Enthusiasts Display Calibration Training a Huge Success!

The first Display Calibration training for enthusiasts has taken place at LG’s London HQ over the 17th and 18th of September 2009.  Organised by the team at AVForums in association with LG, AV Doctor and Spectracal the event has been proclaimed as a huge Success!

The full extent of the training course and the subjects featured were;

The Workshop

Day 1 – Morning What is display calibration and why is it important Basic calibration theory The basic calibration controls and their function Brightness Contrast Colour Sharpness Geometry Basic calibration practical	Day 1 – Afternoon Colour theory The physics of light and colour The human eye Describing colour Measuring colour Types of colour measurement probes Advanced calibration – part 1 Greyscale theory Greyscale practical
Day 2 – Morning Advanced calibration – part 2 Colour management theory Colour management practical	Day 2 – Afternoon Video basics Frame rates Progressive and interlaced playback Digital and analogue video levels Digital video Video processing practical Summary

The training instructor for the AVForums Calibration workshop was Neil Davidson.Neil has years of experience working in the high-end AV world and is a display calibration expert. He is also an experienced industry trainer with courses such as CEDIA’s advanced home cinema technician training.

The two day course was well attended with 15 students taking part in this first of a kind enthusiast’s training. The course instructor Neil Davidson was assisted by AVForums reviewer Phil Hinton and CalMAN’s Joshua Quain. Joshua had flown in from the states as a representative of Spectracal and he is also an experienced Calibrator. A good indication of the pull this training had, and of course the uniqueness of such an event being held for the first time, drew in international students from Holland and Sweden.

The event was hosted by LG who provided the venue and the displays to be used on the training (and of course the lunch on each day). Some may ask why would you use LG displays. Well the simple answer is that the LG panels offer the most comprehensive calibration controls on any available consumer TV. This gave the opportunity to cover every possible area of advanced calibration – right down to 20 point greyscale adjustment.

Theory is an important part of any subject and Calibration is certainly no different in this regard. The students were taught the basics of each subject from how the human eye works, to complex issues surrounding colour reproduction and everything in between. However, the training was specially designed so that nobody attending would be overwhelmed with theory and complex subjects that would confuse them or allow the training to become stale and boring. There was a large part of the course dedicated to practical demonstration and hands on experience for the students.

The feedback from students was that this mix of theory and hands on practicals was aimed at the right level for those attending, and that nobody was left behind due to their knowledge or skill levels. Neil made sure that the atmosphere was relaxed and welcoming, with plenty of good humour thrown in. There were plenty of questions asked and each student was encouraged to get involved with asking what was happening when they didn’t quite understand anything. There were questions raised relating to other brands of TVs and projectors and their calibration controls, a subject area where Phil’s reviewing experience came in handy to cover those issues and explain why there are such large differences between brands.

The first day of the training saw the sudents learning basic calibration controls and how to get each TV set up with just the front panel controls. This covered Brightness, Contrast, Colour and Sharpness controls. Neil demonstrated how to get the basics just right and it was interesting to see how the students coped with setting controls such as contrast correctly using test patterns. Even the basics can be a challenge to get correctly set up, but plenty of time was taken to make sure the ground work was covered fully and in great detail. After all you need to get the basics right before you can even attempt to cover the more advanced areas of calibration. After the first days class all the students were treated to a tour of LG’s showroom and the new models due later this year.

Once the basics were covered and everyone was happy that they managed to get a good grasp of the theory and practical issues, it was time to move on to the more complex areas of Greyscale calibration and colour management controls. This is certainly the part of the training that really opens the eyes of the students as we explore the real issues of correctly calibrating a display. Greyscale is an often misunderstood area of an image to get right, yet the training made sure that each student had plenty of time to see demonstrations and to try it out for themselves. A nice distraction at this point was the appearance of the Konica Minolta CS200 – a Professional and reference level meter that costs many tens of thousands. The idea was to show the students just what a reference machine can do at the same time as seeing just how good the meters they were using could be.

What did become very obvious to the students was the complexity of the greyscale and colour elements of a calibration and how quality meters and software is essential. Most of those attending opted to buy the i1 pro meter and enthusiasts CalMAN software after getting to use the equipment throughout the course. Most of them will be spending this weekend (and many more to come), correctly calibrating their displays!

So, it is safe to say that the first enthusiasts training event ever held was a resounding success and hopefully the feedback from the students below will echo that. AVForums hope to bring another training course in 2010 and hope that those who couldn’t make this first class can get themselves booked in next year!