Calibration help on new Sony KV-27FS120 (1 Viewer)

[Keith^S]

I've purchased a new direct view Sony KV-27FS120 television for my apartment while I'm in college. I've been reading up on the calibration of WEGA sets through the service menu and also calibration through use of a DVD such as Avia.

Through searching I have found "Chuckster's FS WEGA Calibration Using Avia" website. This page includes his settings that worked using Avia, and also added settings suggested for the service menu to reduce red push. I am purchasing a copy of Avia for my video calibration, but the service menu part of the guide has me wondering...

Question 1: So I calibrate my set using Avia, and THEN fix the red push through the service menu, or is it the other way around?


I have also read that WEGA sets can oversqueeze the picture using the enhanced 16:9 mode. I have found the guide to fixing the oversqueeze through the service menu (it's on Chuckster's website too).

Question 2: Has the oversqueeze problem been fixed, or will my new set have this problem as well? I see on the guide it says all models affected including 2003 FS models. I don't know if mine is an '03 or an '04 model though.

Question 3: Is there anything I've missed as far as making the picture as accurate as possible on my WEGA?

My setup is:

Eqipment:
Sony KV-27FS120 direct view television
Harman Kardon AVR 230 Receiver
Harman Kardon HKB 6 Speakers (only 2 speakers for now, 5.1 or 6.1 speakers hopefully soon)
Sony DVP-NS725P DVD Player
Monster Power HTS1000MKII Power Center

Connections:
Belden 1694A Digital Coax Cable (DVD-->Receiver)
Monster Video 3 Component Cable (DVD-->Receiver)
Belden 7710A Component Video Cable (Receiver-->TV)
Belden 1505F Stereo Audio Cable (Receiver-->TV)
Belden 1694A RG-6 Coax Cable (Wall Jack-->Monster Power Center-->TV)

Thanks in advance for any help!!

 

[Andy Kim]

1. I would reduce the red push first and then go about calibrating your TV with Avia.

2. As for oversqueeze, you're probably best to find out yourself by popping in a circular test pattern.

3. Not that I can think of.

 

[Michael TLV]

Greetings

3.

Grayscale calibration ... either do it yourself or get a pro to do it.

Regards

 

[Keith^S]

After doing some more searching I've read up a little bit on grayscale calibration and it looks pretty advanced. The AVIA calibration disc doesn't cover grayscale calibration, so I'm guessing that grayscale calibration is reserved for when a professional does an ISF calibration (what does ISF stand for anyways?).

And as far as ISF calibrations go, where is the line drawn (if a line at all) where the cost of a professional calibration cannot be justified due to the type of television a person has? I know my direct view SDTV WEGA set is nothing special, but I still like to maximize the potential of whatever set I do have. I realize this opinion might differ from person to person, but is there an average agreement on it?

Thanks for the replies everyone, I appreciate it

 

[Yohan Pamudji]

I just bought a KV-27FS120 myself. I haven't tweaked it much yet, as I'll be letting it break in for a while before I do. I haven't measured anything, but I'm pretty sure all FS120 models suffer from oversqueeze. I'll adjust that setting soon.

As for ISF-ing, consider that your TV set probably costs less than the typical ISF session and decide if that's worth paying for. It's not for me. I did everything on my old KV-32FV27 myself except for grayscale, which I'm not really qualified to calibrate so I left it alone, and the set looks pretty darn nice. Some service menu action was necessary, but it wasn't complicated at all, and AVIA does a decent job for basic calibration. I look forward to tweaking and doing the same things with my new set and expect it to look at least as good as my old one.

 

[Keith^S]

Yeah, that makes sense. I guess I'll stick to AVIA until I can buy a set later on that justifies the cost of an ISF calibration.

I've never calibrated a set before, so I'm sure that after using AVIA I'll be more than satisfied.

 

[Michael TLV]

Greetings

The question of course was if there was something else to do to make the TV as accurate as possible. Cost was not brought up.

One could also say that the cost of a disc like AVIA is too much ... and then ask that same question. How to achieve the most accurate image without any test disc as well ...

Cost for a professional calibration is $225 ... for a tube set like this. As with most things in life ... it may be negotiable ... as I negotiated with my ISF guy back in 1997 to work on a 36" tube set. $175 ...

These days, I also am flexible with my own pricing depending on the circumstances and the hardship story.

But that said and done, you don't really have to have a pro to come and do it ... (That's why I also said DIY). Learn the basics of what grayscale calibration is about and you can most likely eyeball it to something much better than what you have now. All you need is the pluge pattern with 5 boxes from AVIA to get started.

Regards