Help with Calibration!! User controls on this TV do not allow calibration with Digital Video Essentials. Anyone knows how to enter the service Menu and how to adjust?? Or any one has the service Manuals? Samsung support is of no help at all.
If you think your display is not looking correct geometrically or the standard settings are not producing a sharp, brilliant, and full contrasting picture, I would call 1-800-SAMSUNG for an authorized technician to investigate. The service menu is extremely complicated and requires knowledgable familiarity beyond the technical service manual. I asked a Samsung Executive Customer Relations Rep for the service menu access code so I could check my lamp hours. She said they don't give out that information. She also said if they discover that someone other than an authorized Samsung technician has altered the service menu settings they will void the factory warranty. I'm guessing yours is a new set and would still be under the 1 year factory warranty.
I haven't used DVE, but I'm guessing it does more than the standard user settings allow for. I don't think anything beyond the standard user settings adjustments is really necessary. While there may be convergence or alignment segments of the DVE disc, your set will not need adjustments of that kind as it is a single chip display.
I used a THX setup on my set and found that the contrast needed to be very high. (90-100) I found my color was overdriving, so, I backed it off to 43. The sharpness was too high and I found that 25 was the clearest setting. My brightness calibrated at 45. My tint is disabled because I'm using component cables and some features are greyed out. I went into setup and color weakness and adjust the green to 3. All my adjustments were made with the "Mode" on Standard and the "Color Tone" on Normal.
FYI, thanks for the feedback. Actually the problem I have is to adjust the color decoder. All the other settings ( brightness, sharpness, contrast, geometry I did with no problem with the users control). The color decoder has color errors, it is not possible to adjust the levels just with the color control. I called Samsung, but they actually know less than I do. I also tried the color weaknesses controls, but it only got worse. ( What did you correct with the Green color weakness?? The manual is not very helpful regarding the use of these) I am feeding the HDMI input, via a Denon Player with upconversion to 720p. I tried different formats, (including RGB), but HDMI component is the one that gives less decoder errors, but still not optimal. thanks
The answer is video calibration. The color setting you're having difficulty with it actually called Grayscale. It requires a professional video technician who has been certified by the image science foundation to calibrate it via the service menu. Unfortunately, with these types of things you usually need to do your homework before purchasing the TV and then negotiate with dealer you're buying from. The manufacturer will not help you! However, you can find a professional video calibrator in your local area by checking the image science foundation website. I think calibration starts at around $200. I know that I personally was looking into becoming certified but I did not pursue doing so because of the cost of the calibration equipment. I hope this information is helpful...
I fixed a yellow tendency by adjusting the green color weakness.
When you say "color decoder" I'm a little lost. I'm not familiar with "decoder errors". Is color decoding a feature of the DVE disc? I do know that a service tech can access the service menu and adjust specific values pertaining to the color wheels coordination with mirror switching on the DMD. Perhaps this is what you are referring to. If those values are even slightly off the color will suffer all kinds of abnormalities. What are your user settings? Can you describe the problem with the color other than saying there are "decoder errors"?
A DLP RPTV is not really a candidate for "greyscale calibration" like a CRT RPTV might be. I haven't heard of any DLP set owners who has had this type of calibration performed.
I am a strong believer in getting your TV calibrated by a pro from yhe Image Science Foundation. I have read every single issue of Home Theater mag, SGTHT, Sound and Vision, and The Perfect Vision mags and in every one of this the writers talk about professional calibration reguardless of the display tech.Two friend of mine have hade their tv's calibtated a Samsung HLN 56xxw and a Sony 34xbr910 and both loved the results.The sony was $300 and the Samsung was $400.I have just purchased the Sony 34xbr960 and will be having it calibrated. When my friend that owns the sony came the first thing he said was can you adjust the picture it is way to bright.
FYI, and others The color decoder errors appear in one DVE test pattern which tests the levels of the decoded Red, Green and Blue channel against a standard. It is different from grayscale calibration. Unfortunately, just the color control won't cut it. I have been able to calibrate with no problems Tube TV's with DVE, (but with the tint adjustmet enabled). Unfortunately I live overseas and I cannot call an ISF technician to do it. There is none available here , either. The warranty issue is not a big deal, as I cannot exercise it anyway. This is why I am looking for the Manuals , if anyone has them available.
You can cause the tint to be enabled by using an s-video connection or a yellow RCA video connection for the duration of the adjustment session. Then, switch back to HDMI.
Raducu
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Ignatio,
To access the service menu on your TV, you need to do the following: With the set off, press Mute, 1, 8, 2, Power.
This will get you into the service mode where you can adjust all video parameters of the set. This is a place where only professionals should make any changes. There are many adjustments, and it is very, very, very easy to screw things up. You can easily damage your TV set if you don't know what you are doing... Also, do not make any adjustments to the RGB Gain/Offset parameters. These are not the color decoder adjustments you are looking for. They are the adjustments needed for the grayscale calibration, and they should only be adjusted using calibration equipment such as an optical comparator, colorimeter, spectroradiometer, etc. Even though the grayscale on "ALL TV's", irrespective of brand/technology type, is improperly set from the factory, (this setting, as well as other settings, are intentionally miss-calibrated at the factory in order to make the sets appear more "vibrant", and help them sell better...), proper grayscale/white balance calibration can only be achieved through the use of the afore-mentioned equipment, and by a professional that knows how to use it. Making changes to these adjustments, without the use of calibrating equipment will only worsen the factory grayscale error. DON'T TOUCH THEM! (A word on grayscale: a TV's grayscale, or white balance, is the equivalent of the canvas color of a painting. The whiter it is, the better the dynamic range of the painting colors will be. Similarily, a TV's grayscale affects the video image colors. Video white is considered to be found at D6500. When calibrating the grayscale, a calibrator will try to achieve D6500 throughout the entire range of light output levels. No TV has correctly adjusted factory white levels.)
NOTE: Before atempting to make any adjustments, take a digital snap shot of the default setting, so you know how to restore them to factory values, if needed. However, BE VERRY, VERRY, VERRY careful. Some adjustments can't be undone, except by a service technician! In the end, keep in mind that it is better to watch a "fair" picture than not watching one at all...
With respect to "FYI's" last comment, you cannot use the composite or S-Video inputs to adjust the "Tint" control for your HDMI input. The reason it is greyed-out on the HDMI input, is simply because tint error is introduced during the encoding process, that converts a component signal (Y,Pr,Pb) to S-Video (Y/C), and further exacerbated by the conversion to Composite Video. As such, this error only needs to be corrected when a Composite Video or S-Video signal type is used. As you may know, the HDMI input makes use of a DVI type video signal, and for all intesive purposes, DVI is a digital version of component video (Y,Pr,Pb) signal. Any Tint adjustments you make on any of the other inputs will not affect the HDMI input.
Anyway, I cannot stress enough how much trouble/hurting you can get yourself into, if you make adjustments to things you don't know what they do. Once again, be verry careful! I only have given you the means to get into the service menu because of your specific situation, i.e. leaving far away from professional help...
TO ALL WHO READ THIS POST:
All consumer televisions, CRT's, plasmas, LCD's, DLP's, LCoS, etc, need to be properly calibrated.
For a long time all TV manufacturers have miss-calibrated their sets, through a variety of different means, in order to make them look brighter and more vivid in brightly lit rooms, such as retailers showrooms. This practice, though helps manufacturers move inventory, has a very negative effect on the picture quality these sets put out in our homes, as well as their overall life span. In our homes the TV's don't have to fight the same ambient lighting conditions as in the store, and they do not need to run in "torch" mode anymore. Some simple corrections, such as Contrast, Brightness, etc., can be made by the average consumer, using test patterns such as those provided by Avia, Video Essentials, THX, etc. However, there are many more circuits/errors that need to be turned off/corrected, to allow the TV's to display the best picture they can. These corrections can/should only be done by trained professionals, such as ISF certified technicians, and they will ALWAYS result in a much better viewing experience. If anyone spends $1000 or more on a TV set, they owe it to themselves to get the TV professionaly calibrated. When it is all said and done, the $400-$500 spent on the calibration will be worthwile. It is sad that after purchasing a brand-new TV we, the average consumers, need to pay more money only to get the TV to look as good as it can, but it is the reality...
Ignatio, I hope this info helps and is not going to cause you more problems than it solves.