TV’s – anyone use a calibration disc?

Getting a new TV soon and done a bit of reading on calibration and getting it set up correctly out of the box.
Anyone use a calibration disc and, if so, is it worth getting one and which one?
There seems to be a few options like Spear & Munsil, Disney WOW..

Assuming it’s a smart tv I just used a video off YouTube. Worked well, although the settings out of the box were almost spot on

If you have an Apple TV, download the THX tune up app on to your iPhone. It uses your iPhone camera and ATV to calibrate your TV, it makes it really easy to calibrate.

Can’t you just wait until the Trade Test Transmission comes on? It’s usually on BBC2 during the daytime.

https://www.rtings.com

Search for your TV follow the guide then tweak to your liking, although THX tune sounds interesting.

^^^ :-)

I have such vivid memories of that screen as a kid (especially so as my dad was a TV engineer so always had a TV or two out in the kitchen repairing them whilst mum made tea).

Apparently it’s back on!

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/4214042/Test-card-girl-bemused-by-her-return-to-British-television.html

Apparently it’s back on!

Like, er 10 years ago.

Why do you need to calibrate a telly? If it looks ok, it’s ok, surely.

Why do you need to calibrate a telly? If it looks ok, it’s ok, surely.

Because instead of being Ok it can be superb.

Good to see so many fellow Scarfolk residents on the forum 😂

Because instead of being Ok it can be superb.

Ok, if it looks superb, then it is superb, surely.

Yes but that involves calibration. It makes a bit difference from the factory settings.

I know a lot about calibration. (I’ve just prepared material for Discovery for delivery.)

Viewing calibration falls into two categories:

1) Basic calibration

A basic calibration disc or file which you use on your display device get the correct black and white levels. And also Turning off electronic features such as auto motion / adaptive black levels and all that rubbish.

That’s 75% of the battle.

2) Advanced Calibration. (Trickier)

An advanced calibration will look at the above plus tracking your greyscale, setting your colour targets etc. For that you will need an X-rite i1 or Spyder variant.

Films in particular are colour graded in light controlled environments with a lot of skilled emphasis on reference colour targets -so the Director can give you a precise image.

You can recreate that at home with most modern display devices and a lot of practice. Ideally you also need light control too.

We have calibrated monitors here for studio/production work – and back home I have a projector set up to REC 709 which gives you a decent HD (not perfect) representation of what the film-maker intended.

Cinema output is P3 standard and home stuff is just starting to get there.

You should shoot for REC-709 or sRGB and a Gamma of 2.2 – 2.4

Most display devices come with out of the box profiles – most aren’t really that accurate but they’re better than nothing.

I’d lend you my Video Essentials disc, but you might struggle to play a Laserdisc…

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Video-Essentials-Basics-Blu-ray/dp/B000V6LST0

Have a look on AVForums, search for your TV model number. Unless it’s something obscure there’s a good chance that someone’s already done it and posted their settings.

Otherwise, as Rone said, turn off all the crap that’s designed to make it look good in a showroom.

I have such vivid memories of that screen as a kid (especially so as my dad was a TV engineer so always had a TV or two out in the kitchen repairing them whilst mum made tea).

My grandad was a tv repair man too. So we both know all this calibration stuff is nonsense. What TVs need is a well placed firm authoritative slap. Think of them like pack animals. Forget about Gamma- you, the viewer, need to establish yourself as the Alpha.

I do a similar job to rone and agree with all the comments. Also I second what’s said about AV forums being a very valuable resource. You should be able to get to a retty decent picture from what other have found out and that would be good enough for most people.

My grandad was a tv repair man too. So we both know all this calibration stuff is nonsense.

I’d hazard a guess here but I don’t think TVs were the same as they are now, plus even 40 years ago TVs has colour adjustment settings.

What TVs need is a well placed firm authoritative slap.

Of course back in the day it was a perfectly acceptable fixing technique when they had valves and all that gubbins that would respond well to being kicked.

Solid state tech and dry solder joints, innit.

What TVs need is a well placed firm authoritative slap.

Percussive maintenance.

Percussive maintenance.

I like this. I shall use this in conversation over the weekend.

Of course back in the day it was a perfectly acceptable fixing technique when they had valves and all that gubbins that would respond well to being kicked.

it was a valid philosophy in all aspects of repair and maintenance:

cars, TVs, animal husbandry, parenting, policing, bereavement counselling, eye surgery.

I may have just summarised your itinerary for the weekend

:-)

Not sure how the kids will respond but I might just give it a go :-)

Clicked on this thread by accident… so informative AND funny. You people rock.

Not sure how the kids will respond

depends what colour you want to be.

I have such vivid memories of that screen as a kid (especially so as my dad was a TV engineer so always had a TV or two out in the kitchen repairing them whilst mum made tea).

My grandad was a tv repair man too. So we both know all this calibration stuff is nonsense. What TVs need is a well placed firm authoritative slap. Think of them like pack animals. Forget about Gamma- you, the viewer, need to establish yourself as the Alpha.

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Is most of my family signed up on this site :D

depends what colour you want to be.

Black and blue?

Just do it by eye (that’s if you think it will bother you)

I work every day on a calibrated Eizo CG monitor and know colour inside out but for the tv I just added a tiny bit of green to offset a slight magenta bias of about 5cc and even then things will shift with different broadcasts/Netflix/prime etc. I have a datacolour spyder puck but didn’t see the need to go digging on the Internet for ways to calibrate my tv.

I find the banding in shadows and the sharpening artefacts on HD content downsampled from 4K (Amazon is terrible for this) more objectionable than a slight colour shift.

I find the banding in shadows and the sharpening artefacts on HD content downsampled from 4K (Amazon is terrible for this) more objectionable than a slight colour shift.

I’m more bothered that C4 often can’t get the sound and picture in sync.

I find the banding in shadows and the sharpening artefacts on HD content downsampled from 4K (Amazon is terrible for this) more objectionable than a slight colour shift.

People find different things objectional.

Banding ain’t going away until 10bit / higher bit-rate arrives on stream.

Interestingly it is usually fairly simple to get a good HD master from a 4K source. Not sure what’s going on there…

You don’t really need sharpening when deriving good from good 4K. But that’s not say it isn’t added (turn down your sharpening folks!)

True, there are all sorts of messed up standards. On the whole I’m very impressed with Netflix for quality.

Not quite as good as a decent Blu-ray , but then Blu-ray is not as good as a 2K DCI.

But then equally it is coming down your telephone socket … Which is amazing!

More than anything I’m impressed with the standard of disruption in the streams. It’s astonishingly clever stuff. Probably had 3/4 breakages in 3/4 years.

Amazing

When we bought our tv I watched s YouTube video on setting it up. Just some guy who knew his stuff.

Basically it turned off all the crap. Did some weird things I’d never have thought on the picture controls. I know a bit about this stuff as I’ve calibrated monitors for photog editing but I’d never have worked it out on my own. The image from our fairly ordinary samsung tv is now consistently great.

Love how there’s some proper expert telly watchers. Rest of us amateurs are just playing at it 😂

the original Pirates of the Caribbean DVD has the THX optimiser on it.

Another “agree with Rone” here. Apart from…

gives you a decent HD (not perfect) representation of what the film-maker intended.

A lot of films are not really provided in the way the director intended. Different prints being used for different versions of films. Some films featuring different edits to cinema versions. Degraded prints… List goes on…!

The TV is fine, it’s my eyes that need recalibration.