Getting contrast control back after calibration (1 Viewer)

[Ed*S]

I had my RPTV calibrated by Greg last year. I'm still very unhappy with the picture quality using a satellite feed. The picture is dark overall. Very difficult to see in regular room lighting (regular viewing vs. cinema time).
Darker tones are all blended together as a black splotch. I see the contrast control has been locked out. I assume part of the procedure of the calibration was to make that fixed while leaving the brightness adjustable. But I think I need control of the contrast again.
I *hate* this TV. Should've stuck to a tube set.
It's a Toshiba 50H82. Thanks.

 

[John F. Palacio]

I would call Greg back if you are unhappy.
Contrast is the video equivalent of volume in audio. It sets the level of the video signal whereas "brightness" sets the black level.

I don't know why or how the contrast was "locked up".

You do mention, however, that is is the satellite feed you are not happy with. If the other sources are satisfactory then the settings for this particular input need to be reset, which I believe are individually adjusted on the Toshiba's.

 

[Michael TLV]

Greetings

You cannot lock contrast out on the 50H82.

Generally, when you work on that set, you set contrast up in the movie mode ... aka 50/50/50/50 ... for all the settings.

contrast is fine tuned in the service menu to be optimal at 50% ... you always still have the range from 50% to 100% that will increase your contrast.

That said ... when a TV is set up for DVD ... the optimal settings are simply used as a starting point when viewing all other sources. Start in movie mode when watching cable ... and adjust to your hearts content ...

Regards

 

[ChrisWiggles]

???

Brightness moves your range up and down(like a volume control), while contrast increases the peak whites (increasing that range, like reducing dynamic range compression/increasing the dynamic range). Or this is what the controls *should* be doing.

 

[Gregg Loewen]

Hi Ed*S!

The solution is right at your finger tips. Just give this Greg guy a call and he would be very happy to assist you.

His cell # is 201 232 3380
His home # is 207 778 5417
His Inlaws # is 902 673 2423

I heard he is at the inlaws until August 29th. (though he may have committed suicide before then).

Regards

Greg (g)

PS: There is no "lock out", so I am not sure what you are talking about there. You just need to increase the contrast setting, then adjust the black level. There is no magic bullet for doing this adjustment and there is variation with black level on a channel by channel basis. In addition your set (over the past year? has most likely gotten substantially darker than it was a year ago. Also I recommend a touch up on an annual basis. I would have been awesome to hear of this concern shortly after the calibration was performed, so the problem could have been quickly dealt with and then given you acceptable results over the past year.

Looking forward to getting your set up to snuff!!

Regards

Gregg

 

[Peter_A]

Kinda related to this thread topic but my question is regarding my almost 5 year old Toshiba TW40X81 projo that I had ISF calibrated a couple months after I purchased it. Ever since the TV has always been on the calibrated picture setting but now that the hours have started to build up on the TV, I find that it's getting a little on the dark side for some movies. Should I just adjust the contrast setting or the brightness as well? My settings are below if it helps.

Contrast 30
Brightness 59
Color 45
Tint 0
Sharpness 0
Temperature Warm

 

[Michael TLV]

Greetings

Light drop off is normal. It can drop as much as 40% from the calibrated state even during the first year or two.

Simply boost the contrast to increase the light output ... bump the brightness too ... use AVIA or DVE or other test patterns

regards

 

[JohnnyG]

There's gonna be a few people smackin' their foreheads in a second...

Ed, your Contrast is "locked out" probably because you have the ALS (Automatic Light Sensor) feature turned on. Turn it off and you'll regain control of the Contrast setting. Just turning the ALS off may 'fix' your problem.

 

[Michael TLV]

Greetings

Smack smack ... always the more obvious.

Like trouble shooting a computer problem only to find out that the computer is turned off.

Regards

 

[Ed*S]

Well I never said I was smart about this stuff. That's why I put out an "SOS" to the pros.

I talked with Gregg last night and I feel pretty stupid. It was the ALS. The contrast was always on auto, now I have manual control.

Now, I still don't like the picture compared to a tube set, but I can at least make it look better to sell.

On a side note...I was NEVER unhappy with Gregg's calibration. I've ALWAYS been unhappy with the TV.

Thanks for all the suggestions.