X-Rite i1 Display LT – $65 : DEAD

[Andrew Van Til]

It’s an older model, but for $65 hard to pass up.

Buy.com

[oliverredfox]

Awww, the deal is already dead.  But as long as you’ve got a thread started, I’m curious.  I don’t know much about monitor calibration tools.  Is this one a better model than most?  I sold off my Samsung plasma and picked up one of the new LG passive 3D LED LCDs over the weekend.  The initial black levels were driving me nuts so I spent a bunch of time over at AVSforum digging up info and setting up the TV.  I eventually found settings that I’m more or less happy with, but I’ve always wondered how much more I could squeeze out of a setup with a calibrator of my own.

[babgvant]

I’ve never used a meter for calibration so I’m not the best resource for answering that question :).  Maybe Aaron can chime in, I think he has a similar model.

[swoon]

[quote=oliverredfox]

Awww, the deal is already dead.  But as long as you’ve got a thread started, I’m curious.  I don’t know much about monitor calibration tools.  Is this one a better model than most?  I sold off my Samsung plasma and picked up one of the new LG passive 3D LED LCDs over the weekend.  The initial black levels were driving me nuts so I spent a bunch of time over at AVSforum digging up info and setting up the TV.  I eventually found settings that I’m more or less happy with, but I’ve always wondered how much more I could squeeze out of a setup with a calibrator of my own.

[/quote]

I have this same meter and recommend it even at its normal price point of ~$150. Compared to other meters that are less expensive, it is apparently faster and much more accurate. There are also meters that are better, but they cost much greater amounts of cash. One thing to be aware of with this type of colorimeter, is that they lose accuracy over time due to the materials used which change due to temperature and humidity.

Regarding your specific problem, you would be best using a proper PLUGE to set your brightness which determines your optimal black level (check out our calibration guide). Unless you have a meter, I don’t recommend mucking with the white balance settings. I’m not sure of your model, but LG has been using a 20-pt. white balance which I have read is difficult to work with in prior model years. Your display could have something akin to Samsung’s “HDMI Black Tone” and dynamic contrast which could be affecting your black level. I recommend turning these off.

I’m not a big fan of using other display settings and applying them across the board. There are many possible variations that can exist in each display and viewing environment. In addition, if you take all those settings and change something like brightness, the white balance settings will no longer be valid. 

[oliverredfox]

Thanks for reminding me of that guide.  I redid it off the calibration guide.  The stuff I found on AVSforums pretty much put me spot on for correct settings.  A lot of it involved killing all the dynamic settings, reducing brightness, upping contrast a little.  Quite nice now.  Still get occasional flashlighting in the black bars when watching movies that aren’t 16:9 but overall the blacks look good now.  I got spoiled from the deep blacks on the Samsung Plasma.  Properly set up now, the LG 47LW5600 is pretty good.  And the passive 3D makes up for any little shortcomings.

[Author]

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