ISF & THX Video Calibration
You’ve spent countless hours selecting your projector based on reading reviews and manufacturer specifications. Your efforts earned your purchase of the best video projector for your home theatre. While all of specifications looked good on paper, most consumers don’t know that the correct picture quality isn’t being displayed on the screen. All of that time and effort researching for the best picture based on specifications has gone to waste once the projector has been installed. The projected image is not the original intent of the movie or TV program – and projector brands have it done purposely! The projector you own is capable of much more. Video calibration is the only means to correct the wrongs set by each projector manufacturer and deliver the image intended by the filmmakers!
What is Video Calibration?
Using specialized tools such as a spectroradiometer and a video pattern generator, our ISF/THX-certified video calibrator sets the all-important controls that are found on every video display under the “Picture” menu. The adjustments calibrated are, but not limited to, contrast (white level), brightness (black level), grayscale (colour of white), colour, tint, and colour management, sharpness, gamma, and video processing.
Reasons for Calibration
Whether you’ve purchased a plasma, LCD, OLED, or projector, all video displays are in need of calibration. There are video standards that need to be adhered to and the science of calibration sets your projector to the optimum performance. This is not an optional process for people who care about what their movies and TV series, and sports should look like. It’s a necessity. There are several reasons for this:
Reason 1: Projector brands set up their projectors to make the most sales and not for video accuracy.
Let’s look at it from the brand name manufacturer’s point of view: in theory, if every projector from every brand was set to video standards from factory, then every projector would look identical. That would mean that Sony, Epson, JVC, etc. would all look the same. If that was the case, then what incentive does the consumer have to purchase one brand over another? How could these companies survive in this market? Thus every brand name is guilty of setting up their projectors to what they feel will sell over their competitors at similar price points. Manufacturers rightly assume you will be viewing their projector in a showroom with other projectors installed. Each brand wants to win you over, so all of their projectors are set to pump up blue, red, and green. The result is a picture that looks dark, unnatural, and fake. Have you ever seen a showroom TV with golf greens looking more like a neon Popsicle rather than the true colour of grass? While this may be attractive in a showroom for a brief moment of time, why would you want to permanently watch it this way at home? Projector manufacturers shouldn’t dictate picture quality. Leave that to the artists and the filmmakers who spend countless hours determining what their movie or program should look like. That intent is only discovered by calibrating your projector to the filmmakers’ standard for HDTV displays.
Incorrect Out-of-the-Box Colours of a JVC Projector
Correctly Calibrated Colours of a JVC Projector
Incorrect Out-of-the-Box Colours effect on film Correctly Calibrated Effect on Film
Reason 2: Projector companies have no idea what screen you are pairing your projector with.
A projector brand will never refer to screen pairing. They don’t want to take the focus off of selling their projectors. That’s why most people overlook the importance and effect of the projection screen on overall picture quality. The screen is what reproduces every pixel, colour, and last bit of detail from the projector. It reflects the light from your projector to your eyes. Without the screen, the projector is just a box throwing light. The reflective surface of the screen radically affects the final image. Every screen has a design purpose based on gain, optical coating, and material used. Projectors are calibrated to the specific screen material used. If you desire exceptional image quality, don’t overlook the calibration process of adjusting your projector to the screen surface you chose. Only calibrated projectors display very accurate images on white based-screens. The further the screen is from white, the more extreme calibration is needed. Dark tinted screens (gray/silver/black) reject the most ambient light but radically change white and colour reproduction. The projector needs to be calibrated to the screen to compensate for that tint so it looks correct to your eyes while following the standards.
The Calibrated Solution
Our EluneVision brand screen have white surfaces for projectors installed in dark environments and have gray-tint surfaces to reject ambient light when light cannot always be controlled. All of our projectors need to be calibrated to the screen to see the perfect picture you seek. If purchasing the projector and screen from us, we provide top-tier ISF calibration in our facilities and will ship the projector calibrated to your specific screen. Our 14-year calibration veteran utilizes $50 000 worth of measurement tools to meticulously set the projector’s grayscale, gamma, and colour. The tools used are as important as the calibrator’s skill and we at Eastporters do not skimp on the details. We will rename and store the calibrated setting into the projector and provide an optional report if requested. For our clients who already have a screen installed other than EluneVision, or for those who are interested in watching the calibration process, an alternative THX in-home service is available to our clients from Niagara, Greater Hamilton, and GTA. Simply choose the option you want in our online store.
Why Compromise?
If you want to see your movies, television series, and sporting events displayed correctly…
If you value the artistic intent of filmmakers and not the gross sell-through distortions created by the manufacturers…
…then our ISF/THX calibration service is a requirement your projector cannot live without!
