Your thoughts on calibrating a "normal" TV.
 

This is the TV I have except I have last year's model ( only differences I'm aware of are cosmetic ): http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTE...pn_%2e&Dept=tv

Is it worth getting the Avia calibration disc for my set?

Do you guys that don't have expensive HDTV WS TV's calibrate your sets?

Your input is appreciated, thanks.

I'd have to say yes. I calibrate the little 20in JVC in my bedroom system. The reason is simple; the images look better, more film like. Plus all of the calibration discs I've seen include audio tests which can help you achieve better overall sound.

If you are concerned about the cost of Avia you could rent one of the calibration discs if there's a store near you that offers this title. Otherwise the Sound & Vision disc is available for about $15. I don't like it as much as Avia, but it's OK. Or you could use the Optimode tests from a THX title.

Every television needs to be calibrated. The factory default settings are never correct.

Once you use a calibration disc (and the Sound & Vision Home Theater Tune-Up is a perfectly fine introductory product for someone who has never tried to calibrate a TV before), you will be disgusted with yourself for never doing it before.

I had not even thought about renting one. Will check around. I have a several year old 37" TV that I very happy with. But could probably use to be "set up" correctly...

The "pro" setting on my Sony HiScan HDTV is REALLY, REALLY, REALLY close to Avia-calibrated settings. REALLY CLOSE! I think I moved two or three of the settings just a hair or two.

I just bought the Avia a couple weeks ago and wasn't that impressed. It nice to think my audio and video are "calibrated" but neither was off that much in the first place. My rear speakers were too loud, and my sub was too low, but for the most part, my theatre was calibrated before I got the disc and didn't even know it.

I've got a nice windowless 15' x 18' room for my theatre. It didn't take too many braincells to figure out how to set up the speakers in balance.. mostly geometry, right? But, I do have a degree in Geophysics and am nearly finished with a certification in surveying and a 2nd degree in Civil Engineering. Maybe someone working a career at McDonalds would find it a bit more challenging. I'm not tooting my own horn, nor insulting those that work meaningless jobs. I'm just saying it was a waste for me.

That’s one way to look at it. Another would be that now you have the satisfaction of knowing your system is properly calibrated. As you said, your sub was too low and your surrounds were too high. That’s the point of calibration. I re-balance the arm on my turntable every month or two. It’s rarely off by much. Even so, I don’t find it a waste of time.

BTW: is you use an SPL meter for the audio tests?

Yours is the exception, not the rule. Most televisions come set with the brightness, contrast, and sharpness cranked to their uppermost limits.

When I calibrate it are these the settings I should only use when watching a movie?

With my Sony I have pre-settings such as Standard, Sports, Movie, and Vivid. I suppose I should turn it to "Movie" and calibrate it on that setting but when watching TV or playing Xbox I put it on standard?

when you calibrate, you are calibrating to the NTSC standard, so it will be very close to correct for most of your sources. In your case, I would calibrate all the presets with AVIA, then adjust say, standard, manually for TV viewing. most often you will only need to adjust the brightness/contrast a few clicks either way. Whatever you do, I wouldn't use any of the presets as-is

Ok, thanks for your help.

I'll just calibrate on the standard setting and keep it on standard on whatever I'm watching.

I suggest following MDX's advice. Calibrate all the settings. Use the movie setting when watching DVDs. Use the standard when watching TV. Use one of the other settings for video games. Your ideal settings for TV will be different than for DVDs, etc.


I did go out and buy an SPL meter. My sub was about 10% too low. My rears were too high by about 5%, or 3-4 dB. Not worth the $60 I spent total. If your audio system has test tones, use them. In my opinion, you should be calibrating your system to your ears anyway, and not some $30 Radio Shack piece of crap.

The only thing your ears can't do is adjust the appropriate sub level.

Does Avia have different calibration settings for Movies, TV, and video games?

I completely disagree - you can't do it by ear, and the radio shack SPL meter is quite accurate at the frequency used by test tones. Even being 1-2dB off makes a huge difference in whether your system sounds like 5 inidividual speakers or one soundstage.

no no no - you misunderstand. there is only one "correct" way for a TV to output color - the NTSC standard (ignoring ATSC/HDTV for now). Getting your set to do this depends on the source being used. With AVIA, you're making sure that when using a DVD player with a properly mastered dvd, you are seeing the correct colors etc. For other sources, since they don't have test signals, you use the settings obtained with avia as a baseline, and adjust the brightness/contrast by eye. For video games it's easy to do once and be done with it, since the x-box or whatever outputs the same signal level all the time. With TV, each station can be somewhat different, so you have to fiddle and find something that works for most of them. but really it should only be adjusting the brightness/contrast (and maybe saturation), as the color/tint/sharpness should be pretty consistent across sources

Ok, I see now, I was confused.

Thanks for your and everyone elses input about this, I've learned a good amount of info.

I agree with mdX. While certainly not in the same league as a good Real Time Analyzer, the inexpensive RS meter is fairly accurate (see adjusted values below); definitely good enough to adjust the channel balance on a home theater system and provides more consistent and accurate results than most people can accomplish using their ears alone. I always use a meter for initial calibraration, then fine tune by ear.

For those requiring greater precision, one could borrow or rent a RTA; some AV shops have these available. Beyond adjusting channel balance, a RTA is a great tool for helping to identify the best speaker and sub locations (e.g. distance from back and side walls for smoothest response) and locating the ideal crossover point.

The following shows the corrected values for the RS analog SPL meter (I pulled these from a review several years ago; sorry, can’t remember the source). Aside from giving an indication of the meter’s accuracy, the values are useful when using sweep tones to identify frequency bumps and dips in your system.

10Hz add 20
12.5Hz add 16.5
16Hz add 11.5
20Hz add 7.5
25Hz add 5
31.5Hz add 3
40Hz add 2.5
50Hz add 1.5
63Hz add 1.5
80Hz add 1.5
100Hz add 2
125Hz add .5
160Hz add -.5
200Hz add -.5
250Hz add +.5
315Hz add -.5
400Hz add 0
500Hz add -.5
630Hz add 0
800Hz add 0
1kHz add 0
1.25kHz add 0
1.6kHz add -.5
2kHz add -1.5
2.5kHz add -1.5
3.15kHz add -1.5
4kHz add -2
5kHz add -2
6.3kHz add -2
8kHz add -2
10kHz add -1
12.5kHz add +.5
16kHz add 0
20kHz add +1