After 2 plus years of acquiring the parts I finally have most/all of my HT setup in place, and I got my universal remote to turn everything on and off, and switch inputs/outputs, etc. Now, it seems, comes the hard part, calibrating the TV for the input devices, dvd, stb, PC, vcr(?). I can't remember the last time I watched a videotape, so I'm not sure whether the vcr is worth the effort.

I have discs for calibrating the dvd player (one standard dvd and the other the calibration disc that came with my BDP-83). But I don't have a source to calibrate the stb or the vcr. Can I use the coax video out from the BDP-83 to feed these other devices test patterns, which I then send to the screen through the device I'm for which I'm calibrating?

I know the simple answer is to pay a pro to do all this. But, a) I am an inveterate tinkerer, b) I never start by doing things the easy way, and c) I'm too cheap/stingy/parsimonious/thrifty/....

Here's what I recommend, Bob (even though it may run counter to the tinkerer): calibrate the TV using the BDP-83 with the Spears & Munsil disc and go from there.

The VCR doesn't offer any adjustments even if you had a calibration tape, and you wouldn't want to get your Blu-ray/DVD calibration out of whack for the sake of VHS. Similarly, the cable box typically has no controls and there's no useful calibration source material. If you could find calibration source material, you could potentially set up separate settings in the TV for each source (although that would depend on how your TV works, and might require you to bypass any video switching ahead of the TV).

In some cases, people will separately calibrate a display for a couple of different sources (typically different disc players) if the display can remember different settings. In many cases, a display can save separate settings for each input - this allows you to calibrate it exactly for each source, but requires that you not use any video switching prior to the TV. In other cases (when a display doesn't offer multiple settings or when you need video switching), people can calibrate for one source player and then adjust settings in a second player so that the TV's settings will work for that player as well. Personally, I've always calibrated my display using my primary disc player.

Gonk

Thanks. My TV is capable of remembering settings for each input, so it would be possible to do the settings at the TV. In addition, my BDP-83 and STB run directly to the TV, the BDP-83 via HDMI and the STB via DVI - HDMI for video.

That brings up a second question regarding the BDP-83. Is it better to make the calibration settings on the BDP-83 or on the TV? I can see merits to both. For example, a software update to the BDP-83 wipes out a relatively small number of settings, making it easier to reset. A software update to the TV means resetting a lot of stuff for all components. OTOH, having all of the settings in one place (the TV) may make tracking down problems easier.

That still leaves open the issue of generating test patterns for the STB.

I'd calibrate at the TV. The BDP-83's default values are quite accurate, so leaving them alone should give you a very good input to the TV.
Certainly calibrating to compensate for any consistent errors from the box would be handy. I see a couple of problems with trying to do this calibration, though. First, getting the test patterns. There may be some providers that run some patterns on a station hidden away in the line-up, but my provider never has as far as I can recall. Even for boxes that have an input and can pass through a signal, the signal path is likely to be different enough that it wouldn't be a useful metric for calibrating. Second, the source material itself can be suspect in some cases, even moreso than with DVD (although badly authored discs are always possible). The first time I really properly calibrated a TV with a Video Essentials DVD, I switched over to the local news afterward and was horrified to find that the reporter "on location" somewhere in town looked to have a dreadfully orange tan. I double-checked my calibration, then went back to the local news. I flipped through some other channels and found that the problem was with the news broadcast itself. I'd expect many broadcasts to be reasonably accurate, but there will be more variation.

If you want to go a little deeper into the calibration, you can pick up an xrite i1display colorimeter, and some free calibration software like HCFR. Then you can get a more accurate grayscale, with which to adjust your color to.

If you really have the bug to calibrate it to a higher degree of accuracy, then for around a grand you can pick up an xrite i1pro Spectroradiometer. You can use this with the free HCFR package as well.

Add a DVD/BD that has the grayscale and gamut patterns on it, and use your BD player as your signal source.

Depending on what you can adjust in the user menus, you may need to get a service manual to get into the additional adjustments.