Why calibrate your TV?

I remember when Vizio TVs first came out. We all thought they were kinda cheesy, because of their price, but I bought one anyway for my bedroom. When I first hooked it up, it it didn't quite look right. The faces of people looked washed out, and colors were way off. I did not despair, because I knew after I calibrated it, it would rival my Panasonic plasma (state of the art at the time). So I hooked up my trusty colorimeter, and calibrated it. Well when I was done, I could not believe the difference was night and day!

You see before every manufacturer ships knows their TV will be sitting next to 50 other TVs, so what they do is crank up the brightness, and contrast! Well, that's great to it stand out, but not very good for the TV. your should at a minimum turn off the "dynamic" settings when you first get your TV. A properly calibrated TV will last up to 30% longer than one that is not. There are several levels of calibration all the way up to ISF which can cost upwards of $500. Most TVs don't need this level of calibration. You can go out and purchase a calibration DVD called AVIA, and do it yourself for around 40 bucks and it does a fair job. Beyond that, we use what is called a "colorimeter". It has a sensor the sticks on to your screen, or on a tripod for front projectors. It fees input to a computer to analyze the colors for adjustment. We offer this service for only $149. We can calibrated your TV at the time we install it, but if it is new we highly recommend a 100 hour break in before calibration for optimal results.

In order to get the most realistic sound reproduction from your sound system it must be calibrated to the room in which it is installed. It is how we get what the director wanted to your ears. We Offer this service as a courtesy with every Home Theater installation we do. Or separately for just $149. Many new receivers come with their own calibration mic. This is a good start, but we go beyond what the factory calibration process does. Using a sound pressure level meter, we make sure all your speaker levels are correct so you can enjoy a system that sounds as good as it looks!