Plasma TVs in shops often have bright, flashy displays as this helps 
demonstrate the top spec of the TV and lures you into buying one. However if you use these vivid settings on your plasma TV on a day to day basis, you could be damaging your set. Plasma TVs in a showroom tend to have their settings configured to attract customers and to ‘out compete’ their rivals. This means that settings such as their brightness are set way too high. TV shops also tend to have harsh, bright lighting. Home settings generally have much softer lighting and therefore require different TV settings. Leaving your contrast and brightness levels turned up high will prematurely age your plasma screen and could accelerate problems such as Plasma television burn in. So, when you unpack your new Plasma screen, one of the best things you can do is calibrate it. Calibrating your plasma TV will:
* Give you the best picture for your environment and lighting
* Ensure your plasma TV has the longest lifespan possible
* May help reduce the power consumption of the TV
* Help reduce eyestrain and ensure you have a good viewing experience So how do you go about calibrating your plasma screen TV?
* Firstly, select the best mode. Go for a mode such as Movie, Film or Cinema, or normal/standard. Avoid settings such as Sports, Dynamic or Vivid as these tend to be brighter.
* Turn off enhancements such as autocolor, colour correction, autocontrast, noise reduction or any other options similar to these.
* Adjust the brightness. When you adjust the brightness on a plasma TV, you are actually adjusting the black level of the TV. If you have a calibration disk, use it. However if you don’t, trust what you can see.
* Adjust the contrast. Contrast is sometimes known as the white or picture level. Contrast will help edges be more defined. A calibration disk is useful for this adjustment.
* Sharpness. This is normally adjusted with a calibration disk. Don’t automatically go for the sharpest picture possible as this can often ruin the actual viewing experience. Experiment with a few different sharpness levels until you find one you are happy with.
* Colour and Tint. Once again, a calibration disk can be useful for this task. Colour and tint just allows you to set what ‘normal’ colours should look like, for example ensuring that skin tones are the correct colour and actors don’t look too washed out or too orange. We hope that this guide has helped you make the most of your Plasma TV. If you have any further suggestions for tweaking your plasma TV screen, we’d love to hear them below!
