Still great, but mostly the same
I've been using the Digital Video Essentials DVD to calibrate my TVs for quite a few years and I've always loved the results, so when I heard that a Blu-Ray edition was coming, I was ecstatic.
Well, now that I've got it, it still does an excellent job, but for owners of the DVD edition, you're really not getting anything new. Almost everything on here is directly from the original DVD, only remastered in 1080p. There are a few things that have been added that pertain to LCD technology and explanation of the HD color standards, but the vast majority of content is exactly the same as the DVD.
The one thing that is a definite improvement over the DVD edition is the menu system. Instead of being forced to fast-forward through explanations to get to the test patterns, now you can bring up the pop-up menu and select a test pattern directly. So, once you've learned how to use the test patterns, you don't have to watch the explanations again in order to get to them...
Not as easy to use as it says.
I've never owned a DVE calibration disc. Before this disc, I used to use AVIA to calibrate my TV. My TV is a Sony 32S3000, and it is connected via HDMI to a PS3, which I used as my BD player.
Opening the HD Basics case reveals three color filters all in one single item. This is great compared to AVIA. Lift the paper holder up and move you head up or down depending on the filter you want. And the paper holder itself is a tool to check the grayscale. AWSOME INCLUSION!
The HD Basics BD starts by giving you a crippled menu, but with a question: Where would you like to start? The question was a good start, but the execution reveals that they didn't even put thought into the menu:
COMPLETE PROGRAM MENU - Self explanatory.
HD IN DETAIL - Video shows how to setup Environment, Audio, and Video (more descriptions of Video things like scan-lines, color quality, etc).
SETTING UP MY HDTV - Video shows how to use Basic Test Patterns.
JUST THE TEST...
Someone who's actually used the product
Well, this is the 5th review of this product and the first one by someone who has actually used it...go figure.
This product is very similar to design and function of the original Digital Video Essentials (DVE) for standard DVD: it has in-depth explanations of current display technologies and how they differ from each other as well as (the most important thing) video and audio test patterns to setup and calibrate your video and audio system (as well as instructions on how to do so).
The HD test patterns are encoded as VC-1 (video) at 1080p and 720p, and Dolby TrueHD (audio). The basic video test patterns are essentially the same as what can be found on the DVE disc but the advanced patterns are different and include a one-pixel-on-one-pixel-off test for 1080p displays, as well as various shades of gray boxes with PLUGE patterns. (It may be of interest to some that the Toshiba HD-A35 HD-DVD player that I have does not pass below-black information. It does not,...
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