ISF Calibration – my experience...

[edwelly]

Hello all – I had my TV ISF Calibrated this past Saturday by Chad B. - http://www.hdtvbychadb.com/ -

Chad arrived at 11:00 AM and left the house at 8:30 PM. I also had him calibrate my stereo as well. While I can’t go into depth about everything he did (I left him alone to work his magic) I can say that other than a couple bathroom breaks, he worked the ENTIRE time. I found Chad to be extremely knowledgeable, helpful and a perfectionist.
My TV looks completely different now; I can actually see detail in shadows and dark scenes. The sound from my stereo is so well blended now. I could not get over the difference in both. I feel like I am in-gulfed in the movie now, not just simply hearing it. My wife can even tell a difference.
The biggest thing he did was tweaking my SD channels. I had posted her last week that I hooked up my set using the HDMI and found it to be a worse picture than the components. Chad corrected all of that. SD channels look MUCH better than they ever have. Of course, HD channels look AWESOME...

After Chad left, I found myself smiling uncontrollably at the fact the all of this improvement only cost me $414.00. It would the single best investment I made in the entire system. Chad drove over 3 hours one way as well...

So if you are thinking about having your system ISF calibrated, I cannot recommend Chad B. enough...

Take care and thanks again Chad!!!

 

[jaxvon]

Sounds like your system has been getting a ton of awesome upgrades recently, and for not that much money. Perhaps it will stave off the hardware-upgrade bug for a little while longer

 

[edwelly]

Yepper... And I am LOVING IT!!!
I am still toying around with adding a 6th channel and or a new sub. I have a Paradigm PDR-10, but I having been looking at PB10 or PB12 from SVS. I really like a front firing sub as I tend to think they sound better for music.
Your thoughts?

 

[Methost]

Can you explain what ISF calibration is? It sounds like he just took all your hardware and set it up for you. $400 seems like a good price to have this done and done right, and it's something I too would consider doing.

Did he calibrate your Audio as well as your TV?

 

[jaxvon]

That's basically it. The ISF calibration is for your display only. He will set up the colors, gray levels, etc. so your display is performing at its optimal level. The audio calibration is $65 according to his website where he level matches with an SPL meter, sets up bass management, and makes sure stuff is hooked up correctly. Unfortunately, it looks like he only does work in Ohio, WV, and VA. Maybe if you bribed him he'd come up here to Michigan...

 

[Methost]

Well I wasn't really thinking that he would come up. But with all the high-end HT shops in oakland country (three in a 2 block stretch on Woodward) that someone offers this service, and is local.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Well I wasn't really thinking that he would come up. But with all the high-end HT shops in oakland country (three in a 2 block stretch on Woodward) that someone offers this service, and is local.

Check the ISF link at that web link for locations near you

 

[edwelly]

That's basically it. The ISF calibration is for your display only. He will set up the colors, gray levels, etc. so your display is performing at its optimal level. The audio calibration is $65 according to his website where he level matches with an SPL meter, sets up bass management, and makes sure stuff is hooked up correctly. Unfortunately, it looks like he only does work in Ohio, WV, and VA. Maybe if you bribed him he'd come up here to Michigan...

Correct on everything except I do not live in Ohio, WV or VA - I live in Indiana. I emailed him and asked him what he would charge and he said $414. I probably could have done some of the audio stuff he did BUT for $65, it was well worth it. He spend about 2 hours working on my audio system. One of the things I liked was the fact he has a better ear than me and was able to tweak some placements and the levels of my center channel. I had previously done some of this but he took it several steps further and I can really tell a difference.