My thoughts via
http://realht.info :
@Audyssey should merge with @SpectraCal for the ultimate auto setup.
A while back, Audyssey was preparing to announce a new product/technology, and I started dreaming of pie in the sky. As it stood, you could purchase an Audio/Video receiver that comes with a little mic. You setup your speakers, connect the mic, press a button, and Audyssey takes care of the rest. Speaker distance, levels, crossovers, and EQ options are all calibrated automatically. What used to require several pieces of hardware, software, and a fair amount of user knowledge could now be performed by my grandmother. Life was good.
So, I thought to myself, what if Audyssey could do the same thing with video? Instead of plugging in a mic, you plug in a camera. Then, software built into the TV (display) or even an AVR adjusts the image settings to give you the perfect picture. Include multiple settings for multiple lighting conditions, maybe even settings that change on the fly based on a light sensor built into the TV bezel, and you’ve got a real winner.
As it turns out, the Audyssey announcement was an iPod dock, like we need more of those. Oh well.
Fortunately, SpectraCal, with their CalMan software, is looking to pounce on missed opportunities. New Panasonic TVs will have a mode that automatically adjusts brightness, color, contrast…even white balance…with minimal user input. It doesn’t appear they’ll be bundling a colorimeter (i.e. Light Microphone), but it certainly lowers the level of user knowledge needed to get professional-caliber video from your consumer set.
I can only hope that, in a few years, a single microphone/camera on a tripod set at the listening/viewing position works with built-in software to give us the best home theater experience possible without having to hire the Geek Squad.
P.S. Don’t hire the Geek Squad, hire an ISF calibrator.