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