A Return To Posting, I'm Still Here!

First off, let me apologize to all regular visitors to this blog for my long absence from posting. I want to assure everyone I am still very much active as a calibrator. I have had steady business all this year. In fact, I’m doing about as much work as I’m able to. My reason for not posting is simply that I’ve been doing more reviews for Secrets than I ever thought I would. Starting in late October of 2009, I’ve had at least one product, and sometimes as many as four, in my theater under evaluation. Below I have listed all the reviews published since August of 2009:

Focal Dome Speaker System
Revel Performa Speaker System
NuVision 65-inch LCD TV
Optoma HD8200 DLP Projector
Optoma HD8600 DLP Projector
Optoma HD20 DLP Projector (benchmarks only)
Samsung SP-A900B DLP Projector
Runco LS-5 DLP Projector
Emotiva Factory Visit

During all that, I calibrated a number of Pioneer plasmas and a few Samsung DLPs as well. I’ve had particularly good results from the A650 series TVs. Calibration is done in the CCA menu, just like the older models. After selecting the correct gamma curve and tweaking the white balance, these displays look very good. They’re a bargain too and well worth the price of a pro calibration. Out of the box performance is not so great with poor gamma and crushed blacks and whites. Color is OK but adjusting the CCA menu really makes these sets pop. I also calibrated a JVC HD750, a Pioneer FPJ-1 (JVC RS2 clone) and very recently, an Epson Home Cinema 8100. The HD750 needed a firmware update to fix the CMS but after the upload, performance was stunning. Anyone out there with an HD750, RS20 or Anthem LTX-500 that needs the update, let me know and I will include it with my calibration service at no extra charge.

Despite the exit of Pioneer from the plasma market at the end of last year, there are still sets available. Some stores are gouging for them but if you dig around, you may find a deal. If you’re in the market for a new flat panel and you don’t need the extra light output of an LCD, I highly recommend looking for a Pioneer. I still believe Panasonic is at least two or three years away from equaling the contrast performance of the 9th generation Kuro TVs.

You’ll see by my above linked projector reviews, I have experienced quite a few DLP models. I got great results from all of them and I enjoyed watching movies very much. My pick for ultimate performance is still LCoS however. My Anthem LTX-500 sat in a box for almost three months and when it finally returned to the shelf, I felt like my old friend was back. Of all the DLPs I’ve tested, the Runco LS-5 showed the deepest blacks and highest contrast. It still didn’t match the Anthem. Unless you have a large room and screen, LCoS is my preference.

I don’t want to talk about specific gear for upcoming reviews but I’ll give a general preview. Right now I have a multi-channel processor, a two-channel integrated amp and an LCoS projector under review. I recently finished articles on two Blu-ray players and expect those to be published soon. Later this summer, I’m expecting a new surround speaker system to be delivered. This system will include the biggest center channel I’ve ever seen and a gargantuan sub as well.

Finally, I’ve added movie reviews to my plate at Secrets. You may have read the monthly Renter’s Guides in the past. Now they are much larger as we have a total of six writers contributing. I do about four movies a month. Most recently, I covered the new Blu-ray release of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

Thanks again for reading and as always, if you have questions about my calibration services, please email me. Enjoy the view!

Samsung LN52A650 LCD Calibration

The competition in the flat-panel TV market has never been hotter and LCD has taken a commanding lead over plasma in recent years. While plasma still holds the edge in image quality, LCDs are so close as to be nearly indistinguishable from even the best plasmas. Samsung has taken a strong position with their latest line of displays including the 550, 650 and 750 models. The 650 includes a 120hz refresh rate and correct handling of 24p sources with 5:5 cadence. There are 4 HDMI inputs, 2 component inputs and an attractive bezel with a hint of red tint around the edges.

I calibrated only the digital inputs on this TV so I used the side-mounted HDMI port to plug in the signal generator. Initial measurements in Movie mode showed perfect color primaries and nearly perfect secondaries. I engaged the extremely handy blue-only mode in order to set the color and tint controls. This is far more accurate than using a blue filter. I wish all TVs had this feature. I displayed a color bar pattern and adjusted color until all bars showed a uniform blue. I didn’t have to adjust the tint control. Verifying the results with my color meter showed a perfectly aligned decoder. This took me all of 2 minutes, amazing! Levels at the default settings weren’t too far off but the gamma curve was a bit high at 2.34 yet I had downward room in brightness. Fortunately, there is a usable gamma control along with the backlight adjustment available on most LCDs. I lowered both brightness and backlight and raised gamma. I wound up at a gamma of 2.2. I was able to max contrast without a color shift or any crushing. Grayscale was also no problem with the included gain and cut controls. As always, if you want to adjust this yourself, use a color meter. The Warm2 color temp was pretty close. I was able to improve on the default settings resulting in Delta C readings under 1.0 from 20 to 100 IRE. Color accuracy and grayscale tracking on this TV is simply superb. It’s so refreshing to finally see TV manufacturers providing an accurate picture mode and the adjustments necessary to maintain it. Bravo Samsung!

After color and level calibration, I was anxious to test the various motion processing options. Samsung calls theirs Auto Motion. There are three levels in addition to the off setting. Off means there is simply 5:5 pulldown applied to incoming 60hz signals. From what I could tell watching actual content, this held true. Standard DVD looked suitably film-like. Even with correct motion processing, some titles will still show a little judder. The better the transfer, the less judder you will see. I viewed the THX-certified Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope. The opening scene with the Imperial star destroyer chasing Princess Leia’s blockade runner showed smooth motion and no artifacting. Turning on Auto Motion enabled the frame interpolation feature. While things became even smoother, it was no longer film-like. On the high setting, it was positively un-natural. It’s ultimately up to personal preference. I encourage clients to experiment with the different degrees of motion processing to decide which they like best. I prefer to retain the frame rates of the original film. With more interpolation, there is some artifacting. This shows up as occasional breakup of fast-moving objects, almost like a flash of macro-blocking. It’s not huge but it does catch the attention of a video geek like myself. Some however do prefer the interpolation. My only advice: try the different settings for a few days at a time. As with any aspect of calibration, it takes time to become accustomed to a change.

Since there are now only a few major companies selling plasma panels, LCD is pretty much taking over the market by default. This latest series of Samsung LCDs is the best competition for plasma I’ve seen yet. Plasma still holds the edge in black levels and viewing angle but LCDs can put out more light, are easier to mount on a wall and consume less energy. The latest panels also boast excellent color accuracy and grayscale tracking. The advanced motion processing features make them a perfect compliment to a shiny new blu-ray player. Even prices have come down to the point where it’s either a small or no price difference to choose LCD. For the typical living room with medium to high levels of ambient light, LCD is a better choice due to its high output and less-reflective screen. If you’re shopping for a new LCD, this Samsung is a great choice.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the view!

Samsung LN32A550 LCD Calibration

I continue to be impressed with Samsung’s line of LCD TVs. Ranging in size from 22 to 52 inches, there is a panel to fit any imaginable viewing situation. The LN32A550 is one of a very few 32 inch panels that have a 1080p native resolution. It also includes a myriad of calibration controls normally only found in flagship displays. There is a color management system, grayscale, gamma control and the usual host of defeatable enhancements.

I used the Movie picture mode for all inputs. This turns off all enhancements by default and sets a correct Rec 709 color space for HD signals. I recommend using all hi-def sources with this TV as the components will likely do a better job of scaling. A quality upconverting DVD like the Oppo line and a hi-def cable or satellite box set to 1080i are the best devices to use. De-interlacing of 1080i is good. I could see no difference in zone plate patterns when an Oppo 980 did the deinterlacing versus the TV doing it.

Calibration was a breeze as all controls are available in the user menu. Drilling down from the front page, there are many options in the Detailed Settings and Picture Options menus. My favorite feature is the Blue Only mode. This shuts off the Red and Green primaries allowing you to set color and tint accurately with a color bar pattern. It took me all of a minute to achieve almost perfect decoding on all HDMI inputs. Component inputs were not tested. Brightness and Contrast were set with ease. This is where it’s important to turn off enhancements like Dynamic Contrast and Black Adjust. These controls change levels as the picture changes and can produce many unwanted effects like floating blacks and color shifts in brighter scenes. Edge Enhancement should also be turned off. Surprisingly though, the Digital Noise Reduction feature works very well on the Auto setting. I used images from the HQV test disc to verify that noise was indeed reduced without softening the picture. Sharpness was set to 0 as well. Grayscale tracking was typical for an LCD but I was able to dial it to within 150k of D65. Gamma was 2.5 at the default setting. Lowering it one click brought it to 2.2. Interestingly, the gamma setting flattened the grayscale a bit, smoothing a dip at 60 IRE.

I was very happy with the final result. The image was punchy and color was spot-on. I couldn’t achieve a plasma-class black level but my minimum reading of .04fl was quite good. Perceived contrast was quite high as the 100 IRE field and window patterns measured over 80fl! I was able to max the Contrast control without crushing or causing a color shift. As this TV was in a mid to high light level room, these settings were appropriate. In a darker setting, one could turn down the Backlight to achieve better blacks. Real world on/off contrast was 2000:1 and ANSI was about 1600:1 - all in all, an excellent display and an attractive one too. The base and bezel are finished in a high-gloss piano black, very sexy! I highly recommend this TV. LCDs are appropriate in a room where lighting conditions are less controlled and there are hotspot reflections. The anti-glare properties of the screen are superior to plasma as is the overall light output. Given the image quality and large list of calibration controls, I’d rate Samsung LCD TVs as among the best in class.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the view!

Samsung LN-T4665F LCD Calibration

This 46" LCD is part of Samsung's latest line of excellent LCD panels. It is full 1080p of course with a plethora of features. The bezel is a thin piano black and a tabletop stand is included. This panel is well-suited for a 5-10 foot viewing distance and would fit right into a small to medium-sized viewing room.

Calibration of this set was a pleasure as all the necessary adjustments can be made in the user menu. The first step is to engage the Movie Mode. This picture mode opens all the extra adjustments and gives you complete control over image enhancements. There are full controls for white balance and gamma which is quite rare in consumer TVs. Several of the picture enhancement features had interesting results when adjusted. I started with Pluge patterns to set brightness and contrast. I immediately noticed floating black levels. This was defeated by turning off Black Adjust. Once this was done, the TV had perfect DC restoration with no change in black level as the Average Picture Level (APL) increased. When viewing white Pluge patterns, I noticed as the Contrast control was adjusted, the color shifted quite noticeably. This was solved by turning off Dynamic Contrast. I also lowered the Backlight control and set the Color Tone to Warm2.

Color decoding was excellent using the Auto colorspace and turning off xvYCC. This is an extended colorspace that does not conform to any standards currently in use. It will make colors appear blown-out and unnaturally saturated. Measurements showed it to be somewhere between Rec. 709 and the Wide Gamut appearing on some newer TVs. White balance was adjusted to within 200k of D65 with a perfect 2.2 gamma. This LCD has the best gamma and black levels of any LCD I've calibrated to date. I achieved a minimum black level of .028 fL, excellent performance.

The final result was almost a plasma-like image. Color accuracy and saturation were excellent and dynamic range was greatly improved over what I started with. Since this TV is capable of excellent light output and has an anti-glare screen, I would recommend it for rooms without light control. It competes very well with daylight and other in-room light sources. Viewing angle is also above-average for an LCD. I have seen this TV for sale under $2500, a superb value. With the steep drop in flat panel prices over the last year or so, an LCD or plasma is now within reach of many more people. Given the vast adjustability and superb image quality of this display, I would not hesitate to put it in my top 5 recommendations.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the view!