HTG 552: New Projector Lamp Calibration - Listener Question

Hey there, Scott Wilkinson here, the Home Theater Geek.

In this episode, I answer a question from Jeremy Mills of Waupaca, Wisconsin, who was a previous Home Theater of the Month honoree in episode 538.

Now Jeremy writes, "I have an Epson Pro Cinema 6050UB projector, uh, with probably 2,000 hours of, uh, time on the lamp.

I recently installed a new lamp, which got me thinking about having the projector professionally calibrated.

I have the Spears and Munsil calibration disc, which is handy for a novice like myself to do some basic calibrating with pluge patterns and color filters, but I'm considering going that extra step and paying a professional to really dial it in.

So here are my questions.

With my projector being a mid-level to lower cost model, do you think the improvement would be worth the investment? When one changes the lamp on a projector, does that affect the calibration? What factors impact the cost of a projector calibration? Things like traveling distance for the calibrator, type of projector, et cetera.

Are there levels of calibration and thus different tiers of price? And finally, do you recommend anybody for calibration that lives in Wisconsin?" Well, these are all great questions, Jeremy.

Thanks for sending them.

First of all, let me say, nice projector.

The Epson Pro Cinema, uh, 6050UB, uh, was discontinued in 2022 and it had an MSRP of $4,000 at that time, or before it was discontinued [laughs].

Um, I would definitely call it mid-level, not lower cost.

Um, and it definitely punches above its class if you ask me.

Epson makes great projectors, uh, and really value-oriented models that, uh, that perform very, very well.

So adjusting the user controls using the Spears and Munsil calibration disc, uh, gets you, I would say, at least 70 to 80% of the way toward the best possible image.

Is it worth investing in a professional calibration to get the rest of the way? It depends on how critical your eyes are and how picky you are.

Uh, most folks, even enthusiasts, probably won't see a noticeable difference, uh, especially on real world content.

Sure, you might see a difference on test patterns, and the measurements might be a, a bit better, but who watches test patterns? I mean, as a geek I do, but only when I'm calibrating.

Most of the time, I, and even geeks like me, uh, are watching real world content, m- TV shows and movies, and I don't think you're gonna see a big difference between doing it yourself with Spears and Munsil and hiring a calibrator.

So I would say at this level and lower, it's probably not worth it.

Um, a professional calibration can easily cost hundreds of dollars.

Um, it's more worthwhile if you're spending near or above five figures for the projector.

In that case, yeah, I would spend the money on a professional calibration.