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5 Easy Steps Towards Video Nirvana
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Clients always ask my opinion on what tweeks are the biggest bang for the buck. There
are 5 things that a person can easily do to make a much television much more easily
watched and none of them require extensive training or expertise. I will address each of
the tweeks below (in no particular order).
1. Letterbox mattes
I found the miracle of mattes approximately 3 years while still owning my good old
analog Pioneer 62" 4x3 projector. On a large 4x3 set a 2.35 ratio movie appears quite
small when compared to the relatively large letterbox bars. When viewing in a darkened
room, the letterbox bars are never actually black as their color turns with the
predominant color of the movie. If you are watching a screen that is mainly green your
bars will have a green hue, if watching a red screen your bars will have a red hue. The
intensity of the bars will also vary as a scene's brightness changes. Quite simply, the
changing of the bar's color and brightness is very distracting on the eyes. Once I made my
mattes, I found I would never watch a flick without them. NEVER! The good news, 16x 9 sets
arrived on the market, now instead of dealing with several aspect ratios (1.78 and 2.35)
there is basically only one aspect ratio being 2.35. Making mattes will only take a couple
of hours of time and the procedure is well documented on Keohi. If you don't have the time
or don't want to put in the effort just give your local craft store a call and tell them
you want 2 pieces of black (or gray or whatever) foam core board that are x by y inches in
height and width. You will be about $30 bucks lighter but also a little closer to video
nirvana.
2. Accurate convergence
It might be hard to believe but some clients whose homes I go to have never done any
convergence work. I am not talking about service level convergence and geometry tweeking,
I am talking about the basic user level convergence. Taking the time to touch up your
convergence is essential to achieving the sharpest picture possible. Make sure you have
had the set on for at least 30 minutes prior to starting. If you have the knowledge to do
service level convergence by all means do it. If not, simply go into your setup menu and
start to get those lines converged. When completed the convergence lines should all be
white. If the lines have red or blue shadows then the red or blue gun is out of alignment
at that spot. Take the time to align correctly and your picture will look much crisper and
film like.
3. 6500K Back light
When viewing your television in a darkened room you may develop eyestrain, this is
because you do not have any depth perception. By simply placing a 6500K light behind your TV you will create
a separation between the television and the background and your eyestrain will be reduced.
If you find that the light is too strong simply place some tin foil strips over portions
of the light to reduce the light output. If you decide to get fancy with your back light
you can hook it into an X-10 system for remote capability or plug it into a switched
outlet on your receiver.
4. 60 minutes of time with Avia
High on my list of tweeking is taking the time to properly set up your front panel
controls. These controls consist of brightness (black level), contrast (white level),
color, tint, and sharpness. Just put in Avia (or Video Essentials) and hit the play
button. You will be on your way to a 45 minute lesson on video calibration. During the
presentation you will be prompted to pause and set up your own controls. It is relatively
easy to do and your picture will much improved after your investment of $25 and less than
1 hour of time. Please keep in mind that this will only set up your DVD input, cable, and
HD are usually not effected and have to be done separately.
5. Removal of the protective screen
This is the number one tweek to get a high spousal approval rating. I wont go into how
to remove (or restack) a protective screen as Keohi has this well covered but I will say
most spouses find the picture unwatchable during daylight hours. This is because of the
reflective glare from the screen. They might be listening to the program but really they
are not watching it. Once the protective screen is removed so is the glare and then the
television is much easier viewed during day light hours. This also carries over to night
time viewing. Even in a controlled environment, there is almost always some light the
room. Whether it is from a popcorn machine, reading light, or remote control. This stray
light will reflect off of the screen and back into your line of sight causing you to be
distracted from the flick. Here are a couple of pictures that a client took to demonstate
the before and after effect on his Sony XBR RPTV.
| BEFORE:
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AFTER:
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See for yourself! |
One Step Closer To
Video Nirvana |
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