Calibration Discs Help You Get the Most From Your TV

Many of today's high definition televisions boast remarkable picture quality, but you still need to calibrate your TV properly to get the most out of it. Sadly, most folks don't have the money to pay a professional to come into their homes and set a television up. Fortunately, you can do a quick-and-dirty calibration yourself with nothing more than your television, a Blu-ray player and calibration disc.

Many people - even professionals - swear by Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics, a calibration disc created by home theater guru Joe Kane. The disc goes for $29.95 at VideoEssentials.com but other online retailers and some brick-and-mortar stores sell it cheaper. While Video Essentials is beloved by those who use it, there is a learning curve and it can be intimidating, especially for folks who dread the thought of messing with the tint and color settings on their TV. Also, the $29.95 price tag is a little steep for a disc that the average television viewer won't turn to often.

The good news is you may already have a basic calibration disc in your home-video collection. I was reminded of this by the latest Pixar release, "Up." The Blu-ray disc comes with a basic calibration tutorial and several test patterns that allow you to quickly and easily maximize your picture quality by adjusting the contrast, brightness, etc. "Up" isn't the only disc to include a feature like this, but I haven't been able to find an exhaustive list of those with calibration tools. So, I would check your library before running out to buy either Video Essentials or "Up."

It's important to note that self-calibrating with one of these basic discs isn't likely to give you the same result as if you hired a professional, but it is an inexpensive way to quickly improve your television's picture.