TVs to look at in the future; pro set-up

[StanleyNTL]

Would like to see reviews of : Panasonic lxd700 lcd, px700 plasma, pz700 plasma;
Hitachi T series - plasma+lcd, Hitachi progressive plasma (Autumn)

We ought to be pushing for a near-pro picture mode, where the basics are pre-calibrated for discerning videophiles - greyscale,colour points, gamma etc. So you don't need to be an engineer to correct the usual out-of-the box nonsense; I saw the Sharp 42XD1E O.T.B. - looked awful!
Your site helps out here, but the average buyer would need to replicate all your calibration (including service menu stuff), to achieve the same performance - and that's not cheap.

Are some sets off-standard, because the underlying technology is not up to the job (meeting the relevant video standards)? 

[Colin]

Thanks...we are keeping an eye on the Panny 700 series. Hopefully we'll get our hands on them.

Yes, the industry seems to be heading down a different route...with most picture enhancement having the word `dynamic' in front of it  . They should really be focussing their research on improving the current limitations to achieving video standards. But I suspect there is a huge market out there for inaccurate pictures. The eye instinctively responds to the following PQ aspects: contrast ratio, colour saturation, colour accuracy, resolution (and brightness as well), so any technology that `enhances' them, whether accurately or not, will get public approval.

The perceived value of `pro-calibration' is reduced with less expensive sets. Paying 250-300 pounds for calibration of a £1000 TV seems a lot to swallow, even for better pictures. I don't know how to bridge this gap, but there is no reason why a £1000 TV shouldn't deserve a chance to look its `best' (read accurate).

There are many reasons for off-standard sets, but the proprietary `picture processing' is probably the worst one.

[DVL73]

Yes, the industry seems to be heading down a different route...with most picture enhancement having the word `dynamic' in front of it  . They should really be focussing their research on improving the current limitations to achieving video standards. But I suspect there is a huge market out there for inaccurate pictures. The eye instinctively responds to the following PQ aspects: contrast ratio, colour saturation, colour accuracy, resolution (and brightness as well), so any technology that `enhances' them, whether accurately or not, will get public approval.

You won't believe how many people just don't care about the "PQ" aspects. Just feed them with retina burning colours, alien looking contrast, ridiculous brightness (as they will use the TV as public display) and that's it. You can fool the naïve eye easily if you are careful enough. Not to mention that many people are classifying their sets as nice looking furniture with handy programme watching feature. Then you have the elitism/snobbism in all it's glory ... and so on and so on. We care more about the number of pixels then anything else nowadays. I understand manufactures. Need is gone, hopefully not for good, and why they should bother at first place. Marketing & PR people knows the best I believe :-) As icing on the cake, market is driven by cheapo panel production and injecting  the "accuracy" in the manufacturing process is just wishful thinking. It's not surprise to me that nowadays many panels are suffering from rudimentary problems - like panel uniformity and backlight bleeding. Proper QOS is negatively affecting the final price.

The perceived value of `pro-calibration' is reduced with less expensive sets. Paying 250-300 pounds for calibration of a £1000 TV seems a lot to swallow, even for better pictures. I don't know how to bridge this gap, but there is no reason why a £1000 TV shouldn't deserve a chance to look its `best' (read accurate).

Honestly, I believe that ANY "display" set deserve a chance to look it's best. Not only because of the set itself, but because of our precious eyes. You raised interesting question here:  price for display calibration ? If user is adventures enough and care about this subject either as part of the hobby or professional choice, start-up price is not that steep I would say. You can buy nowadays (for example) Pantone Eye-One Display 2 hardware colorimeter for  £150 or so. If you pair this with freely available calibration software (like Color HCFR), it's fanstastic start-up (if ColorFacts or CalMan are not the options). Of course, that's just part of the story as user have to learn about the colours, PQ aspects, calibration process itself and that's not the easiest job in the word, as otherwise investment is wasted. Probably biggest advantage of DIY set-up is that it's applicable to any display set user may have in the future.

[ash]

The TV I would love to be reviewd is the Toshiba 37X3030D/42X3030D. It is the new X-series 1080p TV, just been released. Shame it has no 100hZ tech, that will be incorporated in the Z-series.

Here is the TV: http://www.home-entertainment.toshiba.co.uk/consumer/products.nsf/pages/lcdplasma-regzax?opendocument

[Colin]

Yes the frame interpolation tech will probably swing it around for Toshiba this time. So the flagship Z series will be the exciting thing.

Looking at the 24fps input feature, I shudder to think what it will do with it after accepting such input. Will it triple to 72hz or remain at 60 Hz? In any case, the 3:2 judder have been around the since the first HD players, so why the sudden interest? ok...we can still benefit from native frames without displays doing clumsy 2:3 pulldown detection.

 

[trout]

Can't believe you guys have missed this one!

http://avblog.co.uk/2007/04/24/bush-launches-world%e2%80%99s-first-hd-ready-154in-tv/

[Genesis_PT]

I would like to see a review of Philips 32PFL7562.    It´s a medium range tv and not everybody can afford the top of the game!
I just bought it and i can´t get the settings right!
I have a good cable and a good tv signal, but i´m very frustrated, because i can´t calibrate it.
What do you think of THX to calibrate the set?
And DVE? Is it very hard to calibrate the tv with DVE?

Please help me, I´m can´t get it right.

[Colin]

  Nice trout...we may look at bush, and hannspree, and atec and Teco but they are WAY down the list.

We have plans (we always have) to write some calibration guide but that's on the backburner.

All I can recommend now is that you use PAL DVE and refer to this site for information.

www.ramelectronics.net/html/Video-calibration.html