# Image Setting for a Sony KDS-60A200



## astayton (Aug 30, 2006)

I just bought a Sony KDS-60A2000 and Have it hooked up to my HR10-250 with HDMI. Out of the box I really didn't like the color setting on the TV. I found an Article on CNET about adjusting the picture and come up with this. The picture is much better. I was just wondering what setting everyone else is using and is this the best setup. We sit about 14 Feet away form the TV, and we are in a basement that we can keep dark for viewing. 

Picture menu:
Mode: Custom
Advanced iris: Min
Picture: 84
Brightness: 56
Color: 41
Hue: 0
Color temp: Warm2
Sharpness: 50
Noise reduction: Off

--Advanced Settings--
Black corrector: Off
Gamma: Off
Clear white: Off
Live color: Off
White balance: (see below)
Detail enhancer: Off
Edge enhancer: Off

--White balance--
R-gain: -2
G-gain: -1
B-gain: 0
R-bias: -3
G-bias: -2
B-bias: -1

Setup menu:

Color matrix: Standard
Power saving: On


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## Mr_Bester (Jan 27, 2007)

I'm not at home, and this is from memory,

Iris-auto 1
Picture - 83
Brightness - 51
Color - ?
Hue - R1(1 click left)
Color Temp - Warm 2
Sharpness - 25
NR - ?

White Balance RG- -1
GG -0
BG-0
RB- -1
GB- 0
BB- 0

Power saving -on

Just remember, all sets are different and some settings won't work for everyone's display.

also, the sister forum- www.avsforum.com/avs-vb has owners tweaks threads and info threads on the KDSxxA2000 in the rear projection forum. Lots of good info there. Also, lots of info(many pages)
Dug


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## rifleman69 (Jan 6, 2005)

Get an Avia disc and go from there.


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## leftcoastdave (Sep 4, 2003)

I fiddled with my new A2000 for weeks and after much experimentation I settled on the below settings. I also saw the CNET posting and decided the settings were too dark for my tastes.

Iris = Auto 1
Pic = 90
Bright = 45
Color = 45
Hue = 0 (Occasionally toggled up to +2 or +4 for football)
Temp = Warm 1
Sharp = 25
NR = Off
Gamma = off
Black Corr = off
Live Color = off
Detail = Off
Edge = Off
White Balance = All set to zero


Good luck. My Sony SXRD delivers the best picture quality of any TV I have ever seen at any price. I know you wil be happy with it.


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## astayton (Aug 30, 2006)

I am really happy with it and the HD content is GREAT. I was just wanded to know what everyone else had for there setup.


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## brianhos (Apr 12, 2004)

Ok. as a followup, I am going to be looking to buy one of these in the next few weeks. What did you pay for it? My local dealer has it listed at $2399, but I have seen it online for $1999.


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## astayton (Aug 30, 2006)

brianhos said:


> Ok. as a followup, I am going to be looking to buy one of these in the next few weeks. What did you pay for it? My local dealer has it listed at $2399, but I have seen it online for $1999.


I bought mine online at www.onecall.com and got it for $1999.99 plus $149.00 for shipping. I bought it Feb 7th and it was delivered on Feb 12th. I think I got a special because of the Sales from Super Bowl. It looks like there price is now $2,299.99.


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## stevel (Aug 23, 2000)

Every TV is a bit different, even those of the same model. Settings which are perfect for one TV are wrong for another. Start with AVIA or Digital Video Essentials. For best results, get ISF calibration done - it can make a significant improvement.


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## Mr_Bester (Jan 27, 2007)

brianhos said:


> Ok. as a followup, I am going to be looking to buy one of these in the next few weeks. What did you pay for it? My local dealer has it listed at $2399, but I have seen it online for $1999.


I bought mine Dec 29th for $2449. The B&M I bought from had a 60day price match. They wouldn't price match online, but the superbowl came and I found it for $2249 and a 10% off coupon. So they pricematched to $2024.10 + 10% of the difference. So, I think I got it for $1981.50. I am extremely happy with the TV and the price I got.

If you see it online, from a reputable source, go for it. The only problem would be return policies. I have seen better prices that $1999, but they were from the gray area shops that bait and switch. Make sure you read reviews of the online seller if you choose to go that route.
Dug


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## astayton (Aug 30, 2006)

I found onecall on Bizrate. So far I haven't been burned by doing it that way.


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## XBR (May 17, 2002)

astayton said:


> ...I was just wondering what setting everyone else is using...
> ...
> Sharpness: 50
> ...
> ...


Multiburst patterns were noisier on my 60A2000 with Sharpness set to anything above the mid-30s or so (now that I have an Algolith Flea I set it to zero). Another tweak is to set the Color Matrix to Custom, but leave the default mappings as they are (601 for SD, 709 for HD).


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## geodon005 (Mar 10, 2004)

leftcoastdave said:


> I fiddled with my new A2000 for weeks and after much experimentation I settled on the below settings. I also saw the CNET posting and decided the settings were too dark for my tastes.
> 
> Iris = Auto 1
> Pic = 90
> ...


I tried these settings and found they worked really well with my new 55A2000. What is everyone setting their DRC and Color Matrix to (I have both set to off, currently)?


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## XBR (May 17, 2002)

geodon005 said:


> ...What is everyone setting their DRC and Color Matrix to (I have both set to off, currently)?


I set DRC to off (pretty easy to see why with test patterns). See post above for Color Matrix.

Edit: Re: DRC; I take that back, I do set Clarity (noise reduction) to its mid-point on the composite input my dusty old VHS player is connected to


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## Jotas (Mar 19, 2005)

After initially wanting to purchase the first gen of the SXRD family I waited a full year (wife) before purchasing the 60A2000. I was going for the 55" but after seeing the prices drop went for the big boy. I have been using the CNET settings and thus far no complaints.

I am getting my set calibrated by an ISF tech which will be in May, so this gives me plenty of time to break in the TV and also to really be able to see the difference once the set has been calibrated. Now I just have to wait for Xmas for my next big purchase which is the PS3. Can't wait to watch Blu-Ray movies on the PS3 and the TV!


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## astayton (Aug 30, 2006)

Jotas said:


> After initially wanting to purchase the first gen of the SXRD family I waited a full year (wife) before purchasing the 60A2000. I was going for the 55" but after seeing the prices drop went for the big boy. I have been using the CNET settings and thus far no complaints.
> 
> I am getting my set calibrated by an ISF tech which will be in May, so this gives me plenty of time to break in the TV and also to really be able to see the difference once the set has been calibrated. Now I just have to wait for Xmas for my next big purchase which is the PS3. Can't wait to watch Blu-Ray movies on the PS3 and the TV!


I would love to know what much better your picture looks after the ISF. I check into it that in my area and it cost somewhere around $500. I'm not real sure If I want to do that yet or not.


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## Jotas (Mar 19, 2005)

astayton said:


> I would love to know what much better your picture looks after the ISF. I check into it that in my area and it cost somewhere around $500. I'm not real sure If I want to do that yet or not.


From what I've read/researched it does improve the picture quality and you can see the difference, and it's worth the money. The nice thing is that I'll definitely notice changes since the screen is so large. What I need to do now is pick a DVD or high def movie that showcases various picture scenes and watch it a few times.

Once I do that I will then be able to "train" my mind to observe changes in certain scenes so that I can come back after the set has been calibrated to view the improved picture quality.

Any suggestions on movies that showcase dark/light and colorful scenes? I'll have to start looking around for movies. I'll definitely write up something once the calibration is done.


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## stevel (Aug 23, 2000)

I have not seen it myself, but reviewers keep suggesting The Fifth Element as good for this. My own preference is for the "Montage of Images" on the Video Essentials or Digital Video Essentials DVD.


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## TyroneShoes (Sep 6, 2004)

astayton said:


> ...
> --Advanced Settings--
> Black corrector: Off
> Gamma: Off
> ...


I have Gamma on, Clear White on, and Live Color on. Other than that, I have most settings about where you do. And here is why:

Gamma can give the perception of greater contrast range without actually changing the absolute black level or absolute white level. It does this by selectively boosting mid-tones, primarily. It can also give significantly better perception of detail in the blacks and greys, which is a by-product of selectively raising the level of those steps (just above absolute black) on the grey-scale.

Folks usually turn this on to try it out of curiosity and then don't like what they immediately see (and consequently turn it back off), and the reason for that is that it APPEARS to change the black and white levels at first to a setting that is not proper. The trick is to turn gamma on full, reduce the color level as far as possible, then adjust brightness and contrast WITH GAMMA ON for best subjective picture. Then bring the color back up and fine tune B, C, and G for the best picture. That will give typically better results than adjusting B and C with gamma off, and the end result is a picture that APPEARS to have a more normal contrast ratio and more black detail than if gamma were not on (although the actual contrast ratio is not affected at all).

Live Color boosts strong blues and strong greens but leaves everything else alone. This allows you to adjust the color level a little lower, which is more natural than how most sets are typically adjusted. If you adjust chroma levels to where flesh tones actually look natural, sometimes blue skies and green trees and grass look a bit washed out. LC allows a natural setting for flesh tones while selectively maintaining good chroma levels for blues and greens (always try to set chroma a bit lower than you would normally expect to, and it will actually look better). Without it, you must compromise the color level setting for either too-weak blues and greens, or too-saturated flesh tones. LC gives you the abililty to have both appear properly without affecting color balance at all. LC is subtle, but one of the reasons why Sony sets can look pretty good.

As is Clear White. Clear White should be on if you adjust the color balance much away from normal settings. I have always felt that a cooler picture looked more natural, and a cooler bluer picture also seems to ameliorate color problems when the color phase of the source material might be slightly mis-adjusted (so you don't have to keep correcting).

The problem with moving the color balance away from normal settings is that it will color what should be white also, and it will begin to look bluish or yellowish. CW affects just the whites above about 80 IRE or so, bringing them back to a purer white, so any color balance changes you have made will enhance the picture in general, yet not look artificially bluish or yellowish. It's also subtle, but effective.

Once I got my set the way I wanted it, the only setting I regularly adjust is Picture, between 13 and 27, generally, and that is because there is so much variability in source material. Find an image within the show you are watching that has detail in dark areas, freeze the picture, and adjust Picture up and down until the detail just starts to be affected (adjusting down) then bring it up just a notch. I find I have to do this quite often.

Adjusting color level, phase, color balance, brightness and picture are like using a broadaxe, while adjusting gamma, LC, and CW are like using a scalpel. Please give the settings above a try and post back. I've made my living evaluating video images technically for many years, yet it took me about 3 weeks to get my Sony exactly the way I wanted it (and if you know what you're doing, you don't need ISF or any of the other tools).

EDIT: I just looked a bit closer at your settings. For clarity I should state that my set is a 60XS955, which is slightly different (LCD and no iris, though I have experience with Sony iris and agree that minimum is the best setting). Also, my Picture numbers may not be on the same scale. 30 is typically the middle number on all settings on my set. Unless that is true for your set as well, color settings above 30 would seem very high ( I set mine at 27 with LC on).

One other thing that seems a bit odd, is that you have the general color temp set to warm, yet you have the individual settings moved towards a cooler color temp, which means these settings are fighting each other. But I guess it is OK to set to warm, which is a significant change in color temp, and then offset it a bit with the individua settings as long as you are happy with the picture. Unconventional, but certainly OK.


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## Jotas (Mar 19, 2005)

stevel said:


> I have not seen it myself, but reviewers keep suggesting The Fifth Element as good for this. My own preference is for the "Montage of Images" on the Video Essentials or Digital Video Essentials DVD.


I've seen/own this movie and I believe they are correct. Who can miss Chris Tucker's colorful outfits and Milla Jovovich's bright orange hair? I'll pop that in today and watch it again.


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## GadgetJunkies (Sep 8, 2002)

Jotas said:


> After initially wanting to purchase the first gen of the SXRD family I waited a full year (wife) before purchasing the 60A2000. I was going for the 55" but after seeing the prices drop went for the big boy. I have been using the CNET settings and thus far no complaints.
> 
> I am getting my set calibrated by an ISF tech which will be in May, so this gives me plenty of time to break in the TV and also to really be able to see the difference once the set has been calibrated. Now I just have to wait for Xmas for my next big purchase which is the PS3. Can't wait to watch Blu-Ray movies on the PS3 and the TV!


I have had this set since Christmas and love it. I have watched one Blu-Ray movie Talladega Nights (didn't buy it, came with the PS3) but really did not notice too much difference. Where I really see a difference is games on the PS3 such as Call of Duty 3. The graphics are incredible.


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