Calibration & Settings: Sony KV-36HS420?

[Jerry Vauk]

I just replaced my KV32XBR100 - it died after 8.5yrs (both tuners need to be replaced...). I got a Sony KV-36HS420. I am curious what settings people use for this set:

Color Temp: Cool ; Netural ; Warm
ClearEdge VM: High ; Medium ; Low ; Off
DRC Mode: Interlaced; Progressive; CineMotion

I plan to use my AVIA DVD to do some basic calibration. Should I get a professional calibration? Any referrals for Austin TX? I am not sure I will currently benefit from a professional calibration given my current signal set up: Standard Cable, TiVo on S-Video and Sony DVP-S550D connected via component outputs. I don't have digital cable since the cable box is such a pain with stand alone TiVo boxes. The DVD player is older so it not progressive scan.


Thanks,
Jerry

[WOLVERNOLE]

Jerry- -
Why don't you tweak it out yourself, as you mentioned w/ AVIA, and then see how you like it.
You might consider neutral or warm; VM off; and depending on what you are watching re. progressive

My question is whether you go with PRO or STANDARD. I think either way, you can custom set.

[SethS]

It's hard to pass up using "PRO" mode, it just sounds right. Sorry to hear about your old 100, those were great. These new Sony's respond very well to a professional calibration of the service menu, however, until you can get it calibrated I would recommend you use your test disc to properly setup the picture controls. The color temp is probably somewhere in between Warm and Neutral, so choose what looks best if you don't have a reference to compare to. The standard practice is to turn off or disable any circuit that claims to bring any sort of benefit to the picture. Though this sounds rather humorous, what I mean by that is usually the "noise reduction" and "Clear edge" features, and all the other similarly worded "advancements" are merely giving the appearance that they are benefiting one aspect of the image, all the while they are destroying other parts. So begin by turning off all of these types of controls, even Sharpness. Then, one at a time, try turning them on and notice what changes in the image. I like to look at bold images of straight horizontal and vertical lines, as well as some curved ones for good measure. As you increase and decrease these circuits you should notice a type of false contouring that will appear as a hallowing effect. This is what we call the dreaded EE, for Edge Enhancement (not to be confused with the other type of EE that is the lunk that came up with these controls in the first place).

[Jerry Vauk]

Thanks for the suggestions - I am using PRO mode and working my way through the AVIA calibrations. One thing that I curious about is whether a professional calibration will be worth it given my current components - i.e. TiVo via S-Video and an old Sony DVD player on component inputs?


Thanks,
Jerry

[JimPV]

Hello all... my first post! Got a KV-36HS420 recently and calibrated it (with Avia) in the "Vivid" mode. Needless to say my white level is almost at the bottom (4 clicks up).

I thought the 4 different modes were just the basic settings at different pre-sets. A friend just pointed out to me a few days ago, though, that the settings adjusted the same in both "Pro" and "Vivid" still give a different picture.

Should I be calibrating in the "Pro" mode? Does it matter?