Projector Calibration. DIY or hire a pro?

[panteragstk]

I've been thinking about getting my projector calibrated. There are a few things to consider. My receiver has ISF modes built in so if I went with a pro, it would be ISF.

I just got a new bulb installed, so I had to do my own simple calibration. Worked OK, but not perfect. I'd rather not have to pay someone to come out and re-calibrate every time I get a new bulb (which seems to be what is recommended). This brought be to look at some DIY calibration equipment. The one that looks to be very popular is the Spyder 4 Elite. I remember that we had one at Circuit City when I worked there and it was decent. I can't find any reviews of the unit when used to calibrate a projector. I'd also like to have it to calibrate the rest of my displays so that would be a bonus.

What do you guys think? Any experience?

 

[fuzz092888]

You can use the newest Spears and Munsil disc and it will do a good-great job. Then there's always SpectraCal, which will cost you about as much as hiring a pro (possibly less) and will get you spot on results (or so I hear).

SpectraCal CalMAN 5 Home Video Licenses

EDIT: FWIW Potts who does the BD reviews on AVS uses SpectraCal.

 

[panteragstk]

Thanks. I had forgotten about the CalMAN stuff.

 

[mtrycrafts]

...
I just got a new bulb installed, so I had to do my own simple calibration. Worked OK, but not perfect. ...

My question would be if that is all you did, didn't mess with the settings as the bulb aged, same type of bulb, why would it need calibration?

 

[panteragstk]

My question would be if that is all you did, didn't mess with the settings as the bulb aged, same type of bulb, why would it need calibration?

It's not the same type of bulb. I got a generic one instead of one from mitsu. Now that it has more time on it I'll revert to my old calibration and see what it looks like. I was under the impression that you had to re-calibrate after each bulb.

 

[fuzz092888]

It's not the same type of bulb. I got a generic one instead of one from mitsu. Now that it has more time on it I'll revert to my old calibration and see what it looks like. I was under the impression that you had to re-calibrate after each bulb.

I think mtry's point is that, if you missed all the time when you technically should have recalibrated, then why worry about it now.

You should recalibrate after every bulb change and then again after the new bulb breaks in for 50-100 hours and then again every 300-500 hours.

 

[panteragstk]

I think mtry's point is that, if you missed all the time when you technically should have recalibrated, then why worry about it now.

You should recalibrate after every bulb change and then again after the new bulb breaks in for 50-100 hours and then again every 300-500 hours.

Ah, did not know that. I knew after break in it should be calibrated, but not every 300-500 hours. This is my first projector so when I first got it I used low lamp mode. After a while of messing around to see what looked the best I ended up with standard lamp mode for the increased output. I did tweak things quite a bit during most of the time with the first bulb just to get a feel for how a projector acts. With the new bulb I'll leave things alone once dialed in and follow the suggestion of incremental calibrations.

I'll grab the Spears and Munsil disc and see how far that gets me.

Thanks.

 

[fuzz092888]

I use the original S&P disc and I like the results. Although I think that when I replace my bulb I probably end up springing for calman to see how much better, if at all, it is.

Ah, did not know that. I knew after break in it should be calibrated, but not every 300-500 hours. This is my first projector so when I first got it I used low lamp mode. After a while of messing around to see what looked the best I ended up with standard lamp mode for the increased output. I did tweak things quite a bit during most of the time with the first bulb just to get a feel for how a projector acts. With the new bulb I'll leave things alone once dialed in and follow the suggestion of incremental calibrations.

I'll grab the Spears and Munsil disc and see how far that gets me.

Thanks.

 

[panteragstk]

I use the original S&P disc and I like the results. Although I think that when I replace my bulb I probably end up springing for calman to see how much better, if at all, it is.

I will say that with ~25 hours on my new bulb this Electrified (brand) is pretty good for ~$130. We'll see if I get the 3600 hours out of it that I got with the mitsu bulb. It had a bad blue shift when I first started using it so I created this thread to get some advice. That has since gone away. I'll report back once I get the calibration disc.

 

[mtrycrafts]

It's not the same type of bulb. I got a generic one instead of one from mitsu. Now that it has more time on it I'll revert to my old calibration and see what it looks like. I was under the impression that you had to re-calibrate after each bulb.

Well, if you use the same maker and type, I would not think you need one but production bulbs may have a different characteristics in each bulb that may be visible?
If a different brand and type, then it would be a very good idea.
Just don't know how much a production bulb changes, how tight the specs are if there is one.
Certainly a calibration would give a peace of of mind.

 

[panteragstk]

Well, if you use the same maker and type, I would not think you need one but production bulbs may have a different characteristics in each bulb that may be visible?
If a different brand and type, then it would be a very good idea.
Just don't know how much a production bulb changes, how tight the specs are if there is one.
Certainly a calibration would give a peace of of mind.

That's right. Peace of mind is one part, but since it only has ~30 hrs so far it has a noticeable shift in color from left to right. I hope that goes away. If the PJ is on for a while it does, but I left it on for around 2hrs today and it never left. Original bulb did not have that issue. I won't start to worry until the hour meter gets to 100.

 

[lsiberian]

I just looked up settings for mine online and used those. Yeah it's not perfect, but seriously it's really hard for me to tell a difference. I'd rather save 300 bucks for something else.