Is professional ISF calibration worth it?

[cinnabun93]

I have a Panasonic GT30 and was wondering if it would be worth it to get an ISF pro to calibrate it. I know bestbuy has the service but have read that they do a crappy job and that I should get someone who is on a tour. I have a red green color deficiency so I have trouble seeing them in patterns. I am not colorblind to them mind you I just can't see them in those number pattern things. Or should I just get the Spears & Munsil blu-ray calibration disk. Is professional ISF calibration a rip off?

 

[Claude Greiner]

I had Lyon AV professionally calibrate my television.

They did an excellent job, I had them do my friends TV also and he still thinks Vivid mode looks better

 

[Rey]

I had Lyon AV professionally calibrate my television.

They did an excellent job, I had them do my friends TV also and he still thinks Vivid mode looks better

 

[navychop]

Because of my TV lacking some of the controls the cal disc needed, I was never able to completely cal mine. But my wife is happy, so..........

 

[lakebum431]

Do not use best buy. That is not worth it. I had my 60" pioneer kuro calibrated by one of the well known members of Avs forum and the difference is amazing. That being said it does take a little getting use to if you ate used to watching the fake bright colors in a vivid like mode. Now I cringe at this type of mode.

 

[dfergie]

Moved

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Yes worth it.

 

[teachsac]

Definitely. If the cost is prohibitive, There are several discs available, Spears, DVE, etc. That will get you a nice picture.

S~

 

[KE4EST]

I have not personally had one done professionally, but I know ones who have and yes its worth it. I've also heard the same about BB, but again have not had any experience with them.

 

[gadgtfreek]

First, Lion Av is an excellent group, Gregg does my stuff.

Second, I just bought a 65" GT30 and the THX mode was very good out of the box. If you look at my thread on it, you see where I posted charts of THX mode as found, and the grayscale error is very low, as well as the color chart looking nice. So, if you are tight on budget, I may recommend trying THX first and see what you think, if you do not like it, you may not like a pro cal. The other thing is, the GT30 is very limited on calibration controls, so they only thing someone can do is tighten up grayscale a bit and maybe get a little more out of color.

For someone anal like me, Ill have Gregg out in a bit to tweak it, but for many, THX mode looks nice enough. Also keep in mind the tv's shift over time, so as you get year after year on it, it will lose it's accuracy. I have my own meter so I have been calibrating my Samsung every 3 months, but yearly is fine if you are paying someone to do it.

Also, before calibrating, have you installed the 2.1 FW Luminance Patch? Have you checked to see if yours is a model that us pre fluctuating brightness fix? All things to do before getting a pro calibration.

Teachsac is also right. Even in THX mode, you will find contrast too low for most, and brightness was too high on mine. These you need a test pattern for, and I like DVE and Disney WOW.


Finally, look here for other ideas on who to hire:

http://www.thxvideotech.com/forum/showthread.php?542-THX-Certified-Video-Calibrator