Could it simply be a case of people prefering the picture that way?

Someone I work with has a phobia about missadjusted TVs in clubs, pubs and restaurants. He'll demand to be given the remote so he can fix it but that has not worked out well for him at all with boos from the other patrons.

Bob.

Bob,

Yeah, that is a lot of it. My parents like a lot of color, so their TV is set on VIVID or whatever the comparable setting is for each TV.

They also like a lot of bass and very little treble in their music. It drives me nuts because it sounds so muffled, but that is what they like.

In the linear editing days, we always had two monitors in the edit suite. One was a professional, finely tuned monitor and the other was a home TV. Obviously, they never looked the same, so if the client asked which one was correct, I would ask which one they liked better. If they liked the TV, I would tell them that would be the way it would look on most home sets, if they liked the monitor, I told them that was what was being recorded to tape. It always seemed to appease them.

Dave T2

@ davet2 - so i wasn't the only one with two monitors to shut the client up ;-)

Could it simply be a case of people prefering the picture that way?

I adjusted my TV so it looks good to me. Since everyone sees things slightly different, a "proper" setup for you could be horrible for me.

I really had the "as the director intended" tagline though. What's next, they'll say they will only have their movies play on TV brands/sizes they approve of because that's the way they "intended"? :p

and.....

NO pausing
NO coffee breaks
NO talking
NO wearing of hats that might impede the person behind yous vision

etc., etc.,

Here's the issue: People don't know what and why to select something else. Over Sat, over contrasty, under sat under contrast. Ambient light levels and the effect of auto adjust illumination. Don't EVEN get me started on not using the correct input format. It's just not on their RADAR. It is ours, but we are explorers in the "World of Video".

I have 3 monitors I aim for a mid-range of suitability and I still see my work on screens overly contrast=dark and underexposed=dark - the poor loves don;t know the difference.

Word to the wise? Do NOT adjust a TV screen, in a Pub, while 50 blokes, with beers in their hands are watching sport - watching their team getting thrashed.

Grazie

Perhaps these directors are keen to visit each home to ensure that their movies are being watched 'as intended' ;)

One problem I find is that if I optimise for a movie then watch a sports event/soap/music video I have to change settings again which, to be honest, I can't be faffed about particularly as the missus doesn't have the same 'eye' as me so often doesn't like the setup I've chosen.

I find it much easier to set things s an sort of average for all types of viewing.

But that's just me :)

Brightness, contrats, saturation, sharpness are just the beginning.
Now we have "motion flow" or whatever name the manufacturer decided to call it.

There is a real problem though, movies were made to be projected in a theatre, not a living room. That has an impact not only on how it can be seen but also how it can be heard.

Bob.

but also how it can be heard.

tell me about it!!!!!

it's bad enough i'm half deaf anyway, but there is nothing so annoying as watching a film that has 5.1 or greater on a stereo tv. talk about mush....

you'd think they mix for tv / dvd with simple stereo (or 2.1) as an option.

Before we all slip into a warm tub and reach for a razor blade, there is Samsara to put meaning back into what we do and what we can aspire to.

Bob.

Stretchovision is the worst. Smaller (OTA) SD formats than 720 x 480 are next which make things skinnier than normal that some stations use to save money. Then there are the in between comercial formats that never look right. Then the lower text "sqeezy" which vertically crunches up the HD picture. Then also the DVD's
that show a 16 x 9 instead of 2.35 x 1. Wonder what the directors say about that?
JJK

I think the only sensible comment in that article is THX wanting to save energy. The rest is completely bunk.

Almost all viewers don't care, and they don't want to care. They want to be entertained. It's their TV in their home. Let them entertain themselves as they see fit. Make the best product you can, but once it's left your hands it's no longer your responsibility. Wanting to control the end-viewing experience too is just ... egomania.

Trying to avoid sounding patronising here, but i do think its a matter of education. If someone is educated enough to appreciate the detail, highlights and shadows in a scene then that person would want to see the image as 'true' as possible, as the director intended it. On the other hand, most people out there just dont see it that way, and simply want to get a bright and colourful image without the need for much detail. If its bright and big - then it must be a great TV set right?..
Its all down to the viewer and what they want (what stimulates them). Its out of the control of the director at that point. But with some simple basic education and showing what the TV 'could' look like once adjusted, well who knows, it may just sway a few peoples preferences. Hopefully.

Paul.

would be nice if all these new TVs came with an "accurate" setting in addition to the options like "ooh cool dull dark Movie like" and "MTV styled sports" settings.

But with some simple basic education and showing what the TV 'could' look like once adjusted, well who knows, it may just sway a few peoples preferences. Hopefully.

Then your friends and family come round who still don't see the benefits of the accurate settings,moan about how rubbish your expensive TV set is so you reset it to appease them while they're with you ;)

"Trying to avoid sounding patronising here"

Done it , been there, got the "know-it-all" stare AND "T" shirt too. Now I just sit there and smile benignly - and that IS patronising.

Grazie

"Then your friends and family come round who still don't see the benefits of the accurate settings,moan about how rubbish your expensive TV set is so you reset it to appease them while they're with you"

Yep, probably a complete waste of time even trying.

Paul.

Another instance of "good enough"?

Not to mention having sets set up to always stretch everything out to full)wide)screen. partner's daughter looks at me blankly when I point out that all the Gilmour Girls (or whatever) look really short and fat ;-(

geoff

Not to mention having sets set up to always stretch everything out to full)wide)screen. partner's daughter looks at me blankly when I point out that all the Gilmour Girls (or whatever) look really short and fat ;-(

Yes, yes, yes .. a major pet peeve of mine

Also I have seen some sets that are adjusted to have a 'normal' proportion in the center of the screen but the left and right sides are stretched out. In many sceens this cannot be easily noticed .. but if the camera pans you can easily see the shift in proportion as the image shifts from side to center.

As far as adjusting the set for color/contrast and so on ... this is not new with HD.

I spend many years in a professional photo lab. While I was not involved with the color correction process of printing photos, much rubbed off on me. After working there for a few years I went to a friends house and could not stand the way they had set up their TV set and begged to let me adjust it (they did, but I'm sure they re-set it when I left)

Nowadays the color settings are reasonable close .. but that 4x3 stretched out to 16x9 bugs the hell out of me.

I'm always a bit surprised when I go into Blockbuster and see their TV monitors aren't set to the proper aspect ratio when running a movie. I mean, c'mon people, that's kinda what your business is all about. Movies.

No, their biz is Profit. And one of the ways to get profit is to reduce staff billing. Lotsa compo out there now. If a person knows how to set TVs, aint gonna stay around.

Grazie