Calibrate your TV

In this part you can read how to correct your White Balance of your TV. In newer models this option is available in user mode, but sometimes you need to go into service mode to access it. How to get into that service menu is different per brand.

This page sets the color for picture mode Normal (not Cool or Warm)

Note: Calibrate your TV in a dark room and wait a few minutes after you turned it on.

What is White balance?

The color white contains Red, Green and Blue components. White light from the sun is different than indoor lighting. This is called the Color Temperature in Kelvin.

Remember color reproduction is not only about white, black values are important too for a good picture.

More about Color Temperature here.

Why adjust? backlight color might change tone after time. White LED background display and now OLED might have too much Blue to compensate for aging (Burnin/out).

You can find one of these methods used in TV's:

• • type1: RGB white (high values like 192) + RGB Black (low values like 64)

  • type2: RGB for 5 (or 10) levels of white (IRE, see this for more info)

Please note that this is not exact sience. It works for me and for all the others I have done it.

LG also has a combination of both type1/2. If you only use a (Android) camera forget 10 point IRE.

BACKUP (LG) or write down original values

If you have a LG TV you can write a backup to USB drive. Use the normal remote.

Turn on the TV

Insert a USB stick (FAT or FAT32)

Hold down the Settings button until the settings menu disappears

Quickly type 1105 and OK

Select TV Link-Loader

Send to USB

If you mess things up you can always reload these settings back into your TV set.

Gamma RGB calibration image

Maybe you can make a better one but this one is just an experiment for calibrating a TV white balance.

The colors go from intensity 0x7F (127) to 0xCA (202). The checkered squares have 0xFF (255) as intensity for the color.

Maybe one day some clever one can make a chart to do White Balance calibration for our TV's.

If you have an Android TV or HDMI Stick you can use this app for color checking: TV Calibration

SMPTE Color Bars method

You need the standard SMPTE Color Bars picture to show on your TV and a true blue filter.

The picture:

Watch this clip for instructions:

With a smartphone: what do you need? (OLD method)

First of all write any TV settings down so that you can always get back to the original values. Take a picture or whatever.

An Android phone with a proper camera. On this you must install Camera FV-5 Lite. I think similar apps will be available for iPhone too.

The trick is that you need an app that has fixed White Balance settings and RGB Live Histogram. Auto White Balance only possible when locked with AWB lock.

In my procedure I assume Green has the correct value from the factory. You need to assume this as a constant.

With FV-5 you can also measure a properly balanced "reference" white screen with auto white balance (AWB) and lock AWB. On the screen you want to adjust you can "copy" the histogram

peak pattern to the other screen.

The calibration (OLD method)

Install FV-5. Goto settings > View Finder > Live Histogram. Select Show, type RGB, size Normal, style Solid.

Set AWB to On and mask the lens so the picture is black. The Histogram should show RGB at about equal levels.

Make sure you have disabled ANY image correction feature that your TV is loaded with (auto contrast, live color, you name it)

LED TV's mostly have too much blue in both white and black. This is because LED's give a more blue-isch color by themselves.

Some TV's have color settings for every input you can select. Sometimes there is also a "General" setting for all inputs.

For calibration put your camera against the TV screen, Focus to infinity, Digital zoom Max, ISO auto, no exposure correction (centered)

Calibrate Type 1

Type 1 is the TV with RGB and RGB Bias. RGB is the white, RGB Bias is the black color. We leave the BIAS alone. Noth much to gain there with such low values.

Set White Balance to Cloudy. This is a fixed WB for the camera.

Now on your TV goto the menu where you can correct the White Balance,

In the picture Red and Blue are little too much, Green is OK , or Green needs some more (camera dependent)

For the blue I have not found a way to adjust with the camera. For white it is Always to the right of RG in cloudy WB. You have to adjust it by eye.

Remember the RGB histogram is a relative thing. Even with WB fixed (Cloudy) the amount of backlight changes the distance of the blue peak.

2020 Method with OpenCamera

With OpenCamera the process is really easy and consistent. This is the best and easiest method so far I have found.

However these values depend on the phone camera used. Better check with your phone a screen that has proper white.

Settings for OpenCamera

API2 enabled

Histogram RGB

Zoom max

Auto ISO

Focus infinity

Enable histogram in the Settings menu. Set WB value to Manual. Click on the WB screen icon and adjust the WB:

Slide the Color Temperature to 2900K and adjust the Green and Blue on the TV WB menu with the remote so that they overlap in the histogram.

Slide the Color Temperature to 3700K and adjust Blue and Red on the TV WB menu with the remote so that they overlap in the histogram.

Note: at 5500K the Red and Breen must match now too (approx)

Keep in mind that on LG one color must have a value of 192. If you want to calibrate the dark values (64) do them first but leave at least one at 64.

Depending on the phone used your milage may vary :)

NORMAL

2800K Green/Blue match
5100K Red/Green match

WARM-ish (best for me)

2900K Green/Blue match
5600K Red/Green match

EDIT oct 2020: On LG the lower RGB values are always at 64/64/64. Start adjusting with these. At least one color 64 or lower for good blacks. For the best dynamic range the upper RGB values should be 192 (256 minus 64).

Adjust ONE of the high values (weakest one) to 192. Then adjust the other two below.

More info on LG calibration here: https://www.lightillusion.com/forums/index.php?action=vthread&forum=8&topic=684

2021 Method with HedgeCam2 (NEW/BEST Method)

In 2021 the opensource Opencamera offspring named HedgeCam2 got an update for Whitebalance with manual RGB. This turns out to be the perfect tool for adjusting your TV.

It makes it very easy to copy white values from one (good calibrated) device to another. In short:

• enable Camera2 API

• turn on RGB histogram

• focus to infinity

• zoom in max

• set Whitebalance from Auto to RGB

• put camera on white screen of original (good calibrated) device

• adjust Red and Blue sliders until they overlay the Green, they become one peak (see picture below)

• put camera on second white screen you want to calibrate and adjust RGB values of that TV

Tip: if you have no reference calibrate RGB in Hedgecam2 with white A4/Letter in the sun as a start point.

Calibrate type 2

This type of White Balance (multi point IRE) can be found on some TV's too. My Sony has it. It has only RGB adjustment for 5 (or more) levels of white.

Sony Service Menu

In this case you can do it in the service menu. I have a Sony V4500. The service menu is i+ 5 Vol+ On (source on HDMI) with the TV off.

I did it the calibration for 5 levels, but again only for Red and Green, leaving the Green values to their defaults.

First press initialize, then select the level, adjust Red and Blue, Savel Level and End when done calibrating all levels.

For level 4 you need to take a picture of the menu first. It is so bright you cannot see anything and have to navigate blind.

Samsung service menu

Power Off the TV. Press these remote buttons in sequence: Info Menu Mute Power. Select ADC/WB, White Balance and adjust. (note the original values!!). Power Off and On to return to normal TV operation.

LG Service menu

(EZ-ADJUST) Use phone with ir (like Xiaomi phone) and install Anymote, code for entering menu is 0413.

For digital TV you need to calibrate the "Medium" white balance option.