A couple quick calibration questions

[Colt4587]

Long time reader, first time poster with a couple quick questions regarding TV calibration....

First my equipment

-Xbox 360
-PS3
-46" Samsung model number LN46a530
- Yamaha Receiver model number RX-V663
-Digital Video Essentials Blue Ray Disc

Everything is hooked up via HDMI through the receiver. I just found out that my reciever has been clipping BTW and WTW, which as I understand it, means I need to set my PS3 to limited, and my 360 to "standard." Now, as far as calibrating goes, if I unplug my ps3 from my reciever and plug it directly into my tv, I can view the BTB information.

My question is, can I have my PS3 plugged directly into my TV calibrate for black with the BTB (changing the settings to full), and then plug it back into my reciever and change all the settings back to limited, will that result in a properly calibrated image?

Also as I understand it, YPrPb is for Video and games are in RGB....now since i'm using a blu ray disk it is in YPrPb...will that result in a properly calibrated image for RGB when playing games as well?

And last but not least....When using the reverse grey ramps scale in DVE, when setting contrast I can never get the white to clip, even when set to 100. Is there another way to calibrate contrast level? Or is there a setting in either the TV or the PS3 that I can change temporarily to get it to work?

Thanks alot to anyone that can help, even if you can only answer part of my questions, it will make me alot less confused! Thanks!

[glaufman]

Colt4587 wrote:

Long time reader, first time poster with a couple quick questions regarding TV calibration....

Welcome! I think I can help with a little of this...

First my equipment

-Xbox 360
-PS3
-46" Samsung model number LN46a530
- Yamaha Receiver model number RX-V663
-Digital Video Essentials Blue Ray Disc

Everything is hooked up via HDMI through the receiver. I just found out that my reciever has been clipping BTW and WTW,

On some models, Yamaha has issued firmware updates, and some have reported theirs no longer clip, I don't see one for yours, but that doesn't mean an update doesn't exist... I would start by asking the question of Yamaha...

which as I understand it, means I need to set my PS3 to limited, and my 360 to "standard."

I think this is generally recommended for PS3 BD playback regadless, along with Superwhite "ON", not sure about 360...

Now, as far as calibrating goes, if I unplug my ps3 from my reciever and plug it directly into my tv, I can view the BTB information.

My question is, can I have my PS3 plugged directly into my TV calibrate for black with the BTB (changing the settings to full), and then plug it back into my reciever and change all the settings back to limited, will that result in a properly calibrated image?

Probably not. If you wanted to plug/unplug without changing settings, that might get you even closer, but I wouldn't rely on it. You already know the 663 is messing with the video signal... BTB info is useful for calibrating (and for maintaining the integrity of the video) but not, strictly speaking, necessary for calibrating. For instance, if the background on the pluge pattern in DVE-BD is known to be black, you could start with brightness turned up, then turn it down 1 click at a time until you find a click that doesn't make the background darker. Then go 1 (maybe 2) clicks back up from there and you're real close.

And last but not least....When using the reverse grey ramps scale in DVE, when setting contrast I can never get the white to clip, even when set to 100. Is there another way to calibrate contrast level? Or is there a setting in either the TV or the PS3 that I can change temporarily to get it to work?

Some sets don't let you pump contrast high enough to clip white. This is actually a good thing. There are generally 3 criteria for setting white:
1: No clipping
2: No observable color-shift
3: No eye-strain

I may have the priority order here messed up, but basically, if your display fails any of the 3 tests, turn the contrast down until it passes all 3. If it passes all 3 at the max value, then that's where you leave it. Note that passing 3 will depend on your viewing environment, as well as how you feel that day. Note that #2 if done by eye, HAS to be done with the steps or ramps patterns, as your eye needs a reference to compare against, in this case, grays just below white...

Hope this helps.

[lcaillo]

Colt4587 wrote:

Long time reader, first time poster with a couple quick questions regarding TV calibration....

First my equipment

-Xbox 360
-PS3
-46" Samsung model number LN46a530
- Yamaha Receiver model number RX-V663
-Digital Video Essentials Blue Ray Disc

Everything is hooked up via HDMI through the receiver. I just found out that my reciever has been clipping BTW and WTW, which as I understand it, means I need to set my PS3 to limited, and my 360 to "standard." Now, as far as calibrating goes, if I unplug my ps3 from my reciever and plug it directly into my tv, I can view the BTB information.

My question is, can I have my PS3 plugged directly into my TV calibrate for black with the BTB (changing the settings to full), and then plug it back into my reciever and change all the settings back to limited, will that result in a properly calibrated image?

Also as I understand it, YPrPb is for Video and games are in RGB....now since i'm using a blu ray disk it is in YPrPb...will that result in a properly calibrated image for RGB when playing games as well?

And last but not least....When using the reverse grey ramps scale in DVE, when setting contrast I can never get the white to clip, even when set to 100. Is there another way to calibrate contrast level? Or is there a setting in either the TV or the PS3 that I can change temporarily to get it to work?

Thanks alot to anyone that can help, even if you can only answer part of my questions, it will make me alot less confused! Thanks!

As noted above, there may be some firmware chages for the Yamaha that might affect this. I would talk to Yamaha about it.

Regardless, I prefer to connect everything directly to the set and calibrate directly. This allows you to avoid unknown tinkering with the signal in the AVR and to calibrate inputs individually for sources.

LCD sets often do not clip whites nor show significant color shifts in the whites. With LCDs you can often run the contrast pretty high without these issues. Setting it is usually more a matter of geting the gamma or gray scale that you want, as contrast controls often interact with these parameters. Generally, I focus on getting the best black possible, then getting the transition to black that I want, and let whites end up where they end up, as long as they don't clip.