Those LCD TV's that look "too real" at the store.

[cupido]

Hi everyone,

I bought a PN58A550 a few months ago and I really love this TV, but I went to the store the other day and notice how their LCD TV that were playing blu-ray movies looked kind of funny. Like it was too real or looked liked a soap opera. I then begin to think "Is my TV suppose to look like that too? My blu-ray doesn't look that sharp, clear, or whatever that is." Is this something I need to be concern with or is that not the way HD movies suppose to look and it's just a thing LCD TV do.

I have a PS3 running to my TV via HDMI.

Thanks

[mic]

Keep in mind that everyone of the sets you see in a store (whether using the default settings or not) are most likely out of adjustment. The factory settings almost always are used to catch the eye of the potential buyer in the environment of the store, and are not the ideal settings for when you bring the set home. Once home, you should perform a calibration on the set. If you don't have something like DVE (Digital Video Essentials (HD Basics) or the like), look up your model number on Google and include the word "calibration" and see what others have for their settings. Many provide a complete list of values for all the important video adjustments. It should be better than factory, but only you can dial it in the rest of the way for your living arrangement.

Many years ago I knew someone that had their set adjusted with far too much green tint. I offered a couple of times to adjust their set, but they liked the way it looked. The point is, it's all about personal tastes. Even a set that has had a calibration performed on it may not look that good to you, but it is one place to start and go from there.

[gadget_nut]

There is a "Store" or "Retail" setting on LCDs. It's intended to overcome the bright florescent lights and the ambient sounds you find in retail locations.
If you want to get the sharpness and clarity you see on those display units, you need to calibrate your set and tune it for the lighting conditions of the room where it's viewed.
Look for the Tekzilla episode dealing with calibrating LCDs.

[serafina]

Look for the Tekzilla episode dealing with calibrating LCDs.

...or the HD Nation episode.... ;)

Don't actually think we covered it on Tekzilla, just Systm:
http://revision3.com/systm/HDTVcalibration

[vegan]

Maybe the set that you saw had a high refresh rate, making it look more like video than film. They talked about that on the HD Nation episode.

[cupido]

Thanks for the info,

I think i missed that part that Vegan brought up, I had to re-watch the 1st episode. I was afraid for a second that i wasn't getting the best quality in my picture but i will try a calibration disc.

[vance]

When you get it calibrated, it should look every bit as sharp and clear, just likely not as bright and color saturated.

[mikeguy3086]

This is my first post on here woot. But like the poster above said, it's because of the tv's high refresh rate. It was most likely 120hz or above.