ISF Calibration

For all who want the truest color and most detailed picture possible from their video displays, Paradyme recommends the set be tuned by our trained ISF technician. Using a special sensor and computer, the technician is able to calibrate the gray scale (color temperature), black level, contrast, and convergence to the NTSC broadcast standard. Unfortunately almost all TV’s are not adjusted properly during manufacturing. This process of recalibrating is time and skill intensive, but well worth the effort.

 

So What Is Monitor Calibration?

If you want to get the most out of your video system, whether it’s a direct-view TV, a rear projector, or a front projection system, it should be calibrated. Calibration is a process of accessing internal settings that determine the color accuracy and ultimate image quality of the picture you see.

Most people wonder why a brand-new TV set would need to be adjusted. Basically it’s because, in the competitive space of a showroom, it’s the brightest pictures that attract the buyers. But once you get that TV set home, those bright settings obscure detail, throw off color accuracy, and potentially shorten the life span of your TV. Unfortunately it’s not just a matter of turning down the Brightness or Contrast controls. (It is smart, though, to adjust both of those settings down from their maximum as soon as the set is turned on.) True calibration means that the internal color temperature is set close to or at the standard for televisions established by the National Television Standards Committee (NTSC). The standard for color temperature is D6500° Kelvin.

 

What You Need to Know

Color temperature in a TV determines the neutral background color against which all the other image colors are set. The NTSC standard of D6500° Kelvin is the whitish gray color of an overcast day (the “D” refers to daylight). Most sets on the market, however, have their color temperature set to more than double that - to a color shifted to the whitish-blue end of the spectrum. This makes for brighter, snappier pictures that call attention to themselves on display floors. But flash does not make for substance - the whitish-blue throws off the accuracy of every other color, and the brightness obscures all the subtle details that make an image involving. It might look good for the first impression, but long term it’s harder on the eyes and can shorten the life span of your set - it’s the equivalent of a car engine operating at high revs all the time.

To get your system properly calibrated, contact Paradyme and make an appointment with our Imaging Science Foundation (ISF) technician.  Check the ISF website at http://www.imagingscience.com..