Best Buy Geek Squad TV Calibration

[leprechaunshawn]

Has anybody had this done?

I just had my new TV delivered on Sunday and am considering having the Geek Squad come out and calibrate it.  From the reviews on Best Buy.com it sounds like the people who have had it done are very happy with it.  One guy even said he noticed a significant savings on his electric bill.  Almost seems worth it for that alone since it might pay for itself in electric bill savings after about a year or so.

Just wondering if anybody has used this service or one similar that they would recommend?

P.S.  I'm sure somebody is going to ask, so, the TV I just had delivered is the Samsung LN46A630.  Its the 46" LCD Touch of Color series with the 120hz refresh rate.  And yes, the picture is awesome.

[Bebop]

Simply turning down the Contrast and Brightness will save electricity. Calibration is mainly for color and gray scale accuracy.

Professionals calibrate the sets for almost total darkness viewing, so the brightness and contrast are greatly reduced. That's probably why they used less electricity after calibration.

[Mark Strube]

Use a THX test pattern from a newer DVD (the old patterns don't always work) to get your basic brightness and contrast levels set... then adjust everything else to your taste. Don't give Geek Squad a cent.

[brewtownska]

If you have Blu-ray, you can buy/rent any of the Sony discs and they include test patterns on there, though they are sort of hidden.

Details on the weblink below show how to access this on a PS3 (what I have).  Though I think it can be used on any player, you just have to enter the 7669 on the menu screen to access it.

http://ps3mods.blogspot.com/2006/12/calibrate-your-ps3-video-using-blu-ray.html

Mike

[klwillis45]

http://consumerist.com/5074930/best-buy-uses-tricks-to-sell-calibration-service-espn-and-espn-hd-on-same-models-tvs-hides-that-one-is-just-regular-espn

It's no wonder people avoid Best Buy's "services".

[Cheesehead Dave]

Not sure what Geek Squad charges, but there's a Blu-ray version of Digital Video Essentials available now (Amazon has it for $17) so you can do it yourself.

[Bebop]

it's not he most user friendly calibration disc, wait for something better.