Chirag
TV: Samsung UE65JS9500 Sources: SkyQ, Netflix/Amazon/YouTube (via TV Smart Hub), Sony BDPS7200 Blu-Ray player. If you have spent quite a lot of money on a new TV which you are planning on keeping for a while, and enjoy watching content on it often, I'd strongly recommend getting Vincent to professionally calibrate it to bring out the TV's true potential and have a peace of mind! No matter how much you will tweak it yourself, or use settings online, you will not get the quality jump if you were to use proper kit and a calibrator to tweak your specific panel in the room it's in. The overall result was fantastic, making everything being viewed looking more realistic than before. Read on for details... Why I wanted calibration performed: We moved into a new house at the start of the year and needed a new TV for the living room. After spending a lot of 2015 searching around, I set my mind on the Samsung UE65JS9500 (after waiting for price drops) due to it's impressive reviews, specifications and seemed like a high end TV which will last a good number of years. We had this wall mounted at eye level and after using some settings which I found online the TV looked fantastic with whatever we were watching (however I would get annoyed at a slightly washed effect on darker scenes). We would use SkyQ to watch shows/films in HD mostly, some TV shows on Netflix and a Blu-ray every now and then (where the TV looked more stunning than ever). Because of the TV being such high spec, pricey and knowing it will be there for a few years, I was really curious about getting it professionally calibrated to make the most out of what it can offer to enjoy it's viewing to the max. A couple of forums I would view online would mention Vincent from HDTVtest and have a lot of praise for him, and funny enough his review was the first I read when looking to get this TV! After seeing how many high reviews he got, I decided to take the plunge and get in touch to have the TV calibrated.... The calibrator: Before Vincent arrived, I did check his Twitter to see what he was like and how he performed his calibration, and instantly could tell he was the friendly type. When he arrived, I can honestly say he is one of the most nicest, friendliest and down to earth person you will meet, and I found this quite important. He has a very polite and respectful nature and someone who you will want to feel welcome in your home. What's even better is he's a perfectionist, will take his time and offer for you to sit down so he can explain everything he is doing step by step as you watch him tweak each setting. Having a bit of a perfectionist nature myself, I loved how Vincent would make sure each tweak was just right and really taking his time to go through everything. Once the calibration is complete, he will spend time to switch back and forth between all your sources to ensure you are happy with the results and notice the difference. He will also be in contact to let you know when he is arriving. Once again, he had such a friendly approach and such a genuine person, and this was very important. That cost: Yes it is expensive, especially if you live further away from where Vincent is based. But the way I looked at it was, seeing how much was spent on the TV and because it was a high end model, I wanted to bring out it's potential with the one off cost due to how often we watch shows / films as a family and to have a peace of mind with the model purchased. Once Vincent arrived and got to work, I realised that you're not just paying for "some guy" to come calibrate your TV, you're paying for Vincent to do it and there was a big difference. It's a one of cost, if you are really passionate about what you watch and what you watch it on, you should go for it. The result: This is the main bit of course, and quite an important one. All I can say is, you will notice a difference, and even more so if you watch something you're used to watching (compare using a TV show you usually watch or something you know where the picture didn't seem as good as it should). The more you watch the TV, the more you will marvel at the jump in realism. I'm more than happy with the results and even though the picture quality was brilliant before, it's now really brought out the best in what the TV has to offer (and I still haven't had a chance to watch a broader range of content!). The biggest difference was during a lot of darker scenes, especially on SkyHD, where before I would see a bit of a washed out effect which would really annoy me at times as I couldn't get rid of it even when playing with the Brightness/Contrast. Comparing a darker scene in Game of Thrones made the difference highly noticeable, afterwards it was 100% clear the calibration was worth it, and even removed some artefacts which were showing before. Other differences were general increase in quality for skin tones, a better colour pop without looking unnatural or too much and during brighter scenes the detail was improved. Like I said, I haven't even got round to watching a whole lot more, but from general SkyHD channel viewing, the difference is fantastic and I enjoy everything I watch more than ever, with a peace of mind that I'm getting the most out of this model of TV. I now cannot wait to watch more of our usual shows on Sky in HD, Blu-rays and 4k content on Netflix where it will really shine. I'm 100% going to be getting in touch with Vincent to calibrate a high end TV in the future! (and I wouldn't have spent time to write such a long review if I didn't think it was worth it or not happy with the results!)
8 years ago
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