Is it really important to have calibration on an LCD television?

Question

Is it really important to have calibration on an LCD television?

Answer 1

not on an LCD, factory settings are more than sufficiant, but if you want to change things do it to how you think it improves the picture.  Calibration is a waste of money. Dont let Best Buy convince you into doing it.

Answer 2

Very, very few consumers need a professional display calibration. With few exceptions many of today’s displays are much improved over those of the past and have at least one display or picture mode that will provide acceptable grayscale performance straight out of the box. Consumers that purchase a good quality, well-designed display will rarely benefit from a professional calibration not to mention that such a service could potentially make your picture fidelity worse if you were unfortunate enough to hire a less than competent calibration service. Furthermore, there are many consumers that simply will not enjoy an accurate, optimized and/or “calibrated” video image while others cannot because their viewing environment is less than optimal (or in some cases because a consumer has color deficient vision.)



Like most consumers your best bet (assuming you own a reasonably well designed, well built LCD TV,) is to purchase or rent one or more of the popular display optimization (aka “calibration”) discs listed below in order to properly optimize your display’s settings. If after attempting to optimize your TV picture you’re still dissatisfied then you may want to contact one of the calibration services I’ve listed below. However, under no circumstance do I recommend that a consumer pay $250 to $400 for a professional display calibration on a television which has an MSRP of roughly less than five times the cost of the calibration.



######## RESOURCES ########



I purchased a Sony 52" XBR4 LCD TV on Best Buy?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...



Calibration LCD TV?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...



Is D6487K too low of a color temperature for an LCD TV?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...



How to calibrate an HDTV?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...

(Additional resources)

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Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics (Blu-ray or HD DVD)

Digital Video Essentials Pro (DVD)

http://www.videoessentials.com

Ovation Multimedia Avia II (DVD)

http://www.ovationmultimedia.com/product...

DisplayMate (Multimedia Edition or Windows Video Edition)

http://www.displaymate.com/complete.html



(Note: “Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics” on would be the best choice if you had to pick only one disc.)

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CNET’s quick guide to TV calibration

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6463_7-5085...

Video: How to Calibrate Your TV

http://reviews.cnet.com/Calibrate_your_T...



Calibrating your TV

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=...



Sound and Vision Magazine - TV Tweaks - Part One House Calls

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article...



AWH - How to Calibrate a Television FAQ

http://myweb.accessus.net/~090/how2adj.h...



Grayscale Calibration of Home Theater Televisions

http://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/calibr...



Learn to Calibrate your LCD Television

http://www.lcdtvbuyingguide.com/lcdtv/lc...



Calibration 101

http://www.proavmagazine.com/industry-ne...

Running The Gamut(s)

http://www.proavmagazine.com/industry-ne...

Hitting The Mark

http://www.proavmagazine.com/industry-ne...

Selling Calibration Services

http://www.proavmagazine.com/industry-ne...



Video Display Calibration

http://www.sencore.com/products/AVRFCali...

Adjusting Five User Controls on a Display to Maximize Performance – Flash

http://www.sencore.com/newsletter/VP300....

Calibration – What Is Wrong with This Picture?

http://www.sencore.com/newsletter/July05...

Index of Articles Related to Display Calibration

http://www.sencore.com/newsletter/archiv...



TweakTV

http://www.tweaktv.com



Imaging Science Theatre 2000 Special Edition

http://www.widescreenreview.com/wsr_issu...



Michael TLV Tips

http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/experttip...

Keohi HDTV - Expert Tips - Panel of Experts

http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/experttip...



ISF Calibration Discussion and Information

http://www.avforums.com/forums/forumdisp...



AVS Forum - Display Calibration

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisp...

AVS Forum - LCD Flat Panel Displays

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisp...



Joe Kane Productions - Resources

http://www.videoessentials.com/resources...



Charles Poynton:

“Brightness” and “Contrast” Controls

http://www.poynton.com/notes/brightness_...

Gamma FAQ

http://www.poynton.com/notes/colour_and_...

Color FAQ

http://www.poynton.com/notes/colour_and_...

http://www.poynton.com/ColorFAQ.html

Color Technology and Resources

http://www.poynton.com/Poynton-color.htm...

http://www.poynton.com/notes/links/color...

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TweakTV

http://www.tweaktv.com



Imaging Science Foundation

http://www.imagingscience.com



Though there may be many other qualified individuals, the following display calibration professionals are some of the best currently available if you want or need a calibration from a competent professional. Each service provider uses high performance calibration equipment accompanied by ample experience and an excellent reputation.



W. Jeff Meier - AccuCal

http://www.accucal.org



Lion Audio-Video Consultants

http://www.lionav.com



Kevin Miller

http://www.isftv.com



Busch Home Theater

http://www.buschhometheater.com/isf_cali...

 

Answer 3

It was for us.  We had satellite plus a 360 and for a while nothing seemed to sync up.