fixing the color/darkness on a new tv (1 Viewer)

[Jacqueline C]

I just bought a Panasonic CT 36HX42 television which is HDTV ready. I connected the PS2 amd played LOTR Two Towers. It was then that I noticed that the picture is too dark esp since a lot of the action takes place at night. THis problem is also noticeable when I see Angel the televison series a lot of that takes place at night too. I've read some of other threads that happened to make reference to tv's having a kind of bake in period although that wasn't what the threads were about. Is there a standard way of fixing the color/light etc on a tv and if so how do I find out what to do? BTW the tv has 3 settings standard/cinema/vivid of which I think the vivid sets things the most dark but the standard still makes playing the game difficult. I thought there may be something wrong with the picture tube (and there may be) but I'm leaning towards not, because I went to circuit city and a lot of the tv's look kind of dark and not just the other Panasonics. Thanks for any tips

 

[Jack Briggs]

In a showroom, TVs, if anything, look too bright.

I would suggest the "Cinema" setting as your starting point and then make use of a calibration disc (AVIA Guide to Home Theater, Video Essentials, Sound & Vision Home Theater Tune Up).

Properly calibrated TVs and monitors generally put out much less light than they do when taken out of the box.

 

[Allan Jayne]

TV's still need to be viewed in a not so bright room.

AVIA or Video Essentials will give you a gray scale test (to help you set things up so picture details are not washed out in bright areas and buried in shadowed areas).

In a too bright room, you have to crank up the TV settings so high to make the gray scale look right and the TV might not be capable of doing that and cranking up the contrast that high will shorten the life of the TV.

Video hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm

 

[Ted Lee]

if you don't really want to "get into it" with calibrating, then go for the soundandvision tune-up dvd. it's about 15 dollars and will do most of the basic tests - it's the one i have. the other two jack mentioned (avia and video essentials) are more in-depth but may be more suitable for a hd tv.

it's always a good idea to calibrate. most people are too used to really bright pictures. my girlfriend always complains that my picture is too dark, but i think her's is too bright! make sure you calibrate in the environment that you'll be doing most of your watching - in other words don't calibrate during the day if you do all your tv watching at night.

one thing about calibration - after you've calibrated it, give it a few days with the proper settings. you may just have to get used to the picture. look for things like color saturation, flesh-tones, etc. if, after that break-in period, you still don't like the picture, then by all means adjust to taste.

it's your tv and you have to watch it.

 

[Jacqueline C]

Thank you for your suggestions. I think the gray scale situation is what I'm trying to describe. To give you an example when playing two towers(PS2) when the cave troll is attacking with the chain and your character is firing with thier ranged weapon hiding behind pillars, other bad guys are coming at you one on one. They are in shadow and I can barely see them at all so I keep getting killed.

BTW the tv is HDTV ready and I will be connecting a progressive scan dvd to it but I don't have the HD reciever yet.
Again thanks. I will buy a calibration disk. Any tips on where I can get one?

 

[Bill Kane]

The audio/video calibration disks are easiest ordered online, rather than driving all over town. I suggest www.amazon.com

In the search box, type the words: sound and vision

It's $15.

barnes&noble.com (and yes, maybe the store) used to carry it, too.