ISF Calibrations

Display Calibration

I am an ISF Level II Certified Calibration, capable of bringing out the best in all the displays and projectors that come in for review, as well as bringing out the best in your system.  For more information on ISF Calibrations and what they entail, you can the ISF Calibrations Overview at the bottom of this page.

I calibrate flat panels (LCD, LED LCD, Plasma, OLED) and digital projectors (DLP, LCOS, SXRD, LCD) and do not handle CRT projectors or displays, or DLP rear projectors.  I work out of the Portland, OR area and work locally, though if you are reasonably close please feel free to contact me and I will see if a time and date can be worked out. I also can calibrate HDR and 3D modes if desired. Dolby Vision is currently a bit different and depends on the set, so please contact me and I can let you know if I can work on your display.

Current Rates

$325 for SDR and HDR calibrations on a single input (Dolby Vision, if available). Additional charges for separate Day/Night modes.
$1 per mile – Travel outside the general Portland, OR area (inquire about distance)

A typical calibration will run for around 2-3 hours, and I want you to be present for it so you can understand the process, as well as any questions or concerns that might arise during the process. Sometimes a calibration will take 75-90 minutes, sometimes it will take 3 hours, but the end results will be as good as the display allows. In cases where my calibration looks fine at the end but later on issues have arisen, I’m able to come back and correct those at little to no cost.

My calibration gear currently consists of an X-Rite i1Pro2, Klein K-10A colorimeter, and a Murideo SIX-G pattern generator.

If you are interested in calibration or have more questions about the process, please contact me via email and I will get back to you as quickly as possible.

Calibration Overview

The Imaging Science Foundation (ISF) has been promoting the science and art of display calibration since 1994.  TVs and projectors are shipped from companies not to provide the best picture possible, but to be as bright as possible to catch the eye of the consumer on the store floor.  What are you missing out on because of your display not being set up correctly?

Missing shadow and highlight details

When a display is set up to be as bright as possible, you almost always lose out on those bright white details, as well as details in the shadows.  Instead of clearly seeing different dark shades in a shadow, you see a black blob where they have all run together, and you don’t see the fine textures on a snow-covered peak, but instead, a single white mass where those details have been crushed.  With this you’re really losing a large amount of the information in the picture, often 20% or more, due to these settings being setup incorrectly.

Incorrect colors, with skin tones that often look sunburned

TVs often like to make colors really pop on the screen to grab your attention.  While this might make you look at the set due to those bright, vibrant hues, eventually you start to realize that everything looks unrealistic, with skin tones that are always red, and grass that is a neon green instead of a real green.  We can bring these colors back in line so that they still have all the vibrancy that you expect in the real world, but none of the artificiality that was there before.

Whites that are tinted blue or red, instead of being true white

Even on TVs and projectors that ship with accurate image modes, I’ve never found one where I couldn’t improve the accuracy of the grayscale. The foundation of every image on your display is really the accuracy of white and shades of gray.  If these have a blue or red tint to them, nothing will ever look correct no matter what settings you use.  Using the controls in your display, we are able to correct these settings to make for an accurate grayscale, and removing any tint that was present.

Optimizing a projector for a room

Even if a projector is accurate when it ships from a factory, it won’t be accurate when set up in your room. The screen and walls will add a color tint to the image and affect the gamma, robbing the image of the pop it should have. By adjusting the projector for your specific room and equipment, it will make the image more accurate and enjoyable.

A picture that is optimized for a store floor with bright fluorescent lighting, and not your home

Most rooms don’t have thousands of watts of fluorescent lighting shining on your screen at all times, but your local TV store probably does.  Why would you have the same settings at home that they do at the store?  We can correct for this, customizing the settings to fit how you watch TV to get you the best image possible, as a living room has different requirements than a dedicated home theater room.

Fine details, such as the texture on a jacket or shirt, that are being obscured by incorrect display settings

Modern TVs have tons of controls with promising names, like Reality Creation or Contrast Enhancer, that sounds good but might actually rob your image of details or add artifacts. I make sure to go through all the settings, disable the ones that are not useful, and explain the options available to you in order to produce the best-looking image that suits your tastes.

The goal of an ISF Calibration is to render the image as originally intended, utilizing the full abilities of your display.  This will maximize the dynamic range of your picture, as well as presenting more accurate colors and revealing all the detail that is available.