How to Calibrate a Samsung 58-Inch Plasma TV Picture
By James T Wood
New televisions come programmed with bland, generalized picture settings that do not take into account your home lighting or viewing conditions. The display models, on the other hand, are often set to extreme levels to combat the bright lights of the showroom floor, but sacrifice color and picture accuracy for images that pop. Calibrating your Samsung plasma television when you get it home will help you optimize your viewing experience.
Step 1
Power on your Samsung television, and start a movie or TV show with which you are familiar. Knowing what the video is supposed to look like will help you to calibrate the TV. Ensure that the room lighting and your proximity to the TV are of a typical viewing situation.
Step 2
Press the "Menu" button on the remote control. Press "Enter" to select the Picture menu. Press the up and down buttons to navigate between the options for calibrating the picture.
Step 3
Adjust the Cell Light, which is the brightness of the plasma cells that make up each pixel of the image. The Plasma TV Buying Guide recommends a Cell Light value of 9.
Step 4
Change the Brightness of the image. The brightness determines how much black is in the picture, so it is a good idea to have a scene or image that incorporates black. Turn the brightness down until the picture is too dark to view, and then bring it back up to the point where the black level is accurate. The Plasma TV Buying Guide suggests a Brightness level of 53.
Step 5
Set the Contrast, which is the white level of the picture, so that whites appear bright and clear, but black levels are still true black. The recommended value for the Contrast is 96.
Step 6
Tweak the Sharpness value, which is how clearly defined edges are in the picture. This can help make a blurry or lower resolution image look clearer, but is generally unnecessary for HD signals. The suggested value for Sharpness is 18.
Step 7
Change the Color level to determine how saturated the colors are. The more saturated, the brighter and more intense the colors will be. It is best to adjust the Color level when people are present on screen. The Plasma TV Buying Guide suggests a Color level of 47.
Step 8
Adjust the Tint, which determines the amount of red and green in the color, to just off center with a Green value of 51 and a Red value of 49. Press "Exit" on the remote when you have finished making the adjustments.
References
Tips
- A static picture displayed from your computer through an HDMI cable can give a good image for calibration.
Writer Bio
James T Wood is a teacher, blogger and author. Since 2009 he has published two books and numerous articles, both online and in print. His work experience has spanned the computer world, from sales and support to training and repair. He is also an accomplished public speaker and PowerPoint presenter.