Digital Video Essentials: Is it necessary?

[dcmo]

I was on Amazon looking to get a copy when I ran across this:

"What you will need to get the most out of this DVD: code to

access your service menu via the remote keypad as well as

the service manual for your TV & the knowledge of what

sequence to use when calibrating (Ex: Do I start with

geometry, or color, or convergence, etc).

3) A lot of free time to watch the DVD and digest the

information presented. A notepad with: your service menu

access code as well as DOCUMENT ALL YOUR FACTORY ORIGINAL

SETTINGS. Also a step by step breakdown of your planned

adjustment procedure noting the location of the pattern's

title-frame on the disc and notes on what to adjust.

NOTE: title & frame information IS included on the

accompanying booklet, use your DVD's SEARCH BUTTON to enter

these for direct access to the required pattern.

CLOSING NOTES:

1) If you just want to calibrate the basic settings of your tv

via the user menu (brightness, contrast, color, tint,

sharpness) I would suggest you skip this disk and adjust to

your personal preference. The advanced patterns require

access to the factory service menu and a GOOD understanding

of what you are adjusting and why. "

Is what this person saying correct, and if so how does one go about getting the code and service manual. Would I merely contact Mitsubishi and then they would just give me these things, or are these things even necessary at all. How useful is this disc without going into the factory settings, is it worth the time?

[Steve Donalson]

This disk, or something similar, will help you yield a much better picture! I highly recommend a calibration disk. It will come with three filters to help you set color and tint correctly. It also offers test patters to help you set contrast, sharpness and brightness properly as well. These things can not be done by just "the eye" mainly because we don't know what we are are looking at is really supposed to look like. Plus there are terms such a "blooming" you may not be aware of and exactly what it is. These disks will cover that for you and explain how to avoid it. It is bad for your set and indictive of having the contrast up too high.

With that said, I highly recommend staying out of the service menu if you are not certain to what you are doing. You can render your tv complelely useless with a simple press of the button.

Get DVE, or something similar, you will be amazed on how much better your tv looks after you are done. If still not satisfied, then get an ISF professional calibration done. You would never believe your tv could look so good!

[Speedball]

I picked up an AVIA disc and it made a huge difference in the clarity of the picture on my 27" flatscreen Sony CRT. I'm visiting my brother this Friday and I will calibrate his tv for him.

Big results and well worth the 30 or 40 bucks.[]

edited: I don't agree with the "closing notes" because that is all I use mine for..

[dcmo]

Thanks, do you have any idea which one (dve or avia) is considered to be the better disc. Also say I set it perfectly to whichever one of them I was using, what kind of quality difference would there be between my settings and that of a professional set-up and what would those differences be.

[IndyKlipschFan]

I highly recommend staying out of the service menu if you are not certain to what you are doing. You can render your tv completely useless with a simple press of the button.

The disc will do a great job for you. Do not go, I repeat do NOT go into the service menus..unless you really know what your doing.. Case n point an engineering buddy of mine who you know ..thought he knew everything REALLY screwed his up..

Also do it at night or in a totally dark room as well. Very much worth the money!

BTW, I am not knocking a having a an ISF professional calibration done, IF you have a very expensive tv/ hdtv. Most people, however, will benefit greatly with the 2 dvd's you mentioned. A ISF person if really good will perhaps really make an incredible difference.. Of course, you are really gonna PAY for that difference too!

[Steve Donalson]

Either one you go with will work great. I use DVE, some use AVIA. Just as long as you have one or the other.

This disks will help you adjust you tv with the user settable options. A professional calibrator will be able to reprogram software, adjust gray scale, and numerous other tasks that require very expensive tools to do. What will you see? I can't tell you what differences you will notice with your particular set. However, I can say they can do things "you" can not.

[wally flick]

Ive seen posts on other forums stating that one or the other disc (DVE, AVIA) are better for different TV types (LCD, DLP). Anyone here of that opinion?

If so, what would you suggest for an LCD projection?

Also have seen people being happy with the suite available on THX mastered discs.

[JeffDurbin]

I have AVIA in the mail from Amazon right now and here is what I learned about the two of them. AVIA has a bunch of general information about home theater that you may find superfluous, in which case, just skip it. It does have the full complement of calibration tests except the B-U-B test, which you can do with a THX-compliant disc anyway.

On the other hand, the DVE disc has less handholding in terms of how to actually use the calibration signals and is more useful for experienced installers.

As for the comment about ISF, the rates I have seen are about $225 for a calibration service call compared to $37 for the AVIA disc. I have no doubt that a pro can tweak my HDTV to a slightly more optimal degree but I am not sure if it would be that noticeable for the extra $185 investment.

[Speedball]

After the first time using AVIA it is much easier after learning how to skip the x-tra stuff and get right to where you need to be. The second calibration I did to mine was at night when most movie watching happens.

The bonus is the frequency sweeps, they are a kick to play with.

[J.4knee]

In a word YES. I used it to set up my DLP and wow what a differnece.

[RichardP]

If you DO want to get into the service menus, you can probably find detailed instructions for doing so with your TV (if its relatively new) over at www.avsforum.com. Those people over there are as fanatical about video displays as people here are about speakers.

[fmushkin]

With these discs, how do you know whether to adjust the DVD player vs the TV? Both have brightness, contrast, tint, and color settings, in addition to various black levels, DNIE, yadda, yadda. Since my TV will save settings for each input, I assume I should save the identical settings for the cable box and VCR inputs, but that assumes the DVD settings are somehow correct. Any advice?

[ironwoods]

Hi, I would think the TV, since it is the common between sources. I would not think the TV could save and assign to multiple inputs, the types of calibration we're dealing with here, from the service menu, but only the basic user settings.

What DVD player has these adjustable video functions? [:|]

[wally flick]

...Since my TV will save settings for each input, I assume I should save the identical settings for the cable box and VCR inputs...

I was wondering the same thing. Also had some "quiet time" with my new TV last night and don't have a calibration disc yet, but got out a DVD with the ol' THX Optimizer and went through the video tests. They have a test where you adjust to a true red and cyan. My question is do the DVE or AVIA discs any printed material that you use for comparison. What's a true cyan?