[a9801Rob]

Hi all - hope this is in the right place.

Sorry if the answers to some of these issues have been discussed to death - did try searching the forums first.

I've been looking into calibrating my UK model Sony 40W4000 LCD set for a while, and now have an Eye-One and the free HCFR software. I'm using some HD patterns via a disc in my PS3, and I'm referring to the GREYSCALE & COLOUR CALIBRATION FOR DUMMIES thread on curtpalme.com.

The TV doesn't have the conventional RGB LowEnd/HighEnd options. Instead it relies on a 5 separate ‘levels’ system, starting at Level 0 (dark) and ending with Level 4 (light). At each Level you can adjust R, G + B to a number between 0-1023 in order to get an accurate greyscale. Additionally, the set has no separate gamma controls, so I've been adjusting the 5 levels in order to also try and bring gamma into some sort of line (whilst still keeping the greyscale intact) – whilst it’s tough, this seems to work in principle. Sadly, the TV has no form of Colour Management System, so I'm stuck with what I'm given. Thankfully the primaries are really good (apart from blue).

Anyhow, my questions:

1) There seems to be some different opinions on whether you should a) use the suction cups to stick the Eye-One to the LCD screen or b) not - instead trying to get the sensor to 'lie' on the screen with the LCD at about a 30 degree angle.

Any advice? If I use the suction cups the screen does lighten at the points where the Eye-One sticks to the screen. However, I think the bit of the screen the sensor reads from isn't affected (i.e. lightened), but I'm worried this may be throwing my measurements off slightly.

2) Potentially silly question here:
Am I right in thinking that the conventional ‘brightness’ setting effectively raises (or lowers) gamma uniformly across the entire IRE range (and does nothing else)?

My current plan is to try and get my gamma line how I want it in terms of shape (which will be significantly too bright), and then uniformly darken the picture with brightness in order to get to a decent (darker) gamma. Seems easier to do it this way, as darkening the picture sufficiently via the Levels 0-4 system I mentioned earlier seems to cause problems (gamma line becomes VERY curvy).

3) Any definitive answer on the PS3 SuperWhite option - on or off? It seems loads of the threads I've read are anything but definitive.

Many thanks,
Rob

* also posted on avsforum.com *

[Greyscale]

Anyhow, my questions:

1) There seems to be some different opinions on whether you should a) use the suction cups to stick the Eye-One to the LCD screen or b) not - instead trying to get the sensor to 'lie' on the screen with the LCD at about a 30 degree angle.

Any advice? If I use the suction cups the screen does lighten at the points where the Eye-One sticks to the screen. However, I think the bit of the screen the sensor reads from isn't affected (i.e. lightened), but I'm worried this may be throwing my measurements off slightly.

I wouldn't use the suction cups.
So long as you have good light control in the room a much better idea would be to attach the sensor to a tripod, at a height that places the meter directly in line with your test patterns and not at an angle. If you don't have a tripod holder, you should be able to "rig" something up, by attaching the sensor with tape, etc.

2) Potentially silly question here:
Am I right in thinking that the conventional ‘brightness’ setting effectively raises (or lowers) gamma uniformly across the entire IRE range (and does nothing else)?

My current plan is to try and get my gamma line how I want it in terms of shape (which will be significantly too bright), and then uniformly darken the picture with brightness in order to get to a decent (darker) gamma. Seems easier to do it this way, as darkening the picture sufficiently via the Levels 0-4 system I mentioned earlier seems to cause problems (gamma line becomes VERY curvy).

The brightness control should be used to set black level.
It will affect low-end gamma, but if you use it for this purpose, make sure that you check a conventional black-level pattern to see just how much detail you have lost, or how much below-black data has become visible.

3) Any definitive answer on the PS3 SuperWhite option - on or off? It seems loads of the threads I've read are anything but definitive.

The Super-White option should be on.

[a9801Rob]

Thanks for that.

You seem to be backing up the advice I've received over on avsforum.com –

AVS Forum

- can't be a bad thing!

The only thing slightly unclear in my mind now is the backlight setting. I'm planning on setting it as low as possible for calibration (once I've checked that artifacts etc don't crop up as a result of setting it too low), as it can then be adjusted as necessary for daytime viewing. Just got to see if my set can handle having the backlight minimised now...