Summary: On this episode of HomeTech Weekly, we talk about three different tricks to optimize your viewing on that new 3D TV, all that and more coming up next... INTRO Welcome back to another episode of HomeTech Weekly, my name is Dave Kirn, and this is episode number 27 - recorded Thursday April 12th, 2012. On today's show we are talking about that new 3D TV that you purchased and how to get the most out of your new 3D viewing experience - whether you want to watch the latest 3D Blu-ray movie or play 3D games, you can perform a few simple tricks to optimize your 3D viewing experience. Just like when HDTV first came out, 3D content is still very limited, however it is growing daily and when it comes to gaming, a lot of the biggest games from last year came with support for 3D displays. The challenge is getting the 3D content to display properly - however with a little bit of time and trial and error along with the tips we are going to discuss today you are going to be well on your way to really enjoying all that 3D content has to offer. Getting the Most From That New 3D HDTV Calibration Most people believe that displays are calibrated correctly when they come from the factory - they are definitely not! Even two identical displays (even from the same production run) will not be exactly the same Manufacturers tend to calibrate one display within a certain model, then use those settings for the rest of the units that are produced for that model. Manufacturers have a designated "range" for specifications that provided that the new display falls in that range no corrections are made New displays are coming to market that are THX-certified 3D HDTV displays, and even though they are better than non-certified, they still need to be calibrated. What is calibration? Using measurement tools, display settings like brightness, sharpness, color, contrast and more are set to a specified industry standard This standard is what is used by film and game studios when they create the content Without the proper calibration you will not be seeing the video in the way that it was intended Directors and Producers are now using different visual effects to better communicate the environment of the film Eye strain and eye fatigue can result in watching an un-calibrated display Calibration seems hard to explain but it is something that once you have a display calibrated, you will wonder how you watched a non-calibrated display Professional or DIY? Professional Requires special equipment that costs between $10,000 and $25,000 Requires special training and certification by the ISF (Imaging & Science Foundation) Many professional A/V companies will either offer the services themselves or contract with a calibration only company Generally costs between $250 and $500 per display (video only) DIY DVD or Blu-ray calibration disc Digital Video Essentials DVD (Standard Definition) - List Price $24.95 Amazon $9.45 Digital Video Essentials Blu-ray (High Definition) - List Price $29.95 Amazon $17.75 Spears & Munsil High-Definition Benchmark Blu-ray (High Definition) - List Price $25 Amazon $25 Disney WOW (World of Wonder) Blu-ray (High Definition) - List Price $35.99 Amazon $25.99 Spyder Kit Combo of software and a color sensor that connects to your computer Datacolor Spyder4 Express - List Price $119.00 Amazon $114.00 Datacolor Spyder4 Pro - List Price $169.99 Amazon $169.99 Datacolor Spyder4 Elite - List Price $249.00 Amazon $249.00 Backlighting Most people tend to watch Blu-ray movies in a darker than usual environment in order to replicate that immersive theater experience and hardcore gamers are adopting the same concept When watching 3D content, most 3D displays will run brighter to compensate for the tinted glasses that are required to make the 3D effect possible
