Calibrating my new LCD monitor

I recently purchased a Samsung 19" 906BW Widescreen 16:10 1440x900 to go with my 512mb Geforce 7600GS. This being my first experience I was wondering what the recommended calibration settings would be to view DVD movies. The optimal resolution gives a slightly blurry and grainy picture when viewed at its native aspect ratio. I was just looking for some advice on how to set it for optimal DVD playback or any necessary codecs I may need. And a side question was if its common when you have black backgrounds if its supposed to have this greyish white coloring. I wasn't sure if this is just a natural effect of the lighting of a LCD as I remembered it being darker on the CRT I had before. Thanks for any feedback and advice anyone can give me ahead of time.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Not sure about the optimizing colors and whatnot, but I'd recommend downloading the Microsoft Cleartype Tuner to really enhance how readable text is on your LCD.

http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...5aad/setup.exe
(Not sure if this is needed in Vista or not, but the download I linked is for XP.)

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Yeah its XP Pro SP2. Thanks. I will start with that suggestion.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Fundamental calibration involves tuning brightness, contrast, and my personal favorite, 6500k white point. You should be able to do all three with some level ramps.

The "greyish white" you see on blacks is the inability of the technology to present true blacks, since the image is essentially produced using light. And DVDs will always look like crap on LCDs, since the resolution of DVD (720x480) is typically less than half of the native resolution of current displays.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Hmm... the screen is not big enough to notice mayor problems with the image. (If we were talking about 50''+ screens DVDs DO look awful)

Anyways, you can find an easy and basic calibration guide for screens on any THX's DVDs. (Of course, there are better detailed guides, but I wouldn't bother for PC play back)

How ya doing, buddy?

I downloaded on a recommendation from a friend the VLC media player and it was a significant improvement and seems to have the tools to make it look good. But maybe I just had too high an expectation that I could get crystal clear clarity from a PC. I had a dual monitor setup and thought it would be cool to have some anime or movie in close proximety while I would work on projects or homework. The LCD does kick ass with photo editing and gaming. I haven't seen any ghosting on this model whatsoever. The only thing that stands out is in darkened areas of games or dvds the black level is more greyish white. It might just be the lighting of the LCD is really high.

This is really a learning experience so far for me.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Tyr

I downloaded on a recommendation from a friend the VLC media player and it was a significant improvement and seems to have the tools to make it look good. But maybe I just had too high an expectation that I could get crystal clear clarity from a PC. I had a dual monitor setup and thought it would be cool to have some anime or movie in close proximety while I would work on projects or homework. The LCD does kick ass with photo editing and gaming. I haven't seen any ghosting on this model whatsoever. The only thing that stands out is in darkened areas of games or dvds the black level is more greyish white. It might just be the lighting of the LCD is really high.

This is really a learning experience so far for me.

I wouldn't change my PC's LCD for any CRT out there... there is way too many massive advantages vs some small disadvantages.

FELIPE NO

What are the massive advantages of LCD, other than space/weight/geometry?

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Massively reduced power consumption, for one.

As for the "greyish white", you should try playing with your gamma settings for your Geforce.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Isn't it also supposed to be easier on the eyes due to its lack of refresh rate? I know my 17" LCD is easier to look at for hours on end over my old 23" CRT.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by RacinReaver

Isn't it also supposed to be easier on the eyes due to its lack of refresh rate? I know my 17" LCD is easier to look at for hours on end over my old 23" CRT.

That's one of the most important reasons for me, 5 hours in front of a CRT and I feel like my eyes are burning and my head is about to collapse, 8 Hours in front of a LCD and it feels like nothing... there is much less radiation going on... and of course, space, power consumption and another goodies.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.