# 12 Tips to Tune Up Your TV



## NorthSky

First, before performing any video settings: turn the room's lights down...lowest dimming...or even with just a lava lamp for very dim light ambiance.


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## Orbitron

My secret tip goes back to CRT days and something I still do today: turn the color all the way off and adjust for best black and white picture. Slowly raise color till color saturation of flesh looks natural.


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## zobeldiode

Great tips : 

FWIW on at least 2 of the the DVD's Spears and Munsil is the more nerdy of the 2 but very capable once you get past the learning curve Disney Wow has a reputation of being decent and user frendly. I dont know about the other one you are on your own there 

Another (free ) alternative is AVSHD 709 (bt 709) You can do a lot there like a black pluge pattern (to set your min black level ) and white contrast levels (to set white levels ) ,sharpness and color gradation ( color saturation ) and some other things .
with or without a colorimeter and software . 

Some basic instruction is there and as you lesrn more you can accomplish more and its free 
You can do a day night calibration alo snd store them usually once you get dialed in the onlyb differnce will be 5+ clicks for day on brightness,

You can also store some settings more to your prefernce outside of the movie cinema modes in something like game,general or standard modes avoid vivid and sports modes .

I have 4 calibrations on my Sony in here with an accurate bt709 calibration in Cinema and the others to my prefernces depending on the variables or just how I feel at the momemt .

Most movies are color graded close to BT709 so the accurate calibratiobn can be fine on the movies or othewise depending on your prefernces and the lighting /content variables . I would avoid cool color temps and only use neutral (outside of movie ./cinema ) and warm in Movie/Cinema ofc .


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## zobeldiode

Orbitron said:


> My secret tip goes back to CRT days and something I still do today: turn the color all the way off and adjust for best black and white picture. Slowly raise color till color saturation of flesh looks natural.


Thats not a bad idea for a good starting point and just might get the color saturation right or very nearly so . I've also applied the 50% rule starting point there on LCD's 

FWIW I was tought like you say when I did bench work on CRT sets ~ 40 yrs ago . We also used that crireia in diag and repairs on NTSC TV's i.e get a decnt black and white picture [first] then work on the chroma ( color. )


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## comike

Very informative. When our theater was completed, and on the advice I read here, I purchased the Disney WOW calibration disk. With the Sony projector, even after reading that the calibration was pretty good out of the box, I still found that the WOW disk provided the basis for additional adjustments. And as a 'newbie' I am sometimes overwhelmed at the amount of electronic, superficial enhancements that vendors offer, some of which I can visually perceive very little benefit. In cases, the WOW disk indeed showed they were not worth the marketing effort

Mike O


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## 8mile13

Scott Wilkinson said:


> 5. Turn off frame interpolation, which sharpens motion detail by synthesizing artificial frames between the actual frames in the video signal. But it also creates the soap-opera effect, making movies look like they were shot with a video camera.


Doug Blackburn, probably the most knowledgeable TV guy on AVS, actually is a fan of improving motion sharpness using Motion Interpolation dispite the SOE. So are others. 


Scott Wilkinson said:


> 6. Turn on backlight scanning or black-frame insertion to sharpen motion detail without frame interpolation. Some models do not offer separate frame-interpolation and backlight-scanning controls, but combine them into one control; in this case, turn it off to avoid the soap-opera effect.


BFI dims/degrades pq and has other side effects. No idea why folks are so excited about it.


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## p5browne

DO NOT do these calibrations on a just turned on set. Watch programming for a couple of hours, and then start.
Spears and Munsil Blu-Ray II the most accurate for the Contrast, Brightness and Sharpness.
Disney WOW, ONLY use the Basic setup - have found the Advanced setup having you set B & C too high. (Even Basic will have you 1 or 2 clicks off what the S&M would have you set them to. Comparing B & C from a S&M setup to an actual calibration - very close, if not right on the mark.)
Blue Filters useless, and a left over from bygone ages.
BUT, as Pro calibrators have found, after spending several hours calibrating a client's set, after they leave, client doesn't like the look and feel of the calibrated set, and resets it back to the way he likes it!


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## mrfixit58

*Overscan*

What is overscan labeled as in the menu on a Samsung 64f8500?


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## xvfx

Screen Fit or Just Scan for Samsung's usually.


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## mrfixit58

mrfixit58 said:


> What is overscan labeled as in the menu on a Samsung 64f8500?


So if my display is set to screen fit it will mess up the picture, correct?


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## Mark12547

mrfixit58 said:


> So if my display is set to screen fit it will mess up the picture, correct?


Just the opposite. "Screen Fit" or "Just Scan" (or similar) would disable overscan. One could pause an HD image that fills the screen and has detail out to the edges, try "16:9", "Screen Fit", etc., and it is likely the setting that displays most of the image on the screen without introducing any letterbox/pillarbox bars has defeated overscan.

On my LG has an "Aspect Ratio" setting ("Ratio" on the remote control) with "16:9" having overscan, and "Just Scan" disables overscan. However, for 480 content the "Just Scan" is disabled, which for some SD subchannels is just as well because a couple of the diginet channels I watch have junk (typically where data is hid in the vertical blanking interval for analog TVs) on the top line that the overscan pushes beyond the edge of the screen.

On my Vizio, the default setting it came in was with overscan turned off if the "Wide" setting is set to "Normal", but one can be adjusted to overscan by digging into Picture settings, advanced, picture placement & size.

It would be nice if more TV manufacturers would recognize that overscan is an anachronism from the old CRT days and more manufacturers ship with factory settings that have overscan disabled.


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## Daniel Chaves

I already own the THX Calibration Disc and the Disney WOW Disc but I went a head and bought the Spears & Munsil's HD Benchmark 2nd Edition Disc today just waiting for it to show up in the mail.


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## Mattyo1612

I found using the LED Motion Plus on my UA55D7000 (Australian model) dims the screen ever so slightly... I am going to trial having it on but have always read in various calibration reviews to leave it turned off.... confused 






8mile13 said:


> Doug Blackburn, probably the most knowledgeable TV guy on AVS, actually is a fan of improving motion sharpness using Motion Interpolation dispite the SOE. So are others.
> 
> BFI dims/degrades pq and has other side effects. No idea why folks are so excited about it.


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## Mattyo1612

Do you suggest turn LED Motion Plus on? I have read various calibration reviews that suggest that it should be left off. I have a Samsung UA55D7000 (Australian Model). I'll trial it to see if it improves motion without the soap opera effect, though I have found that when switched on it dims the picture ever so slightly... which I didn't like I so turned it back off when I first bought the set 3 years ago, but will I will give it a another go and leave it on for a decent period of time to see if I get used to it...




Scott Wilkinson;36511818 said:


> If you care about picture quality, you can greatly improve the performance of just about any display by following these 12 simple steps.
> 
> As most AVS Forum members know, watching a TV as it comes out of the box is not ideal—it's typically too bright and too blue for the best image quality at home. A professional calibration will ensure that it looks the very best it can, but that can cost several hundred dollars. This is unreasonable for many buyers, especially if the TV was relatively inexpensive—say, less than $2000.
> 
> Does that mean you must live with a bright, blue flame thrower? Not at all—there are several things you can do to greatly improve the picture quality without spending more than a few bucks. Here are 12 tips to help you tune up your TV, which will typically get you 70-80 percent of the way to the best possible picture quality that TV can produce; if you want that last 20-30 percent, you can always hire a pro calibrator—and those of us who are picky about picture quality do so gladly if we can.
> 
> To perform these tasks, you'll need to open the TV's menu system and find the cited controls, which often go by different names in different manufacturers' products. I can't include all the possible names here; I've tried to use the most common names, but you might have to do a bit of sleuthing to determine what the manufacturer of your TV calls these controls.
> 
> 1. Select the most accurate picture mode. In most TVs, this is the Movie or Cinema mode; in some, it might be the Standard mode, and a few even have a Calibrated mode. After selecting this mode, you might think the image looks dim and dull, but give yourself some time to get used to it; the picture will look much more natural and realistic than the out-of-box mode.
> 
> 2. Select the warmest color temperature. In most TVs, the color-temperature settings are often labeled Cool, Normal, and Warm or High, Medium, and Low. The Warm or Low setting is usually the closest to reproducing what the content creators intended. In the Movie or Cinema picture mode, the color temperature often defaults to Warm or Low.
> 
> 3. Turn off all "'enhancement" functions, such as dynamic contrast, edge enhancement, and noise filters. These usually do more harm than good to image quality.
> 
> 4. Turn off overscan, which slightly upscales and crops the image. This is a holdover from the CRT days and is no longer necessary; in a digital display, it softens the image. In the TV's menu, this parameter is often called something like Picture Size or Aspect Ratio, with selections that include various zoom settings; select the setting that displays each pixel exactly as it is in the video signal.
> 
> 5. Turn off frame interpolation, which sharpens motion detail by synthesizing artificial frames between the actual frames in the video signal. But it also creates the soap-opera effect, making movies look like they were shot with a video camera. This parameter goes by many different names; here are some of the more common ones:
> 
> LG: TruMotion
> Panasonic: Motion Picture Setting
> Samsung: Auto Motion Plus
> Sharp: Motion Enhancement
> Sony: Motionflow
> Vizio: Smooth Motion
> 
> 6. Turn on backlight scanning or black-frame insertion to sharpen motion detail without frame interpolation. Some models do not offer separate frame-interpolation and backlight-scanning controls, but combine them into one control; in this case, turn it off to avoid the soap-opera effect. This parameter goes by many different names; here are some of the more common ones:
> 
> LG: TruMotion Clear Plus
> Panasonic: N/A (combined with frame interpolation)
> Samsung: LED Motion Plus, LED Clear Motion
> Sharp: AquoMotion
> Sony: Motionflow Impulse
> Vizio: Clear Action
> 
> 7. Adjust the backlight (LCD) or cell-light (plasma, OLED) control according to the amount of ambient light in the room; the image should not be too bright to watch comfortably over extended periods. Backlight scanning and black-frame insertion can dim the picture considerably, so the backlight should be increased if you use this feature.
> 
> 8. Use a setup disc to adjust the TV's five basic picture controls (brightness, contrast, color, tint, sharpness). For newbies, the Disney World of Wonder (WOW) Blu-ray is excellent; for more experienced users, I recommend Spears & Munsil's HD Benchmark or Joe Kane's Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics. Each of these discs costs around $30. Another option is the AVS 709 HD program available here to download for free. The THX Tune-Up app for iOS and Android devices is very convenient, and it's also free.
> 
> 9. Follow the directions for whichever disc or app you choose to set the brightness (black level) first, then contrast (white level). Go back and check the brightness again; these controls can be somewhat interactive, so you might need to go back and forth a few times to get them both right.
> 
> 10. In most cases, set the sharpness control at 0 or off; higher settings apply edge enhancement that does more harm than good to the image. I've seen at least one TV in which a setting of 0 softened the picture quite a bit, while a setting of 1 was fine.
> 
> 11. Setting the color and tint controls requires you to look through a blue filter at the test pattern or, better yet, setting the TV to display only blue, not red or green. Unfortunately, the blue filters that come with various setup discs aren't always accurate for all types of TVs, leading to misadjusted controls.
> 
> 12. With digital TVs, the tint control rarely needs adjustment, so leave it alone. If your TV has a "blue-only" mode, use that to set the color control; if not, use the blue filter that came with the setup disc or carefully adjust it while looking at content with natural skin tones; they should not look sunburned or sickly green.
> 
> Like AVS Forum on Facebook
> Follow AVS Forum on Twitter
> +1 AVS Forum on Google+


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## TMcG

To calibrate my video, I just hold up the same flannel shirt I wore when I was on the Jerry Springer show and play with the settings until it's close. 

Oh, and I was NOT the father of any of those 15 kids....woot!


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## hanshotfirst1138

I just found a thread about my set on this forum and used the suggested settings there ;-).


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## 8mile13

Mattyo1612 said:


> Do you suggest turn LED Motion Plus on? I have read various calibration reviews that suggest that it should be left off. I have a Samsung UA55D7000 (Australian Model). I'll trial it to see if it improves motion without the soap opera effect, though I have found that when switched on it dims the picture ever so slightly... which I didn't like I so turned it back off when I first bought the set 3 years ago, but will I will give it a another go and leave it on for a decent period of time to see if I get used to it...


In 2010 Neilo stated that LED Motion Plus is not effective at all. According him all it does is dims the screen. He is positive regarding Auto Motion Plus. It will do motion smoothing and there might be a Soap Opera Effect though . Neilo is a expert who works for hdtvtest. 
https://www.avforums.com/threads/sa...auto-motion-plus-and-led-motion-plus.1379970/

So i would check out LED Motion Plus, then turn it off. Experts often suggest that one should not use motion smoothing when watching movies because it will ruin the film look. On non movie content experts have less objections regarding motion smoothing.

LED Motion Plus does backlight strobing.
Auto Motion Plus is Motion Interpolation realated.


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## Mavinwow

Good tips. 

I will disagree a little bit on your motion comments. I have found the backlight strobing/clear action to do nothing but dim the picture significantly. 

I also have experience with both Samsung and Vizios interpolation settings. I found "clear" on Samsung, and 1-2 de-judder on Vizio (available on the latest firmware) to improve the overall picture quality and motion handling with minimal SOE. YMMV


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## PiggyChops

A thread like this specifically for projectors would be nice too.


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## qwho51

A wonderful and very helpful article.Thank You for the tips and suggestions.
I am curious though about the use of ambient backlighting that aides in reducing eye fatigue. 
The use of "proper" ambient light sources such as CinemaQuest, does have an effect on the perceived
video settings. How important is it to make use of these light sources in calibration?


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## 8mile13

Mavinwow said:


> I also have experience with both Samsung and Vizios interpolation settings. I found "clear" on Samsung, and 1-2 de-judder on Vizio (available on the latest firmware) to improve the overall picture quality and motion handling with minimal SOE. YMMV


 One does not want to see SOE or minimal SOE when watching a blu-ray movie.


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## CosmoNut

Re: #8 :

If you don't want to spring for a dedicated setup disc, all of the latest Pixar Blu-rays have a setup feature as one of the menu options. From my experience, they do a pretty good job of helping the average user get some good settings.


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## bmcn

If one has time and inclination, results after calibrating with HCFR and i1 Display Pro probe ($150 after discount) are outstanding.

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/139-d...e-projector-display-calibration-software.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/798930-REG/X_Rite_EODIS3_i1Display_Pro.html


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## Suntan

Disagree with #3 and #5 (same as I did when this list was posted a couple weeks back.)

Personally, the dynamic iris on my PJ works well to give more contrast, without being noticeable in use (although the dynamic contrast on one of my flat panels is annoyingly abrupt, and so stays off.) Same thing for frame interpolation, I prefer to use light FI settings to tame down the poor 24p judder. Although standard settings are too extreme and are annoyingly smooth in pans.

A better recommendation than "don't use" would be for a person to educate themselves about the features, then take a structured approach to identifying which features/settings they personally prefer to use. To flatly ignore features is too simplistic for anyone interested in maximizing their personal enjoyment of their equipment.

This list reads more like "12 Tips to Tune Up Your In Law's TV"


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## Lazarus Dark

bmcn said:


> If one has time and inclination, results after calibrating with HCFR and i1 Display Pro probe ($150 after discount) are outstanding.
> 
> http://www.avsforum.com/forum/139-d...e-projector-display-calibration-software.html
> 
> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/798930-REG/X_Rite_EODIS3_i1Display_Pro.html


I don't see anything about a discount, could you elaborate?. I can't justify $250 on my budget but I could do $150


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## Suntan

Lazarus Dark said:


> I don't see anything about a discount, could you elaborate?. I can't justify $250 on my budget but I could do $150


HCFR works just fine with a colormuki.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?N=10798928&InitialSearch=yes&sts=pi


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## bmcn

Lazarus Dark said:


> I don't see anything about a discount, could you elaborate?. I can't justify $250 on my budget but I could do $150


At $250, the price of a pro cal using better equipment isn't much more expensive. Bought it last year sometime between Thanksgiving and year end, $150 after sale price and rebate, not an unheard of price at that time.


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## Lazarus Dark

bmcn said:


> At $250, the price of a pro cal using better equipment isn't much more expensive. Bought it last year sometime between Thanksgiving and year end, $150 after sale price and rebate, not an unheard of price at that time.


Pro calibration would be great and work for many people. Those who want a perfect home theater setup and then be done with it. But I'm a tweaker, I can't just let someone set it and then never touch it. Plus I'd like to do multiple displays and would replace those displays every couple years. That'll get expensive over time. So I consider self-calibration the only option until I hit the lottery and get a custom built million dollar theater room


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## Lazarus Dark

Suntan said:


> HCFR works just fine with a colormuki.
> 
> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?N=10798928&InitialSearch=yes&sts=pi


For projectors? I have not done significant research on this yet, just a quick glance, and it seemed like most of the cheaper options were for LCD/plasma


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## Dhalmo

Does anyone know if the 12 tips apply to HDR like Dolby Vision with the expanded color spectrum? With the lack of commercially available displays utilizing HDR, do calibrators have the tools and experience to take full advantage of these features? I hope I'm not setting off land mines here.


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## bmcn

Lazarus Dark said:


> Pro calibration would be great and work for many people. Those who want a perfect home theater setup and then be done with it. But I'm a tweaker, I can't just let someone set it and then never touch it. Plus I'd like to do multiple displays and would replace those displays every couple years. That'll get expensive over time. So I consider self-calibration the only option until I hit the lottery and get a custom built million dollar theater room


It was also a satisfying learning experience for me.


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## john79605

Orbitron said:


> My secret tip goes back to CRT days and something I still do today: turn the color all the way off and adjust for best black and white picture. Slowly raise color till color saturation of flesh looks natural.


I expected this to be the first tip.


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## Greenwood Ave

Scott Wilkinson said:


> 2. Select the warmest color temperature. In most TVs, the color-temperature settings are often labeled Cool, Normal, and Warm or High, Medium, and Low. The Warm or Low setting is usually the closest to reproducing what the content creators intended. In the Movie or Cinema picture mode, the color temperature often defaults to Warm or Low.
> 
> Like AVS Forum on Facebook
> Follow AVS Forum on Twitter
> +1 AVS Forum on Google+


My Vizio E series has cool, normal, and computer. Is "computer" the same as "warm"? 

I've been going back and forth between "normal" and "computer" on a picture of my kids that I've been using for calibration. Both setting do look fairly different, but I'm having a hard time deciding what I prefer (neither really looks that bad, unlike "cool" which looks noticeably worse [too blue I think]). I think "computer" looks a little too washed out, whereas "normal" also makes my boys faces a little off in the skin tone. I almost which there was a setting halfway between the two. 

My main interest is in capturing what the director intended as closely as possible, so if it's fairly uncontroversial that "computer" color temperature is best, then I will probably leave it there.


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## subcell

*UHD BD version of those test disc*

Hoping that december 2015 brings one of those test disc in its UHD form for us with 4k screens


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## DavidHir

Great advice.

However, I want to highlight the importance of pro-calibration having had a number of pro-calibrated displays of different technologies over the years. I think the difference in improvement is closer to at least 40%-50% with a pro cal (versus 20%-30%) especially if the display has a CMS. The combination of greyscale, primary and secondary colors, and gamma getting calibrated appropriately will make a very noticeable improvement. The ability to see color neutrally and appropriate shadow detail cannot be done with just calibrating brightness, color saturation, and tint - although it's a good first step before getting the display cal'd.


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## Daniel Chaves

Lazarus Dark said:


> For projectors? I have not done significant research on this yet, just a quick glance, and it seemed like most of the cheaper options were for LCD/plasma


From what I can see from their website, this can be used to calibrate projectors. Its basically the exact same hardware as the i1 Display Pro but with some limiting software and a slower processing speed probably due more to the software to make the Pro look better but outside of that its identical, advantage of the Pro is faster calculations, and more software support from other parties. Where as this one is locked down to only their provided software and HCFR which people seem to like as much as Calman so maybe just maybe its worth saving that $100 and getting this model... Im still on the fence >_


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## Routemaster

For what it's worth, I just tried to use the THX Tune up app on my iPhone. First, the text instructions for each setting (brightness, contrast, etc.) are all the same, they only make sense for brightness. Second, this is one of the less intuitively obvious apps I've used in a while.

Having applied many of the recommended settings in the article to my new Vizio box, it's going to take some fortitude to persist. The picture is dull, dark and lifeless. Is this really the way it's supposed to be?


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## CountryBumkin

When I set the brightness up (I have Samsung F8500) using the WOW setup disk, the picture seems too dark.

For example, I can't see what is going on in a lot of the night/dark scenes in the Batman films. 

Is this what the Director intended, are my eyes too old, or am I doing something wrong?


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## gomo657

Routemaster said:


> For what it's worth, I just tried to use the THX Tune up app on my iPhone. First, the text instructions for each setting (brightness, contrast, etc.) are all the same, they only make sense for brightness. Second, this is one of the less intuitively obvious apps I've used in a while.
> 
> Having applied many of the recommended settings in the article to my new Vizio box, it's going to take some fortitude to persist. The picture is dull, dark and lifeless. Is this really the way it's supposed to be?



You can try the tvtuneup3d app as well


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## xvfx

CountryBumkin said:


> When I set the brightness up (I have Samsung F8500) using the WOW setup disk, the picture seems too dark.
> 
> For example, I can't see what is going on in a lot of the night/dark scenes in the Batman films.
> 
> Is this what the Director intended, are my eyes too old, or am I doing something wrong?


Sounds like you've done something wrong hence loss of shadow detail. Is that the only disc you have? Or download the free AVSHD709 disc.


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## GregLee

Orbitron said:


> My secret tip goes back to CRT days and something I still do today: turn the color all the way off and adjust for best black and white picture. Slowly raise color till color saturation of flesh looks natural.


I think this is a good idea. Many people seem to have the Color control set too high. My version of the procedure is to set Color as low as possible. I turn it way down, then look at some videos and watch for the bleached out pastel effect when colors are desaturated -- then I advance Color one click at a time, until the pastel problem is fixed.

That kind of rule -- as high/low as possible works for some other controls: Brightness as low as possible (don't crush blacks); Contrast as high as possible (don't lose white detail).

For watching satellite 1080i TV, my rule for Sharpness is the opposite of the usual "as low as possible". I set it as high as possible, because my current 2015 TVs do a great job of deblurring my DirecTV signal. The undesirable distortion I associate with excessive sharpening is a mottling of surfaces that should be smooth -- skin, for instance -- so I back it off from the mottle level.

I don't find the calibration disks very useful.


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## Nickyboy77

What settings are BEST for playing PS4 or Xbox 1 on LG OLED EF6500?
I seem to be getting some lag and slight delay when playing Madden


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## xvfx

GregLee said:


> I think this is a good idea. Many people seem to have the Color control set too high. My version of the procedure is to set Color as low as possible. I turn it way down, then look at some videos and watch for the bleached out pastel effect when colors are desaturated -- then I advance Color one click at a time, until the pastel problem is fixed.
> 
> That kind of rule -- as high/low as possible works for some other controls: Brightness as low as possible (don't crush blacks); Contrast as high as possible (don't lose white detail).
> 
> For watching satellite 1080i TV, my rule for Sharpness is the opposite of the usual "as low as possible". I set it as high as possible, because my current 2015 TVs do a great job of deblurring my DirecTV signal. The undesirable distortion I associate with excessive sharpening is a mottling of surfaces that should be smooth -- skin, for instance -- so I back it off from the mottle level.
> 
> I don't find the calibration disks very useful.


Hmm, satellite must be quite different over there than here? Between different blacks levels to sharpening. As Sky HD doesn't suffer this. Black levels are the same industry standard as I've checked it against Casino Royale broadcast to Blu-Ray. Same dark detail in the Prague windows.

Sharpness doesn't take much to start wringing. Have to set it to the same for Blu-Ray viewing as some broadcasts are set sharper, same Blu-Ray/correct sharpness patterns and some broadcasts can be a bit softer.

The only flaw Sky can have with the film broadcasts is the lower colours. Not always but I guess it depends on what was done during the broadcast. Sadly I know squat what they do. All I can say some darker colours can look grungy/saturated more so on some dark sand scenes.


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## masopoli

Hello folks, this is my first post and after readings much on the way of calibrations for a pan. tc-p55vt60 I'm thinking of having the set professionally calibrated. I'm in Rhode Island . Do any of you know of a reliable tech who is familiar with the set? Thanks for any info.


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## NightWolve

Thanks for the info!


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## fluxo

Note: disabling overscan on some Panasonic TVs may also disable the pixel orbiter.


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## Cravit8

fluxo said:


> Note: disabling overscan on some Panasonic TVs may also disable the pixel orbiter.



Is there a method to finding out if that pertains to my model or is there a list somewhere with model numbers?


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## HarpNinja

I did this and then used the beginner section of the Disney WOW Blu Ray on Monday night. My tv is a 55" Samsung 1080p/120hz...about a year old. It made a huge difference in clarity and viewing experience. I am so glad I found this article!

Previously, I felt our cable (Consolidated Communications) really was blah - not anymore. This was my first real go trying to actually calibrate. I just set up a projector rig and will give that a go tonight. Eventually, with that, I will go to the intermediate part of the disc, but I am just not there yet.

Thanks!


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## fluxo

Cravit8 said:


> Is there a method to finding out if that pertains to my model or is there a list somewhere with model numbers?



Sorry for the delayed reply.

If you have overscan off and the pixel orbiter is on, then at times you will get a black edge appearing within a 16:9 picture. In order to avoid that there needs to be a part of the image off-screen that moves into view when the pixel orbiter shifts the image. 

If you see those black edges appearing, and you are sure they are not in the source material, then the pixel orbiter is active. You could also check with test patterns.

On the UK VT60s the pixel orbiter "auto" mode activates the feature only if overscan is selected.


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## Lostonmountain

So I just had to go to a cheap 43" LCD after my 58" 4k set was killed and although I'd already done all the tuning I thought possible I checked this article out and I'd never really thought of turning the sharpness filter to 0, tired it and it very much helped...still a poor picture but it's definitely a better poor picture, thanks.


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## RafaelSmith

These tips are pretty much how I went about setting up my new Sony VPL-HW40ES projector. I have all the various test discs and to be honest, the AVSHD709 provided the best results and even for newbie like me was easy to use and interpret........and cannot beat the price. 

I am however, conflicted when it comes to tip #3....since I seem to like using the Sony's Reality Creation.

I do own a copy of Calman Home Video control. but the meter I have was for my previous LCD TV and cannot be used for projector. Been tempted to buy X-Rite i1Display Pro but hard to justify $250 considering how good my projector looks out of box with little to no adjustments. Really should have sprung the extra $$$ when I first got the Calman and Meter. Live and learn.


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## dholmes54

Someone give me some tips on calibrating my 2015 Vizio m65 4k TV,dark scenes I lose a lot of detail while watching cable TV.Blu-Rays and DVDs look great dark scenes look great,is it my cable system?If I increase briteness or contrast it looks bad,any ideas?thxs


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## speakertester

Orbitron said:


> My secret tip goes back to CRT days and something I still do today: turn the color all the way off and adjust for best black and white picture. Slowly raise color till color saturation of flesh looks natural.


great tip- - doing ASAP! Thanks


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## AVSF458

Does anyone have any tips on Calibrating a SHARP LC80LE857U. My calibration sucks and the TV has been a huge disappointment. 
Has anyone had success with Pro Calibration for this set?

Don't buy any Foxconn TVs or Sharp either if they are still available. Good Riddance.


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## JacobVR

I am a massive home cinema enthusiast and its really nice to see article like this.
Not only that but i would agree with over fifteen years of being a serious movie and home cinema nut that all the information in this article is pretty much bang on.


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## weemscreek

*Thank you*

Thanks for the tips - these look helpful!


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## Mattyo1612

Scott Wilkinson said:


> If you care about picture quality, you can greatly improve the performance of just about any display by following these 12 simple steps.
> 
> As most AVS Forum members know, watching a TV as it comes out of the box is not ideal—it's typically too bright and too blue for the best image quality at home. A professional calibration will ensure that it looks the very best it can, but that can cost several hundred dollars. This is unreasonable for many buyers, especially if the TV was relatively inexpensive—say, less than $2000.
> 
> Does that mean you must live with a bright, blue flame thrower? Not at all—there are several things you can do to greatly improve the picture quality without spending more than a few bucks. Here are 12 tips to help you tune up your TV, which will typically get you 70-80 percent of the way to the best possible picture quality that TV can produce; if you want that last 20-30 percent, you can always hire a pro calibrator—and those of us who are picky about picture quality do so gladly if we can.
> 
> To perform these tasks, you'll need to open the TV's menu system and find the cited controls, which often go by different names in different manufacturers' products. I can't include all the possible names here; I've tried to use the most common names, but you might have to do a bit of sleuthing to determine what the manufacturer of your TV calls these controls.
> 
> 1. Select the most accurate picture mode. In most TVs, this is the Movie or Cinema mode; in some, it might be the Standard mode, and a few even have a Calibrated mode. After selecting this mode, you might think the image looks dim and dull, but give yourself some time to get used to it; the picture will look much more natural and realistic than the out-of-box mode.
> 
> 2. Select the warmest color temperature. In most TVs, the color-temperature settings are often labeled Cool, Normal, and Warm or High, Medium, and Low. The Warm or Low setting is usually the closest to reproducing what the content creators intended. In the Movie or Cinema picture mode, the color temperature often defaults to Warm or Low.
> 
> 3. Turn off all "'enhancement" functions, such as dynamic contrast, edge enhancement, and noise filters. These usually do more harm than good to image quality.
> 
> 4. Turn off overscan, which slightly upscales and crops the image. This is a holdover from the CRT days and is no longer necessary; in a digital display, it softens the image. In the TV's menu, this parameter is often called something like Picture Size or Aspect Ratio, with selections that include various zoom settings; select the setting that displays each pixel exactly as it is in the video signal.
> 
> 5. Turn off frame interpolation, which sharpens motion detail by synthesizing artificial frames between the actual frames in the video signal. But it also creates the soap-opera effect, making movies look like they were shot with a video camera. This parameter goes by many different names; here are some of the more common ones:
> 
> LG: TruMotion
> Panasonic: Motion Picture Setting
> Samsung: Auto Motion Plus
> Sharp: Motion Enhancement
> Sony: Motionflow
> Vizio: Smooth Motion
> 
> 6. Turn on backlight scanning or black-frame insertion to sharpen motion detail without frame interpolation. Some models do not offer separate frame-interpolation and backlight-scanning controls, but combine them into one control; in this case, turn it off to avoid the soap-opera effect. This parameter goes by many different names; here are some of the more common ones:
> 
> LG: TruMotion Clear Plus
> Panasonic: N/A (combined with frame interpolation)
> Samsung: LED Motion Plus, LED Clear Motion
> Sharp: AquoMotion
> Sony: Motionflow Impulse
> Vizio: Clear Action
> 
> 7. Adjust the backlight (LCD) or cell-light (plasma, OLED) control according to the amount of ambient light in the room; the image should not be too bright to watch comfortably over extended periods. Backlight scanning and black-frame insertion can dim the picture considerably, so the backlight should be increased if you use this feature.
> 
> 8. Use a setup disc to adjust the TV's five basic picture controls (brightness, contrast, color, tint, sharpness). For newbies, the Disney World of Wonder (WOW) Blu-ray is excellent; for more experienced users, I recommend Spears & Munsil's HD Benchmark or Joe Kane's Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics. Each of these discs costs around $30. Another option is the AVS 709 HD program available here to download for free. The THX Tune-Up app for iOS and Android devices is very convenient, and it's also free.
> 
> 9. Follow the directions for whichever disc or app you choose to set the brightness (black level) first, then contrast (white level). Go back and check the brightness again; these controls can be somewhat interactive, so you might need to go back and forth a few times to get them both right.
> 
> 10. In most cases, set the sharpness control at 0 or off; higher settings apply edge enhancement that does more harm than good to the image. I've seen at least one TV in which a setting of 0 softened the picture quite a bit, while a setting of 1 was fine.
> 
> 11. Setting the color and tint controls requires you to look through a blue filter at the test pattern or, better yet, setting the TV to display only blue, not red or green. Unfortunately, the blue filters that come with various setup discs aren't always accurate for all types of TVs, leading to misadjusted controls.
> 
> 12. With digital TVs, the tint control rarely needs adjustment, so leave it alone. If your TV has a "blue-only" mode, use that to set the color control; if not, use the blue filter that came with the setup disc or carefully adjust it while looking at content with natural skin tones; they should not look sunburned or sickly green.
> 
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> +1 AVS Forum on Google+


On my Sony KDL-55W800C I notice in Motionflow that when you select Clear, the screen is significantly darker, would this be the Backlight Scanning or Black-frame insertion that is mentioned in the above article? This tv does not have a seperate Motionflow Impulse in the menu


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## Methodical_1

bmcn said:


> If one has time and inclination, results after calibrating with HCFR and i1 Display Pro probe ($150 after discount) are outstanding.
> 
> http://www.avsforum.com/forum/139-d...e-projector-display-calibration-software.html
> 
> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/798930-REG/X_Rite_EODIS3_i1Display_Pro.html




It's time for me to recalibrate as it seems mine has drifted a bit. I already have the i1 Display Pro, so I may give this a try.


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## bmcn

Methodical_1 said:


> It's time for me to recalibrate as it seems mine has drifted a bit. I already have the i1 Display Pro, so I may give this a try.


15 months after my last cal, it's probably time for another.

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/139-d...e-projector-display-calibration-software.html


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## Methodical_1

bmcn said:


> 15 months after my last cal, it's probably time for another.
> 
> http://www.avsforum.com/forum/139-d...e-projector-display-calibration-software.html



Oh man, then I know it's time for me. It's been years since I calibrated, but I've recently been spending more time in the Mancave and noticed the picture just doesn't look as good as I recall. I have been reevaluating my configuration and noticed some errors, so I am checking many of the settings now.


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## David Susilo

Tip 1: hire a pro
Tip 2: pay the pro


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## muslov1

*Ouestion about test disc*

hello, I have a 1080pHD TV (not 4K) and watch blue rays. I have 2 test DVD's, Video Essentials and AVIA guide to HT. these were both produced before the advent of blue ray. Can I still use the test patterns from these older Test discs on my TV or do I need to have one of the current blue ray test discs? thanks


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## kauaidoug

So, after reading all these rather in depth settings and 250$ here and 150$ there, it just doesn't do to pull the TV out (or monitor) and start fiddling with the settings till it looks good?


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## Mattyo1612

muslov1 said:


> hello, I have a 1080pHD TV (not 4K) and watch blue rays. I have 2 test DVD's, Video Essentials and AVIA guide to HT. these were both produced before the advent of blue ray. Can I still use the test patterns from these older Test discs on my TV or do I need to have one of the current blue ray test discs? thanks


The Video Essentials dvd will be ok to do basic settings such as brightness, contrast and basic colour setting with the blue filter. Depending on the model tv you have, it will probably bring the image a bit closer to what it should be than what your initial factory settings were producing on screen... While nothing is going to give the most accurate settings like getting your set professionally calibrated, having the Blu-ray in this disc or the Spears & Munsil will allow you fine tune these settings with a little more accuracy.


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## Strukkalvis

These are some great tips! Really helped me with some picture quality issues on my Sony XBR800. Thanks!


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## Kid Poker

thx tune up connected via hdmi/usb lightening adapter i have to set my tv brightness to 62 contrast to 43
using casting ie airscreen iphone mirroring i leave brightness to default 50 and i can take up the contrast to low 60's 
very confusing


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## David Susilo

Kid Poker said:


> thx tune up connected via hdmi/usb lightening adapter i have to set my tv brightness to 62 contrast to 43
> using casting ie airscreen iphone mirroring i leave brightness to default 50 and i can take up the contrast to low 60's
> very confusing


THX Tune Up does NOT work with 4K. The end result will be VERY wrong.
Oh and by the way, this happened to me this past weekend. Definitely NOT the way to setup your TV


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