Free HDTV Calibration Procedure

gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
So you bought that new HDTV and the colors just don't POP like they did in the store. The following article on HDTV Calibration explains the do's and don't of calibrating your new TV's blacks, whites, and colors with near professional results and (don't tell installers) you can do it yourself for free!

Read on to find out how.



Read: Free HDTV Calibration Procedure

Tell us how you calibrate your HDTV display.
 
A

Art Slartibart

Audiophyte
Check out the Lagom LCD test site. It shows an interesting number of test screens, including one for gamma calibration.

The viewing angle test is very telling. View the test pattern moving your head from left to right and from top to bottom. CRT, plasma, OLED and high quality LCD screens show an unchanging picture. Poor quality LCD sceens see colours shift from red to green when moving your head around.
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Much easier way to get similar results:
Step 1) Open TV setup menu
Step 2) Find and set "Cinema" picture mode (unfortunately - not all TVs will have it, but likely most will)
Step 3) You're all done. Get a cold beverage and enjoy

p.s: Looks like someone (@Cliff_is) is missing a donkey -
These are great resources, but this article is focusing on free, web-baed options.
 
M

MandM

Junior Audioholic
Much easier way to get similar results:
Step 1) Open TV setup menu
Step 2) Find and set "Cinema" picture mode (unfortunately - not all TVs will have it, but likely most will)
Step 3) You're all done. Get a cold beverage and enjoy

p.s: Looks like someone (@Cliff_is) is missing a donkey -

My 27" Panasonic GAOO doesn't have a cinema picture mode darn it. Was hoping to compare your findings to my calibration using DVE on my Panasonic rp62. Oh well I'm getting a cold beverage anyway!
 
M

mr sarnoff

Audioholic Intern
Very good article

I used the (free) AVS HD709 calibration and sharpness and over scan patterns direct from a USB HDD into my 2015 4K Sony XBR HDR TV and Samsung 64f8500 Plasma to make basic calibration /visual adjustments without a colorimeter with good results but a lot of that always depends on the TV ofc.
the 90% color patterns are decent for all that IMO but basic instructions are there too.

As was mentioned in the aricle .You can buy a Calibration DVD or BD You can also download the (free) AVS HD709 mp4 ,DVD or BD files at AVS forums and use a USB stick or PC also .

Disney Wow is more consumer oriented and well liked and Spears & Munsil is more technical and highly regarded .

I used some AVS HD709 calibration patterns and images to set 4:2:0 video levels and .016 ref.black levels and color saturation so it wont clip colors and detail within the 4:2:0 range for TV and media and 4:4:4 /RGB full on PC input .


FWIW the best result on my Sony XBR is 49-50 on both Sharpness and Black level like any recent Sony HDR set and Sharpness gets soft below 48- 49 and shows edge enhancement at ~ 53 -54 it's virtually impossible to do correctly without a good test pattern.

This Sony XBR panels dynamic range can take a max back-light setting without washing out the colors ,graying the blacks or clipping also YMMV .

I used the same images on my legendary Samsung 1080p 64f8500 Plasma out front and I have day /nite and more vivid than strictly accurate bt709 calibrations stored in both sets also.

I have my 4K HDR Sony XBR with a Triluminous wide color gamut panel remapping the 8 bit 4:2:0 color convincingly to a wider nearly P3 DCI 10 bit color gamut outside of the 2 Cinema modes in bt 2020 color space mode with the caveat to keep the color saturation in the 40's most of the time ☺

All that makes color stripped SAT/CABLE TV look remarkably better as it does with a 5 star blue ray .


TV's like regular SDR 8 bit panel LED TV's make lousy primary and 8 bit color gradations with color banding because of the LED light spectrum for one example example on the 10 bit WCG panels Fire Engine Red ,Navy Blue and Coke a Cola Red and other colors are clearly more realistic like a Plasma without clipping detail at day or nite by remapping the color up to a plausible 10 bits in the Sony or a decent Samsung ........anything else brand wise and it's caveat emptor and may look terrible over saturated or solarized like all that but keep on mind we an see 14 bit color so one can imagine 8 bit color is way off by billions of colors and even without color re mapping these WCG HDR sets may have have substantially better color than an SDR LCD set anyway and I have enough plausibly decent TV's here for a decent frame of reference like all that .

Color wise without clipping detail the only thing that comes decently close to the new WCG HDR Sonys and Samsung's outside of LG OLED is the the legendary Samsung 64f8500 Plasma here and legendary VT/VZ Panasonic Plasma's and ofc. the legendary Pioneer Kuro's I've seen .

If you have one of these above you are missing out although some of the down market Plasma's are certainly very good in thier own.

I had a PN 51f 5300 Samsung plasma just before the PN 64f8500 Sammy Plasma and that thing still ain't no joke all day ☺

I recommend an inexpensive HDTV LED adhesive back-light strip or up light for any TV at night it lessens eye strain and enhances already very good contrast on a decent VA LCD panel or poor contrast on an IPS LCD panel and it doesent hurt a decent Plasma either .


One or two of these 65D white Antec Bias Lighting for HDTV kits will do, one strip is for a 51-55 even 60 -65 easy even though it say 51" " they have them $17.49 cheap at Amazon or maybe something at one of the sponsors here for any number of more sophisticated ambient back lights and maybe even some D65 genuinely calibrated back lights also .

I'm not a fan of colored TV panel ambient back lights ofc. YMMV .

Of course I'm not saying a competently used enthusiasts colorimeter and software and or a professional calibrator wont give better results but it looks pretty darn good here on the 2015 4K HDR Sony and Samsung 1080p 64f8500 Plasma above and another 2013 1080P 40"Sony an2013 1080p 42"LG LED here anyway .

I don't feel I need to have my TV 's professionally calibrated because the Sony XBR 4K HDR and Samsung 64f8500 can make your jaw drop just like they are and the Somy cinema home and cinema pro modes are known to be nearly dead accurate and I didn't change anything in those modes other than maxing the back light but I more often use my own more vivid custom /standard mode calibrations anyway ☺


At the very least a casual visual calibration with test patterns will give you a starting point and or some knowledge for minor preference tweaks without clipping details and shadow details and overs saturated colors like in store torch modes and some factory pre sets .

Note: with production and environmental lighting tolerances being what they are copying settings off the web is not usually a good thing .same for some factory presets although the movie /cinema /theater pre set modes tend to be more accurate for approximate film content calibration and bt709 standards .



Check out the Video below and see what proper basic test patterns look like .

ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKRcpCQJW8M
 
Last edited:
M

mr sarnoff

Audioholic Intern
Much easier way to get similar results:
Step 1) Open TV setup menu
Step 2) Find and set "Cinema" picture mode (unfortunately - not all TVs will have it, but likely most will)
Step 3) You're all done. Get a cold beverage and enjoy

p.s: Looks like someone (@Cliff_is) is missing a donkey -

All that depends on the TV but some of them are at least nearly accurate to D65 white and bt709 like that .....OTOH all that may not look so hot on the usual color stripped CATV/SAT DBS HDTV either ☺
 
W

WaWa

Audiophyte
Of course there are several ways to do a good calibration of the TV-image and there are as many preferences. The main message in the described procedure here is to do a very good setup of a black and white image first and only after this adjusting the color.

The pictures proposed are widely used to calibrate monitors and printers. They are the first choice in the graphic arts and are used to calibrate printing presses as well. They are free to use and easy to find via the links in the article.

We hope that many people reading this article will use it and enjoy a perfect image together with good sound as it is easy and cost nothing.
 
Dra'vek

Dra'vek

Audiophyte
I used the Spears & Munsil HD Benchmark 2nd Edition disc to calibrate my Sony KDL46EX500 television. Although I calibrated it correctly, as far as I can tell, the picture now looks muted/dull regardless of the room lighting conditions. Does anyone have any suggestions? The colors all look right. Again, just duller. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
D

DigitalD

Audioholic Intern
Hello, does anyone know what to do or how to use the free “Sony” Easter egg calibration tests? Spider-Man Homecoming has different tests on its Blu-Ray and it’s 4K Blu-ray via HDR10. Type 7669 on the movie main menu and a bunch of tests pop up. Does anyone know what to do here?
 
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