I’m finding it shocking to see how many people are spending thousands of pounds of their hard earned cash on fancy LCD and Plasma TV’s and then not bothering to set them up properly. I recently went to a friends house and he has just invested in a new Pioneer plasma which is a fantastic TV. The OTB (out of the box) colours were pretty decent but nothing compared to what the TV was capable of one a simple grayscale calibration had been done using the DVE (Digital Video Essentials) disc. So since I’m almost on 1000 posts I thought I’d try and contribute something useful to the DW community by hopefully getting some of you guys a better picture from your existing setup.
Basic guide to calibrating your LCD T V or Plasma using HD Test Patterns
Firstly you’ll need to grab a copy of DVE Essentials from the usual places. Then just follow the simple instructions below on how to setup your TV for its best brightness and contrast settings. This isn’t an extensive guide but rather one just to introduce you to the world of a calibrated picture. I’ve taken the best bits from various guides and stuck them together hopefully in an easy to follow format. This is not my own work but bits taken from AV Forums and other useful calibration sites.
Contrast & Brightness – Normal Video Levels
In Title 13, Chapter 2 of DVE, navigate to the SMPTE RP-133 test pattern. This pattern can be used to set contrast and brightness. To adjust the black level you adjust the brightness control. To adjust the white level you adjust the contrast control. The contrast level should be adjusted so that the inner 100% white box has a darker square just visible within it. The brightness level should be adjusted so the inner 0% black box has a lighter square just visible within it. Toggle between the two settings until you can get the boxes appearing exactly as they should be.
Contrast White Levels
Go to Title 12, Chapter 14. The pattern consists of vertical bars ranging from white to black and vice versa. Take a close look at the upper half of the pattern. We are interested in the white bar with the dots in it. Try and adjust the contrast so that the white bar with the dots is different to the white bar just to the left of it. Both will initially look the same but with some tinkering you can get the two bars to be distinguishable from one another.
Brightness and Black Levels
Go to Title 12, Chapter 13. The pattern consists of 3 black bars either side of a 20% gray box. We are going to use this pattern to set the basic black levels by making all the black bars appear on screen at once. We need to adjust the brightness levels until we can get the TV to look as black as possible. If you can see moving pixels around the blacker than black bar you need to adjust the brightness level down until the pixels are no longer visible.
Go to Title 12, Chapter 14. We are interested in the lower half of the screen. Take a close look at the black bar with the dots in it. Adjust the brightness until you can distinguish between the black bar with the dots and the bar just to the left of it.
Adjusting Contrast Levels
Go to Title 13, Chapter 2. Adjust contrast so the inner 100% white box has a darker square just visible within it.
Bright White Levels
Go to Title 12, Chapter 14. We need to adjust the contrast so the upper white bar with dots is just distinguishable from the white bar to the left of it.
Legal Video Range
Go to Title 7, Chapter 2. We need to adjust the brightness so that the outer black bar matches the colour of the background and the inner 2% black bar is just visible.
Pure Black Levels
Go to Tile 12, Chapter 13. Adjust the brightness levels until all three bars become visible. Once this is done go to Title 12, Chapter 14. Adjust the brightness so the lower black bar with dots is just distinguishable from the black bar to the left of it.
Adjusting sharpness
Download the attached crossbar test pattern. Look at the centre of the test patter. If you can see a white halo in the middle of the screen you have too much sharpness in your picture. If you can see a halo type effect on the lines your picture is too sharp. Just reduce the sharpness until the halo effect is gone.
If you guys want me to upload the images above for you I can do so. All you would then need to do is display them in full screen mode on your TV screen, but you would be missing out on the rest of the discs abilities to further calibrate your TV set.
For those of you that are watching your content off a HTPC I would really recommend that you check out the following article for colour correction. It is a bit technical but the end results are excellent and well worth the hard work put into it. Novices this article is not for you, stick with the DVE basic calibration.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=912720
Any questions on the above feel free to ask!
Basic guide to calibrating your LCD T V or Plasma using HD Test Patterns
Firstly you’ll need to grab a copy of DVE Essentials from the usual places. Then just follow the simple instructions below on how to setup your TV for its best brightness and contrast settings. This isn’t an extensive guide but rather one just to introduce you to the world of a calibrated picture. I’ve taken the best bits from various guides and stuck them together hopefully in an easy to follow format. This is not my own work but bits taken from AV Forums and other useful calibration sites.
Contrast & Brightness – Normal Video Levels
In Title 13, Chapter 2 of DVE, navigate to the SMPTE RP-133 test pattern. This pattern can be used to set contrast and brightness. To adjust the black level you adjust the brightness control. To adjust the white level you adjust the contrast control. The contrast level should be adjusted so that the inner 100% white box has a darker square just visible within it. The brightness level should be adjusted so the inner 0% black box has a lighter square just visible within it. Toggle between the two settings until you can get the boxes appearing exactly as they should be.
Contrast White Levels
Go to Title 12, Chapter 14. The pattern consists of vertical bars ranging from white to black and vice versa. Take a close look at the upper half of the pattern. We are interested in the white bar with the dots in it. Try and adjust the contrast so that the white bar with the dots is different to the white bar just to the left of it. Both will initially look the same but with some tinkering you can get the two bars to be distinguishable from one another.
Brightness and Black Levels
Go to Title 12, Chapter 13. The pattern consists of 3 black bars either side of a 20% gray box. We are going to use this pattern to set the basic black levels by making all the black bars appear on screen at once. We need to adjust the brightness levels until we can get the TV to look as black as possible. If you can see moving pixels around the blacker than black bar you need to adjust the brightness level down until the pixels are no longer visible.
Go to Title 12, Chapter 14. We are interested in the lower half of the screen. Take a close look at the black bar with the dots in it. Adjust the brightness until you can distinguish between the black bar with the dots and the bar just to the left of it.
Adjusting Contrast Levels
Go to Title 13, Chapter 2. Adjust contrast so the inner 100% white box has a darker square just visible within it.
Bright White Levels
Go to Title 12, Chapter 14. We need to adjust the contrast so the upper white bar with dots is just distinguishable from the white bar to the left of it.
Legal Video Range
Go to Title 7, Chapter 2. We need to adjust the brightness so that the outer black bar matches the colour of the background and the inner 2% black bar is just visible.
Pure Black Levels
Go to Tile 12, Chapter 13. Adjust the brightness levels until all three bars become visible. Once this is done go to Title 12, Chapter 14. Adjust the brightness so the lower black bar with dots is just distinguishable from the black bar to the left of it.
Adjusting sharpness
Download the attached crossbar test pattern. Look at the centre of the test patter. If you can see a white halo in the middle of the screen you have too much sharpness in your picture. If you can see a halo type effect on the lines your picture is too sharp. Just reduce the sharpness until the halo effect is gone.
If you guys want me to upload the images above for you I can do so. All you would then need to do is display them in full screen mode on your TV screen, but you would be missing out on the rest of the discs abilities to further calibrate your TV set.
For those of you that are watching your content off a HTPC I would really recommend that you check out the following article for colour correction. It is a bit technical but the end results are excellent and well worth the hard work put into it. Novices this article is not for you, stick with the DVE basic calibration.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=912720
Any questions on the above feel free to ask!
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