How to use Avia?
 

Folks, I happened to recently buy a new RPTV and did some manual tweaking to make picture look good. However, I could make out from some of the posts on this forum that using Avia to adjust picture quality is the right way to go. Now I got Avia and have been playing with it for some time now but I do not seem to get hang of it. I haven't seen picture getting better that I used to be. I 'm sure I'm doing something incorrect. Are there any do's or dont's of using Avia? Can someone point to me some guide or threads on using Avia correctly? Thanks.

Ummm... Insert disc. Hit 'Play.' Follow Instructions for the different adjustments.

Am I missing something here? Avia is, literally, pretty self-explanatory.

If you want more tips (esp. if it's a Mitsubishi), check out hometheaterspot.com.

What drmoze said. Just follow the directions on the calibrations. If you do that, and set it up properly, you'll have a decent pic. There's always the chance that your previous tweakings set it up as well as Avia could, so you're not seeing much to change.

Also... remember to save any changes if your set has such a feature! You may be making adjustments and not saving them. This would account for not noticing a difference.

You may also want to save the changes to a picture preference setting (if you have one). I saved different picture preferences for DVD, SAT & standard OTA.

No offence to renaldow but, it's highly unlikely that his everyday preference would be that close to optimal (Avia). 99% of the world sets the contrast & sharpness WAY out of whack by eye alone. Especially if you've never used a calibration disc. One you have the settings correct, you may think that the picture is too dark at first, but it's not. Also, you may need to adjust for Red Push. This may only be accessable from a service menu.

Best of luck & let us know how you're doing with the changes!

Sonicflood

What would you guys recommend, avia or video essentials?

And is there only one version of avia, i want to make sure i buy the latest version.
i did see that there are 2 video essentials, one called digital video essentials coming out in july.

thanks,

If you want something right now, I recommend Avia. The first VE is very hard to navigate, doesn't have the extensive audio tone tests (such as various sweep tones w/frequency readout to check bass handling & crossover, etc.), and VE doesn't have all 3 color strips (just blue) so you can't estimate or fine-tune color balance.

Sound & Vision's tuneup disc is also made by Avia. I gather it's slightly less complete but I'm not sure of the specific differences. And it's a lot cheaper.

The new digital VE is sure to be improved and I think it'll handle tweaking of HD displays better as well.

The Avia disc is worth every penny. It made a world of difference for me, and it's pretty self-explanatory (as stated above). Just start at the top and work your way down. Be sure you have a long block of uninterrupted time set up, and also it helps to have the lighting in the room at about what it is for your usual viewing.

Most of the test patterns on the Avia disc are for tweaking out your set in the service menus... Geometry, overscan, and so on. That's where the true value of the disc comes in to play.

Those basic adjustments for video (sharpness, contrast, etc) are just that... Basic. Good, but to get the meat of Avia, you'll need to learn how to tweak your set in the service modes.

If the only "tweaking" that you're going to do to your set is adjusting the color levels, tint, sharpness and contrast, go with the Sound & Vision tune up disc and save your money.

If you're serious about tweaking out your set to <i>really</i> improve your picture quality without paying for an ISF tech, buy Avia... Then spend some time reseaching your set on the net and get pretty damn_comfortable with your service menus, ins and outs, known tweaks and so on.

One man's opinion...

Can you recommend some sites for learning how to access service menus? Specifically, I have an early 90s Hitachi RP.

I'll have a looksie... But, right off hand, I would suggest asking and/or searching at the Hitachi forum over at the Spot > http://www.hometheaterspot.com/htsth...t=&Board=UBB63

Thanks. I appreciate the help!

I appreciate some of the decent comments. I struggled with using some of the test patterns and tried to adjust them as close as possible. The difficult one was color and tint one where you have to use a blue filter and look at the blinking squares. Any suggestions how to adjust them?

I was able to find out the service manual for my TV at www.hometheaterspot.com and was faint-hearted to tried it so far. I'm able to get outstanding picture using the progressive scan DVD player. However I found TV picture to be slightly more toward red and bright. Sharpness was also little too much. I'm still trying to understand how best to use the service manu.

Thanks.

I bought the Avia disc last week for my new 36" Sony WEGA. I've only attempted the basic video adjustments so far. Had no trouble with 3 of them, but the white level (picture) adjustment was a pain. Never did see the changes on the graph I was supposed to look for.