LCD TV Reviews

Keep in mind that unit-to-unit variations, viewing environment, source, and screen (in the case of front projectors) might render the settings I used less than optimum on some samples of this display. On the other hand, some parameters should be set to the same values presented here regardless of these factors. In the following list, the parameters that can be set with confidence to the specified values have no asterisk.

Parameters flagged with a single asterisk are likely to require different settings than mine. I encourage you to acquire a display-setup disc such as Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics on Blu-ray or any of the several setup DVDs available and use it to set these controls yourself.

Parameters flagged with a double asterisk are also likely to require different settings than mine, but they should be adjusted only by a qualified technician with the skill and equipment to do the job correctly.

Thanks to Joel Silver, president of the Imaging Science Foundation, for suggesting that I identify the picture controls in this manner.

In the following settings, the B and G Drive controls are adjusted to produce the best possible grayscale without a full calibration. Unlike the XF550U, the service-menu calibration controls in the XV545U allowed me to achieve a better result, while the color-management controls destroyed the picture.

Video menu
Mode: Preference (start from Movie mode)
Picture Settings

• *Contrast: 86
• *Backlight: 22
• DynaLight: Off
• *Brightness: 55
• *Color: 57
• *Tint: +10
• Sharpness: 47
• Advanced Picture Settings
  • Dynamic Contrast: Off
  • Static Gamma: 0
  • Color Temperature: Warm
    • **B Drive: -15
    • **G Drive: -3
  • Cinema Mode: Film
  • ClearFrame: On
  • Film Stabilization: Smooth
• Noise Reduction
  • DNR: Medium
  • MPEG Noise Reduction: Off
• ColorMaster
  • ColorMaster: Off
• x.v.Color Selection: Off
• Game Mode: Off
• Theater Settings
  • Picture Size: Native (1080i/p)
  • Picture Scroll: N/A
  • Auto Aspect Ratio: On

• Lip-Sync Latency: On
• Deep Color: Off
• x.v.Color: Off

HDMI settings must be made with no HDMI cable connected to the set.

B and G Drive were set to 0 for full service-level calibration. The settings provided here presented the best possible picture without a service-level calibration.