Hippo Tech Solutions

Pioneer’s 9G non-elite Plasma Calibration Guide

Why calibrate your display?

The answer is simple.  For less than $200, nothing beats the bang/buck of a calibration .  Instead of putting your money in a higher end blu-ray player, invest in a calibration instead and make ALL of your source devices look their best.  No more reaching for the remote to make adjustments!

Can I really do it myself?

Yes, however learning and doing it yourself (DIY) takes time.  How much is your time worth?  If you’re a hobbyist who takes joy in learning and becoming intimate with your set (not too intimate) then this guide is for you.  If not hire a professional calibrator.

I heard you can’t adjust the color on this display.  Why bother?

Dialing in the grayscale helps align the primary and secondary colors.  While its not perfect, its still much better than before as you’ll soon see.

What you’ll need:

• Calibration meter.  We recommend the X-rite i1-pro for the most accuracy.  Rent one from us! You could use the cheaper X-Rite Eye-One Display LT but we’ve found them to be inaccurate with this display.  
• USB to Serial Converter (Cost: $10)
• Straight Through Serial Cable DB9 (Cost $9)
• Controlcal software.  This software utility sends commands through your panels RS232 port.  Download, donate and contact Turbe for the .10 profile.  (Cost: $60)
• Color HCFR software (Cost: Free)
• AVS 709 disc.  This disc contains your test patterns.  Download and burn onto a DVD-R.  (Cost: Free)  Included with rental
• Blu-ray player 
• Windows Laptop (XP /Vista) or Macbook with Bootcamp
• Time – about 2-3 hours of it.  (Cost: varies)

Picture Modes, Refresh rates and RGB tables

Before we start we need to decide which picture mode to calibrate.  Movie mode is by far the most accurate and the one we recommend.  The problem is calibrating Movie shifts the color temperature for the others modes making them useless.  Don’t worry, there is a workaround for this.  Before we get to that, it’s important to understand how the refresh rates on this display works.  The display can operate in 2 refresh rates, 60hz and 72hz depending on the Pure Cinema (PC) setting AND incoming signal.   The below chart shows you when each refresh rate is active.

Here’s the kicker: Each refresh rate has its own grayscale table. What does that mean?  It means with a little Pure Cinema trickery, we can tie one table to Movie and a completely separate one to Standard.  But which ones?  Keep in mind most Blu-ray movies are encoded in 24fps (24hz), therefore a refresh rate with a multiple of 24 is ideal for the smoothest motion, in this case 72Hz where frames are repeated 3 times.  However most DVD players, cable/satellite boxes and game consoles run at 60Hz.  What to do?  2 Options here:

Hippo’s Movie set it and forget it (SIF) Recommendation:

• Calibrate both 60Hz and 72Hz RGB tables to Movie mode.  Then set PC: Standard.  As you can see from the table, this PC mode will automatically switch between the ideal 60Hz mode for 60Hz inputs and 72Hz for 24Hz input. Tada! 

Hippo’s Occasional Standard Mode (OSM) Recommendation:

• Sometimes you want the punch of Standard mode even though the color and gamma are not as accurate.
• Calibrate 72Hz table to Movie mode and 60Hz to Standard.  Then set PC: Advanced for Movie, and PC: OFF for Standard.  Switch back and forth between Movie and Standard.

Preparing and installing software

Before you begin:

• We recommend you do the calibration in a light controlled environment.
• Make sure your laptop is powered with an AC adapter.  Disable any hibernation features
• Plug in the USB to serial adapter and install the driver if necessary. Go to device manager and note which COM port is assigned to the adapter.
• Connect the RS232 cable to the back of your Pioneer.  Make sure to use the finger screws to lock it in.
• Leave your Pioneer display turned OFF.

Installing Controlcal:

• Download and install Controlcal using all default options.
• Launch the application.  If you get a COM warning, don’t worry about it for now.  Activate by going to help–>activate.  Enter the information provided by Turbe.
• Open the Pioneer 9G profile by clicking File–>Open and point it towards the .CDP file obtained by Turbe.
• Go to settings and change the port assignment (COM1-Com4).
• Make sure to disable the auto-send option.
• Minimize the application for now.

Color HCFR and i1 pro driver installation

• Download and install the i1-pro diagnostic software.  This installs the windows driver for the meter.
• Download and install Color HCFR 2.1.0 using all installation defaults.
• Copy the eyeone.dll file from C:\program files\X-rite\i1Diagnostics to c:\program files\Color HCFR.  Go ahead and overwrite.
• Launch the HCFR application.   Go to File–>New
• Make sure DVD manual is selected and hit next.
• Click on the “configure sensor button”

• Change the i1 parameters to match below.

• Now click on Advanced –> Preferences and change the Preferences to match below. Click OK when done.   We’re going to change the target gamma to 2.1 since that’s what the display is capable of. <see Gamma appendix>

• Finally Select xyY from the Display (far right).

Overview:

Calibrating a Pioneer display is a joy for 1 simple reason.  The RGB tracking for these displays is amazingly flat.  Most displays have dips and bumps throughout the RGB range eventually forcing the calibrator to make sacrifices in a particular range, usually in the low or high IRE areas.  Not so with the Pioneer.  Because of this, we’re going to take a slightly different approach than the textbook method.

The X-rite i1 Pro is an amazing instrument but requires a “recalibration” every 20 mins for optimum accuracy.  When prompted, gently place the meter in the calibration dock and click OK.

Let’s get this started!

There are 5 phases to a complete installation:

1. Take a before measurement.
2. Document the original 60Hz RGB values in case you need to start over.
3. Calibrate the 60Hz table to Movie mode in the service menu (SM).
4. Copy the 60HZ RGB values into the 72HZ tables as a starting point.  Dial in the 72Hz grayscale.
5. Adjust tint, color, contrast, brightness.

Phase I: Take a before measurement

OK let’s see what our default settings look like!

1. Plug the i1 pro meter to the laptop.  Place the meter in the calibration dock.
2. From HCFR press “Measure Gray scale”.  You’ll be asked to calibrate the meter. Make sure it’s sitting in the dock, and click OK.
3. Using the counterweight, mount the meter on the display as shown below.  Insert the meter at a 45 degree angle and twist counter clockwise to lock in place.  Be sure it sits flush with the glass.  Sometimes it helps to put a small weight at the bottom of the base to keep some tension on the USB cable, or even some painters tape on the bezel.
4. Fire up your blu ray player and set the output to 1080i.  NOTE: If you run your BD player though an AV receiver make sure its set to HDMI “bypass” or “through” mode.  We don’t want the AVR doing any upscaling.
5. Here we go!  HCFR will ask for a 0% IRE window.  Insert the AVS calibration disc and navigate to Color HCFR Windows–>10% Grayscale.  The first screen is black (0%).  Click OK to take a measurement.  This should take 8 seconds or so while it gets a dark reading.  NOTE: The Kuro has a feature that will shut down all pixels to completely black after 30 seconds or so.  We don’t want this to happen during our measurements, so be mindful not to leave the 0 IRE screen on for too long.
6. HCFR will then ask for 10% pattern.  Click next chapter on your BD player to skip to the 10% pattern.  You’ll notice the meter readings are quicker as you go up.  Repeat and take measurements all the way to 100IRE.
7. Now it’s time to measure your Primary and Secondary colors. From the AVS CD, navigate to Color HCFR –> 100% color patterns.  From HCFR click “Measure Primary and Secondary” color and follow the prompts.  The patterns start with red and go in order.
8. Save this configuration file and name it “Baseline”.

Now that the baseline measurements are done lets look at the results.

Let’s start by clicking on the RGB Levels graph button.  We can change the scale by right clicking and going to scale–>RGB–>80-120%.  This is typically what a Non Elite measures out of the box:

Ideally you want the Red, Green and Blue lines to be at or close to baseline, or 100% as possible.  As you can see there’s an overabundance of Red and a not enough Blue.  If you click over to the Color Temperature graph you can see the effect it’s having on overall color temperature.

A lower color temperature such as this gives a “warmer” look and in this case the whites appear a tinge yellow.  Ideally we want to get as close to the white line as possible to remove any coloration to our white point.

Now let’s look at the raw numbers by going to the grayscale charts.

The only numbers we need to focus on here is Delta E which calculates the distance from “ideal” let’s say.  We want this number to be as low as possible throughout the RGB range.  Under 3 is considered good, under 1 is perfect.   You can see most of our Delta E’s are just over 10 so there’s definitely work to be done.   Hit the view drop down box and we can see how off our primary and secondary colors.  As a rule of thumb here, Delta E values less than 10 are considered good.  Pretty much all of our colors are off, except for blue.

If you want to see what this looks like graphically hit the CIE diagram.  The gray triangle represents where our colors should be.  As you can see we’re quite a bit off.  I grayscale calibration will help slightly but there’s nothing much else that can be done.

Finally the last 2 graphs we need to examine are Gamma and Luminance.  Ideally gamma should be 2.2 and flat throughout the luminance range.  Unfortunately this display lacks gamma controls and the best it can do is 2.1.  Unless your source device has a gamma boost control there’s nothing to be done.

Finally the luminance curve shows how much light output we have in each IRE step.  White line is the target based on our target gamma, and the yellow line is the actual values.  As you can see our luminance looks great already.

Phase II: Document Original 60Hz RGB values

Overview:

Before we dive into our calibration, it’s important to get the original 60Hz RGB values in case we need to start over.  Every set leaves the factory with a unique set of numbers so it’s important NOT to skip this step.   Unfortunately there’s no way to read the original 72Hz RGB values at this time.

1. Make sure your display is turned OFF.  Bring up Controlcal and Press “Power On“.  If the display doesn’t turn on, check your port settings and make sure the right COM is assigned.
2. Once the display is up and running (30 seconds) lets hit “Calibration ON“.  Whoa the display just flashed and looks really bright!  Relax, it’s normal.
3. From Controlcal move the A/V selection to “3“.  Hit SEND.
4. Move the Pure Cinema slider to “0“.  Hit SEND.
5. Using the original remote, hit the MUTE button twice.  You should now see the words “Panel Factory (+)”.  Press ENTER on the remote.
6. Press the Up arrow a few times until you see “Panel -2 ADJ (+)”.  Press ENTER.
7. Move the up and down arrows and write down the 6 RGB values for Red, Green and Blue (high and lows). Suggestion: Write these RGB values in the comment box in your before calibration file.
8. Exit out of the SM by clicking “Calibration OFF”.
9. You’re picture might appear slightly bluer when exiting the service menu.  That’s normal, continue to Phase III.

Phase III: Calibrate 60Hz table to Movie mode

Setup your display with the following settings:

• Movie
• Contrast: 40
• Brightness: 0
• Color: 0
• Tint: Red 1 (Left 1)
• Sharpness: -15
• Pure Cinema: OFF
• Text Optimization: OFF
• Power Save: OFF
• Orbiter: Mode 2
• Light sensor: OFF <– Important

1. Set your BD player to output 1080i.
2. Load the AVS disc and navigate to Color HCFR Windows–>10% gray scale–>50% IRE window pattern.
3. Hit “Calibration ON”.
4. From ControlCal move the A/V selection to “3“.  Hit SEND.
5. Move the Pure Cinema slider to “0“.  Hit SEND.
6. Using the Pioneer remote, hit the MUTE button twice.  You should now see the words “Panel Factory (+)”.  Press ENTER on the remote.
7. Press the Up arrow a few times until you see “Panel -2 ADJ (+)”.  Press ENTER.
8. In HCFR, create a NEW calibration by going to File–>New.  Then NEXT.
9. We’re going to hit the continuous reading button.

10. Hit the drop down box and select target.

11. Remember my original RGB tracking measurements with too much red and not enough blue?   I’m going to lower the Red HIGH value until it reaches at or near 100%.  Then bring up Blue HIGH.  Start with increments of 5-10 and eventually you’ll reach a point where 1 click of each RH and BH will dial it into the bull’s eye. The Green HIGH is the baseline so leave that alone for now.   This is a balancing game.  When my 50% is dialed in, hit next chapter to 60% IRE and watch the bulls eye.  It shouldn’t change all that much.  Now go to 70% and see if it strays.  If it does slightly, go ahead and compensate.

What about the RGB low values?   The i1 pro meter is wonderfully accurate at IRE levels >40% but is lacking in low light areas.  You’re better off leaving the 10-30% RGB Low values alone and compensate only if you see obvious tint errors with the naked eye.

12. When you’re happy with the results do a full gray scale sweep from 0-100% and look at your Delta E’s.  They should be much better.  Don’t worry about the gamma or luminance measurements, as they will more than likely be off.  Just focus on the gray scale for now.  If you’re really anal (like me) go back and make final touches, then do another full sweep.   Repeat, rinse, cycle.

TIP: Make it a habit of creating a NEW calibration file (CNTRL + N) for each pass with careful notes about your RGB values.  You can type this information into the notes field by hitting the drop down box.  This makes it easy to go back if you need to.

13. When you are done hit the SAVE button.  The Screen will flash and display a message to power off the unit. Important: Turn off the unit using the main power switch on the BACK of the unit.

14. Wait 60 seconds and turn it back ON.

15. First you’ll be asked whether the unit is for home or retail use.  Of course choose HOME.
16. Click MENU to get out of the tuner setup screen.
17. Now press the HDMI input that corresponds to your AVR or source device.
18. Set the display to the following settings:

• Movie
• Contrast: 40
• Brightness: 0
• Color: 0
• Tint: R1 (Red)
• Sharpness: -15
• Pure Cinema: OFF
• Text Optimization: OFF
• Power Save: OFF
• Orbiter: Mode 2
• Light sensor: OFF <– Important

19. Measure the Gray scale and outside of the service menu to verify the results.

Let’s take a look at our results now:

Wow that looks so much better than before!  Look at those Delta E’s!

Color temperature looks good too.

Phase IV:  Copy the 60HZ RGB values into the 72HZ and Dial-in the 72Hz grayscale

Overview: Now we’re going to use the 60Hz settings we just applied as a starting point for our 72Hz calibration.  Unfortunately there’s no way to calibrate the 72Hz table within the service menu.  You’ll know what I mean in a second.  Instead we need to copy the 60Hz values, restart the display, measure, then go back to make adjustments.  This is a trial and error type thing.

Note: The steps in bold are different than the 60Hz calibration.

1. Bring up ControlCal and hit the Calibration ON button.
2. Move the Pattern slide to Pattern 1. Press SEND. The entire screen will go white.
3. Move the FREQ slider to “5”. Press SEND.
4. Move the A/V selection slider to “3”.  Press SEND.
5. Move the Pure Cinema slider to “3”. Press SEND.
6. Using the Controlcal sliders enter the same RGB values from your 60Hz calibration as a starting point.  Be sure to include all RGB High and Low values.
7. When you are done, hit SAVE and repeat the usual shutdown/startup process.
8. Enter the following picture settings:

• Movie
• Contrast: 40
• Brightness: 0
• Color: 0
• Tint: R1 (Red)
• Sharpness: -15
• Pure Cinema: Advanced (Important)
• Text Optimization: OFF
• Power Save: OFF
• Orbiter: Mode 2
• Light sensor: OFF <– Important

1. Now that PC: Advanced is active, your display is using the 72Hz table.  Run a full gray scale sweep and verify the results.  It should be close if not perfect.  If you need to make adjustments, repeat the above steps until you’re satisfied with the results.

Our 60Hz and 72Hz tables are now dialed in.  Be sure to write these values down and keep them in a safe place.  Congratulations, we’re in the home stretch!  Have you make up your mind about using SIF ot the OSM method?

Hippo’s set it and forget it (SIF):

• In movie mode, set your PC to Standard.  The display will automatically switch between 60Hz and 72Hz.  Done.  Continue to Phase V. 

Hippo’s Occasional Standard Mode (OSM):

• Repeat the 60Hz calibration (Phase III), with one important difference.  Instead of calibrating movie mode:
  • From Controlcal move the A/V selection to “1″. This allows you to calibrate Standard Mode.
• When you are done, in Standard mode set PC: OFF.  In movie mode set PC: Advanced.  Now continue to Phase V.

Phase V: Adjust color, tint, contrast, brightness

Now that the gray scale is dialed in, it’s time to adjust the remaining picture controls.  Remember to do this twice if you’re utilizing the OSM method; one for Movie mode and again for Standard.

Brightness:

1. Bring up a pluge pattern of your choice.  The AVS disc includes a brightness pattern if you click on “Basic settings“ from the main menu.  Adjust the brightness until you can see 17-25 flash.  More often than not, 0 will be the right setting.  The brightness setting on the non-elite is extremely course so don’t be surprised if you find yourself between 2 clicks.

Contrast:

This sets the peak white level of the panel.  We want to end up somewhere between 30-40 ftL depending on your room environment.  I find around 37ftL to be ideal for my room, bright enough for most rooms yet dim enough to prevent eye strain in the dark.  Before you go cranking up the contrast , be warned that high contrast settings (>40) could cause clipping and loss of detail.  If you do run high contrast, be sure to run test patterns to make sure you’re not losing picture information such as the one from Spears and Munsil.

1. Navigate to the 100% IRE window and Click on the continuous reading button.  Let the meter settle on a consistent reading.  The values we need to focus on is foot lamberts (ftL) and Y luminance
2. Adjust the contrast level to achieve the ftL you want for your environment.   When you reach your target, note the Y luminance value as shown above.  In this case its 126.8.  Write that down, it’s going to come in handy soon!

Tint:

1. Navigate to the 100% Cyan test pattern.
2. Start continuous read mode.
3. Bring up the bulls eye target by hitting the drop down box and selecting target.
4. Adjust the tint control and see if you can get closer to the target. TIP:  Don’t go crazy with the tint.  I recommend 1-2 clicks at most in either direction.

Color:

1. Remember that Y luminance value we wrote down a second ago?  Well it’s time to do a little math.  Take that number and multiply it by .21

126.8 * .21 = 26.6

This is going to be our target for Red

1. Bring up a 100% Red pattern and start continuous red mode.
2. Adjust the color control until the Y value reaches our target.  In this case 26.6.  I ended up with a color setting of -3.  What about you?
3. Run through a complete gray scale and Primary/Secondary Color sweep.  You may have noticed the colors have gotten a little better but green the green and red points are still off.  Unfortunately without an advanced Color Management System (CMS) there’s not much we can do.  See Appendix 2 for fixing this.
4. When you are done, set your BD player back 1080p.

Conclusion:

We hope you enjoyed this tutorial as much as we enjoyed creating it.  If you found this writeup helpful or wish to submit suggestions, please fill out the comment box below.

Give yourself a big pat on the back.  Now it’s time to grab a beer and enjoy the fruits of your labor

Appendix 1: Gamma adjustments

As we mentioned before a properly calibrated non-elite has a gamma of 2.1 which is considered a tad low.  This means the picture is ever so slightly in the washed out direction, and unlike its pricier Elite cousin there’s no gamma controls to adjust.  However some DVD or BD players DO feature adjustments so check with your manufacturer and see if gamma can be boosted to a textbook 2.2.  In my experience the Pioneer BDP-320 and previous model BDP-51FD players have excellent controls.  In fact one notch of gamma boost gives this display a perfect 2.2 gamma as you can see below:

Appendix 2:  Video EQ Pro

Ready to take your 5020FD to the next level?