How to Calibrate your Screen

The single most important thing you should do when you get your new TV home is change its factory settings. Most people don’t realise this and do nothing more than plug everything in and switch it all on. You aren’t going to make the most of your expensive purchase if you do this The factory settings for the majority of TV screens are designed to show the screen at its best on brightly lit shop floor, not the average dimly lit living room. So some things to bare in mind once you’ve switched on: first all pick up the manual - I know, I know, real men don’t need manuals, but trust me it’ll save you at least an hour - and figure out how to change the following:

Colour

Natural colours are what you are looking for on a good picture. Many people labour under the delusion that oversaturated, bright colours make a high definition picture. But take a look at Dale Winton or David Dickinson on screen thats oversaturated with colours and you’d be forgiven for thinking that they have been ‘Tangoed’ (obscure 90’s reference for those old enough to remember). Generally try to keep your colour levels to around 45% to 55% , although for some Philips and LG LCD screens it could drop as low as 40%

Contrast

With a lot of attention paid to a TVs Contrast Ratio, its not surprising that many people believe that the higher the contrast the better. Not so. This will in fact make colours look too vibrant, white especially will look too bright while blacks will look unnatural and lacking in depth. For LCD TVs, try to keep your Contrast set to around 65% of the maximum , and for plasma go as low as 55%. 5% either way should be fine. These settings should provide adequate colour vibrancy and rich blacks, while retaining a suitable level of background detail.

Brightness

An overbright screen will result in washed out, and misted looking dark areas. For both LCD and Plasma screens try to set your brightness at around 45% to 55%

Aspect Ratio

To stop TV images jumping from one aspect ratio to another, its best to switch off the Automatic Aspect Ratio system on your set. This is a process whereby the incoming signal is analysed and the TV tries to work the best shape in which to show the picture. Most TVs don’t do a great job of this and it can be quite irritating especially when watching commercial TV and the screen jumps to accommodate different aspect ratios as you switch from the movie to the ads. If your TV is hooked up to a digital box or you only watch DVDs then just select the 16:9 (or widescreen) ratio to suit the majority of signals. If the picture becomes too stretched then simply pick up your remote and switch to the 4:3 aspect ratio. (A little bit of exercise for you there)

Noise Reduction Systems

In built noise reduction systems aren’t always as good as they appear and can sometimes result in Smearing, softness and blockiness. Try turning them off once in a while to see if the picture quality improves. In fact you might be better using them only when you know the source signal is not up to scratch. You definitely shouldn’t need it switched on when viewing a HD source.

Room Light Sensors

If you’ve spent ages calibrating the image to your specific tastes, then the last thing you need is an artificially intelligent Ambient light sensor trying to detect how bright it is and adjusting the picture to suit. Switch off any of these types of processes, they’ll only mess things up.

Of course all of these are just rules of thumb, individual TVs can have very different settings, its largely all about experimentation. Remember too that most TV have a ‘Return to factory settings’ option to don’t be afraid to play around until you get it just right

BBC HD to hit Freeview

The BBC trust announced yesterday that they have given the backing for a fully established BBC High Definition Channel . The channel is currently trialing on Sky HD and over Cable. The schedule will be drawn from the full spectrum of BBC channels and will not simply be a High Definition version of BBC 1. A spokeperson said yesterday the a 4 hour service could be launched ‘almost immediately’, but the feeling in the trust is that the public must be consulted first because a 9 hour service will follow but this will almost certainly mean that us ‘the public’ will have to buy a new set top box to receive it. Further discussion will be undertaken regarding the delivery a full schedule on Freeview early next year. Meanwhile the service will be assessed during a public consultation period, which will run until October 23.

How does upscaling work

Now I know a lot of you reading this will already know all there is to know about upscaling and which type of hardware will upscale the best, but a lot of our readers don’t, or have heard of it but only in the vaguest sense and know only that it can improve the picture quality of their DVD collection. Many DVD players on the market today claim they can render a high definition picture via their HDMI outputs. In the UK the standard Definition of a DVD is 576i, which is very far removed from the 720p, 1080i or 1080p resolutions that represent high definition images, and if it is indeed true that DVD players can convert all DVDs to high def why on earth should you go out and blow your pay-cheque on a next gen HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player. Well the truth is that upscaling falls somewhere in between standard definition and true high definition and an upscaled DVD will never look as good as a native Hi Def image on HD-DVD or Blu Ray disc. The process of upscaling attempts to increase the number of pixels received from the DVD to match the number of pixels on the display, and its a little known fact that most LCD or Plasma screens are able to convert the signal they receive from the DVD players into the native resolution of the screen itself, thus performing their own albeit limited upscaling (limited to keep the price of the TV down). Upscaling built into modern DVD players will improve the picture still further simply because this is what they are designed to do - upconvert the resolution of the DVD to match the native resolution of the screen by adding pixels, softening the picture and performing sharpening all of which can give varying results. For the best outcome you should judge for yourself the picture quality by referring to your DVD players setup instructions, choosing the most appropriate output resolution for your screen. If you get it right the benefits can be significant, get it wrong and you have artefacts and jaggys all over the screen

SAMSUNG LE40M87BDX

Yesterdays post about Samsungs LE40M86BDX (Note the 6) available for a bargaintastic price of £800 has prompted this post today. The LE40M87BDX is essentially the same TV as the LE40M86BDX. The M86 model is exclusive to Currys and Dixons and the difference between the two is purely a cosmetic one - the M87 TVs have a silver strip running along the base of the screen, the M86 does not. So now that we’ve cleared that up, whats the LE40M87BDX actually like? Well as with other Samsung ranges, the first bite is taken with the eye and the nicely curved shiny black bezel is nothing but appealing. But picture performance is where it truly excels; the already impressive FULL HD 1080p screen is enhanced by an adjustable backlight and Samsungs proprietary ‘Super Clear Panel’ which boosts the contrast ratio and significantly improves colour rendering. Samsung have also incorporated something they call ‘Movie Plus’ which uses some technical wizardry to reduce ‘Motion Judder’ and produce a much sharper picture. A lot of the time we find that titles such as these are designed to gloss over a products inadequacies, however this is definitely not the case here. Perhaps what is most notable about the M87 is the impressive black levels produced by the screen, the depth of blacks have been favourably compared to a similarly sized plasma, indicating therefore that the ‘Super Clear Panel’ is much more than a marketing tag line.

Standard Definition performance is more than adequate for an LCD TV of this nature (remember a lot of HD LCD TVs suffer here) and fast moving sources such as sports are inevitably prone to minor motion smearing. High definition sources are as about as good as it gets on an LCD screen. All this and 3 HDMI ports too. Safe to say that Samsung have a cracking TV here and at price that is becoming increasingly more affordable.

Buy the SAMSUNG LE40M87BDX (actually M86) from Currys or Compare prices of the Samsung LE40M87BDX here

SAMSUNG LE40M86BD 40″ 1080p TV £800.17 delivered

THIS POST IS A FEW WEEKS OLD NOW AND CURRYS HAVE PUT THEIR PRICE UP BUT YOU CAN COMPARE THE LATEST PRICES OF THE SAMSUNG LE40M86BDX HERE

The LE40M86BD is one of the more popular TVs with HDTVSite visitors. I was pleased to discover that, at least until the end of september, you can get it from Currys for as little as £800.17 thanks to their £60 off voucher code AW60TVSEPT. At the moment this TV costs £1099 in store so a £300 reduction represents a remarkable bargain if you ask me.

“Looking for a TV that can deliver full high definition? This 40” Samsung television can reproduce 1080p HD images the highest definition you can get when connected to a 1080p HD source. Additional image enhancing technologies help ensure brilliant colours, smooth motion during fast-moving scenes and an optimal gaming mode with even faster response times. An integrated digital tuner gives you access to Freeview channels without the need for additional equipment. There are 3 HDMI inputs for connecting your HD DVD, set-top box and multimedia devices without losing any picture quality”

I’ll post a write up of this TV shortly but in the meantime it does come highly recommended. Buy the SAMSUNG LE40M86BD from Currys now.

High Definition TV without the monthly Subscription…

I posted yesterday about Channel 4’s new High Definition Service which essentially is a subscription free service but, as with BBC HD, you have to subscribe to SKY HD in order to watch it. Well actually that aint necessarily so. Cue the Fortec Star Passion, an ideal alternative to SKY. Now don’t get me wrong, you cant use these to watch Sky’s own subscription channels, these are encrypted and only SKY Boxes can decrypt them, but they still let you watch BBC HD and no doubt the soon to be released Channel 4 HD along with a host of other Standard definition channels too, oh and of course you’ll still need a satellite dish to make the most of it. However once you’ve scanned the Astra 2A satellite then you have access to a host of extra channels totally free HD results are reportedly impressive with BBC HD transmissions so far being on a par with that delivered by Sky and Virgin Media. On the downside tho, the standard definition content isn’t as clear as it could be on the larger screens, and the Fortec Star Passion isn’t a PVR like the SKY HD is. But weigh that up against the fact that you don’t have to pay Sky’s monthly fee and make up your own mind.

Buy the Fortec Star Passion from Maplin today

New High Definition broadcast from Channel 4.

In the UK, Channel 4 announced yesterday that they would would soon be providing their own high definition TV service in December 2007. As with the current programming on BBC HD it will be available for free via the SKY HD box (no word yet on the Virgin Platform). Sadly this does mean that although the Channel 4 service is being provided free of charge, you’ll still have to fork out for a Sky HD box and viewing card in order to see it.

“Channel 4’s aim is to offer our viewers maximum flexibility in accessing our high quality programmes and content at a time and in the format of their choosing,”Be it sports, movies, documentaries or entertainment, Sky HD customers can now access the richest selection of content in HD.”

This announcement is a step up for free to air High Definition programming because Channel 4 are going to be the first channel to broadcast all their content in both standard and High Definition simultaneously. For now the BBC HD service is restricted to selected High definition content and a lot of repeated programming.

Plasma ‘Screen Burn’ - is it still a problem?

I’ve mentioned previously that plasma screens, while undoubtedly the purists choice for HDTV are struggling at the tills and are being significantly outsold by LCD screens. One of the reasons for this could be the notorious Screen Burn. This occurs because some TV channels display a logo at a fixed position on the screen, owners of the early plasma found that this logo was being burned into the screen, so that it was still visible even when watching other channels. This is an old problem, but people are still concerned about it: manufacturers however have had plenty of time to put this right and newer plasma screens are rarely affected. LCD screens never have suffered from this problem.

HDTV Glossary: Interlaced or Progressive Scan - What is it?

One of the more popular questions asked by people looking to dip their toes into the HDTV market place is just What is the difference between a Progressive Scan and Interlaced picture. Well simply put, Progressive scan screens draw all the lines on the screen at once, however on an interlaced screen the picture is rendered in two (albeit incredibly fast) stages. The first stage draws every other line on the screen, (think of them as the odd numbered lines). A split second later the even numbered lines are filled in. This happens so quickly that the naked eye is fooled into thinking it is seeing one image. So 720p or 1080p screens draw 720 or 1080 lines of the image in one go, whereas a 1080i screen contains 1080 lines of detail rendered in two stages. The 1080i image will contain more detail than the 720p but there will be some flickering and jagged edges when watching fast moving scenes. The popular consensus is the interlaced image is fine if you want to watch movies, but if you are interested in sport then its better on a progressive scan screen.

Currys Discount Vouchers and Codes for September 2007

 

Currys have announced the following Discount Codes valid until 30th September 2007

 

1. £10 off when you spend over £150 AW10TVSEPT
2. £15 off when you spend over £200 AW15TVSEPT
3. £20 off when you spend over £300 AW20TVSEPT
4. £40 off when you spend over £550 AW40TVSEPT
5. £60 off when you spend over £800 AW60TVSEPT
6. £100off when you spend over £1000 AW100TVSEPT
7. £120 off when you spend over £1200 AW120TVSEPT

Click any of the above links to be taken to the Currys Voucher page, make your purchase then enter the discount code at the checkout.

Next Page »