HDTV calibration question

crunchb3rry

crunchb3rry

CAGiversary!
I am going to get an HDTV and realized I only have DVDs with the THX Optimizer to calibrate it. Meaning the DVDs would be upscaled and not as reliable for adjusting the brightness/contrast and sharpening.

I got to thinking, do you really need discs to calibrate a TV? Since they can display photos, I was hoping maybe people knew some sites that had large 1920x1080 images of the same tests things like calibration DVDs display as a static image anyway. Things like the color chart (with accurate colors), blooming box, black-to-white gamma gradient, etc.
 
There's a test tv program that runs often on I think HDNET late at night. Shows all the patterns you're looking for.
 
[quote name='striker199']There's a test tv program that runs often on I think HDNET late at night. Shows all the patterns you're looking for.[/QUOTE]

Did not know that. Thanks for the info!
 
Yeah, thanks for the info. Just set a recording on my DVR for it.

If anyone else is looking for it, the next time it comes on is October 4 at 10am. The official name of the program is HDNET Test Pattern.
 
A long time ago I paid like $40 for the AVIA DVD and that shit sucked a LOT, such a complete waste of money, it was ghetto and useless, they basically just said "Hire a professional" over and over and had a menu-maze of different outdated patterns for different outdated technologies (they focused on CRT).
 
www.avical.com

There are a few test patterns on their website but if you want the best possible image, I highly recommend you invest in a professional calibration. They use professional equipment and mess around with the internal settings of your TV to create the most accurate picture. A full calibration for me was around $300 and made a HUGE difference on my set. The guys who run this company do calibration tours around the country every few months and they really know their stuff. If you want the best possible picture on your set, I highly recommend you have a professional calibration.
 
You could just buy one of the Avia or Digital Video Essentials calibration discs. They're not great, but they have all the test screens, color filter sheets etc. you need to do an ok job.

Professional calibration is certainly much better, but I'm far, far from being a videophile so I'd never pay for one.
 
That site only has thumbnail samples taken from Digital Video Essentials. What I'm looking for is just those images as JPG (ideally BMP) files since they are standard patterns. I see there being no need to buy a DVD that simply displays still images when those same images have got to be available for free somewhere. My problem is I can't find any sites that have them and was hoping some people in the video field knew some.

Maybe I'll have to search some more. Or even if I can find explanations of what specific colors certain patterns use (like the RGB hex codes) I could try and set up Photoshop with an appropriate color profile and make my own. Keeping in spirit with CAG, I'm just hoping to avoid dropping $30+ on a disc I'd use once that provides nothing more than still images rigged up to be displayed as single frame DVD chapters.
 
You can try looking on the avsforums, I think someone there made a freeware disc you can download. The site is great for a ton of things and you might find other helpful threads over there as well.
 
There's a lot of freeware ones, one in particular I can't remember but it's like the non-DVE standard videophiles use. The problem is I don't have a DVD burner though.

I did manage to find a few perfect images. I copied them to my photobucket account so I might upload some of the better ones here for others. I've got two color bar variants that appear to be the correct colors, a 10 step black-to-white gradient, and a brightness image to set a quick and dirty base black level. Basically all the stuff a THX Optimizer offers but in 1080p resolution. All I might need now is one of those 50s style test cards for sharpness adjustments.
 
 
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