The most talked about article on HomeTheaterReview.com for the week of July 27, 2012 was by far editor Andrew Robinson's article on calibration. Andrew's article "Rethinking the Importance of Video Calibration" discussed the importance of taking time to properly calibrate your displays and what a professional calibration really is. As always, the topic of video calibration has sparked some heated comments. Here's what people are saying on Facebook, Twitter, in on-page comments, and more.
From the Home Theater Review Facebook page, Robert Beresford came out in support of the article: "Yes...Calibration of your HDTV is so important...At least get your new flat screen done when you buy it."
But Twitter follower filmfresser found some problems: "[I'm] not sure that I agree that ISF calibrations don't rely on hours of measurements and testing."
Still more conversation continued on the HomeTheaterEquipment.com forums with Rodolfo La Maestra agreeing with Andrew's previous stance: "Although I understand there was a need to raise the credit a good calibration/calibrator deserves, especially for good quality home theaters, I still think your original article has more merits about consumers being convinced they need to calibrate a TV set they just purchased..."
Other readers shared their own calibration stories in the comments section of the article. Bill Lukens commented: "Several years ago, I had my 2004 Mitsubishi 65 inch RPTV calibrated by one of the good calibrators. It cost me $400 but has improved the viewing satisfaction greatly. Those earlier HDTVs had a lot of room for improvement, and it was worth it. I do remember asking the salesperson at The Big Screen Store about calibration when I was buying the TV. He assured me that it was completely unnecessary as the factory "always" calibrates the TVs. After fooling around with a couple of the DVD do-it-yourself systems, I saw enough improvement to realize that I wanted a pro...It made a huge difference."
The conversation about calibration isn't over. Feel free to chime in on whatever social media outlet you like best.
Jerry Del Colliano's article from last week, "Who Will Fill The Void IF Best Buy Goes Bankrupt?" also sparked a lot of conversation.
From the article's comments Michael Pompey stated: "Until the economy rebounds, the days of 2nd mortgage inspired consumer purchasing is over. I don't think we are going to see a rebound boutique places like Tweeter/Sound Advice anytime soon. Consumers have slowly been trained to expect less and less from stores and employees for the sake of the cheapest price. It's hard to see folks moving out of that paradigm soon."
John Johnsen had some problems with the article: "It's so easy to point out what's wrong and bash them. Wish enough and I suppose they will go away - then what? You think Walmart, Sears, Target, Radio Shack, Fry's, or Costco is giving a good customer experience? Help me."
Over on sister site Audiophile Review, Steven Stone got our readers commenting with his article, "The Dedicated Two-Channel Listening Room - R.I.P."
From Audiophile Review's Facebook page Ismael Betancourt commented: "It's been gone for a while probably since the early 90's. Bottom line stereo listening is not mainstream like it use too. The only people that wish for a listening room are people like us. Now home theater has become the mainstream where every single living room has one..."
In the article's comments, William David Kull disagreed with Steven: "I will always have a 2 channel listening room! I don't like your outlook for our future."
Victor Ciccarone offered a solution to the problem: "You don't have to give up a dedicated listening room...I have a Custom Dedicated Theater in my new home. Yes, of course it's a 7.2 Surround Theater with custom acoustic ceiling and panels but I also listen to 2 channel audio in there. I think what you'll find is more people wont have a dedicated 2 channel system but if they have a theater that's where the hi quality audio system will be."
Additional Resources
• Read Andrew's calibration article.
• Share your opinion on Jerry's Best Buy story.
• Engage other readers about Steven's Two-Channel Listening Room article.