Will Professional Calibration Improve My TV’s Image Quality? Wirecutter
Real Talk
Advice, staff picks, mythbusting, and more. Let us help you. Share this postSaveQ: I read your and recently purchased the . I have it on their preset Calibrated Dark mode. Overall, the colors aren’t great and the picture isn’t crystal clear. This happened with my last TV too, which was the Sony Bravia. Should I have the TV professionally calibrated or are there other steps I can take first? Is it possible the Time Warner Spectrum cable box isn’t on the optimal settings (it’s at 1080i), or will a pricier HDMI cable radically improve things? The Vizio P65-C1 offers the best overall picture among LCDs, with great contrast ratios, superb local dimming, wide color gamut, and high dynamic range support, plus Google Cast integration. Buying Options
May be out of stock *At the time of publishing, the price was $2,000. A highly regarded, inexpensive HDMI cable that works as well as more-expensive options. Buying Options
May be out of stock *At the time of publishing, the price was $4. A: I’ll get the easy one out of the way: Upgrading your HDMI cable will make absolutely no difference. If you see an image with your current cable, then you’re doing everything right. If you see random snow or sparkles on the screen, or the picture drops out, then you should try a new cable, but don’t spend more than a few dollars . The only exception is that newer UltraHD (4K) sources with HDR might need an HDMI High Speed cable, such as the we recommend in . Your cable box is also set up correctly. Channels in HD are either 720p or 1080i, and choosing 1080i is usually correct. If your cable box offers a Native option, which will output 720p as 720p and 1080i as 1080i, that might be even better, but it will mean more lag time when changing channels as the TV adjusts to the changing resolution. If you’d like to have your TV calibrated, that will make it more accurate. (You can also use a Blu-ray disc, like , to help set the basic controls correctly before going with a calibration.) But that doesn’t mean that you’ll enjoy the image more, so try the other picture modes or create your own to see if you like those better first. With the P65-C1, a professional calibration doesn’t make radical improvements. It does improve the grayscale some and possibly shadow details, but it isn’t night-and-day different. My real question is, do you really want the image to be accurate? When we test, we push for image accuracy because we want to see the content at its optimal settings, and to provide a level benchmark for comparing displays. We also think it is important to have manufacturers offer an accurate mode, or the ability to calibrate to one, for people who want that. That said, many people don’t actually like the accurate image as much. You might find it looks too dull or washed out for your taste and that you like a little extra color saturation. That’s great—it’s why TV companies offer controls so you can adjust the image to your liking. I don’t know that getting a professional calibration is really going to change the P65-C1 so dramatically that you prefer it over the preset Calibrated Dark or Calibrated modes. Most people also don’t really know what a calibrated TV looks like. Even professional calibrators like myself have to rely upon instruments to tell, and you often need displays to be side-by-side to be sure. I can look at a display and tell you if something is really wrong. The pre-calibrated modes on most TVs today, however, are accurate enough that it’s hard to distinguish between calibrated and non-calibrated TVs without really being trained. The Wirecutter’s editors answer reader questions all the time (much more than once a week). Send an email to , or talk to us on and . Published questions are edited for space and clarity Mentioned above
Further reading
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