Calibration?

[Pete Delaney]

Hi folks,
Last night I did some calibration on my Z1 in low lamp mode using my 28" JVC as a reference, which is directly below my 83" widescreen, and my 'mk 1 eyeball'. The reason I wanted to play with the settings was to try and counter the effects of ambient light being generated by magnolia walls and a white ceiling (I can't paint the walls unfortunately).

I have achieved some really nice results, contrast and colour are much better when compared to cinema mode. However, in order to achieve this I have some of the settings turned up v high. Is it ok to have some of the settings turned up high/fully? Mid setting is 32 and I have the contrast up full at 64. The result is V V pleasing, it's really good now but I don't want to potentially damage the pj....

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated

Cheers.
Pete...

Edit: The pj is still in low lamp mode, which is where I want it to stay.

 

[Peter Parker]

On my first DLP. a Davis DLS8, I ran the contrast at almost one end of the scale, and the brightness at the other. I was surprised that those settings gave the best results as well, but it didn't seem to have any detrimental effects as far as I could tell.

I don't think you'll damage the pj by adjusting the settings, as that's what they're meant to be there for, and if you get a good picture from it, that's all that matters.

Running the lamp in high instead of eco (if it has one) will reduce lamp life, but that's about it as far as I know.

Gary.

 

[Pete Delaney]

Cheers Gary,

At the mo I am bored out of my head as I am in the middle of an 8 week lay off due to back surgery. So I am pretty much housebound, but it did give me plenty of time to do a search on this very question.

From what I now understand, brightness and contrast do not affect lamp intensity as that is fixed in either low or high mode. I believe it just alters the way that the lcd panels deal with the light from the lamp. I am sure someone 'in the know' will confirm this.

During my search, what did petrify me was the amount of Z1 owners (and others) getting ridiculously low lamp life. One poor fella had 280hrs and then it went pop.

Blimey that's criminal! I wish lamp makers would place a minimum hours guarantee instead of a stupid 3 month guarantee.

 

[LV426]

Yep. Brightness & contrast only affect the maximum and minimum opacity for the LCD pixels within the LCD's own limits. No impact on lamp life, and no impact on the LCDs will result from driving them 'hard'. Indeed, it is often necessary to do so to squeeze the last percent of performance out of an LCD.

 

[Pete Delaney]

Cheers Nigel,

That's great to have it confirmed. I have got good results now in a very light painted room, when compared to the picture that the 'out of the box settings' gave me...