Setup and Calibration

Setting up the first time

Put on the AVIA test disk.

Choose Advanced options from the menu, then Video Calibrations.

From the video calibration menu you should chose the option marked "Grayscale", and then the option marked IRE windows. Choose the 100IRE window and a bright white rectangle should be displayed at the center of the screen. It really doesn’t matter which aspect mode you are using.

Try to position the Detector so that it intercepts light bound for the screen within the bright rectangle and at a point that is representative of the image brightness as a whole. Avoid locations where you might have uniformity problems (colors, hotspots, dark spots) The Idea is to choose a location that does not stand out from the image .

Try to angle the detector so that light from the projector is intercepted at a right angle to the plane of the detector.

The Detector can be placed anywhere between the projector and the screen. However, individual photocells may be not sensitive enough to detect the full range of light at this distance. To determine if this is true of your photocell, put the blue filter in or on the detector, and return to the IRE Windows portion of the AVIA menu. Choose the 0 IRE window. A completely black screen should be displayed. During this process you may periodically have to skip back to the beginning of the IRE 0 window display using the controls on your DVD player to keep the right display on the screen

Turn on your detector and wait for the value to "settle". For low light conditions such as this, most DMMs will take 10-20 seconds to reach a "stable" value.

Write down the value displayed on your DMM.

Now Attach the lens cap to your projector and write down the new reading.

If the reading with the Lens cap on (B) is higher than that with the lens cap on (A) , ideally a factor of two or more, your detector is sufficiently sensitive enough for use with the SMART system. If the values are very close together, you may wish to try a different photocell to see if you can find one that is more sensitive. Another approach is to move the detector away from the screen and closer to the projector, this will increase the amount of light falling on the photocell. Remember that if you choose to move the detector closer , all future measurements should also be made at the new distance. Repeat the measurements A and B until there is a significant difference between the values measured.

Okay, once you are done verifying your detector, remove the lens cap and get ready to start optimizing your display using SMART!

Also see the new section on selecting a photocell.