Best Buy Calibrating Samsung Touch of Color LCD?

[Tellegrand]

Ok-- so we took the plunge and bought a 46" Samsung Touch of Color LCD 750. By the way -- picture is absolutely fantastic!! Almost 3D if you know what I mean.... anyway the Best Buy guys said the TV needed to be calibrated after 100 hours of use to get the best picture and save 50% on power costs. Now the picture deal I'm for sure a bit skeptical about, but they said that without calibration it would cost about 16 cents an hour to run and with calibration about 8 cents an hour resulting in about 150 dollars a year saving. Anyone heard of this?? or knowledgeable about whether they are just blowing smoke? It costs 200 dollars to do the calibration... so if they are right its a no brainer. Also what about extended warranty? We usually NEVER do warranty's (they are all profit and commission) except for our apple computers, but we are new to this big screen thing. Thoughts anyone? We just don't want to be ripped off an additional 500 bucks, but don't want to cut my nose off either..

 

[yg17]

I believe the guys at Best Buy are full of crap and just trying to get you to buy something. I've never heard of TVs needing calibration to save power like that.

 

[adk]

Not sure about the calibration (sounds like bunk to me) but Consumer Reports said that LCD TVs are far too reliable to justify an expensive extended warranty. Also, many credit cards will double the warranty of the item if you put it on the card, so that may also be worth looking into.

 

[Killyp]

Most TVs get calibrated at the factory (some much more extensively than others though).

They're bull****ting you, and I wouldn't go for any extended warranty, LCDs tend to be very reliable (they're a very smart technology).

 

[Prof.]

My cousin is the General Manager at the best buy in Columbia South Carolina and even he said Best Buy bull****s its customers into buying unnecessary warranties, accessories or in this case "calibration"

My friend bought a MacBook at best buy about 2.5 weeks ago and because he didn't know a lot about Macs (it's his first Mac) he got conned into paying for a "set-up" thing from Geek Squad where they set-up your Mac and put all the extra programs on it for you. Here's the kicker. Ready? My friend didn't buy any extra programs. They conned him.

 

[Jschultz]

Ouch- looks like a lot of ignorance going on around here.

I encourage those who have never heard of calibrations to google ISF, and take a look for yourself.

There are general presets from the factory, but most of the times, they are nowhere near the acceptable 6500 kelvin threshold, and many times contrast, white balance...etc are off.

A true ISF calibration is definitely worth it if you're SERIOUS about home theater. I've seen a good calibration turn a pretty crappy television into something semi-watchable.

Is it worth it? Depends on the person. If you bought a set to casually peruse the nightly news or for your kids' programs, you probably won't appreciate it. If you watch MANY films, and heavily invest into the whole experience- calibration can often take it to the next level. In my experience, people who have invested into expensive home theater sound systems, blu ray, and sound processing will be more likely to like it.

Stop in and check out the demo for yourself to confirm. If you REALLY don't see a difference, don't buy it.

 

[Abstract]

I think it makes no difference whatsoever unless you edit photos and video, and even with video, I don't think it's a serious issue unless skin tones and such are WAY off.

And I highly doubt you'd save electricity by calibrating your LCD.

 

[D-Bug]

The power saving reason could be bogus, but Samsung TV's are calibrated in the factory to have its white color be slightly tinged blue (Sony does the same except their TV's are tinged red)
I had best buy calibrate my 52" Samsung 1080p and it made a HUGE difference
The picture looks even crisper and clearer than before

 

[Tellegrand]

We decided to have the tv calibrated after doing some research. We talked to the gentleman who does the calibrations in our area for Best Buy and he was listed and fully certified with ISF. They were also able to prove to us that they had the proper equipment per ISF standards. After the calibration we noticed a TREMENDOUS difference in the heat give-off of the television which leads me to believe that there is something to the money savings aspect of having our television calibrated. The picture improvement was also amazing. Our HD picture is absolutely mesmerizing now. Overall... if you have someone in the area that is properly qualified I think the 200 bucks was well worth it.

 

[Twotubes]

Just the Opposite

Samsung has a red hue. Sony over drives the blue!. Not much energy savings from Calibrationg an LCD. Significant energy savings from calibrating a plasma. LCD's do not respond well to "service Menu" adjustments such as white balance. That often makes an LCD look worse. Remote control adjustments can be subtiantially more pleasing than the "store settings" which are very bright and will cause eye strain in most people.

The power saving reason could be bogus, but Samsung TV's are calibrated in the factory to have its white color be slightly tinged blue (Sony does the same except their TV's are tinged red)
I had best buy calibrate my 52" Samsung 1080p and it made a HUGE difference
The picture looks even crisper and clearer than before

 

[junior14]

I just got my DLP 50" replaced under warranty FULL EXCHANGE!!!! NO HASSEL!!! the digital motherboard went bad so my cable line input produced static pictures on all chanels except component/HDMI. Since I was at the end of my 4 year warranty the motherboard was backordered. The Geek Rep. on the phone gave me a 6 Digit exchange number and go into any Best Buy and get a new TV!!!! Problem... DLP's are non exsistant???? this part is true after calling Samsung. LCD, LED, and PLASMA's have the market. so the sales rep at B.B. told me I can only get a 52"B530 samsung.... HOLD THE PHONE!!! NO PICTURE in PICTURE!!!! sorry my DLP has PiP which was the reason why I got it in the first place at $2600 at the time. so I made my complaint feature for feature exchange... So now im looking at 6, 7, 8, and 9 series Samsungs.
all 6 series not in stock anywhere, 7series Oh Yeah!!! bonus I got the full exchange plus paid for a new warranty since the previous warranty on the DLP under terms and conditions is considered completed just shy by 2 months... I made out just fine. As for the Calibration part they wanted 200-300 on top of the standard-premium warranty after looking over the warranty it says its part of the Premium plan nowhere in the contract says that Calibration is extra.. That part looked fishy when he asked for 200 more on top of the premium plan ($450+$200=$650). so I went with the standard $350 and I'll pay $300 later.(equals $650 any ways) get the warranty but read the EXCLUSIONS: ACTS OF GOD, FLOODS, INTENT TO BREAK,...ETC.