Official LG xxLH90 Settings and Issues Thread

[davidjschenk]

The Official LG xxLH90 Settings and Issues Thread

This thread is for people to post and/or discuss (and/or crib) calibrated settings, issues, triumphs, tribulations and clever tricks for the LG LH90 series televisions. Locally dimmed sets like these can be tricky to calibrate, plus the level of user control provided in LG's menu is absurdly sophisticated (which is a very good thing), so the idea is for people to share settings with each other in order to make the process easier. For the amateur calibrators among us, posting your chosen workflow along with your settings and charts would be awesomely awesome (which is like just being awesome, but awesomer).

I'll get things started by posting CNET's published post-calibration settings and a link to their review and their settings page (see next post).

Thanks, and I'm looking forward to all those reports on settings and what works and what doesn't,

David

[davidjschenk]

Hi everyone,

Below are the post-calibration settings used by CNET's David Katzmaier:

Picture menu:
Aspect ratio: Just Size
Energy Saving: Off
Picture Mode: Expert 2
Backlight: 44
Contrast: 90
Brightness: 54
H Sharpness: 50
V Sharpness: 50
Color: 50
Tint: 0

--Expert control menu
Dynamic contrast: Off
Noise reduction: Off
Gamma: Low
Black level: Low
Real Cinema: On
TruMotion 240Hz: Off
Color Standard: HD [grayed out]
Color Gamut: Standard
Edge Enhancer: Off
xvYCC: Auto [grayed out]
OPC: Off
Expert Pattern: Off [grayed out]
Color Filter: Off

White balance: Warm
Method: 10 point IRE
Pattern: Outer
IRE: [see below]
Luminance: 137

-- 10 point IRE calibration
IRE: [Red, Green, Blue results, respectively, for each IRE point]
100 [13, -1, -50]
90 [16, -2, -46]
80 [18, -10, -45]
70 [15, -9, -39]
60 [8, -13, -35]
50 [6, -15, -33]
40 [-5, -22, -35]
30 [1, -16, -25]
20 [-10, -20, -24]
10 [-5, -10, -14]

Color management system
Red color: 0
Red tint: 0
Green color: 0
Green tint: -1
Blue color: 0
Blue tint: 0
Yellow color: 0
Yellow tint: -1
Cyan color: 0
Cyan tint: 0
Magenta color: 0
Magenta tint: -1

Here is their FAQ on their calibrations:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-9996461-1.html

Here is their page from which I ripped the settings:

http://forums.cnet.com/5208-19410_10...hreadID=349354

Here is their review:

http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-t...-33485569.html

For those interested in learning DIY calibration, here is their very good page on how they do it:

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6603_7-...#TVcalibration

Yours,

David

[CapnBry]

I used my "Expert 2" set to match CNet's settings and it was noticeably too red. Keeping all other settings the same, here's where the 10 point values ended up:
100 [2,-7,-6]
90 [12,-2,-6]
80 [18,-8,-5]
70 [13,-12,-10]
60 [13,-10,-5]
50 [4,-13,-13]
40 [-2,-19,-17]
30 [-8,-23,-21]
20 [-10,-18,-15]
10 -[9,-13,-14]

My original main settings differed only slightly from theirs, I had Color set to 47 instead of 50. Oh and I ended up with almost 170nits of luma where they had 137.

[davidjschenk]

I used my "Expert 2" set to match CNet's settings and it was noticeably too red. Keeping all other settings the same, here's where the 10 point values ended up:
100 [2,-7,-6]
90 [12,-2,-6]
80 [18,-8,-5]
70 [13,-12,-10]
60 [13,-10,-5]
50 [4,-13,-13]
40 [-2,-19,-17]
30 [-8,-23,-21]
20 [-10,-18,-15]
10 -[9,-13,-14]

My original main settings differed only slightly from theirs, I had Color set to 47 instead of 50. Oh and I ended up with almost 170nits of luma where they had 137.

Hi CapnBry,

Thanks for that. It'll be interesting over time to see how much variance there is between sets. The deltas the manufacturers are comfortable with at the factory seem to be pretty big sometimes.

Say, have you tried pushing the light output to its max yet? When I first started calibrating my 81, I got that crazy thing to clear 360 without losing black levels. Snow scenes physically hurt my eyes--it was insane.

Yours,

David

[CapnBry]

Say, have you tried pushing the light output to its max yet? When I first started calibrating my 81, I got that crazy thing to clear 360 without losing black levels. Snow scenes physically hurt my eyes--it was insane.

Yeah at max backlight it is searlingly bright. I don't have a nit measurement of how bright though, I'll check it when I hook up the meter again in a couple of weeks to verify there hasn't been a shift in the calibration after the set has had some time to settle in. I'm sure it can clear 100ftL though, considering at 40 backlight it puts out 50ftL.

EDIT: I did however measure the power usage viewing a white screen at 100 backlight: over 300W!

[Stogel]

The eagle has landed. Got to get a job out tonight, but I'll post all the settings I can find tomorrow after lunch.

The TV looks great, and my first impression is that I like the picture a fair bit more than my B750. The sweet spot is a bit bigger, and it doesn't fade as much, though it does exhibit some of those halos off axis. I like the off-axis picture better than the B750 by a good bit (halos and all) and the sweet-spot picture is definitely better than my B750. This isn't really fair, though, since the LH90 is calibrated and the B750 was most definitely not. Today, though, the kids (and so did I, to be honest) preferred Sports and/or Vivid to the calibrated settings when the room was bright. I think I'll have to perhaps copy over Chad's settings on Expert 1 over to Expert 2 and then tweak to my heart's content for daytime viewing.

Thanks again, Chris, for the great price and the deal on this calibrated set.

So how many $2300 TVs left, if any, Chris? Maybe one for the bedroom....

[Stogel]

Without further ado....

Aspect Ration: Just Scan (what's the difference between 16x9?)
Backlight: 100
Contrast: 70
Brightness: 52
H Sharpness: 50
V Sharpness: 50
Color: 50
Tint: 0


Expert Control:
Dynamic Control: Off
Noise Reduction: Off
Gamma: Medium
Black Level: Low
Real Cinema: On
TruMotion 240Hz: Low (turned mine off because it seems that's the way to go for BR...not sure about Uverse, though.....suggestions)
Color Gamut: Standard
Edge Enhancer: Off
Color Filter: Off
White Balance: Medium
Method: 10 Point IRE
Pattern: Outer
IRE: 90
Red: 4
Green: -5
Blue: -34
Red Color: 6
Red Tint: 0
Green Color: -1
Green Tint: -8
Blue Color: 9
Blue Tint: 0
Yellow Color: -2
Yellow Tint: 0
Cyan Color: -2
Cyan Tint: 0
Magenta Color: 8
Magenta Tint: -2

EDITED TO ADD IRE SETTINGS (Thanks for the explanation, tfarrill):
100 [1, -10, -42]
90 [4, -5, -34]
80 [8, -6, -25]
70 [10, 4, -17]
60 [12, 2, -16]
50 [14, 4, -8]
40 [9, 2, -11]
30 [12, 4, -1]
20 [8, 4, 0]
10 [10, 3, -9]


If I'm missing anything, let me know. I have no idea where the 10-point values are. Guess that's one thing I'm missing.

Anyway, let me know how you like the setings. Thought they looked a little dull yesterday afternoon when compared to Sports when watching a BR, but last night they looked spot on and much better than any other setting. Today I haven't ventured into other settings, and the picture looks plenty bright and colorful.

Peace!

[tfarrill]

The 10 point IRE settings give you a different Red, Green, an Blue number for each IRE. You have to select each IRE (10,20,30...100) and then look at the 3 following setting (Red, Green, Blue).

For example: Select IRE 100 and write down the Red/Green/Blue, then go back and select IRE 90 and write down the Red/Green/Blue. You have to do this for each IRE Setting from 100 to 10.

I wonder if the calibrator changed any settings from the service menu also? There are about a Gillion settings there.

[jkipster]

I just took delivery of my new tv from Chris at CP and used my "Expert 2" to match the CNET settings. :D Looking forward to playing around with the settings when I get home from work tonight.

I threw on Planet Earth HDDVD and my fiancee just kept saying "Wow". I think she likes it....

Jon

[Stogel]

The 10 point IRE settings give you a different Red, Green, an Blue number for each IRE. You have to select each IRE (10,20,30...100) and then look at the 3 following setting (Red, Green, Blue).

For example: Select IRE 100 and write down the Red/Green/Blue, then go back and select IRE 90 and write down the Red/Green/Blue. You have to do this for each IRE Setting from 100 to 10.

I wonder if the calibrator changed any settings from the service menu also? There are about a Gillion settings there.

Thanks for the explanation, tfarrill.

I've updated my settings to indicate the IRE settings.

I have no idea what they are or what they do, but I assume they may e important to the settings seeing how they varied from the CNET settings and what CapnBry ended up at.

As for the service menu, I'm guessing he waded in pretty deep as I know Chad mentioned being floored with the sheer number of adjustments. I'm not really sure, though, if he did.

I suppose you could let me know how to get into said menu, and I can post my settings if they're different than default, though....

[mikeak]

Is the variation from the CNET settings for the IRE due to CNET having calibrated the 47 inch and not the 55 inch? Not sure if that is a dumb question, but thought I should ask -- Same question for the Luma

EDIT: Comment was in regards to CapnBry's settings since Stogels are somewhat different throughout

[davidjschenk]

Is the variation from the CNET settings for the IRE due to CNET having calibrated the 47 inch and not the 55 inch? Not sure if that is a dumb question, but thought I should ask -- Same question for the Luma

Hi mikeak,

No, the variation you're seeing in settings is mostly a function of significant variations between individual units across the board--size has little to do with it. When these things leave the factory, the picture varies considerably between individual sets. This is part of what makes calibration important--just inputting someone else's settings gives you no guarantee of an accurate picture.

Yours,

David

[ltgary]

Stogel: Chad's luminance setting @ 100?

[fvbounty]

Stogel: Chad's luminance setting @ 100?

Glad to see you here!

[mtman58]

When watching sports should Real Cinema be off and TruMotion 240 be set to on?

[mikeak]

I would try both on just to see what it does. The 240hz does introduce artifacts on the LG, but 240 hz is supposed to shine with Sports so can you get an improvement with some artifacts? Then maybe it is worth it......... Try both and see what you like

[Stogel]

Stogel: Chad's luminance setting @ 100?

I assume luminance is the same as backlight? If so, I noticed this, too. I was actually going to write Chad a note about this.

It was at 100 when I received it, but Chad mentioned this in his review:

The backlight strength adjustment had no significant effect on the calibration other than light output, so you could use it to adjust to different lighting situations.

I'm wondering if this was something he checked near the end which is why I got it at 100. I turned it down to 70 last night while watching television, and I may find a home even lower (I noticed the CNET ratings had it at 44).

Any suggestions on where I should settle?

It does seem to hold strong in all areas even when jacked up to 100 (where I have it for daytime viewing right now, though I left it on 70 and forgot about it, and that seemed more than sufficient....of course, when I noticed, I jacked it back up to 100).

Should I send him a note, or maybe the folks at Cleveland Plasma can chime in?

The more I live with this TV, though, the happier I am I went with it over the B750.

I did notice some on-axis haloing (I think) last night in Kunfu Panda on Uverse (HD channel). It was when the duck was in the dark getting ready to lay eyes on the bad guy for the first time, and when they show the duck emerge from the shadows there was an issue with the zones, I believe, being apparent.

The fam was watching, though, so I couldn't screw with it, but I'm recording it when it comes on again (Friday), so I'll go back and check it out this weekend.

[ltgary]

Stogel: As you scroll down thru the settings you eventualy come to Pattern and immediately below that is IRE. IRE can be set from 100 to 10. My question is when you set IRE to 100 what is the number displayed for Luminance which is the next setting. Luminance will change for each of the 10 IRE settings but I wondered what Chad had it set to for IRE of 100. I dont think this setting is the same as backlight. While I dont know exactly what it does I think you need to know what Chad had it set to if you want to try and duplicate his settings. Cnet gave it as 137 so when I duplicated their settings I started with a luminance of 137 at IRE 100.

[Stogel]

Stogel: As you scroll down thru the settings you eventualy come to Pattern and immediately below that is IRE. IRE can be set from 100 to 10. My question is when you set IRE to 100 what is the number displayed for Luminance which is the next setting. Luminance will change for each of the 10 IRE settings but I wondered what Chad had it set to for IRE of 100. I dont think this setting is the same as backlight. While I dont know exactly what it does I think you need to know what Chad had it set to if you want to try and duplicate his settings. Cnet gave it as 137 so when I duplicated their settings I started with a luminance of 137 at IRE 100.

With IRE on 90 (where it was when I got the set), the luminance is 103. If changed to 100, the luminance is 130.

I heard from Chris, who told me Chad left it at 100 because it didn't affect the picture, and that I can just adjust the backlight to fight my ambient lighting situation.

Hope this helps.

[ltgary]

Stogel: Unlike some of our members I am not very technically inclined. However I believe, and someone please correct me if I am wrong, that a sets brightness is basically controlled by three seperate adjustments: backlight, brightness and luminance. Backlight should not affect the picture. It should just make it lighter or darker because what you are doing is increasing or decreasing the output of the leds which light the screen from the back. The higher the brighter and the more energy useage. You set it to what you need based on your personal viewing habits and the rooms overall light conditions(dark or light). Luminance as I understand it is the first setting you make as you adjust the IRE(grayscale) for accurate rendition. You set it at a value for IRE of 100(in your case 130) and it automatically adjusts for each new IRE setting(90,80,70 etc). It takes professional equipment to determine what value you start with. So the setting you concern yourself with when trying to duplicate somebodys calibration settings is what they started with using the professional equipment that they had. Brightness is linked with contrast and the other settings in Wizard and it affects picture quality i.e Shadows, 3-D effect etc. There is a order to those settings and if you follow Wizard you will do them in the correct order. Many sets stop the consumer at that point and allow greyscale correction only for professional calibrators. The LH90 does stop at all settings(Vidid, Game, THX etc) except Expert 1 and 2 where you and I are allowed additional settings for a more professional calibration. But as pointed out here in several posts knowing the settings one person used for a particular set does not guarentee you a perfect picture on your set. We now have three sets of settings from three different sources and they are all different. Does that make one better than the other, I dont think so. The calibrators each calibrated for the set they had. You are lucky. You have a set that was professionaly calibrate. I just have to try each of the three sets of settings to see if I like any of them on my set and if I can see a improvement with them(I can).