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One input, many sources
As fantastic as the image quality on Sony TVs is, they seem to be a little stingy when it comes to giving us inputs. The KDL-S and KDL-V series only have one set of Component inputs, despite having 2-3 SCART inputs. (If you're wasting the gorgeous image quality of this LCD by connecting a DVD player using the interlaced-only SCART method, then I say good day to you sir!).
That means that there's probably a lot of people like me who use a Component video switcher box to feed, say, a Nintendo GameCube as well as an Xbox, to the TV. Now although these two devices can be hooked into the TV with a switchbox, to the television, it's still one physical input and as such, any changes you make to the picture settings will affect ALL of the devices running in through that single input. This is a particular problem for me, because I found that the best picture settings for my GameCube gave poor results with the Xbox and I had to manually adjust the settings each time I switched between the two.
Now, you might have noticed that your TV has three picture modes that you can switch between by pressing the Green button on your remote: Vivid, Standard, and Custom (or if you're using an older LCD WEGA like me, Live, Movie, and Personal - same things, different names). Hopefully most people will have used the Custom preset, which by default is the only one that's editable, to get the best picture quality possible. Bafflingly, the Vivid and Standard modes usually only allow the Contrast to be adjusted, and nothing more. So basically, you're stuck with one editable mode, and another two that only seem to exist to produce a dazzingly bright, oversaturated, oversharpened look on the shop floor. That's not value for money! BUT...
In Service Mode, you can actually adjust Vivid and Standard in the same way as you would with the Custom option. Yup, you can change the edge-enhanced mess that is "Vivid" into something that's actually useful. This means that effectively, you can have up to three devices with their own picture settings, being fed into one input, and all it will take to recall your own personalised Vivid, Standard and Custom settings is a press of the Green button. That means that when you switch between, for example, your GameCube or your Xbox, all you need to do is select a new picture preset rather than manually tinkering with all of the options.
So, simply enter Service Mode (instructions on the first page of this article), select the input you want to modify, and press Menu. I used the "Vivid" mode to adjust the picture from my Xbox, because I found this was really, really dull and needed brightness, colour, and sharpness enhancements to get a more pleasing picture. (It's a pity we can't change the names of the picture presets - that'd be a nice finishing touch.)
That's it! Once you're done adjusting, just turn the TV off and then turn it back again normally. You'll see the changes you made in Service Mode still apply in normal use. Now when you change inputs on your switchbox, all you need to do is press the Green button on the remote to cycle between your own three personalised picture presets. And, if you ever need to send the TV back for repairs and don't want any eagle-eyed Sony people noticing you've been inside, you can simply select the "Reset" option in the Picture menu and nobody will be any the wiser.
