WHAT DO I GET FROM CALIBRATION?
There are 5 things that will make a HUGE difference in that TV or Projector of yours?
1) Can I see that Black shirt, against a Black background?
One of the absolute most important things, is getting the Black Levels(Brightness in Samsung) set properly! If you're in a bright room, you'll need a bit of a boost in the dark scene luminance. When you're watching in a home cinema, with controlled lighting, it is best to not add luminance to the dark part of the gray scale. Either way, you'll be able to see the scenes that others might miss
2) Will I see the white buttons on that white shirt?
Setting the correct Brightness(Contrast in Samsung) peak levels will make an image pop! If you get it too high, you lose detail. When it's set too low, you lose the excitement! The TV needs to be pushed to its limit, right before it clips. You'll see that white flag, bending in the wind, in front of that bright white cloud.
3) Are those the correct colors at the ballpark?
Dawn and I are LA baseball fans. We have a very particular blue. It's Pantone PMS 294 C, or RGB(0, 90, 156). This is a very specific color! If you want to see this color on your expensive display, I can help you with that. Maybe you aren't an LA baseball fan? I can help you with your favorite colors, whatever they may be. Happy Face!
4) Why does the green grass look radioactive?
Getting the type of color correct isn't the only job to do here! We also need to make sure that the correct amount of color is displayed. When you watch that awesome BBC documentary, with all those incredible colors, does the grass look like a cartoon character may wander into the frame? Does that golf course putting green, look like it's on fire? I'll make sure that we put the correct amount of color around the cup!
5) Is this picture as sharp as it should be?
The Geometry settings are important in both display types(projector and flat panel). Flat panel TVs are a bit self contained, and don't suffer some of the effects of a projector shooting an image on a screen. You need to make sure all the pixels are being put on the screen. Putting up and image with a different amount of pixels than is projected on the screen, is not a good thing. It's the same on a TV, but usually the default settings are ok. The sharpness setting also needs attention. These settings will help with the final touches.