Page 1 of RGB on THX Optimode set up!

I have a Phillips TV which when set to RGB will not allow adjustment of colour or sharpness....................how can I adjust these values when using the optimode set up...........or do I need to set up using s-video?
Thanks
Lee

Lee,

Rgb(like component), is the way that the disc has been encoded at the mastering stage, and should be the correct colour balance for the movie and your tv.
The key to making the colour right is the brightness and contrast levels, which is what the Optimode concentrates on. The colour tests don`t intend for you to readjust the colour of the monitor(oooh monitor,very american!), but are there to ensure that the tv`s colour balance is correct. If it isn`t right first time then the tube is probably out of alignment.
But don`t forget the Optimode is a cheap and cheerful way of calibrating your set up. To do it properly you`ll need to get hold of either Video Essentials or The Ultimate DVD Platinum. Both of these are very professional calibration discs that have been tailored for the consumer home cinema market, and will ensure that your system is perfect every time. Persinally the Video Essentials is the one to go for (try www.ezydvd.com.au), but the Platinum DVD is also excellent(also available from ezydvd). It`ll cost you around £13 to get them, but if you`re serious about your kit then thses are pretty much invaluable tools for your set up-i`ve sworn by them for ages now.

Hope this helps

Westy

Simply ignore those settings. With RGB, the colour setting is always correct.

Mike

Mike, is it not right that you can`t alter brightness and contrast on a SCART RGB picture anyway ?

I thought that was what differentiated component video (where you can) from RGB (where you can`t).

You can adjust brightness and contrast on a RGB picture, Clayts. It`s only colour that you can`t adjust. I think this applies to component as well (i.e. the colour setting should be fixed all the time).

Mike

It depends on the TV. On mine I can adjust brightness, contrast, and colour on an RGB picture.

Thanks for your input guys..............so I just ignore the colour settings using RGB for the optimode test......okay.
Another question.........using this test I have found that the left hand vertical line on both circle/line tests doesn`t appear using RGB, but appears slightly (image appears to shift to the right a bit) when I switch to s-video/composite........does this mean I miss out on anything by using RGB?
Appreciate any response as I have an engineer coming out tomorrow to sort another "problem" wiv the TV & hopefully he could sort any other problems while he`s here.
BTW The engineer is coming out to TRY to fix a smearing/streaking effect across the right hand side of images the TV has developed............any ideas?
Another BTW doesn`t having the contrast & brightness set lower improve the image............very impressed.

Oh...........1 other thing............does having no adjustment to the sharpness control actually make any difference then using RGB?

Sharpness (a.k.a. "edge enhancement") is something you`re better off without, or turned down to the lowest setting. It gives the illusion of a "sharper" picture but introduces nasty halo effects. It`s no great loss not having it with RGB.

Re: the picture shifting over to the left: most TVs are adjusted so the picture is centred in composite mode (which is what most mere mortals use), but timing differences mean the RGB picture is shifted left slightly. You can ask the engineer to adjust the TV so the picture is more central with RGB - it`s a 10 second job.

I agree that the picture is much improved when contrast and brightness are set properly. Most people have these set far too high, especially contrast.

Re: John`s point about colour - you`re right, some TVs (especially 100Hz models) have digital processing circuitry which allows you to adjust colour with RGB. With less sophisticated sets, the RGB inputs drive the tube more or less directly, so there`s no scope for adjusting colour settings.

Mike

"Sharpness (a.k.a. "edge enhancement") is something you`re better off without, or turned down to the lowest setting .." In general, yes, but you have to be careful about what is meant by the "lowest setting". The minimum value on some sets introduces "edge impairment" by sometimes quite severe filtering off the high frequencies. On such sets you usually need a setting about half way to get a "neutral" picture. My mother`s old set was one such (can`t remember the make), where the minimum value made everything appear as though it was shown through the kind of execrable "fog" filter that was in vogue with too many otherwise excellent British cinematographers in the `70`s.