Professionally calibrated Mits HC1500...

[Keith from Canada]

Hey all.

A friend of mine had his Mits HC1500 calibrated by Michael Chen (aka Michael TLV) on the weekend and all I can say is that I am now very happy that I ordered one. Of course, a pro calibration will make any projector shine but it's always nice to see that the projector that you just ordered (I won't get mine until early April) calibrates well and is capable of producing a phenomenal image!

Before getting into the specifics, I'll let you all know that I've had experience with Michael before. He calibrated my old 47" Panny RPTV and he's done a number of my friends displays in the past...all with very good results. He comes with some very expensive (and cool) equipment and knows what he is doing with it. I have recommended him to others in the past and I will continue to do so.

In regards to the projector, he was able to dial in the greyscale almost perfectly. He explains what he is doing throughout the calibration and lets you know that he spends alot of his time adjusting greyscale because it is the 'pallette' for everything...blacks, whites and colours. Poor greyscale means inaccurate colours, poor black levels and poor contrast ratio...basically. He then deals with the colours and makes sure that they are all neutral...none pushes higher or lower than the others. Again, he explains himself very well and tells you that if one colour 'pushes', it taints everything...blacks get infused with it, white are tinted with it and the other colours get diluted by it.

On to the results -- what we noticed -- 1) colours were sharp, detailed and accurate. Reds, blues, greens and everything in between looked sharper and more realistic. Where the action on the screen looked kind of bland before (in comparison), the colours 'jumped' off the screen post calibration. It's almost like they are more three-dimensional. 2) black levels -- blacks looked black. They were no longer tainted by blue and because the greyscale was accurate, they looked BLACK. We also noticed shades of black...before the calibration, a person wearing a black jacket with a charcole top would look all black. After, the black and charcole were distinct. 3) contrast ratio -- on images of space, the blacks looked black and there were more visible stars. 4) shadow detail -- there was considerably more detail in low-lit areas and in the background. 5) whites -- ice at a hockey rink looked like...ice at a hockey rink! No longer tainted with blue, the ice looked natural (white is VERY important for us Canadians!).

I've said it before and I'll say it again...if you want to maximize your HT investment, a pro calibration is definitely worth while. Now I have to wait until October (his next tour) before my projector looks as good as my friends!

[Sonnie]

I have heard of Michael TLV before and it has always been good. Another is Gregg Lowen... who I actually had scheduled to calibrate our Toshiba RPTV back about 4-5 years ago, but backed out when my wife told me I could build our HT room. I knew I would be getting a projector and back then they were not all that experienced with LCD projectors, so I never got it calibrated.

I believe it is the Keohi HDTV forum that I have read a lot about these guys.

[Mike P.]

What does it cost to have a projector professionally calibrated? And does the projector need to be calibrated according to what type of screen you are using?

[Keith from Canada]

Sonnie wrote:

I have heard of Michael TLV before and it has always been good. Another is Gregg Lowen... who I actually had scheduled to calibrate our Toshiba RPTV back about 4-5 years ago, but backed out when my wife told me I could build our HT room. I knew I would be getting a projector and back then they were not all that experienced with LCD projectors, so I never got it calibrated.

I believe it is the Keohi HDTV forum that I have read a lot about these guys.

Gregg and Michael are both a part of "LionAV" which, to my knowledge, is a group of ISF certified calibrators who have formed an alliance of sorts to cover most of North America. I believe that Michael and Gregg (as well as the others in LionAV) are considered to be the top of the line in calibrators.

Speaking with Michael, about half of the calibrations on this tour (2 weeks, 2 calibrations per day = about 28 calibrations) were on front projectors. I know that he was going to calibrate the Epson 1080UB as well as the BenQ W5000 and 20000. He also did some work on the RS1 from JVC. Add my friend's Mits to the equation and he worked a wide range of LCD, DLP and LCOS in the past week. I do know that Michael for one prefers working with DLP. His reason was that LCD still suffers from uniformity problems and misalignment of the LCD panels. If the panels are mis-aligned, there is nothing that he can do to fix it...it's a manufacturing issue. With DLP, there is no panel issue to worry about which makes his calibration less hit-and-miss.

To the other poster, I'm not sure what he charged my friend. I'm sure I'll be able to answer that question in October though! I seem to recall that it's around $300. All I can say is that my friend's $800 projector now looks much better than any of the projectors that I've seen in A/V showrooms in the 'high-end boutique' shops around town.

[tonyvdb]

Michael TLV and Gregg Lowen do go on tours often to calibrate TVs and other displays. Michael can be reached through his website here He lives in Calgary Alberta Canada, 3 hrs away from me and as said before is one of the best ISF calibrators out there.

[muzz]

I THINK Gregg Loewen lives in Maine.
I used to see him quite a bit over at the Home Theater Forum, but I haven't been there in awhile.

I almost called him to schedule my Hitachi 57S700 RPTV for a Cal......then I got the PJ bug.

Edit- He's a Mod over there, I just looked

[Blaser]

Mike P. wrote:

What does it cost to have a projector professionally calibrated?

I don't know but I have heard about USD 400 for and ISF certified calibrator

And does the projector need to be calibrated according to what type of screen you are using?

Definitely, otherwise it makes no sense.

FYI, it is not only the type of screen, but also its size... your room conditions... sometimes 2 calibration options such as day and night settings.... well everything that enters into the equation that might affect your viewing experience (not to state your mood propably).