Fact or Fiction? Overscan, Deflection, etc.

[slacker9876]

The "Master Tech" from Ultimate Electronics is here at my house now adjusting many things from geometry to convergence on my problematic Samsung HCL552W. I showed him the HDNet test pattern (3rd screen) and he is saying that there should not be any numbers on the left or right as the recording on my HD TiVo says there should be. He keeps talking about deflection (I have no idea what the heck that is) and saying it will overdrive the amps on my CRT guns to hard.

He said whomever recorded the test pattern for HDNet was "too close."

He said the pattern is intentionally defunct to keep pirates from stealing and selling programming.

I am not a master tech, I am an IT Director. Is this fella technobabbling me?

I am skeptical about his comments because I have read here that this is a "good tool." Would some one in the know please help me to know if he is correct or the recording is correct?

Thanks fellas! I have lots of faith in the member of this community.

 

[slacker9876]

C'mon on guys ... the way everyone here talks we all know it all. Can no one help me with this?

 

[RichardF]

Interesting post considering I just answered a similar question at HD Library over the same denial of over scan by someone who is considered to be a professional.

Yes, there is overscan on nearly all display products and while 1-3% is preferred, 3-5% is obtainable and 6-9% is common out of the box. What you need is an ISF imaging professional.

ISF Calibration
http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewtopic.php?t=4

Calibrator listings
http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewforum.php?f=1

 

[RichardF]

oh ya...

The HDnet pattern is not reference so you can't go by it. It is a little bit off but I forget exactly how...

 

[slacker9876]

Welcome to SatelliteGuys.US!

Thanks Richard, it is nice to see some percentages in association with this. The tech went ahead and did what I wanted, my TV now looks better than it ever has. I also managed to peek the service codes while he was here and will have those in the future.

I would agree with you that ISF is a good thing but at $450 per scan rate it is a little too pricey for my set. I have an entry level product which only cost $2100 with the 5-year warranty and this was in February 2002. Anyway it is now worth about $1000 including the extended coverage, so for $450 per scan rate with 2 scan rates needing calibration I am at the point where it is not cost effective. With my next set I'll likely look into this.

My set does look better than it ever has and I very happy with it's quality at this point. It is no longer blurry for 30 minutes upon power up and the detail is at new levels for both HD and SD programming.

Any recommendations for amateur calibrators? Most of us do not have ATSC signal generators but do have Digital Video Essentials or something like it.

 

[RichardF]

at $450 per scan rate it is a little too pricey for my set

Hmm... Don't where you got that price

I am at the point where it is not cost effective

Please check that link again for the correct pricing and also an additional post to address your concerns over value.

http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewtopic.php?t=4

It is no longer blurry for 30 minutes upon power up

Check this link as well for that...

http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewtopic.php?t=1201

We have always recommended the purchase of a calibration DVD for a better understanding of what this is all about, to give you the necessary patterns to adjust the customer controls properly and also evaluate some aspects of the displays performance such as color decoding.

The question you need to ask yourself here is not the value of the display or the price of calibration but how much you value accurate imaging. That is tough as more than likely you have not had the pleasure of experiencing an accurate image over a period of time. That said there are many who are quite happy with the results!

http://www.hdlibrary.com/viewtopic.php?t=1202

 

[DarrellP]

Over at AVSForum, they were explaining in detail about how inaccurate the HDNET test pattern was for overscan. I forget the particulars, but it is not correct. I think it may have been in the <$3500 pj forum, but not sure.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

One problem with Calibration DVD's is that most TV's have seperate settings for each input and each HD mode, so while you could do a good calibration at 480p using one on most TV's the calibrations may not help you at all on 180i or 720p.

 

[slacker9876]

Well 5 days in now I am very happy with my TV it looks great. I think the tech did well. I'll look into ISF but without a tech in the Loveland / Ft Collins area I am not paying a trip charge from Denver for it. Tonight I'll evaluate my 480p scan rate. we have not watched a DVD yet.

Thanks for all the tips fellas. I will have the TV calibrated but probably not before a couple years pass.

 

[RichardF]

on most TV's the calibrations may not help you at all on 180i or 720p.

Actually on any TV. That is why there is an additional charge for each scan rate. That said you can still use the same settings you obtained with the DVD as a ballpark for the others. With HD you can set nearly all the same things with a test pattern from HDnet or other services such as BravesNet here in Atlanta which is great for checking the color decoder and setting the black level.