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  1. ThomasL

    question on tint control

    Thanks very much Michael. At some point, I would like to have the set's grayscale professionally calibrated for the HDMI inputs but at the moment, the funds are currently not allocated. It is nice that they have included both cuts/drives in the user menu in order to do this though. Overall...
  2. ThomasL

    question on tint control

    Thanks Michael for the reply. The tv in question is a member of the Samsung LNT-xx61F LCD series. I am curious if these models are tweakable by a pro with regard to such issues as I described. Overall, in reviews I've read recent Samsung LCDs seem to be fairly accurate with regard to color...
  3. ThomasL

    question on tint control

    Hello all. Hopefully one of the calibration experts can answer a simple question I have regarding Avia and color settings. If a set's saturation and tint/hue controls have been calibrated using the blue filter and the set also has excellent color decoder results (all primaries are at 0...
  4. ThomasL

    Looking at new LCD tv 40" or 42"

    Greg, do you know how well the current crop of Samsungs - in particular my model line the 61F - respond to professional calibration? I know of the user menu level grayscale adjustments as well as gamma, backlight, etc. Are there more detailed color management options in the service menu...
  5. ThomasL

    Looking at new LCD tv 40" or 42"

    Mike, Since I just did a recent search for a set in this exact category (I had 40 inches max width to work with), I figured I'd share my list. The Toshiba model that you list might be a bit wider than 41 inches - you'll definitely want to double check. I eventually came up with the...
  6. ThomasL

    Backlight and contrast

    Thanks for the reply George. I actually stuck Avia II in the dvd player again tonight and decided to fiddle with the backlight setting. I lowered it from 5 to 2 and it made a marked difference on how "black" blacks were to my eye. Of course, it dimmed the entire white balance range so 100 IRE...
  7. ThomasL

    Backlight and contrast

    Thanks much George, Everything you said makes sense. So, I guess my more practical question would be is there anything harmful to having a backlight set to maximum as opposed to having a lower setting? Does it lessen the life of the illumination device itself at all? My guess would be that it...
  8. ThomasL

    Backlight and contrast

    Thanks George, As you can guess, this is my first LCD tv and backlights are new to me. I wasn't sure if by lowering the backlight a few notches and upping contrast I would achieve the same intensity of white yet perhaps improve black level by increasing the overall contrast ratio. But I...
  9. ThomasL

    Backlight and contrast

    I have a Samsung LNT4061F which I've been tweaking using Avia II. What are the pros and cons of lowering the backlight/raising the contrast? I currently have the backlight at 5 (default) and contrast at 70/brightness at 39 along with Movie/Warm 2 modes. I've noticed that there are number of...
  10. ThomasL

    Samsung LN-T3753H - HDMI port problem?

    Shtyrayum, I've seen similar "garbage" on the extreme edge of the image when viewing HD through HDMI in Just Scan mode. It is normal - what we're seeing is some of the non-visual data such as closed-caption which is being sent with the signal. Typically, tvs have a bit of overscan which crops...
  11. ThomasL

    Audiophile HTPC

    Jake, you may want to look at FLAC as your lossless storage method since both the Squeezebox and Audiotron apparently handle this format (on the server side - not decoding a FLAC stream in hardware although the Squeezebox folks may indeed include this soon). As for video out to the TV, yes...
  12. ThomasL

    Making compilation CD's thru PC - wav?

    Flac - http://flac.sourceforge.net - is another good option for storing ones CDs in a lossless format and it seems to be growing in popularity with the new SlimServer/Squeezebox supporting it as well as some other hardware products. I've tested it out along with the Winamp plugin and it works...
  13. ThomasL

    Audiophile HTPC

    Jake, since it sounds like you're planning on storing the ripped CDs (in whatever format) on a remote server, have you considered just using an Audiotron or Squeezebox device down in the home theater room in order to play back the collection? Since it sounds like you have a wired network, the...
  14. ThomasL

    Question about Pio DV-563A and Avia video calibration

    Blaine, if you set all the speakers to Large and Sub to On in the Pioneer menu then you are effectively turning off bass management. The Pioneer will only send the .1 channel to the sub and it'll send the full frequency range to the other 5 speakers. hope this helps, --tom
  15. ThomasL

    Question about Pio DV-563A and Avia video calibration

    Nathan, I agree that the crossover points are problematic. I went the Large route for both SACD/DVD-A since my CSW M50 bookshelves that I'm using seem to handle down to the 55-60Hz range. I know I'm losing the lower bass but I'd much rather drop that then drop the higher frequencies as you...
  16. ThomasL

    Question about Pio DV-563A and Avia video calibration

    Nathan, now that you mention it, while the menus don't look blurry to me per se, they look muted and probably not as sharp as say the Avia menus. I basically calibrate the sharpness setting by turning it all the way down and then ticking it up - when I see the middle vertical lines begin to...
  17. ThomasL

    Question about Pio DV-563A and Avia video calibration

    Nathan, that is interesting since I ended up with no difference on my Toshiba tv's sharpness setting when calibrating, with Avia's sharpness pattern, between the Pioneer and the Toshiba dvd player that it replaced. Steve, that is correct. You can tweak color for just the dvd player and not...
  18. ThomasL

    Question about Pio DV-563A and Avia video calibration

    Stever, you'll use the Avia test patterns to do the calibration. Whether or not you adjust the player's or tv's settings won't make a difference from the point of view of setting them to the optimal positions using the test patterns. For example, I used the blue color filter pattern and the...
  19. ThomasL

    Record VCR tapes to DVD?

    Tim, Without knowing more about the specifics of the equipment that you have, I'll make a generalized comment based on my experience. You can connect the VCR up to the Panasonic DVD-Recorder directly into its A/V inputs in order to record things from VHS tape to DVD-R. The Panasonic recorder...
  20. ThomasL

    Question about Pio DV-563A and Avia video calibration

    Steve, I would use the tv's settings and leave the Pioneer's in the middle (the default). The only reason I can see using the Pioneer's is if you have multiple sources and your tv only allows one set of settings for all of its inputs. For example, I have a DVD-Recorder and TIVO switched through...
  21. ThomasL

    Budget Headphones

    If looks are not important :), then the HD497s are pretty good. They are silver which is the new vogue color for A/V stuff. I have a pair for the same use that you want a pair for - basically listening in the bedroom. I use a pair of PX100s for my portable playing. You may want to go the sealed...
  22. ThomasL

    Budget Headphones

    Jake, what do you want to use them for? i.e. portable type for walking/running/etc. Or is this for more sit at home listening? For the former, take a look at Sennheiser's PX100s which can be had for $40. For the latter, take a look at the Grado SR60 or Sennheiser HD497 - both around $60-$70...
  23. ThomasL

    more confused than ever concerning bass management and the Pioneer 563A

    Kevin, the general answer is 'yes'. As for specifics, the Pioneer 563A will do the bass management. Set all your speakers in the Pioneer's menu to 'small' and set sub to 'on'. For SACDs this will create a crossover at 120Hz and one of 200Hz for DVD-Audio. While this is not ideal for most, as...
  24. ThomasL

    CSW Owners

    Greg and others, did you think that the MC300 or the MC400 was a better tonal match for the M50 bookshelf speakers? I can see a point in the future, when a new tv has to be purchased and it'll actually allow me to fit the MC400. I like the sound, especially for music, with M50s front and side...
  25. ThomasL

    CSW Owners

    Dave, I called my local Cambridge Soundworks store and they said that within a year of purchasing you can trade in/up your speakers and you get a new year period for the new speakers. After a year, they said they don't do it - at least that is what the salesman at my store said. I had enquired...
  26. ThomasL

    CSW Owners

    Jason, I had S300s as my surrounds but then I started listening to 5.1 music and found the M50s better than the S300s in direct mode for music. cheers, --tom
  27. ThomasL

    CSW Owners

    I use the MC300 for the center speaker. I really don't have room for anything bigger although a few folks have said that the MC400 seems like a better tonal match to the M50s - since the both use the 5.25 inch woofer. I like the M50s but once again, that's the max size bookshelf I can have given...
  28. ThomasL

    CSW Owners

    Jason, I'm using two pairs of M50s now for my fronts and surrounds and I like their sound. Our room is about the same size as yours. I suspect though you'd want to listen to the M80s as far as Cambridge Soundworks goes if you were moving from the towers to a bookshelf model. cheers, --tom
  29. ThomasL

    Color Issues around objects on screen

    Bryan, check other sources (cable) to see if its just your dvd player or not. You may also want to try an Svideo connection if you're currently using the component inputs just to see if that makes any difference. Basically you need to run a few experiments/tests to determine if the problem is...
  30. ThomasL

    Color Issues around objects on screen

    Bryan, have you calibrated the set with a calibration disc such as Avia or DVE? Do you get it on all video sources? e.g. dvd, vcr, cable feed? It sounds to me like scan velocity modulation run amok. Does this model have any settings such as 'Movie' mode that you could put it into and...
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