Professional ISF calibration is the only true method to calibrate a TV to derive its optimal settings. No disc can get beyond the preset menus (i.e. into the professional calibration menus that are hidden). All of the settings that were thrown out are based on someone else's TV and someone else's viewing environment - and is quite unlikely to be accurate for the next person. If you want to use it a as a starting point, great, go ahead and tweak away. Not everyone wants to spend the $300-400 for a professional calibration. Now why someone will soend $2K+ on a TV and skimp on the ISF calibration is beyond me. And to clear up some confusion - anyone with multiple viewing settings (custom or pre-set) on their TV can have a professional ISF calibrator set them for different viewing situations. I did, so I know it can be done. I have different settings for my Blu-ray, my HD-DVD, and night/day watching. All-in, I have 4 professionally calibrated settings to be exact.
DieUCLA, That DVE disc got pretty low ratings on Amazon. Is that the best one available in roughly the same price range? I'm assuming it worked for you or else you wouldn't have recommended it.
There is a newer version of the HD DVE disc that just came out with a MUCH better user interface (logical menus, etc.)!! Be sure to grab that one.
Gator, I have the DVE and Avia disks and prefer Avia. The Avia has a much easier to understand user interface and it does a good job. I have not tried the new HD DVE disk but it's suppose to be easier to use and understand than the previous version.
The Link Is this the newer/better one? I don't have Blu-Ray or HD-DVD, but I want to calibrate for HD content, i.e. satellite TV.
That's the old one - the new one is coming out in 2 weeks, I believe. But, you'll need an HD-DVD or Blu-ray player (and the right format of the disc) to use it. The new one is not a "combo" disc with an SD side to it. The new one is dubbed "HD Basics"
So what's the best one to get if I only have a standard DVD player? Could you please link it so I know I have the right one?
Any idea how much the new one will cost in BD format? Also HornGrad, did you just hire the professional ISF calibrator to come to your house once, and then use the DVD after that point? It seems like as your Panny plasma starts to dim, you would need it to be re-calibrated on a regular basis.
GatorDave, The Link Thats the one I used. From a brief glance at the reviews, it seems most complain about its user interface which is admittedly clumsy. There is a write up out there on how to use all the different patterns they throw up there and what to do with them (though the explanations they provided on the DVD were more than adequate to me). Here is the write up that I used :The Link Its not as hard as those reviews make it out to be in my opinion. Its a bit clumsy at first but it gets the job done. If you need help with it if you buy it, I'd be more than happy to assist.
Thanks for the help. I just placed my order for the DVE at Amazon. For only $25, I really don't have anything to lose. If it sucks, I expect a full reimbursment from you DieUCLA.
Hope you are in Austin then and then I'll just come and do it for ya Then again, it might be cheaper to give you $25 than spend the gas to drive over.
