Saturday, July 19, 2014

Plamsa 1080p Configuration Methods - Make Sure Your HDTV Is Performing

A brand new plasma 1080p HDTV is a great buy for anyone's entertainment center. However, before you get everything all hooked up and the popcorn out you should first calibrate your HDTV so that you are truly getting the most out of what can be an expensive piece of equipment. Most people aren't aware of the fact that when a high definition plasma HDTV is shipped, it is done so with higher default settings than most people really need. These settings are preset for viewing in the obscenely bright light that you'll find in most electronics stores so that if the unit is used as a display it can compete with all of the other units on the floor. You need to configure your HDTV for your specific viewing space.
There are also other reasons that you might want to consider calibrating your plasma display. For the environmentally conscious calibrating your display will consume less energy because the default mode draws more power than when you calibrate the HDTV for optimum settings. Not only does this consume less energy thereby helping the environment, but for those who are not as environmentally conscious it will also save money on your electric bill. Adding to both of these benefits is the fact that because less power is being forced through the pixels which make up the screen, you will also be extending the life of your HDTV because the picture on any flat panel display will degrade over time.
There are several options for a casual user to calibrate an HDTV to its optimum settings; the cheap way, the cost efficient way, the expensive way, and the very expensive way.
Plasma HDTV Calibration on the cheap
Just about any DVD released by Disney since the year 2000 uses the THX standard for its audio and video quality control. Hidden away in all of these DVD's is a small "video" which allows you to configure the settings on your HDTV for optimum performance. The only thing that you have to have is a pair of the THX optimizer glasses. They can be bought at the THX online store for $1.99 plus shipping and handling. All in all you can expect to spend around $5 - $10 after it is all said and done. This is not the best method to configure your HDTV, but it is better than eyeballing it, or using the display as is.
Cost Efficient Plasma HDTV Calibration
I consider this method to be the most cost efficient way is to buy a calibration DVD. This is because the calibration DVDs have many more options and settings to choose from when configuring your HDTV. There are many different places out there selling these types of DVDs, but the best that I have found is the DVE (Digital Video Essentials) HD Basics configuration DVD. It will provide you with color, contrast, gray-tones, and many other tests to help in configuring your HDTV for its optimum settings. This can take a while to get all of the configuration settings right, so expect to be in front of the TV for an hour or 2.
Expensive Plasma HDTV Calibration
I call this the expensive method because it requires a much larger initial investment than the cost efficient method. Basically what this method entails is buying a piece of equipment called a colorimeter which basically measures the color output from the screen and will make suggestions accordingly. These colorimeters can be extremely expensive but the Spyder3 is probably the best bang for your buck ($100-$250 depending on where you buy) unless you are a over the top video-phile. Essentially what happens is that you attach the Spyder to the HDTV via a suction cup and then use a laptop to take readings and make the required configuration changes. Making these adjustments usually takes around half an hour. As an aside, decent money can be made going by going around and configuring folks HDTV's for them. I usually charge around $50 which is much better than any other outfit in my area.
The Very Expensive Calibration Method
This is probably the most expensive way outside of using highly specialized equipment. Call an authorized technician. Most rates on having someone come out and calibrate your HDTV for you vary between regions and technicians, but if you call a certain big box store's in house team to come in and configure your plasma HDTV you can expect to spend around $300 bucks. The advantage of this method is that the technician does everything for you while you lay out by the pool, but I don't particularly recommend it because I like to do things myself.
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