Is calibration services for DLP set worth it?

Yes, it's worth it only if you can find an excellent calibrator. The guy I hired for the calibration sucked so bad that I almost killed him (I'm exaggerated a bit here). I wish I could go back in time and hire the right person the first time.

Good luck,

I haven't done it but it is my understanding that the results can be excellent. The one thing that held me back is the fact that the $300 that you are quoted is most likely just one input with each additional input you do costing extra. When I first purchased my TV I knew I was staying with that connection type so I decided against having it done; I am now using the best input for TV but I haven't given it a thought...now look what you've done!

I would say definitely no! One network program's color tint seems different from the others as is the brightness intensity level. I have a plasma and am constantly adjusting from the darker and more yellow, or warm shade, broadcast of nbc to the brighter and bluer, cooler of cbs. Dvd's vary from one to the other as well.

Absolutely worth it. Will bring out the best your DLP is capable of. I have a DLP as well. $300 sounds cheap, I believe I paid a bit more. That was last December. May be a bit more competitive now. I suppose, like Krellcoda said, the claibrator is the key. I live in the NYC area and finding quality is not difficult. Just a little homework required. fwiw, warren :)

for what it's worth - the Sony SXRD is the best projector on the market. i wouldn't bother with DLP when you see what that thing can do. and it's not *really* an LCD like you have listed, it's a modified LCOS.

Some stores will offer this service with the purchase of an extended warranty. I know Samsung has a dedicated person to do this for Circuit City. BTW, I highly reccomend the warranty... it saved me $800 to replace a lamp and ultimately paid for a brand new TV due to further problems.

Thanks for your inputs. The actual cost is $350 and I'm told this is really the only guy in the area doing this service. I have heard great things about the Sony SXRD but haven't found a decent place to view them. Best Buy has them but the display was a terrible setup. Lights shining on the screen and crappy input quality. Nothing looked good in that store. I'll look some more although I did really like the Mits 52".

Besides the calibrator training credentials the test equiptment must also be regularly calibrated and traceable to NIST.

Besides the calibrator training credentials the test equiptment must also be regularly calibrated and traceable to NIST.

I have a Sony Qualia set (uses the SXRD chip set). I agree that it is quite an improvement over any DLP RPTV. I admit to being too lazy to have the set properly calibrated (I've done it by eye, the Sony allows for an amazing amount of owner calibration without going into the service menu).

I have a friend who had a Samsung DLP calibrated. I could not believe how much better it looked than any other Samsung DLP I've seen. Prior to calibration, I thought that Samsungs delivered a very strange color balance and looked aweful.

Keep in mind that one of the most valuable tweeks an ISF calibrator can do for any set (DLP included) is to properly set the greyscale, which is usually accessible only through the service codes.. This is key in getting a great picture.

In addition to correcting color (as far as posssible with a given display), techs can also correct geometry and other issues.

If you've spent good money on a big screen TV, why not get the best picture it's capable of? Factory setting usually suck big-time. At least invest in a Calibration DVD to adjust the manufacturer's "torch" mode into something more watchable.

Check the ISF website for more info on calibrators - good techs can be found.

Also check threads at avsfforum.com - many names there to. Some, Like Greg Loewen travel.

The Sony SXRD is indeed a LCoS technology (not LCD). It's one of the best displays I've ever seen - gorgeous.