Guest
TV Picture: What Does "Calibration" Mean???
Calibration. To calibrate.
With regards to TV sets - of any type - I suspect two things
have stood in the way of this process: #1. Most set owners
and folks in general, outside of the scientific community,
know what the dang word even means! And #2. Modern
digital TVs are so "good" most people think they don't even
need calibration.
Succinctly, calibration means to align something to a given
standard, or set of standards. These standards may be
physical, electrical, chemical, or in the case of image
reproduction, a certain range of color and brightness when
standardized patterns are displayed on a TV.
==========
The way I have recently started to explain what I do to
TVs to the average person is to draw a basic shape on a
piece of paper, I.E. a triangle. To the right of that I draw an
arrow, then a rectangular box, another arrow, and a blank
space.
I then show this to the person, explaining that the triangle
is the subject on TV, and the box is their TV set. I then
ask them what should they see to the right of all that, after
it comes out of their TV set. They answer, "a triangle"?
So I draw a circle! (or, a distorted triangle)
The person looks at me, "what?"
I tell them, without calibration, this is what your TV does
to the image of subjects transmitted to it, via inaccurate
color, off tint, or too bright or incorrect contrast. Your
TV may wow you out of the box, but that factory setting
was intended to SELL IT to you, not for long-term TV or
movie viewing, or game playing. Plus, it may shorten the
set's life.
I then explain the two types of calibration: Basic(brightness,
contrast, sharpness, color, tint - the basic user controls),
and, advanced(Basic, plus internal color temperature and
grayscale alignment.). I then explain that most reputable
brands of TVs today(Sony, JVC, Samsung, Pioneer) will
deliver an accurate picture with just the basic controls properly
set. Cheapo brands(Daewoo, Insignia), or older CRT(tube)
TVs might need more advanced additional adjustments to
get them in line.
If they ask me what all this will do, I tell them: You will see,
if not exactly, an image much closer to what the producer or
tv control room engineers see when they make a TV show
or a movie. Plus, the image will be far less stressful to the
eye, and you might even save energy!
==========
This usually sells them, instead of just asking them,
would you like your TV "calibrated"?
Calibration is a big, nerdy, multi-syllable word that few
understand, and perhaps shouldn't even be used to
describe the process of aligning a display and making
it transparent to whatever is shown on it.
No WONDER "display calibration" or "tv calibration"
has fallen out of favor!
Waiting for the crickets ....
Calibration. To calibrate.
With regards to TV sets - of any type - I suspect two things
have stood in the way of this process: #1. Most set owners
and folks in general, outside of the scientific community,
know what the dang word even means! And #2. Modern
digital TVs are so "good" most people think they don't even
need calibration.
Succinctly, calibration means to align something to a given
standard, or set of standards. These standards may be
physical, electrical, chemical, or in the case of image
reproduction, a certain range of color and brightness when
standardized patterns are displayed on a TV.
==========
The way I have recently started to explain what I do to
TVs to the average person is to draw a basic shape on a
piece of paper, I.E. a triangle. To the right of that I draw an
arrow, then a rectangular box, another arrow, and a blank
space.
I then show this to the person, explaining that the triangle
is the subject on TV, and the box is their TV set. I then
ask them what should they see to the right of all that, after
it comes out of their TV set. They answer, "a triangle"?
So I draw a circle! (or, a distorted triangle)
The person looks at me, "what?"
I tell them, without calibration, this is what your TV does
to the image of subjects transmitted to it, via inaccurate
color, off tint, or too bright or incorrect contrast. Your
TV may wow you out of the box, but that factory setting
was intended to SELL IT to you, not for long-term TV or
movie viewing, or game playing. Plus, it may shorten the
set's life.
I then explain the two types of calibration: Basic(brightness,
contrast, sharpness, color, tint - the basic user controls),
and, advanced(Basic, plus internal color temperature and
grayscale alignment.). I then explain that most reputable
brands of TVs today(Sony, JVC, Samsung, Pioneer) will
deliver an accurate picture with just the basic controls properly
set. Cheapo brands(Daewoo, Insignia), or older CRT(tube)
TVs might need more advanced additional adjustments to
get them in line.
If they ask me what all this will do, I tell them: You will see,
if not exactly, an image much closer to what the producer or
tv control room engineers see when they make a TV show
or a movie. Plus, the image will be far less stressful to the
eye, and you might even save energy!
==========
This usually sells them, instead of just asking them,
would you like your TV "calibrated"?
Calibration is a big, nerdy, multi-syllable word that few
understand, and perhaps shouldn't even be used to
describe the process of aligning a display and making
it transparent to whatever is shown on it.
No WONDER "display calibration" or "tv calibration"
has fallen out of favor!
Waiting for the crickets ....