How To: Calibrate your HD TV like a pro

Check out Systm's calibration lesson to make your HDTV a great as it was intended.

PCMag's HDTV expert, Robert Heron, teaches us top notch HDTV calibration tricks using tools anybody can afford!

HDTV is supposed to be your window into the high fidelity video, but if you haven't calibrated your TV, chances are you're looking at a mess. It's just the way most HDTV's come out of the box: too bright, over saturated, overscan issues. Fortunately, with just a few minutes and the right disk, you can make major improvements in your HDTV's picture quality.

And if you already own a THX certified movie with THX Optimizer, you can do it for free!

Our favorite HDTV expert, PC Magazine's, Robert Heron holds certificates from the Imaging Science Foundation and THX, and personally calibrates every HDTV he reviews.

Before you run into the living room to start tweaking, you'll need a few things. Any DVD or Blu-ray disk with the THX Optimizer will give you the tools to make some major improvements on your set.

For under $20, you can take the next step in calibrating your HDTV by picking up a copy of Joe Kane's Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics, which includes special color filters you need to fine tune your HDTV. (You can also pick up a pair of THX Optimizer Glasses at their online store.)

Robert also talks about when you might want to call in a professional, and just what they do for the cash you're shelling out. If you want to have professional do an even more in-depth calibration make sure they're ISF certified.

Want to see how good a job your TV or Blu-ray or DVD player does with scaling video? Then check out HQV Benchmark discs!