Recommendations on bias lighting?

[staticjacket]

Hi all. I just got a Vizio E series 60 inch last week. I'm satisfied with the TV so far, however I feel like I could benefit from some bias lighting. I have a white wall behind it and it's mounted on the wall. Ideally I would like something that has a dimmer switch and has the capacity to be on the brighter side, for when I use it as a laptop monitor.

So, I'm just wondering your guys' thoughts on what a good product may be, or a good way to achieve this. I found some LED strips on Amazon, but I'm skeptical about them, they look cheap and some reviewers say that the brightness is a little misleading, they also look like a warmer, off white light.

Here's a picture of my set up: http://imgur.com/OdaTr29

 

[whoaru99]

It's a little spendy, but check out the Philips HUE stuff. The only caveat is the LUX. That's just a soft white with variable intensity. Other than that I think the rest is fully variable color, intensity, etc.

 

[staticjacket]

It's a little spendy, but check out the Philips HUE stuff. The only caveat is the LUX. That's just a soft white with variable intensity. Other than that I think the rest is fully variable color, intensity, etc.

I've seen a lot of bulbs like this and wonder about how I'm going to hook them to some sort of lamp behind my TV, which is mounted on the wall. Seems a little convoluted. Ideally, I would like an LED strip, or I may even be open to mounting some kind of LED lamps behind the tv. I also would like a nice even array of light around the whole monitor, which I see not being an option with those bulbs you mentioned.

 

[whoaru99]

There are LED strips/rope lights available in the HUE family.

https://www.store.meethue.com/us/lightstrip-plus

 

[Duane]

Do a search on 6500 kelvin (6500K) bias lighting/ back lights. Here's a video of one that showed up on a quick search.

6500K is the color temperature that has been the standard for NTSC/ATSC. This is essentially for the black and white signal. It would be considered the color of gray on an overcast,cloudy day. Anything lower would be heading toward the red region, higher would be bluer. This is kind of nitpicking, but a lot of research has gone into this standard.

 

[staticjacket]

What are your guys' thoughts on this, with a RF remote that has a transmitter in-line with the power? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01339FVZS/ref=twister_B01339FS2E?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[sKiZo]

6500k, and I just plug mine into the switched socket on my AV receiver ... The strips just peel 'n stick on the back of the screen.

 

[staticjacket]

I ended up getting this with a dimmer RF remote and a 12 v power supply : http://www.amazon.com/LEDMO-SMD5630...&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01

My question is, how far in from the edge on the back of the tv do you recommend installing the LED strip?

 

[staticjacket]

Also, should I go around the whole edge of the TV?

 

[sKiZo]

Any place where you end up with dark vs the light of the screen. The bias lighting's primary purpose is to literally grey that area to reduce the abrupt contrast, in effect, reducing eye strain.

Something else you might have to play with is the angle of the lights as they do tend to be a lot brighter (and harsher) straight on. You want to try and avoid any "hot spots" and get as even a wash as possible - not a problem if there's some distance between the set and the wall, but problematic for a tight wall mount. That's where the dimmer or some sort of diffusing cover can be real handy. I know someone used a couple layers of frosted tape to tone his down.

I personally can't abide a tv I can't pile crap on top of, so I face mounted my flat screen on the front of a cabinet left over from my old projector set. The bias lighting is mounted just inside the edge of that all the way around and works real nice.

What also works nice is a couple other low watt light sources behind you. Those also tend to soften the room some for viewing. You'd think that sort of thing would actually detract from super blacks and contrast, but it's all good if your set is properly set up. One thing you WILL have problems with is getting bias lighting to do you any good if your set is still on "torch mode" as it ships from the factory.

 

[Quadman2]

Have considered running LED's around the perimeter of the sound room (15'x12'). The bright white seems too harsh, and there is a kinda gold/yellow hue LED to go with, coupled with a remote to control the intensity, I'm thinking this might be better than the LED pots that I already have being controlled by a remote. There are some LED's that are either solid coloured or ones that can emit different colours as well.

Also have considered going with the music sych set up, but personally I feel that it would interfere with my listening. On the other hand, many are going this route. Each to their own, eh?

The cost factor and stuff to run the LED's have gone down a lot. Plus, LED's seem to last forever and they draw minimal power. So it's no big deal to configure a 90 degree shelf around the edge of the ceiling, just below the ceiling to reflect the light indirectly.

These are my intentions and thought to share.

Q2

 

[staticjacket]

You want to try and avoid any "hot spots" and get as even a wash as possible - not a problem if there's some distance between the set and the wall, but problematic for a tight wall mount. That's where the dimmer or some sort of diffusing cover can be real handy. I know someone used a couple layers of frosted tape to tone his down.

Mine is wall mounted, but I have a 2x4 behind the mounting hardware, because the wall studs weren't where I needed them to mount it. So it will be an advantage with this lighting situation. I would think that putting the LED lights inside from the edge a little ways will also wash the light a bit, and yes, I did order a dimmer.

I personally can't abide a tv I can't pile crap on top of, so I face mounted my flat screen on the front of a cabinet left over from my old projector set. The bias lighting is mounted just inside the edge of that all the way around and works real nice.

Hah, that's an interesting set up you have there, that's a cool idea.

One thing you WILL have problems with is getting bias lighting to do you any good if your set is still on "torch mode" as it ships from the factory.

I set it to "calibrated dark", VIZIO's preset, and made adjustments as I needed from there. I can't stand a super bright screen, at work I turn my monitors way down and people always laugh at me.

 

[whoaru99]

I set it to "calibrated dark", VIZIO's preset, and made adjustments as I needed from there. I can't stand a super bright screen, at work I turn my monitors way down and people always laugh at me.

If you haven't, may want to check around on the Internet to see if there has been a review of the TV (or sometimes forum posts by private parties) that have listed calibration settings for your TV make & model.

Yes, I know not all TVs of the same model are exactly the same because of manufacturing tolerances. However, I found some reviews of my Panasonic where they'd cal'd the set so I put those settings in mine. I think it is better than any of the stock settings, including better than the "Cinema" mode which is pretty good straight out of the box (on this TV).

 

[staticjacket]

If you haven't, may want to check around on the Internet to see if there has been a review of the TV (or sometimes forum posts by private parties) that have listed calibration settings for your TV make & model.

Yes, I know not all TVs of the same model are exactly the same because of manufacturing tolerances. However, I found some reviews of my Panasonic where they'd cal'd the set so I put those settings in mine. I think it is better than any of the stock settings, including better than the "Cinema" mode which is pretty good straight out of the box (on this TV).

I've heard that those calibration settings depend on your personal viewing environment, but I'll check around and see if there's anything relevant to myself. I've been meaning to do that.

 

[whoaru99]

Well, certainly viewing environment plays a factor in the overall big picture. But, I think not so much from an (ISF) calibration perspective. They are calibrating the TV in and of itself. It's up to you to provide a good viewing environment, independent of (or perhaps irrespective of) any calibration.

Put your TV on an East wall across from West-facing window and in the afternoon it's probably going to look like crap regardless of the settings.

 

[staticjacket]

Well, certainly viewing environment plays a factor in the overall big picture. But, I think not so much from an (ISF) calibration perspective. They are calibrating the TV in and of itself. It's up to you to provide a good viewing environment, independent of (or perhaps irrespective of) any calibration.

Put your TV on an East wall across from West-facing window and in the afternoon it's probably going to look like crap regardless of the settings.

What would be a good source for calibration stats then? I'm not really sure what to search for. I've got a Vizio 60E-C3

 

[whoaru99]

I would start by putting into a search engine, like Google, the make and model like you listed it. Include words like review or calibration.

 

[Duane]

If you want to get your feet wet, do a search on calibration discs (DVD,Blu-Ray). There's a few out there. An easy one to try is Disney's WOW. Another is Joe Kane's Video Essentials and then there the Spears and Munsil disc. If you have Netflix, you could probably rent one of them. I know the had VE at one time.

I used to belong to ISF (back when it was just CRTs) and I used professional equipment from Philips. Very expensive. You don't really need a professional calibration to achieve a decent picture. Some basic understanding will allow you to adjust certain user controls. As for the viewing environment.. these discs will provide a section that explains what is good and bad.

 

[sKiZo]

What would be a good source for calibration stats then? I'm not really sure what to search for. I've got a Vizio 60E-C3

Bunch of die hard fanatics over on AVS Forum. That's where I go for settings. These guys in many cases have the fancy calibration equipment and evarthang to do it up right. Difference on three different sets were literally night and day from any of the "standard" modes available in the menus. The calibration settings I use for my Samsung get down and dirty into all the white balance adjustments too. Perfect with just a couple minor tweaks to suit my tastes. Lots easier than back in the bad old days too ... this can all be done without taking a chance of bricking your display if you zig when you should have zagged in the service menus.

This one's only 40 pages. Have fun ... make some popcorn!

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/166-l...ficial-vizio-2015-e-series-owners-thread.html

Hah, that's an interesting set up you have there, that's a cool idea.

Thanx ... I had fun with that. Actually TWO big box store display cabinets cut down to size way back in the day, and that's the second screen I've face mounted to that cabinet - as mentioned, it originally was sized to fit a 46" Sony Wega projector set. There's a wall mount bolted to a wooden frame inside the upper cabinet, and the face frame around the screen was changed out to custom fit the bezel on the Samsung I'm currently using. The screen draws tight against the face frame when it's screwed down to the mount, and the edges are lined with rubber weatherstripping to light seal the enclosure.

 

[JayDreamer]

I use an LED strip which is from Amazon. It is recommended by someone in AVS Forum and works well. Search Amazon for VanSky bias light. I use the multi color one where it has 2-3 shades of white and one shade in particular works fine. You can plug it to your spare TV USB port and it goes on and off with the TV.