[nheather]

My downstairs kit is (or soon will be)

Pioneer 500M
Panasonic BD35 BluRay
SkyHD
Denon 1909 Amp
Harmony 885 Remote

I'm intrigued by ISF but a little unsure because

(i) I have the feeling it's relatively expensive. What sort of ball park price are we talking?

(ii) Is it much of an improvement over a fairly technical amateur using DVE (or equivalent)?

(iii) I don't hold with the uber-expensive cables - I'll typically spend no more than £20 on a cable. I see cables priced at £100s and I just can't contemplate it. My fear is that if I get an ISF calibrator round he would scoff at my cabling, or make caveats that he can't do his job properly or insist that I spend another £300 on new cabling. Is my fear founded?

Cheers,

Nigel

[Big_Si_Owen]

I'm interested by this too Nigel. I believe ISF calibration is in the region of £300-350 (from asking the question in the past regarding my projector.)

We're planning an extension for later in the year and am planning to get it all set up properly then. I'd be interested to hear of people's experiences and any improvements they gained.

[docock]

I had Gordon down a couple of weeks ago to calibrate my system in which the "V" portion consists of a panny BDP 55 and an LG projector, connected by a £20 HDMI cable.

The improvement was fantastic.

The cost was less than my Bluray player and worth every penny.

I have no reservations in saying "go for it"

[dts197]

Originally Posted by nheather

My downstairs kit is (or soon will be)

Pioneer 500M
Panasonic BD35 BluRay
SkyHD
Denon 1909 Amp
Harmony 885 Remote

I'm intrigued by ISF but a little unsure because

(i) I have the feeling it's relatively expensive. What sort of ball park price are we talking?

(ii) Is it much of an improvement over a fairly technical amateur using DVE (or equivalent)?

(iii) I don't hold with the uber-expensive cables - I'll typically spend no more than £20 on a cable. I see cables priced at £100s and I just can't contemplate it. My fear is that if I get an ISF calibrator round he would scoff at my cabling, or make caveats that he can't do his job properly or insist that I spend another £300 on new cabling. Is my fear founded?

Cheers,

Nigel

I doubt very much anyone would scoff at your cabling and would never insist on you spending a load of extra money on hdmi leads etc. Think my hdmi leads cost about £30 to £40.

Not sure on the price today but mine cost £350 for 3 sources (although I only paid £50 for one as my plasma came with a 2 source ISF)

Trust me, getting your plasma calibrated is definitely worth it, especially when you own a top class plasma like you do.

The difference really is night and day. When I first got my Fujitsu I was happy with the picture out of the box but after calibration, I realised just how bad a picture it used to be. Seems to have held the settings well after 2 years.

Well worth the money. Neil Davison (think I've spelt it right!) who is on the forums did mine. Top bloke.

[Neil Davidson]

Hi Guys,

I do believe that an ISF calibration is more than worth the money and on the displays we have now, can make huge improvements over a basic DVE setup.

No ISF pro who I know would ever scoff at a persons cables and equipment. If genuine opportunities for improvement exist then they would advise but this is not the business for esoteric and expensive cables.

Nice to hear that an old customer is still happy . I very rarely calibrate plasma displays these days. I am so busy with other things that I simply do not have time, nor I must say the interest in flat panels to take on many offers. I do very much like a good projector calibration though!

[Ewoody]

Hi, nheather,

read here ..

http://www.avforums.com/forums/isf-c...ion-worth.html

[Iain Gibson]

On your 2nd question, if you know what you're doing with DVE you can get brightness right and contrast & sharpness in the ballpark. The colour filter method is not accurate and it gives no help with colour temperature (white balance), gamma, colour management, de-interlacing, ... all of which need pro equipment and knowledge.

I'd say it's worth using DVE because it's informative and it gets you on the first couple steps to full calibration -- but it's no substitute

Cheers,
Iain

Originally Posted by nheather

My downstairs kit is (or soon will be)

Pioneer 500M
Panasonic BD35 BluRay
SkyHD
Denon 1909 Amp
Harmony 885 Remote

I'm intrigued by ISF but a little unsure because

(i) I have the feeling it's relatively expensive. What sort of ball park price are we talking?

(ii) Is it much of an improvement over a fairly technical amateur using DVE (or equivalent)?

(iii) I don't hold with the uber-expensive cables - I'll typically spend no more than £20 on a cable. I see cables priced at £100s and I just can't contemplate it. My fear is that if I get an ISF calibrator round he would scoff at my cabling, or make caveats that he can't do his job properly or insist that I spend another £300 on new cabling. Is my fear founded?

Cheers,

Nigel