Gregg Loewen...ISF...WOW! (1 Viewer)

[SHAWN SZILEZY]

Members,

After much deliberation I finally bit the bullet and had my Toshiba TW40X81 ISF calibrated last Friday. My set was the first of two that Gregg did that day. I was always leery of the results versus the money spent. I now know I was foolish in my apprehension. I had almost joined several other “ISF Tours” that the HTSpot runs now and then but the cost was always a little more than I wanted to spend. The calibrator I decided on was the HTF’s own Gregg Loewen. The reason I chose Gregg was because he was more familiar to me because of his activity on the Forum and his prices are very reasonable. Before I get into the particulars of the calibration results, let me just say that Gregg is a great guy and is very personable. He came prepared with a Sencore Color Analyzer, Laptop, HD signal box, and a backpack full of gadgets and goodies. I was surprised at how willing he was to explain, in detail, all he was doing and why. It was definitely a great learning experience for me. To see the inner workings of set and how each procedure affects performance was invaluable. Total elapsed time of the calibration was about 4 ½ hours and he did not stop fine-tuning until the transformation was complete.

Here is a list of the procedures he performed:

-Pre Front Panel adjustments

-Removal and Re-stack of the Screen

-Electronic Focus & Mechanical Focus

-Cleaning of Optics & Screen

-Geometry and Overscan adjustments

-Greyscale adjustment

-Front Panel adjustments

-Herman TLV Maneuver

-Geometry and Convergence of FULL & TW Modes

-Lens Stripping

-HD Setup, Front Panel adjustment, & Convergence

I consider myself quite a “tweaker” and I had already performed several modifications (SVM disable, Convergence w/Overlays, and Basic adjustments). I thought my set was looking pretty good, that is, until Gregg was done with it. No joke, the difference is night and day. My main reason for the calibration was to get the Greyscale correct. This did indeed prove to be a problem area.

Here is a sample of the high and low ends:

Pre IRE settings were: 100 IRE – 10900k & 20 IRE – 2700k

Post IRE settings were: 100 IRE – 6600k & 20 IRE – 6800k

Another area that I thought made a huge difference was Electronic and Mechanical Focus. After completing this task, all the grid lines were much tighter which in turn made the Convergence spot-on as compared to when I did it.

In closing, I would highly recommend Gregg to anyone. If you are looking to get the best out of your set, give him a call or drop him an email. Believe me, you will not be sorry. The only problem is that I now have to watch all my DVD’s & LD’s again!

 

[Gregg Loewen]

Shawn, it was my pleasure!! But you didnt mention that while I was there I also repaired your Elite 79 LD player
On a side note (just to be clear), I AM NOT ISF certified. However, I have read the text book. All ISF teaches is grey scale and front panel adjustments.
Gregg

 

[SHAWN SZILEZY]

Gregg,

I totally forgot to mention the Laserdisc player repair.

I know you are not "officially certified" yet but, in by book, you are. The magic you performed on my set is nothing short of spectacular.

 

[George Carlisle]

I'd like to organize a tour for Gregg to the Northern VA-DC-Baltimore area, mid-late February. If anyone is interested, let me know. I have already been contacted by one person, need at least 2 more.