement could be much more frequent. After 1 yr. if you only expirience a 3 percent degradation on the panny if your viewing habits don't change dramatically you could in theory wait 5 yrs. for your next. I have a friend who owns an Olevia and after 1 yr. he's expirienced an 7% loss he should consider a cal every other yr. Remember the printout is of paramount importance so if a Calibrator can't provide that for you, you might want to look elsewhere.

[lucasskywalker1]

More sewage from the spewage master.

go check out the testing sound and vision did between lcd and plasma....see who won

Hey DUDS all well and good with sound and vision though I hope that is not your only source you rely on. 2 and a half yrs. ago my theater expirience began with the ordering of the 55" Hitachi of which I cancelled 2 days later(CC salesman a little misleading) I then went to BB and purchased an open boxed Pioneer 61" that 3 weeks later when the calibration man showed up we then determined I had a bad Panel(it was returned to BB). Upon the advice of the calibration expert who preferred the 52" Sony 1080p LCD, 52" Sharp Aquos 1080p LCD, and the 50" Pioneer Elite 1080p Plasma, we purchased a 65" Sharp Aquos 1080p from Crutchfields(nobody in NE had the set at the time) we owned it for 3 weeks and then purchased a Sony Bluray the TV did not acknowledge the Bluray. Sharp's explanation was that the TV went into production prior to Sony releasing the licensing to other Manufacturers. Prior to the freight company coming back to PU the Sharp I purchased what is now my flagship PRO-1540HD 60" Plasma both TV's were in my home for the final game of the Patriots. They were less than 14 feet from each other and all but 1 of 15 people preferred the Pioneer over the Sharp. One additional note on the sharp because 120Hz. wasn't available yet When Tom Brady threw the ball WE witnessed multiple images of his arm in motion, WE did not expirience that with the Pioneer, however I do currently own (besides the 60" elite) a 42" Pioneer, 2-32" Phillips and in my kitchen is a 26" Sharp it was the biggest screen size that would fit under my cabinet and we do like it. So the morale of this story is next yr. Panasonic Plasma could be KING of the Hill, technology is forever more evolving. Have a great Day my friend.

[Duds]

Nope, not my only source. I let my eyes decide as well

Hey DUDS all well and good with sound and vision though I hope that is not your only source you rely on. 2 and a half yrs. ago my theater expirience began with the ordering of the 55" Hitachi of which I cancelled 2 days later(CC salesman a little misleading) I then went to BB and purchased an open boxed Pioneer 61" that 3 weeks later when the calibration man showed up we then determined I had a bad Panel(it was returned to BB). Upon the advice of the calibration expert who preferred the 52" Sony 1080p LCD, 52" Sharp Aquos 1080p LCD, and the 50" Pioneer Elite 1080p Plasma, we purchased a 65" Sharp Aquos 1080p from Crutchfields(nobody in NE had the set at the time) we owned it for 3 weeks and then purchased a Sony Bluray the TV did not acknowledge the Bluray. Sharp's explanation was that the TV went into production prior to Sony releasing the licensing to other Manufacturers. Prior to the freight company coming back to PU the Sharp I purchased what is now my flagship PRO-1540HD 60" Plasma both TV's were in my home for the final game of the Patriots. They were less than 14 feet from each other and all but 1 of 15 people preferred the Pioneer over the Sharp. One additional note on the sharp because 120Hz. wasn't available yet When Tom Brady threw the ball WE witnessed multiple images of his arm in motion, WE did not expirience that with the Pioneer, however I do currently own (besides the 60" elite) a 42" Pioneer, 2-32" Phillips and in my kitchen is a 26" Sharp it was the biggest screen size that would fit under my cabinet and we do like it. So the morale of this story is next yr. Panasonic Plasma could be KING of the Hill, technology is forever more evolving. Have a great Day my friend.

[pixelthis]

Hey DUDS all well and good with sound and vision though I hope that is not your only source you rely on. 2 and a half yrs. ago my theater expirience began with the ordering of the 55" Hitachi of which I cancelled 2 days later(CC salesman a little misleading) I then went to BB and purchased an open boxed Pioneer 61" that 3 weeks later when the calibration man showed up we then determined I had a bad Panel(it was returned to BB). Upon the advice of the calibration expert who preferred the 52" Sony 1080p LCD, 52" Sharp Aquos 1080p LCD, and the 50" Pioneer Elite 1080p Plasma, we purchased a 65" Sharp Aquos 1080p from Crutchfields(nobody in NE had the set at the time) we owned it for 3 weeks and then purchased a Sony Bluray the TV did not acknowledge the Bluray. Sharp's explanation was that the TV went into production prior to Sony releasing the licensing to other Manufacturers. Prior to the freight company coming back to PU the Sharp I purchased what is now my flagship PRO-1540HD 60" Plasma both TV's were in my home for the final game of the Patriots. They were less than 14 feet from each other and all but 1 of 15 people preferred the Pioneer over the Sharp. One additional note on the sharp because 120Hz. wasn't available yet When Tom Brady threw the ball WE witnessed multiple images of his arm in motion, WE did not expirience that with the Pioneer, however I do currently own (besides the 60" elite) a 42" Pioneer, 2-32" Phillips and in my kitchen is a 26" Sharp it was the biggest screen size that would fit under my cabinet and we do like it. So the morale of this story is next yr. Panasonic Plasma could be KING of the Hill, technology is forever more evolving. Have a great Day my friend.

okay, there is a new invention out, its called the PERIOD.THERES ONE FOR EXAMPLE
ON THE END OF THIS STATEMENT....
PLASMA IS....
DEAD.

(btw)

[Duds]

And trixie is currently on his period...

okay, there is a new invention out, its called the PERIOD.THERES ONE FOR EXAMPLE
ON THE END OF THIS STATEMENT....
PLASMA IS....
DEAD.

(btw)

[Smithha]

Smokester, they use disc's for calibration, not things like a sencore color generator, analyzer, or snell and wilcox hot plates(exceptionally high quality color and pattern generator and extremely accurate analyer) to calibrate. What they do, you could do for a smaller investment

Hi Sir Terrence the Terrible,
I have a bone to pick with you!

I decided to do a search in Google for ISF Calibration
and I ran across this Thread.
You State, BestBuy Geek Squad Calibration doesn't use a ISF Calibration certified Tools like the SENCORE. You go on to say they just use a Calibration Disk.
And this is where you couldn't be more wrong.
The Fact of the matter is, Best Buy uses the VP40x VideoPro Multimedia Video Generator.
This is the Sencore model they came out to my house and Calibrated our Panasonic G20 with.
Infact I have a Before and After HD Video and about 4 min of the BB Guy calibrating the TV, till he found out about it and told me to shut it off... He would've never known if he wouldn't have moved it and then me saying, Oh I'm recording... To bad though, I wouldn't had a great little video of the whole thing. But I do have him putting the Sencore Eye suction cup eye on the screen...

So sorry to say you are wrong Sir.

[bfalls]

Hi Sir Terrence the Terrible,
I have a bone to pick with you!

I decided to do a search in Google for ISF Calibration
and I ran across this Thread.
You State, BestBuy Geek Squad Calibration doesn't use a ISF Calibration certified Tools like the SENCORE. You go on to say they just use a Calibration Disk.
And this is where you couldn't be more wrong.
The Fact of the matter is, Best Buy uses the VP40x VideoPro Multimedia Video Generator.
This is the Sencore model they came out to my house and Calibrated our Panasonic G20 with.
Infact I have a Before and After HD Video and about 4 min of the BB Guy calibrating the TV, till he found out about it and told me to shut it off... He would've never known if he wouldn't have moved it and then me saying, Oh I'm recording... To bad though, I wouldn't had a great little video of the whole thing. But I do have him putting the Sencore Eye suction cup eye on the screen...

So sorry to say you are wrong Sir.

I spoke with the guys at Best Buy here in Terre Haute IN. They use the Spyder Pro. So it appears Best Buy isn't consistent on their hardware or procedures. At least three different methods have been posted here (Spyder Pro, DVDs, VP40x). It may be they advertise for and hire contractors for calibration.

After calibrating my TV's inputs, I also like to use calibration discs to calibrate the player and cable. With many players having internal settings/adjustments, it only make sense to calibrate the entire signal path.

I'm not sure I like the idea of them spending time cleaning up my cables. I'd rather they discount the price, or spend the time calibrating. With a two or three hour limit, they may not get to the TV .

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Hi Sir Terrence the Terrible,
I have a bone to pick with you!

I decided to do a search in Google for ISF Calibration
and I ran across this Thread.
You State, BestBuy Geek Squad Calibration doesn't use a ISF Calibration certified Tools like the SENCORE. You go on to say they just use a Calibration Disk.
And this is where you couldn't be more wrong.
The Fact of the matter is, Best Buy uses the VP40x VideoPro Multimedia Video Generator.
This is the Sencore model they came out to my house and Calibrated our Panasonic G20 with.
Infact I have a Before and After HD Video and about 4 min of the BB Guy calibrating the TV, till he found out about it and told me to shut it off... He would've never known if he wouldn't have moved it and then me saying, Oh I'm recording... To bad though, I wouldn't had a great little video of the whole thing. But I do have him putting the Sencore Eye suction cup eye on the screen...

So sorry to say you are wrong Sir.

First, your single experience is meaningless in the grand scheme of things. All calibrations boil down to the experience and knowleidge of the individual calibrator regardless of the equipment he uses. You may have had a good technician, but that is not consistent across the board. When the post was made, they were not using anything more that Video essentials as a calibration tool. I never said they would use them forever did I.

Secondly, your experience may have been great, but not everyone is satisfied with the quality of BB's technicians.

Thirdly, did he calibrate your set in a darkened room? Did he have dark clothes on? I would bet your rooms color would probably keep any technician from acheiving a totally accurate calibration.

When my buddy who does calibrations came to my house, he covered everything in the room with a black cloth(my room was already dark grey) to keep any light colored objects from contaminating the measurement. The calibration took hours to do(not minutes), and the results could not be repeated by any BB technician. That's what I call a calibration

I would say the bone has already been picked.

[Smithha]

First, your single experience is meaningless in the grand scheme of things. All calibrations boil down to the experience and knowleidge of the individual calibrator regardless of the equipment he uses. You may have had a good technician, but that is not consistent across the board. When the post was made, they were not using anything more that Video essentials as a calibration tool. I never said they would use them forever did I.

Secondly, your experience may have been great, but not everyone is satisfied with the quality of BB's technicians.

Thirdly, did he calibrate your set in a darkened room? Did he have dark clothes on? I would bet your rooms color would probably keep any technician from acheiving a totally accurate calibration.

When my buddy who does calibrations came to my house, he covered everything in the room with a black cloth(my room was already dark grey) to keep any light colored objects from contaminating the measurement. The calibration took hours to do(not minutes), and the results could not be repeated by any BB technician. That's what I call a calibration

I would say the bone has already been picked.

When we bought the TV at BB, which BB isn't my first choice of buying anything... But we only have a Three (3) Home theater stores that are privately owned. Two of the stores I wouldn't purchase anything from and the third, which is above the other two and in comparison a True High End Home Theater Store but they don't sell Panasonic and they don't recommend TV Calibration. (Atleast that's what one of the sells techs said to me...) I was floored when he said that and I don't think I've been back since... But mainly more due to one of the guys that worked there, which I worked with at a fourth home theater store which has closed for good, Jonathan found a new job in a completely different field I believe.
He was probably the most Knowledgeable of all the people at this company. Thats more of the reason I haven't been back.. Anyways.


When the Best Buy Tech walked in, the first thing he said was, Ahh! you have a black back drop over your windows. (I had him walk in through the Garage instead of the front door due to having it blacked out in the living room.) And my Eyes had already adjusted and didn't want to restart that process again.
Are walls are a Dark Green, our furniture is a Dark burgundy with Red Oak hardwood floors with an area rug over 90% of the living room.
The TV is mounted to an articulating wall mount which sits in a "Fake Fire Place I built especially for a Rear proj. Tv."

Prior to BB coming I had ran Color Slides to do a proper burn in.

All lights in the front room where off during Cal. except the LED Light behind the TV in the Cut out.
The Tech was wearing a Black Geek Squad polo shirt and black shorts.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

When we bought the TV at BB, which BB isn't my first choice of buying anything... But we only have a Three (3) Home theater stores that are privately owned. Two of the stores I wouldn't purchase anything from and the third, which is above the other two and in comparison a True High End Home Theater Store but they don't sell Panasonic and they don't recommend TV Calibration. (Atleast that's what one of the sells techs said to me...) I was floored when he said that and I don't think I've been back since... But mainly more due to one of the guys that worked there, which I worked with at a fourth home theater store which has closed for good, Jonathan found a new job in a completely different field I believe.
He was probably the most Knowledgeable of all the people at this company. Thats more of the reason I haven't been back.. Anyways.


When the Best Buy Tech walked in, the first thing he said was, Ahh! you have a black back drop over your windows. (I had him walk in through the Garage instead of the front door due to having it blacked out in the living room.) And my Eyes had already adjusted and didn't want to restart that process again.
Are walls are a Dark Green, our furniture is a Dark burgundy with Red Oak hardwood floors with an area rug over 90% of the living room.
The TV is mounted to an articulating wall mount which sits in a "Fake Fire Place I built especially for a Rear proj. Tv."

Prior to BB coming I had ran Color Slides to do a proper burn in.

All lights in the front room where off during Cal. except the LED Light behind the TV in the Cut out.
The Tech was wearing a Black Geek Squad polo shirt and black shorts.

Dark green, and dark burgundy are colors that will subtly add light to the room as the light from the screen splashes off of the walls and reflects back to the screen. This is why dark flat grey or black walls are recommended for dedicated HT set ups. This is also why my friend turned off all of the lights, and covered every colored surface with black cloth before calibration. Your LED light should have been turned off as well, as should all light sources except the television. It will raise the ambient light level, if even a little bit.

[pajr2179]

I personally do not see the value of isf calibration unless you have a dedicated theater, The lighting environment is always different when I watch TV. Someone coming to my home and doing an isf calibration in an environment that I will never be using my system (except watching movies) seems pretty pointless. And, isn't possible that after all the calibration is done you won't like the picture anyway?