What is the Right Calibration for my TV?

If you own a flat-panel, rear projection, or LCD television, chances are you're looking for the most beneficial way to get the best possible picture. When it comes to LCD televisions, it's important to note that calibration will provide you with the best possible picture. Unfortunately, every television manufacturer has varying ideas about what kind of picture appears the best. Every company calibrates their televisions to show off that manufacturer’s particular strengths (as well as camouflage their weaknesses). For this reason, in order to customize your television picture, and provide your family with the best possible viewing experience, calibration is necessary. So, how do you calibrate your television to get the best possible picture? Read on for an education.

The first step for calibrating your LCD television is to play close attention to your current surroundings. Before you get started, plant yourself comfortably in the same spot you’d use if you were planning to watch TV. Set the lighting in the same way you'd normally set it, and do your best to avoid any kind of reflection or glare on the screen.

Before you actually get into the calibration process, you should ensure that your television has been running for at least one half hour. This will help to ensure that all the components of your LCD display are at their optimal operating temperature. In the meantime, you should review your television manual, or take this time to familiarize yourself with the menu and display controls offered.

On your menu you'll find brightness controls, contrast or picture contrast controls, detail of sharpness controls, color controls, and hue controls. Each of these can be adjusted to provide the optimal viewing experience. Some of the more modern televisions will also offer you a picture mode. This setting is designed to make the movie viewing experience more dynamic. However, it's best to keep it simple. As you’re watching, adjust your picture to the setting that is most pleasing to you. Instead of tweaking every setting; change only the ones that make the most dramatic difference in the viewing of your television.

Remember, color saturation, sharpness, contrast, and the other visual controls on your television set are designed solely to enhance you’re personal viewing experience. As a result, all the controls can be adjusted based on personal preference.

To most people, the main consideration when calibrating an LCD television is the balance of the black level and the white level. Having each of these settings properly balanced will ensure that you get the most bang for your buck, especially in terms of contrast, for your television. Believe it or not, properly setting these levels can also elongate the life of your television set because you will not be over driving your lamps are your pixels. It also important to remember that the surrounding conditions in which your television is placed or located will make a big difference in how your LCD screen looks. Basically, the lighting in the room, the position of the TV, and a host of other environmental factors will make a difference as to how accurate your television picture display will be.