Author: MJT
Making Those Colors Pop with HDTV Calibration
One of the reasons why HDTV is so popular, especially for
home-theater systems, is the promise of a stunningly lifelike picture with the
most amazing colors. Straight out of the box however, chances are that most of
the manufacturer's presets for your HDTV color calibration will make things
worse instead of better. In fact, professionals who install home theaters offer
calibration for your HDTV as one of their services (for an extra fee). There
was even an article published on cnet.com a few years ago about one
professional home-theater consultant named Kevin Miller. Miller charged $400
for his HDTV calibration services! That might sound like a lot of money to
anyone who hasn't invested in one of these sets. As it was pointed out in the
article though, if you're going to spend thousands on a HDTV for your home
theater then what's a little extra? You might as well get the HDTV calibration
done to get the best picture that you can and to really make the colors pop.
Apparently, Miller was even hired by Hitachi
as a consultant to give the company advice on their HDTV color calibration.
Still, you don't really have to spend hundreds on the calibration of your HDTV
if you have a good eye for colors, contrast, and brightness. A HDTV is still a
TV, just like the older analog models after all.
Setting the Features
You should avoid making the picture overly bright for one
thing. This may be somewhat difficult to judge, but a good idea might be to pop
in a DVD with an even mixture of night (or at least dark) scenes and day
scenes. You may want to try a classic black-and-white film to check the
contrast and brightness as well. Too much of a good thing can be bad,
especially with contrast and brightness, as it can produce a grainy image.
Plus, overdoing it can shorten the life-span of a plasma HDTV. Colors can be a
lot easier to figure out if you have a knack for it. Just be sure to shut off
the presets and extra features before doing anything. Hopefully, you have an
image or scene with which you're familiar for your HDTV calibration.
Something with strong reds and blues may make things easier
(like an American flag for example) to adjust those particular settings. After
all, too much red turns blue purple and visa versa. You also might want to
freeze a nature scene with grass and bright flowers if you're adjusting your
green levels. If the flowers start turning sickly, you know you're greens are
too strong. There are some online guides and instructional DVDs for anyone who
wants to do their own HDTV calibration, so give it a shot! You can always reset
your settings and call in the professionals if it doesn't work out.
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