Imagine if there was a pay-per view show for calibration
 

It's one thing to calibrate your TV using a DVD player and a disc, but then you are never sure if your cable box or satellite reciever are optimized for your screen. If there was a pay-per view channel on satellite and cable that had broadcast quality test tones, patterns and colors, you could calibrate your input so that TV will look it's best.

3 people watching
 

Yeah. 3 people would be watching

Imagine HDTVs that ship from the factory with a "showroom" mode and a "in-home" mode where they are calibrated for real-world use.

Or did I just make too much sense?

Re: 3 people watching
 

Ya hit the nail on the head there pal!!
Common sense seems to be an uncommon commodity at a lot of these companies!!

Re: 3 people watching
 

If manufacturers aren't willing to spend the few pennies it would have taken to put BNC connectors on their sets there's absolutely no chance they'll spend the money to have someone at the factory actually calibrate their sets.

Was just down in Boca for isf training and while there are more sets coming that are isf certified, most of these require calibration as their "out of the box" settings are still showroom-oriented. Joel Silver and his isf crew have been collecting pre-calibration data for years now and, interestingly (but not surprising), most of the sets that exhibit the worst as-shipped settings are also those that top the sales charts!

Re: 3 people watching
 

Yes, you are making too much sense. These companies are not using their heads for most of the decisions they make.

Re: Imagine if there was a pay-per view show for calibration
 

HDTVs should self-calibrate.

Apple monitors do it.

It might not be a full ISF treatment but how hard would it be to make a 7 step setup for consumers in a "wizard-like" format? Ask a few basic questions and set the HDTV that way.