Pro Plasma Calibration?

[MeaMaximaCulpa]

I have recently bought an LG 60" full HD plasma (60PK550-R), and I notice that there are very few options in terms of menus to calibrate the set properly. In the US version they have a picture wizard, expert menus and even an option for ISF calibration.

Does anyone here know if there are pro calibrators in Thailand for this kind of TV? I take it they will have to be able to access the service menu, and preferably use some sophisticated instruments to set greyscale and all the stuff unavailable (to the normal user) on the Thai version.

I have no equipment or knowledge about doing this myself, even if I should gain access to the service menu, but from what I read it can make a substantial difference in picture quality.

Thanks for your kind assistance!

MMC

[astral]

Try googling "LG Plasma service menu"

Most sets have a code sequence to get you into the service menu

where you will find more advanced settings, like "White Balance"

I know my Samsung has this, but no direct expeience with LG

Another option may be where there is a review of the set and the reviewer

has played around to find optimal settings.

These may not match your set exactly, but can be a good starting point.

[MeaMaximaCulpa]

Thanks Astral,

I have actually now found a way to get into the service menu using a long sequence of codes from a Philips Pronto put into a programmable remote. I have such a remote (Logitech Harmony 900), but I do not dare to start messing with the service menu myself, since the combination of no equipment and no knowledge could mean a bricked unit.

I will try to contact LG, perhaps I can get a technician to come to my house and help me set it up, if I make a small donation to the "technicians' annual ball"? LG has a factory in Rayong from what I have heard, so there must be someone locally that has the required knowledge and equipment. When I had a problem with my current TV a couple of years ago, they were very good in fixing the problem promptly and professionally.

After the break-in period of around 200 hours, when the set has "settled down" I will also try settings I find on the net, but that doesn't replace a proper calibration of greyscale and suchlike. And each set is different, also the ambient light conditions vary. But perhaps I fuss too much over nothing? I have an LG 50PQ30-R which is "HD ready" at 768 lines, and this set has never been calibrated, but gives an incredible picture with DVDs anyways. But now I want that next step up to Bluray quality and bigger screen.

If I find anything of use for others I will report back here!

Brgds

MMC

[cyborgx]

There are calibrators in town, but I've never used them for that specific service. I usually do it myself using various Calibration DVD's and a sound meter. IT's only a quick and dirty approach and cannot match the work of a good calibrator with a light meter, good calibration software and years of experience.

You could start by asking in the top end Home Theatre showrooms (like in Siam Paragorn).

I know a good HT installer named Joe (Thai), but never used his calibration service. The last number I have for him is 081 634-9001, but not sure how much English he speaks.

You really don't need to start messing with the Service Menus. You can do a very decent calibration yourself using the adjustments on the source machines (DVD player etc - do first), then the TV (adjust these settings last last), then perhaps go back and tweak the source machines again.

It's not too difficult to get the basics done and a much improved picture, the complications arrive when you have 8 different source machines, all sending different quality signals, and don't get me started on the sound, which is actually more of a headache than the video, mainly due to the wide range of sound coding systems used these days (from popular MP3 stereo to 7.1 channel Dolby TrueHD) and finding a match between the source material and your TV or Audio Amplifier that doesn't fail due to other problems such as HDCP restrictions.......

Hope that helps and doesn't scare you too much

[MeaMaximaCulpa]

Hi Cyborgx,

And thanks for your help, we seem to be getting a little closer now! I will try out your suggestions, and contact Joe as well. My sources will be mainly DVD upconverted to 1080p, Bluray and SD TV. The latter doesn't matter much, but the two former are important. I connect both using HDMI via an Onkyo 876 receiver, and from what I understand it is probably best to just pass the Blueray signals unaltered through the receiver to the TV. As for DVD, it can be deinterlaced and upscaled in either player, receiver or the TV. Which is best I dunno, when I get the player I can do some tests I guess. Have you got any preferences here?

I will try to get some calibration discs here, I guess Piyanas is the place for suchlike? Any particular discs you want to recommend? (For a manual tweak mainly). If I cannot find them here, I will ask my g/f to pick some up in the USA, she will be going there shortly.

Finally, I do feel I have a good grip on the audio part, I have dual subs, and spent some time placing the speakers as well as I can. I use Audyssey to help optimise the room response, and that plus Dynamic EQ makes a very audible difference (improvement). I will add a carpet to improve further, but I stop short of ugly acoustic panels in the living room!

Again thanks for your help, I will report back later about any progress and if I find out something worth sharing.

MMC

[naidraw66]

Hi Cyborgx,

And thanks for your help, we seem to be getting a little closer now! I will try out your suggestions, and contact Joe as well. My sources will be mainly DVD upconverted to 1080p, Bluray and SD TV. The latter doesn't matter much, but the two former are important. I connect both using HDMI via an Onkyo 876 receiver, and from what I understand it is probably best to just pass the Blueray signals unaltered through the receiver to the TV. As for DVD, it can be deinterlaced and upscaled in either player, receiver or the TV. Which is best I dunno, when I get the player I can do some tests I guess. Have you got any preferences here?

I will try to get some calibration discs here, I guess Piyanas is the place for suchlike? Any particular discs you want to recommend? (For a manual tweak mainly). If I cannot find them here, I will ask my g/f to pick some up in the USA, she will be going there shortly.

Finally, I do feel I have a good grip on the audio part, I have dual subs, and spent some time placing the speakers as well as I can. I use Audyssey to help optimise the room response, and that plus Dynamic EQ makes a very audible difference (improvement). I will add a carpet to improve further, but I stop short of ugly acoustic panels in the living room!

Again thanks for your help, I will report back later about any progress and if I find out something worth sharing.

MMC

Have a look at this website I found it very useful http://www.tweaktv.com/tweak-my-tv/ Just input your TV's make and it will come up with the optimum settings!!

Good luck

IW

[MeaMaximaCulpa]

Hi IW,

I tried your suggestion, and it found my TV, but it didn't have any settings stored for it.

But thanks anyway, I will not give up the quest for the perfect picture!

Brgds

MMC

[cyborgx]

Hi Cyborgx,

And thanks for your help, we seem to be getting a little closer now! I will try out your suggestions, and contact Joe as well. My sources will be mainly DVD upconverted to 1080p, Bluray and SD TV. The latter doesn't matter much, but the two former are important. I connect both using HDMI via an Onkyo 876 receiver, and from what I understand it is probably best to just pass the Blueray signals unaltered through the receiver to the TV. As for DVD, it can be deinterlaced and upscaled in either player, receiver or the TV. Which is best I dunno, when I get the player I can do some tests I guess. Have you got any preferences here?

I will try to get some calibration discs here, I guess Piyanas is the place for suchlike? Any particular discs you want to recommend? (For a manual tweak mainly). If I cannot find them here, I will ask my g/f to pick some up in the USA, she will be going there shortly.

Finally, I do feel I have a good grip on the audio part, I have dual subs, and spent some time placing the speakers as well as I can. I use Audyssey to help optimise the room response, and that plus Dynamic EQ makes a very audible difference (improvement). I will add a carpet to improve further, but I stop short of ugly acoustic panels in the living room!

Again thanks for your help, I will report back later about any progress and if I find out something worth sharing.

MMC

I to have a 60"LG Plasma but an older one. To get into the Service Menu seems to just require simultaneous pressing of the menu button on the remote and unit at the same time, but again I advise to keep away from it since I have seen no manual explaining the settings.

You don't specify what DVD and Bluray players you are using, but as a rule of thumb you get what you pay for, and your most expensive piece of equipment will probably do the best job, that being your receiver (TV manufacturers usually use the cheapest upscaler chip/software they can buy since that is not a TV's main function). I personally use a DVDO iScan Duo http://www.anchorbaytech.com/products/systems/iscanduo.php - everything goes into that and then out to a Projector, TV and Receiver to handle the audio (soon to be 2 Receivers).

My advice would be to play your Blurays at full 1080P therefore no scaling (unless its a 1080i Bluray), and unless you have a high end DVD player, set the DVD output at 480i and let the receiver do the scaling. Of course theres no substitute for trying each and making your own mind up.

I've not been to Piyanas, communicated by e-mail with them, but get occasional SPAM now. I'm sure there are a whole host of Calibration discs now. Quite a few THX movie disks have a basic calibration process on the disk, that will get you started.

I have Avia Guide to Home Theatre for SD and Digital Video Essentials Basic HD for HD. From memory, the Avia disk is much easier to use and understand. It all depends on how much you want to spend on equipment, and how much time you have to learn the calibration process. I am no expert, and would suggest you get these to start with. There are lots of calibration disks around, so if you want to see what people are currently recomending, try reading the reviews at Amazon and/or reading the forums at AVSForum.com (best place to get the latest on all Home Theatre news). Both the disks I have recomended include colour filters in the box.

My recommendations to remember as you proceed:-

Enjoy it - IF it's not fun, it will drive you crazy (like when I have pressed the wrong button on my projector recently and lost all calibration back to defaults!)

When calibrating, set the ambient lighting to what it usually is when you are viewing. Calibrating in a blacked out room will require different settings to watching in daytime with the sun shining in. You can try to set for a happy medium, calibrate only for best viewing (in darkened room), or save 2 calibration settings (one for each lighting situation).

Do not stretch/scale/tweak the picture size if possible. As soon as you lose the 1:1 pixel from source to output, you lose some definition. Good upscaling can look nice, but remember that if it started at 480 lines of detail, that's all you have. The most important thing to consider on upscaling is as you have already discussed, and that is where it is down. If you don't upscale at any point before it gets to the TV, then it will be done by the TV, and that is where people see the difference (i.e. between a good job and a bad job).

Watch at the correct Aspect Ratio. So many TV broadcasts, copy DVD's etc are recorded at the wrong ratio. That means that either people have wide heads and bodies, and look like Oompaloompa's! It is so prevalent, people have got used to it. Almost everywhere you go, if you watch TV in Thailand, it will probably be set at the wrong ration. All bars etc stretch the picture to fill the screen, but if your compare them side by side with a TV set at 4:3 ratio, you will realize how silly it looks. The only exception to this is the HD Truevision sport channel which is a real 16:9 transmission. The small picture quality loss that may occur by correcting the Aspect Ratio is worth it.

Remember that each input to a device will usually have its own seperate calibration settings for colour, brightness, contrast etc.. You will need to check your equipment to understand when making changes, whether they are global, or input/output specific. Usually the manual will not say and its a case of trial and error.

Don't waste money on expensive cables.

I will be recalibration my system in about 6 weeks or so, once all the new equipment has been delivered and installed (a 5.1 and a 7.1 sound system in the same room - 14 speakers!).

Hope that helps.

Cy

[MeaMaximaCulpa]

Hi Cyborgx,

And thanks for the very informative response! I have been very busy lately, and have not have time to follow up anything. But today I am in Bangkok, and will check PowerBuy, PowerMall and the LG stores at the big malls, to see if they have any knowledge about the topic. I will also get my g/f to check with Piyanas and Central, she knows someone in their tech importing arm that might help with both a pro and the calibration discs. We will also try to get hold of Joe, the guy you mentioned.

I will report back my findings, but it might take some time until I have something worth posting about. And then I will probably also have more questions...

Thanks again, I appreciate your help!

Brgds

MMC