WOW - Gregg Loewen just calibrated my RPTV
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Gregg just did mine on Monday night (3-21-05). Spent around 3 hrs on it. He hasn't sent the before/after charts.
I'm still blown away with the detail now. Colors are just breathtaking.
I knew I had a "red-push" but didn't know it was almost purple.....
You have to remember (in my case)..I live in Texas, he's from Maine....Gregg really gets into his calibration & uses one piece of equipment that costs over $5000 when he is ISF calibrating.
Money very well spent on my Toshiba 51HX83 (my HDTV cost a little over $1800).
Barney
I'm still blown away with the detail now. Colors are just breathtaking.
I knew I had a "red-push" but didn't know it was almost purple.....
You have to remember (in my case)..I live in Texas, he's from Maine....Gregg really gets into his calibration & uses one piece of equipment that costs over $5000 when he is ISF calibrating.
Money very well spent on my Toshiba 51HX83 (my HDTV cost a little over $1800).
Barney
Gregg was here on March 21 & did his thing........DVD's have never looked this good (have an issue with one NCAA regional game with CBS by OTA)...broadcast programing has a long way to go...OTA/Cable/DSS.....NTSC (never the same color) & ATSC (ain't the same color)...errrrrrrr!!!!
Breathtaking my friends..........I have a new HDTV.....
Thank you Gregg......you da man!
Barney
Breathtaking my friends..........I have a new HDTV.....
Thank you Gregg......you da man!
Barney
Gregg will be here in exactly 1 week. I can't wait to see the difference!
I've been putting up with OOB (Out of Box) settings for 17 months and the local TV shops don't even know how to spell 'ISF', nevermind perform a calibration.
I'm too chicken to access the service menu and change values. It may cause it not to function at all.
7 days.... woooo!
I've been putting up with OOB (Out of Box) settings for 17 months and the local TV shops don't even know how to spell 'ISF', nevermind perform a calibration.
I'm too chicken to access the service menu and change values. It may cause it not to function at all.
7 days.... woooo!
Mark_AR said:
I did some service menu tweaks on my Hitachi 51G500 (About 20 of them that I found on the web) and it improved the picture a great deal. The best one was changing one of the values to get rid of the Red Push. It's no professional job, but much better than out of the box. I'd like to have mine professionally calibrated when I feel I can drop the $400-$500 bucks.
Cheers
Gregg was here today and my Sony RP LCD looks stunning...really.
I'm very disapointed that I got stuck at work and couldn't meet Gregg but my roomate and a buddy from PA were here and enjoyed the visit.
Thx, Gregg. Maybe I'll get to thank you in person some day.
I'm very disapointed that I got stuck at work and couldn't meet Gregg but my roomate and a buddy from PA were here and enjoyed the visit.
Thx, Gregg. Maybe I'll get to thank you in person some day.
Gregg just left a little over an hour ago and I haven't stopped saying *WOW* yet. 
Dragging 3 cases full of equipment and a laptop, he took the protective screen off and started covering the inside with duevetine. That in itself was a big improvement.
Then when he started showing me how far off my black/white levels and color levels were, I couldn't believe that a manufacturer could send out a product in such horrid condition. (I would compare it to a new car with the spark plug wires crossed and the timing way out of whack)
As all have stated before me, I think it was worth the money and I now have a brand new 17 month old set. It's time to get out all of my DVD's and watch all of my HD-DVR movies and really enjoy HD-Net the way it was meant to be.
Gregg also confirmed that my OVERSCAN problem was *NOT* my RPTV. It is caused by the E* 921.
The 921 is adding about 9% on each side and 4% top and bottom because he set my RPTV to 4-5% all the way around. (within specs)
I am impressed. Gregg is a master at what he does. I feel it is money well spent and I would gladly have him back to calibrate my next set as well as any yearly re-tweaks.
Dragging 3 cases full of equipment and a laptop, he took the protective screen off and started covering the inside with duevetine. That in itself was a big improvement.
Then when he started showing me how far off my black/white levels and color levels were, I couldn't believe that a manufacturer could send out a product in such horrid condition. (I would compare it to a new car with the spark plug wires crossed and the timing way out of whack)
As all have stated before me, I think it was worth the money and I now have a brand new 17 month old set. It's time to get out all of my DVD's and watch all of my HD-DVR movies and really enjoy HD-Net the way it was meant to be.
Gregg also confirmed that my OVERSCAN problem was *NOT* my RPTV. It is caused by the E* 921.
The 921 is adding about 9% on each side and 4% top and bottom because he set my RPTV to 4-5% all the way around. (within specs)
I am impressed. Gregg is a master at what he does. I feel it is money well spent and I would gladly have him back to calibrate my next set as well as any yearly re-tweaks.
Ok, you guys have me drooling! How do you get in touch with Greg to get a price quote and an appt?
At the price point involved, I just can't help finding more issues with this service. My latest is the realization that this calibration is very temporary in that it is keyed to the input source. If you calibrate for you your DVD player, it's good until you buy a new DVD player, which seems to happen about once a year.
If you also or only calibrate for your STB input, that is good until you change your STB or the STB gets a major software upgrade. For those of us with a Dish 811 receiver, there have been two software upgrades in the past year that seriously altered PQ via DVI. Then if you want to upgrade to a Dish 942 DVR, again you are out of calibration.
I think the hi-tech calibration probably yields good results, my issue is the cost versus the longevity of those results.
Just some thoughts on a lazy Friday afternoon.
If you also or only calibrate for your STB input, that is good until you change your STB or the STB gets a major software upgrade. For those of us with a Dish 811 receiver, there have been two software upgrades in the past year that seriously altered PQ via DVI. Then if you want to upgrade to a Dish 942 DVR, again you are out of calibration.
I think the hi-tech calibration probably yields good results, my issue is the cost versus the longevity of those results.
Just some thoughts on a lazy Friday afternoon.
Good point....
But if you buy a 49.00 DVD player and connect it to a 3000.00 HDTV monitor, then calibration is not for you on the DVD input. OTOH if your DVD player is high end like a Denon 2900 (MSRP $999) then I would guess that you are gonna hang onto it for more than a year.
Then, your next point. He calibrates your display with a $7,000+ signal generator and NOT your 811, 921, 942.
You are at the mercy of your signal provider and their software/color/overscan outputs, but you can bet that when Gregg leaves your screen is as close to perfect as it will ever be so when you do connect your receiver back up, it is going to look 100% better than it did when the two monkeys dragged your HDTV off the truck and set it up in your living room.
HDTV's are adjusted at the factory for a bright showroom picture in a high fluorescent lighted store. It is totally different in a darkened home theater setup. You don't go to the movies and have high output florescent lights blaring while watching the movie.
I spent quite a bit on my calibration. I am happy.
In the end, the best analogy I can make is that some people drive a Kia (sub $10,000 car) and others drive Hummers($45,000+). Each will get you from A to B.
Every HDTV will give you a picture whether you buy it for $1200 at Walmart or spend 4-$8,000 on a plasma screen. But some people like a picture that is as close to natural color for a more enjoyable experience.
Same can be said with Audio Equipment. I've had a $400 Optimus receiver and speakers for surround and now I've got a Harmon Kardon AVR 7200 7.1 Surround, PSB speakers all the way around and a Klipsch KSW-15 Sub. The first one sounded good, but the current setup ROCKS.
Bottom line - Calibration isn't for everyone. But if you want to watch a screen that makes you feel like you are there with vivid, true color, then Gregg is your man.
I am permanently spoiled now.
But if you buy a 49.00 DVD player and connect it to a 3000.00 HDTV monitor, then calibration is not for you on the DVD input. OTOH if your DVD player is high end like a Denon 2900 (MSRP $999) then I would guess that you are gonna hang onto it for more than a year.
Then, your next point. He calibrates your display with a $7,000+ signal generator and NOT your 811, 921, 942.
You are at the mercy of your signal provider and their software/color/overscan outputs, but you can bet that when Gregg leaves your screen is as close to perfect as it will ever be so when you do connect your receiver back up, it is going to look 100% better than it did when the two monkeys dragged your HDTV off the truck and set it up in your living room.
HDTV's are adjusted at the factory for a bright showroom picture in a high fluorescent lighted store. It is totally different in a darkened home theater setup. You don't go to the movies and have high output florescent lights blaring while watching the movie.
I spent quite a bit on my calibration. I am happy.
In the end, the best analogy I can make is that some people drive a Kia (sub $10,000 car) and others drive Hummers($45,000+). Each will get you from A to B.
Every HDTV will give you a picture whether you buy it for $1200 at Walmart or spend 4-$8,000 on a plasma screen. But some people like a picture that is as close to natural color for a more enjoyable experience.
Same can be said with Audio Equipment. I've had a $400 Optimus receiver and speakers for surround and now I've got a Harmon Kardon AVR 7200 7.1 Surround, PSB speakers all the way around and a Klipsch KSW-15 Sub. The first one sounded good, but the current setup ROCKS.
Bottom line - Calibration isn't for everyone. But if you want to watch a screen that makes you feel like you are there with vivid, true color, then Gregg is your man.
I am permanently spoiled now.
I just checked the price to do my Panisonic 34in CRT which will be a little over $500 for 2 connections, Denon DVD-900 and D* HR10-250 HD DVR. If not for the "soon" to come change over to MPEG4 at D*, and the Blue-Ray or HD DVD fight, I think I'll wait a while, but it will get done.
chunchma said:
So are the other guys listed on the WEB site just as good as Gregg?
I live in Texas and Steve Martin is listed as being in Dallas.
hi guys!
Mark, thanks for the accurate explanation and kind words.
Raymo....not sure how you got your pricing but a crt tube set is $275 for ALL applicable inputs.
Basically pricing is as follows:
Travel fee (50-100 depending on where), or a split of travel costs amongst clients.
Non HD tube set $225
HD capable tube set $275
Plasma, LCD, DLP (front or rear) up to 3 inputs $400
Rear Proj crt sets - video setup and ISF of the DVD scan rate $400.
crt add on (ONLY FOR CRT RPTVs), HD (with HD convergence) $150
Front projector CRT calibrations, pricing individualized and based on services required.
Hope this helped!!
Regards
Gregg
Mark, thanks for the accurate explanation and kind words.
Raymo....not sure how you got your pricing but a crt tube set is $275 for ALL applicable inputs.
Basically pricing is as follows:
Travel fee (50-100 depending on where), or a split of travel costs amongst clients.
Non HD tube set $225
HD capable tube set $275
Plasma, LCD, DLP (front or rear) up to 3 inputs $400
Rear Proj crt sets - video setup and ISF of the DVD scan rate $400.
crt add on (ONLY FOR CRT RPTVs), HD (with HD convergence) $150
Front projector CRT calibrations, pricing individualized and based on services required.
Hope this helped!!
Regards
Gregg
