Why don't TVs come calibrated?

Sessen Ryu

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Why aren't the default settings of a tv calibrated to produce the best picture?

If manufactures are worried about how their tvs look on a shop floor then why not ship them out in "shop-mode" which shows off their tv in bright conditions, and have a 'reference' mode, or whatever for when you get home?

Surely having a tv already calibrated would be a selling point in itself? So I can't understand why it isn't done?
 
I know what you mean, but everyone's eyes see things differently
 
I know what you mean, but everyone's eyes see things differently
no you calibrate to a standard not what a person sees

Curly

P.S. what Insanity202 posted in the post below :smashin:
 
Sessen Ryu said:
Why aren't the default settings of a tv calibrated to produce the best picture?

If manufactures are worried about how their tvs look on a shop floor then why not ship them out in "shop-mode" which shows off their tv in bright conditions, and have a 'reference' mode, or whatever for when you get home?

Surely having a tv already calibrated would be a selling point in itself? So I can't understand why it isn't done?

Time, money and training. Plus a tv is calibrated to your viewing envrioment.
It takes around 1hr+ to calibrated a tv, money to train staff and to buy decent calibration tools and software. So a production plant turning out 200k+ panels will need to have them 'breaking in' for 50hrs+ (depending on brand) then calibrated. Alot of man hours and expense.
 
no you calibrate to a standard not what a person sees

Curly

P.S. what Insanity202 posted in the post below :smashin:

Yes i understand that, but my eyes are really terrible, and what i see you dont see, and visa versa
 
Sorry, I didnt mean that the shops should do it, I meant that the manufactures should do it. They only need to do it the once, then every single tv they make they can clone. I appreciate that in the home everyone has different viewing conditions and tastes, but isn't this just fine-tuning? For the majority of us, a bog standard calib for an average room would surely be a big improvement
 
well they do have I think the 5 default settings, Warm, Warm 2, Dynamic, Cool, Neutral... or similar settings.

Curly
 
Sorry, I didnt mean that the shops should do it, I meant that the manufactures should do it. They only need to do it the once, then every single tv they make they can clone. I appreciate that in the home everyone has different viewing conditions and tastes, but isn't this just fine-tuning? For the majority of us, a bog standard calib for an average room would surely be a big improvement

But there is also a range of performance even among TVs of the same model. This is often the result of different performance characteristics in the thousands of tiny components that are used. These add up and effectively mean that each TV needs slightly different calibration settings. The THX mode on some Panasonic plasmas is actually an attempt at what you suggest. I've calibrated lots and lots of Panasonic plasmas and the accuracy of their THX modes range from 3DEs (which is an excellent picture) to as much as 9DEs (not so great). This range illustrates the point that you can't just apply a set of calibrated settings and get consistent accuracy across the production line. I suspect that it could be achieved if they put higher grade components in but then you'd be have to spend a lot more money on your TV and with there being very little margin on TVs as it is this is very unlikely to happen. There are also the other issues rightly raised in posts above too.

The simple answer is rather than doing all this at the factory and paying a whole wad more cash for the privilege, just get a pro in to calibrate it at home (prices range from £200-£300). There's a link to the AVForums calibrators map in my sig which will help you find one near you. :) Then you'll have peace of mind that your TV is accurate and optimised to the max and won't have to indulge in all the fruitless random number swapping that is de rigueur in the many calibrated settings threads! ;)
 
Last edited:
Yes i understand that, but my eyes are really terrible, and what i see you dont see, and visa versa

Think you're wrong there. Take an apple sitting on a table. If we both look at it we will see 'an apple' What you see and what I see may be differently interpreted by our brains - but it's the same apple. So we are both looking at the "same" object. A standard set up on a TV will look the "same" to you and me.
 
But there is also a range of performance even among TVs of the same model. This is often the result of different performance characteristics in the thousands of tiny components that are used. These add up and effectively mean that each TV needs slightly different calibration settings. The THX mode on some Panasonic plasmas is actually an attempt at what you suggest. I've calibrated lots and lots of Panasonic plasmas and the accuracy of their THX modes range from 3DEs (which is an excellent picture) to as much as 9DEs (not so great). This range illustrates the point that you can't just apply a set of calibrated settings and get consistent accuracy across the production line. I suspect that it could be achieved if they put higher grade components in but then you'd be have to spend a lot more money on your TV and with there being very little margin on TVs as it is this is very unlikely to happen. There are also the other issues rightly raised in posts above too.

The simple answer is rather than doing all this at the factory and paying a whole wad more cash for the privilege, just get a pro in to calibrate it at home (prices range from £200-£300). There's a link to the AVForums calibrators map in my sig which will help you find one near you. :) Then you'll have peace of mind that your TV is accurate and optimised to the max and won't have to indulge in all the fruitless random number swapping is de rigueur in the many calibrated settings threads! ;)

Agree with above and what Insanity says.
Cheap components can have quite a wide range of tolerances, a lot of components in these sets all interacting, impossible to clone a set without it costing a fortune, even with good components you'll get some variation.

1-2 hour's extra in production of each set alone would also put up the costs, let alone having the equipment and staff to do it, even then it wouldn't be bang on due to your environment and the rest of your kit.
 
Loewe have started to calibrate their TVs at the factory. Colour is pretty accurate out of the box. I'll be having a visit from an ISF calibrator soon to tweak it but it appears the factory calibration isn't quite ISF standard. Greyscale will probably need tweaked.
Also I believe that the current Philips 8000 series has some factory calibration as well.

Hopefully with the likes of Apple selling devices with accurate colour reproduction more companies will follow their lead.

A comparison of iPad screens showing the improvements in colour accuracy:

http://www.displaymate.com/iPad_ShootOut_1.htm
 
Loewe have started to calibrate their TVs at the factory. Colour is pretty accurate out of the box. I'll be having a visit from an ISF calibrator soon to tweak it but it appears the factory calibration isn't quite ISF standard. Greyscale will probably need tweaked.
Also I believe that the current Philips 8000 series has some factory calibration as well.

Hopefully with the likes of Apple selling devices with accurate colour reproduction more companies will follow their lead.

A comparison of iPad screens showing the improvements in colour accuracy:

new iPad Display Technology Shoot-Out

Sounds just like THX on Panasonic sets. Loewe aren't a major manufacturer either and charge a lot for their sets.
 
Because is costly, maybe ?! And the price for their products would increase ?!
 
Because is costly, maybe ?! And the price for their products would increase ?!

Yep.:)
Seems Panasonic are offering the new ZT calibrated, though still won't be calibrated to your environment.
 
+1 on the last 2 comments.
Its not just cost, but the environment aswell, although if i understand the OPs query correctly, then i would say that there are calibrated settings as standard on most gods TV's, although calibrated to each manufacturers standard. If you're looking for something like a REC709 mode then youre looking pretty top end, ive only seen this on the new Panasonic projector, although the new ZT65 plasma may have it?

Failing that, all the 2013 Panasonic TV's featuring ISF calibration can now be setup via the Viera Remote 2 App.
 
as far as I know all tv`s are set to a bog std before shipping with other modes set to a std, so if you want thx set you going to pay more a lot more for one and you need a thx room to site it in to get the best from it, if you get a set with isf modes you can pay someone to calibrate it for the room its going to used in.

Here we have no issues with the default settings in the modes it has and we found cinema mode was very close when it was compared with the isf calibrated settings just a bit warmer but we like the cool side in this room.
our whites are white with hint of blue tinge blacks are black and colours pop, so if you want the tv to look as good as thx set get it calibrated for the room you use it in.
 
Loewe have started to calibrate their TVs at the factory. Colour is pretty accurate out of the box. I'll be having a visit from an ISF calibrator soon to tweak it but it appears the factory calibration isn't quite ISF standard. Greyscale will probably need tweaked.
Also I believe that the current Philips 8000 series has some factory calibration as well.

Hopefully with the likes of Apple selling devices with accurate colour reproduction more companies will follow their lead.

A comparison of iPad screens showing the improvements in colour accuracy:

new iPad Display Technology Shoot-Out

The last CRT tv i calibrated (around 2003 or 4 i think) was a Loewe. It was the most innacurate tv i have ever measured. It was so off the scale bad the software i had at the time couldn't plot the greyscale error. Glad to hear they decided to do something about it as they were nice looking sets when done.

Regrading the " i see differently to you" comment. The poster who mentioned the viewing of apples really hit it on the head. Instead of looking at the apple though consider the apple is being recorded by a video camera and then it is being played back on your tv and you are both looking at the recorded image of the apple. In order for you both to see the apple the way the person recording it expects you to see it you both need to have your displays set up to the same display characteristics. That is what the tv standards are all about. If you want to make your red apple look more purple then go ahead but it isn't what it looks like and it wouldn't be how it would look like if you were viewing it in real life as described by that poster.
 
Sounds just like THX on Panasonic sets. Loewe aren't a major manufacturer either and charge a lot for their sets.

Selling half a million units or less a year they have to.
 
The last CRT tv i calibrated (around 2003 or 4 i think) was a Loewe. It was the most innacurate tv i have ever measured. It was so off the scale bad the software i had at the time couldn't plot the greyscale error. Glad to hear they decided to do something about it as they were nice looking sets when done.

Regrading the " i see differently to you" comment. The poster who mentioned the viewing of apples really hit it on the head. Instead of looking at the apple though consider the apple is being recorded by a video camera and then it is being played back on your tv and you are both looking at the recorded image of the apple. In order for you both to see the apple the way the person recording it expects you to see it you both need to have your displays set up to the same display characteristics. That is what the tv standards are all about. If you want to make your red apple look more purple then go ahead but it isn't what it looks like and it wouldn't be how it would look like if you were viewing it in real life as described by that poster.

I had my 12 year old Loewe Aconda CRT, which has clocked over 8000 hours useage, calibrated last year and the results were fantastic. The picture is so much better now. People really have no idea the differnce calibration can make.

At the time I had that TV calibrated the guys at work were giving me pelters. As far as they can see the picture you see on your TV is what you get used to so there is no need to spend money on calibration. I did try to explain about standards but it just fell on deaf ears.

People don't give a toss so manufacturers don't have to worry about spending money on accurate setup. Must be frustrating being in the film or TV industry with a calibrated production chain to know that most peeps are watching something a fair bit away from looking as the director intended.
 
Bang and Olufsen calibrate all their TVs in house. YouTube Beovision 10 and watch the advert for how they are built.

Can you imagine buying any other item which was set to below average when you buy it? We are being conned, it isn't that far fetched that all TVs should come with a certificate of quality.
 
like i said if you want certified calibrated tv`s you going to pay for it and b&o are not cheap, a 32in alot of money.
you get what you paid for if you want better pay more or pay some 3rd party to calibrate it.
 
like i said if you want certified calibrated tv`s you going to pay for it and b&o are not cheap, a 32in alot of money.
you get what you paid for if you want better pay more or pay some 3rd party to calibrate it.

And by the time you've done that, got a stand, got a decent av receiver with a decent sound bar to match, you may as well have got the Bang and Olufsen!
 
And by the time you've done that, got a stand, got a decent av receiver with a decent sound bar to match, you may as well have got the Bang and Olufsen!

Or a calibrated VT65:).
 
just had a look at the B+O video....Are you aware that EVERY tv goes through that same calibration. The fact they show a probe going on front of a set means nothing. What is important is what the probes measurements are telling the manufacturer and how they are tuning their set with that data. Then of course there is the question of what happens when the unit is put in a different environment with a different ambient or operating temperature from the factory...or in some sets case, what happens when all the parts actually stabilise. All the B+O video shows is a tv being made. If Sharp, Panasonic, Philips etc wanted to do a nice advert they could have shown the same processes in their factories i'm pretty sure.

I will say that tv does look pretty though, certainly much prettier than the hugely overpriced rebadged/branded 65" unit i saw a few years back that was essentially a Panasonic at twice the price with an alloy bezel fitted on front......
 

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