Is it just me or are black levels different on every film played? I have Blu-Rays, and even though the TV has good black levels, often the letterbox in the middle of the screen on 2.39:1 ratio films on my 16:9 TV has a lighter black then the black bars at the top and bottom!

How am I supposed to compensate for poor film black levels?

Firstly, have you used a test disc to set the black level (brightness) control on the TV? If yes, which disc (including any region info). If no, then are you using a picture preset or have you adjusted it by eye?

I set the TV up by eye the best I can! I find modern film do have true black levels in dark scenes, but some of the the older films made before HD was common have dark greys instead of blacks. Bad transfers?

When DVD first came out they chucked any old copy onto them, then made a killing with the remastered versions.

Wouldn't surprise me they have done the same with HD.

If you want to make a stab at getting the TV set up right then you really need a test disc. They're cheap, but worth their weight in gold. Look for the Bluray version of Digital Video Essentials.

I'll never understand the logic of someone paying hundreds or thousands for entertainment equipment then begrudging spending less that £15 for a test disc to get the best from it What's worse is the number of people who waste a fortune upgrading gear when there's so much performance left untapped.

A word on THX Optimode discs...
1. They're only correct for the film on which they are included.
2. Don't be cheap. Go get the proper disc and get the best out of all your films.


Digital Video Essentials - so cheap it's madness not to.

My tv has translusive blacks.. driving me nuts.. and like most tv's there is no backlight adjusting option

Unfortunate, but an inherent feature of LCD I'm afraid.

Its very odd, as Black text on SKY NEWs ticker is fine, but sometimes has issues on the picture.

So with that in mind, its pointless to get a DVD for it to sort colors if its an issue with all LCDs'

Surely any modern tv shows such as the bill, etc should have true blacks.

Can you just explain what you mean by "true blacks"

That's to do with the relative contrast of the black versus the surrounding area. It's something well explained in some of the test discs tutorial sections.


Not at all. You can't cure the issue but you can do things with the TV and also the viewing environment that will help overcome some of these limitations very effectively.

I still maintain that the £15 investment is well worth it, plus you get audio set up tones too which go far beyond the test tones of a typical AV amp.

Totally agree with you Chris.

Our LCD was set up using the DVE DVD. Never had to adjust anything since. Took about 2-3 hours to set up but was well worth the outcome. Even makes ITV broadcasts look good!