How can i better my 1080p blu ray picture?

Question

Ok i recently got a 40 inch 1080p 30000:1 contrast ratio TV and a blu ray player bdp-1500 all HDMI hookups etc.

Now when i was at the store looking at displays i felt as if i can almost touch the TV and feel trees, or touch the people and feel the texture of their skin or the walls behind them.

so i got a better TV than the one on display. When i hooked it all up it was beautiful, but not what i seen on the displays. i see a bit of a "grain" and colors arent as vivid

how can i achieve that same picture quality without paying 150 bucks or more for professional calibration? i was thinking about using the THX optimizer on the Star Wars disc but thats not an HD optimizer.

any recommended adjustments? or advice?

Answer 1

Well first of all the number of the cotrast ratio itself means nothing, while contrast ratio is important any company can make up any number they want, there is no industry standard to measure.  Secondly the "better" tv you bought may not have as fast a refresh rate/response time as the one on display, which would contribute to the grainy aspect you are seeing.  Hope this helps explain.

Answer 2

A little known secret about HT shops, is that sometimes there are "special discs that are "enhanced" even more so than regular Blurays.  I once challanged a salesman to open up a regular copy of a Bluray movie playing and compare it directly to the "demo scene disc" that was playing.  He tried to tell me that buying this spanking new TV was the only reason the picture was so good....yeah right, BTW he would'nt do do the comparison, too bad he would have made a sale if he could prove to me that the "enhanced disc: wasnt the reason and it was the TV.

Also look at the display shown in the store.  Most likely it was a smaller screen size than the one you have at home, the smaller the screen size the "sharper" the picture will look.

Also some higher end stores will have their TV's professionally calibrated (which is what you are trying to avoid.)

I would suggest buying a calibration disc like Avia or DVE HD calibration disc to get the most of your TV without spending the big bucks.  Next I would suggest a descent surge protector to help clean up the "dirty" power.  No you don't have to spend hundreds on Monster brand, just go to OfficeMax or Staples and look for Tripplite Isobar, which will do the same thing for about 60.00  Also look at Belkin, or APC brands also.  It does clean up the image.