Calibration. Worth the co$t? (1 Viewer)

[Dirk Grace]

I have had my Toshiba 42H82 HDTV now about three weeks and I am still not satisfied with the quality of the SDTV picture. Even the change from cable to Dish TV has not made an improvement. The picture quality is fuzzy and suffers pixalation. Some members have suggested professional calibration, which will run from $350 to $500. My question is, should I spend this kind of cash for what "might" help, or is there something else I can do myself?

Thanks,
Dirk

 

[Jim Ferguson]

The standard calibration routine is designed to adjust the gray scale and the color/brightness/contrast/brightness settings. It is unlikely to have an effect on "fuzziness" or pixilization. Some calibrators perform further advanced services such as optical/mechanical adjustments and service mode convergence.

ISF calibration is great for what it is, but I'm guessing you won't find the kind of improvement you're looking for with highly-compressed low-res SDTV sources.

 

[James Brown]

Some lower end satellite receivers can cause the pixelation. Im not sure though if you were also experiencing this problem with cable (digital cable does this when you have a poor/weak signal which can be caused by bad source cables) But, if you had just standard analog cable, you wont get pixelation, just fuzzy reception... Which could then lead back to bad cables/degrated signal.

Just throwing this out there for something to consider.

 

[Gary Thomas]

I've had both a 36" Tube HDTV and my current 58" Rear Projection TV ISF'd & I feel it was well worth the cost. (@325).

The ISF will make your dvd viewing spectacular. As far as cable / satellite... there's not much you can do. Some channels or shows will be better than others, depending on compression. Long views of football games are horrible...but close-ups are ok. One day we'll all be watching HDTV & we won't have to worry about it.

One suggestion...try upgrading your video cable. I have noticed marked improvement when upgrading my component video cables w/ my dvd player. I have a cheap Acoustic Research S-Video for my Satellite...now that I think about it...I may try upgrading my S-Cable this week!

 

[Dirk Grace]

Thanks for the good input. I ordered a set of BetterCables Silver Serpent Component Video Cables to replace the ones that came with the HDTV receiver, and a Silver Serpent S-Video for the SDTV connection. I will likely go ahead with the ISF calibration in a couple weeks. This will give the set a burn in over a month.

Thanks,
Dirk

 

[Gary Thomas]

Dirk: I just ordered the Bettercables Silver Serpent S-Video cable as well! I'll post my results as compared to my current cables.

Also, I currently have my S-Video Satellite and VCR switched through my receiver. Many people feel that video cables should be connected from the component directly to the tv. I plan connect the new cable directly to the tv, since I can't remember the last time I used my VCR!