TV & Home Theater

[vikesfan05]

   So I had my new Samsung 55 in LED TV calibrated on Sunday, 04/30/2012 and I thought I'd share my experience and after thoughts if the service performed.

   I had to scheduled twice for the GS agent to come out because I'm suppose to have a certain amount of time run on the TV to break it in before calibration was done, the first time I scheduled it, they could've told me this but they didn't.

  The Geek Squad agent that came out to my house was nice, courteous and informative. The calibration was also done in about 1 hour, 15 mins. Some if the was done using the original TV remote with the TV settings, most if it was done using his laptop and equipment.

   After the calibration was done, I could tell right away what the difference in picture quality was. The picture is more dull, very gray and it is significantly dimmer and blurry (GS agent called it smoother,) than any other settings before the calibration. He also showed me the difference, switching back and forth between settings, telling me that it is a more natural look and it is seen how the movie is supposed to be seen. I questioned myself, I bought this TV because it looked good at the store, it was appealling with bright colors and a good picture.  The GS agent explained about the lighting in the store and told me that it will save more energy and not run as hot, therefore, the TV will last longer. He also showed me the before and after graphs and charts of the calibration, something to give to me.

  I thought that the calibration was suppose to optimize and enhance the picture of the TV. At the store where I bought my TV, I was shown a comparison of two same TVs, one calibrated and one that is not. The one that was calibrated had better blacks and whites, but dimmer, the non calibrated didn't have much contrast on the whites or blacks. What I ended up with was a very dull, grayish blurry picture, looks nothing like what I paid for. I didn't pay $2000 for a TV and $199 for a calibration to watch it in economy mode. I thought that LED TVs are brighter and runs cooler than LCDs and plasmas.

  My final thought, I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND this to anyone that owns a Samsung LED TV. I can't speak for LCD and plasma owners but this is definite not neccessary. I'm pretty sure the TVs come out of the boxes the way they are suppose to be run, or at least they look the best out of the box. If you really want a natural look, there is a setting on the Samsung LED TV for that, which is very similar to the calibrated setting, (the GS agent did not compare this setting to the calibrated setting, I had to find out for myself when he left.)  In my opinion, calibrating a TV is more of helping save energy by sacrificing picture quailty than it is enhancing and optimizing it. People don't spend $2000 for a TV to watch in economy mode, especially if it is an energy star rated TV already.

[rwe528]

My tv is calibrated and I love it. I think you just need a little time for your eyes to adjust to the Cali.

[lostsol97]

 I had my TV calibrated and I love it. I do work in the hoome theater department and I have people get calibrations done all the time. The ones that I talk to after getting it done like it as well. I have had a few that did not like the end result just as you don't and what we offer to do is go out again and see if we can adjust it more to your liking. If we are unable to adjust to where the customer is happy we will reset the TV back to factory defaults and refund their money. A calibration that is done correctly should look amazing on an LED and as the agent said it is better for the TV. If you are really not satisfied talk to the store and they should be able to take care of you.

[Jimmienomam]

I agree. Samsungs are notorious for being bad out of box. People (like my wife) confuse colors "popping" for good PQ. Don't get me wrong if you like your colors to stand out and "pop" then by all means it is your tv. I user calibrated my ST30 and my wife thought the picture looked terrible for 48 hours because the colors looked dull and didn't stand out. I have it set up for as close to true color reproduction as I could get it. There is some adjusting period after calibration, but if you continuously dislike it then see if they can do it again.

After 48 hours I swapped it back to the old settings and she hated it. She said it looked unlifelike and way too bright of colors.

Likewise I have done 2 friends TVs the same and one waited a week to see if he needed to get used to it. He still didn't like it and turned it back to torch mode. I laughed, but told him it is his tv and he can choose whatever he likes.

The GS agent could have been correct in that he got the best picture out of it stat wise, but it might not have been the best picture for YOU. Calibrations (properly done) try to get the lowest black levels (without crush) and try to balance the colors to get the closest to real life color reproduction. To some people this makes a bad picture.

To be clear I am by no means saying that the agent did do everything properly or that the problem is you getting used to it as I haven't seen the tv. But some people don't like a properly calibrated picture.

Oh and when I game online I turn contrast, brightness and green up as it gives less darker shadows (meaning that its harder for a person to hide from me). I would rather not have a darker, more accurate picture then if it means I did easier. So I realize where people come from in possibly not liking a calibrated picture.

[vikesfan05]

 So I decided to give it some time to see if my eyes would adjust to the calibration, it's just not cutting it. On my initial post, I said that I got the calibration because of what I was shown at the store. Why does my calibration look nothing like it? The level of gray that is currently present, the blurryness, I don't see how this is suppose to be good for watching anything. I also went back to the store that I bought the TV from, they still have the side by side TVs that compares a calibrated TV to a non calibrated TV, why does my look nothing like it?

 Everyone keeps saying, turn my TV back to the original settings, what good is that gonna? I paid for a product that is suppose to enhance my viewing experience based on what I was shown. Not to mention that they won't refund me my money because it's pass the allowable time to return the service due to the fact that I have to allow the TV to break in and have at least 100 hours of run time. 

 I emailed the GS agent about grayness and blurry issue, he just told me to turn it back to the original settings, he also told me to look at the graphs that he emailed me, they are at their preferred levels.

 Thanks. This will be the first and last time I will be buying a TV calibation from best buy, not to mention that the store I bought it from is going to be closing.

[DarkWingDUCK]

Been a while since someone has looked at your thread.  My recommendation:  If you are unsatisfied with the calibration, there is a 1.5 year labor warranty.  You are allowed to request a REDO of the calibration, especially since you have made the store know of your disatisfaction.

In my district we have two calibrators, one of which is much better than the other.  Calibrations are only as good as the people doing them.  Request a REDO and ask for a different calibrator than the one from the first visit.  Usually there are two per district.

[rwillen]

Best Buy calibrations are very hit and miss. 90 minutes simply isn't enough time to do a proper color and greyscale calibration. If you have a bluray player, pick up the Disney WOW calibration BR-D. It's an excellent way to setup the picture on your TV. It's not a full blown calibration, but it does a very nice job at helping you set color, tint, brightness, and contrast which will get youj 75% there.