12 Tips to Tune Up Your TV

   If you care about picture quality, you can greatly improve the performance of just about any display by following these 12 simple steps.

   As most AVS Forum members know, watching a TV as it comes out of the box is not ideal—it's typically too bright and too blue for the best image quality at home. A professional calibration will ensure that it looks the very best it can, but that can cost several hundred dollars. This is unreasonable for many buyers, especially if the TV was relatively inexpensive—say, less than $2000.

   Does that mean you must live with a bright, blue flame thrower? Not at all—there are several things you can do to greatly improve the picture quality without spending more than a few bucks. Here are 12 tips to help you tune up your TV, which will typically get you 70-80 percent of the way to the best possible picture quality that TV can produce; if you want that last 20-30 percent, you can always hire a pro calibrator—and those of us who are picky about picture quality do so gladly if we can.

   

To perform these tasks, you'll need to open the TV's menu system and find the cited controls, which often go by different names in different manufacturers' products. I can't include all the possible names here; I've tried to use the most common names, but you might have to do a bit of sleuthing to determine what the manufacturer of your TV calls these controls.

1. Select the most accurate picture mode. In most TVs, this is the Movie or Cinema mode; in some, it might be the Standard mode, and a few even have a Calibrated mode. After selecting this mode, you might think the image looks dim and dull, but give yourself some time to get used to it; the picture will look much more natural and realistic than the out-of-box mode.

2. Select the warmest color temperature. In most TVs, the color-temperature settings are often labeled Cool, Normal, and Warm or High, Medium, and Low. The Warm or Low setting is usually the closest to reproducing what the content creators intended. In the Movie or Cinema picture mode, the color temperature often defaults to Warm or Low.

3. Turn off all "'enhancement" functions, such as dynamic contrast, edge enhancement, and noise filters. These usually do more harm than good to image quality.

4. Turn off overscan, which slightly upscales and crops the image. This is a holdover from the CRT days and is no longer necessary; in a digital display, it softens the image. In the TV's menu, this parameter is often called something like Picture Size or Aspect Ratio, with selections that include various zoom settings; select the setting that displays each pixel exactly as it is in the video signal.

5. Turn off frame interpolation, which sharpens motion detail by synthesizing artificial frames between the actual frames in the video signal. But it also creates the soap-opera effect, making movies look like they were shot with a video camera. This parameter goes by many different names; here are some of the more common ones:

LG: TruMotion
Panasonic: Motion Picture Setting
Samsung: Auto Motion Plus
Sharp: Motion Enhancement
Sony: Motionflow
Vizio: Smooth Motion

6. Turn on backlight scanning or black-frame insertion to sharpen motion detail without frame interpolation. Some models do not offer separate frame-interpolation and backlight-scanning controls, but combine them into one control; in this case, turn it off to avoid the soap-opera effect. This parameter goes by many different names; here are some of the more common ones:

LG: TruMotion Clear Plus
Panasonic: N/A (combined with frame interpolation)
Samsung: LED Motion Plus, LED Clear Motion
Sharp: AquoMotion
Sony: Motionflow Impulse
Vizio: Clear Action

7. Adjust the backlight (LCD) or cell-light (plasma, OLED) control according to the amount of ambient light in the room; the image should not be too bright to watch comfortably over extended periods. Backlight scanning and black-frame insertion can dim the picture considerably, so the backlight should be increased if you use this feature.

8. Use a setup disc to adjust the TV's five basic picture controls (brightness, contrast, color, tint, sharpness). For newbies, the Disney World of Wonder(WOW) Blu-ray is excellent; for more experienced users, I recommend Spears & Munsil's HD Benchmark or Joe Kane's Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics. Each of these discs costs around $30. Another option is the AVS 709 HD program available here to download for free. The THX Tune-Up app for iOS and Android devices is very convenient, and it's also free.

9. Follow the directions for whichever disc or app you choose to set the brightness (black level) first, then contrast (white level). Go back and check the brightness again; these controls can be somewhat interactive, so you might need to go back and forth a few times to get them both right.

10. In most cases, set the sharpness control at 0 or off; higher settings apply edge enhancement that does more harm than good to the image. I've seen at least one TV in which a setting of 0 softened the picture quite a bit, while a setting of 1 was fine.

11. Setting the color and tint controls requires you to look through a blue filter at the test pattern or, better yet, setting the TV to display only blue, not red or green. Unfortunately, the blue filters that come with various setup discs aren't always accurate for all types of TVs, leading to misadjusted controls.

12. With digital TVs, the tint control rarely needs adjustment, so leave it alone. If your TV has a "blue-only" mode, use that to set the color control; if not, use the blue filter that came with the setup disc or carefully adjust it while looking at content with natural skin tones; they should not look sunburned or sickly green.

source: avforum.com

LG’S NEW MUSIC FLOW HS8 SOUND BAR SPORTS SOME SEXY CURVES

   

   LG announced this week a new addition to its popular Music Flow line of wireless speakers and soundbars: a sleek, curved, wireless sound bar dubbed the Music Flow HS8. This isn’t, of course, the first time we’ve seen a curved sound bar. Samsung introduced its own Shape M3 around this time last year. But I’m not quite ready to call this a trend just yet. After all, most TV manufacturers haveabandoned the curve altogether due to customer preference and media backlash. And that’s totally fine. I recognize that I’m a small minority of those who dig curved screens, and I’m certainly not going to try to convince anyone who hates them that they’re wrong.

   If, like me, you dig the curve, though, Samsung and LG are still making plenty of concave TVs to fill that niche. And now both manufacturers are making a curved sound bars to match. LG’s new HS8 Wireless Curved Sound Bar in particular boasts 360 watts of total power, a 4.1-channel design, and 24bit/192KHz sampling. But perhaps the most interesting thing about it is that LG claims the curve is far more than a mere aesthetic affectation. You’ll notice in the image above that the edges of the sound bar—which, on a comparable flat sound bar would be pointing directly to the left and right—aim out into the room to a degree. The company has used that surface as a base for two tweeters that fire out into the room at quite a wide angle, which the company says has the effect of expanding the sweet spot and creating a much more immersive virtual surround sound experience.

   Another interesting feature of the LG HS8 is its i-Sound Mode. If you’ve ever used a sound bar before, you’re probably already familiar with the different sound modes that most of them sport: generally one for music, another for movies, and maybe one that enhances dialogue. It seems that i-Sound encompasses those different sound processing modes, but rather than making you select between them when you switch between different types of content, i-Sound analyses the audio and adapts to whatever it is you’re watching or listening to, instantaneously.

   And of course, since it’s part of LG’s Music Flow line, it features all of the accompanying enhancements you would expect, like WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, Google Cast capabilities, intuitive multi-room audio capabilities, the ability to link it with other players in the line, and even a Home Cinema mode that allows you to use other Music Flow speakers as surround sound speakers in a complete home theater setup.

   With full Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, the LG HS8 can be used to transmit audio content across multiple rooms simultaneously, linking with LG Music Flow speakers to create the perfect listening experience. When multiple speakers are positioned in the same room, the advanced Home Cinema Mode immerses the viewer in a rich, cinematic experience from the comforts of one’s couch. As such, Multi-room Mode can be programmed to turn the entire home into one large sound system. Users can control the music in each room with a single mobile device, enabling them to select a playlist for the entire house or choose different songs for each room. Another unique feature of the HS8 is its compatibility with TV remotes from eight popular manufacturers.   

   “As a company that brought to market stunningly looking curved TVs, it’s only natural that we also follow up with a curved audio product to match,” said Min Byung-hoon, senior vice president of the LG Home Entertainment Company’s Consumer Audio Visual division. “In the digital age, the way consumers listen to music has changed dramatically and LG Music Flow is our response to movie and music lovers’ desire for beautiful devices that perform as well as they look.”

   Unfortunately, there’s no word yet on when the Music Flow HS8 Wireless Curved Sound Bar might make it to North American stores, nor how much it will cost when it does so. But it will be available in European markets starting next week, and will be on display in LG’s booth at IFA in Berlin next month. More info on pricing and availability should be available once the HS8 pops up on LG’s Music Flow website.

source: hdliving.com

later edit:

Key Specifications:

• Connectivity:Auto Music Play: Syncs with user’s mobile devices via Wi-Fi to transfer music automatically to the Sound Bar
  Smartphone App Controller: Smart UX (Universal Search, Music Curation)
• Google Cast: Easy access to internet streaming and radio applications including Google Play™ Music, Pandora, Songza, TuneIn, iHeartRadio and Rdio, among others (availability of services differ by country)
• Network: Wi-Fi / Bluetooth 4.0
• Mood Station: Multi-room Mode / Home Cinema Mode
• HomeChat™ (Available in Australia, US, UK, Germany, New Zealand and Korea)
• Sound: i-Sound / 4 Tweeters (2 Front, 1 Left, 1 Right) / LG Auto Sound Engine / SFX for Stereo Surround Sound / 24bit/192KHz Sampling / LG Sound Sync
• Power: 4.1 Channel Speaker System / 360W
• Dimensions (W/D/H): 1200mm x 43mm x 82mm
• Wall mountable
• Compatible with TV remotes

source: lgnewsroom.com

Sonus faber Announces the Venere S Loudspeaker

Sonus faber Announces the Venere S Loudspeaker

Sonus faber has announced a new flagship member for its Venere Series. The Venere S is a three-way floorstanding speaker that combines three 180mm cone woofers with one 150mm cone midrange driver and 29mm dome tweeter. The speaker has a rated frequency response of 40 Hz to 25 kHz and a rated sensitivity of 90 dB. Designed and assembled by hand in Arcugnano, Italy, the Venere S is intended to bridge the Venere and higher-end Olympica product lines.

From Sonus faber

The Venere S is the latest Sonus faber loudspeaker and the new flagship of the Venere collection.

Born in 2015, three years after the release of the Venere collection, this latest Sonus faber project completes the line for which its named, becoming the most advanced of all the Venere speakers.

The Venere S is the most powerful three-way speaker of the Venere line with three 180mm woofers for the best reproduction of lower frequencies and high-end standards. Entirely designed and assembled by hand in Arcugnano (Italy), the speaker ideally bridges between the Venere and Olympica product families. Carefully thought out designs and precise solutions create an accurate and detailed sound stage. The S inherits Venere's design and has an electro-acoustic legacy strongly connected with the finest traditions of our brand. For all these reasons, the S of the name stands for Signature.

What is the need for a Signature speaker?
Sonus faber is always at its best when starting from scratch or re-examing an existing design--even if this means starting over and evolving the design in order to offer hi-fi lovers a sound that reaches the heights of excellence, true to the legacy of the models that made this Italian brand famous around the world.

The Project
This floor-standing three-way speaker, unlike its Venere siblings, features a new design for the reflex port. Instead of being positioned on the front baffle to reduce interactions with the listening environment, making it easier to set up, our designers have fitted it in the lower part of the cabinet, directly facing the floor. This way the purity of the sound is not contaminated by the spurious vibrations generated by its powerful drivers.
Building on the experience gained from the Olympica collection, the baskets of the Venere S drivers are custom made for Sonus faber in die-cast metal with an "Ultra Free Compression" design to minimize the acoustic interference generated by the moving parts of the transducers.

The Crossovers and Drivers
All Venere S drivers are custom built according to the specific design of Sonus faber.
The three woofer cones of the Venere S are made of aluminum, providing for maximum lightness and stiffness of the transducers to achieve a fast response to transients at low frequencies.

The midrange features a Curv membrane, a special thermoformed polypropylene fiber that provides the ideal solution for an absolutely natural reproduction of the main part of the audio spectrum.

The high frequencies are reproduced by a tweeter with a soft dome membrane made of silk and manufactured by Dr. Kurt Mueller, the world's best producer of moving parts. The tweeter is mechanically decoupled by interposing resilient material in order to make the transducer resistant to micro-vibrations generated by the intense activity of the other drivers. The result is an improvement of the precision and micro-dynamics that allows achieving an extremely focused sound stage.

The crossover network is assembled entirely in Italy with high-end components. Its semi-balanced configuration with a non-resonant "progressive slope" design and amplitude/phase response optimization ensures the best time domain performance.
In addition, the woofers feature "Trilobyte Ultrafast" filtering coils, and the PCB tracks are made with nano-technologies that maximize the signal transmission speed.

Design
The design is faithful to that of the six current models of the Venere collection, thus ensuring seamless integration into multi-channel systems.

The Venere S is clearly inspired by the shape of lyre that ensures no parallel inner surfaces and air movement volume control. The overall design of the cabinet is the result of the needs of sound reproduction. Shape and function blend together to give life to elegant--yet functional--forms to achieve perfect acoustics, all while providing proper support to the drivers.

Sleek and modern, the styling of Venere S stands out with a bolder approach compared to the collection, ideally completing it: the brushed aluminum around each driver gives a dash of character to the speaker's front facade.

The glass base found on the other Venere models is replaced by a brushed black aluminum plate with a diamond edge to further energize the look of the Venere S.

The Venere S is available in three finishes: white, black, and wood.

sorce: hometheaterreview.com