Test patterns, are they on the short list?

[HeadHodge]

Re: Test patterns, are they on the short list?

It would be great if they were included in Vudu labs and someone wrote up a good how to article on how to use them via the Vudu.

Sounds like a job for VUDU BLOG.

[HeadHodge]

Re: Test patterns, are they on the short list?

Doesn't your receiver do this? Mine does.

If you mean my Directv receiver then no, it only has an option to output DD5.1 or PCM.

If you mean my Bose sound system, then sort of. They provided a DVD disk with the system to do that, but I lost that a long time ago.

But even if I did have the disk, it doesn't reflect the sound I'm getting from the VUDU box. I get wildly different audio results depending which input source I'm using and even for Directv which channel I'm watching.

So a VUDU test tone would be good to "calibrate" my Bose for VUDU's particular audio out.

[Jake]

Re: Test patterns, are they on the short list?

Hey Jake,

If your still taking suggestions I'd love to see the pictures Shia LaBeouf had on Spielberg and Lucas.

You mean the ones he got from Hayden Christiansen after they finished with the Star Wars movies?

[Nded]

Re: Test patterns, are they on the short list?

....snip....I'll move those to the "VUDU Demo" account once I track down whoever created it... any suggestions on useful additions?

Hey Jake,

If your still taking suggestions I'd love to see the pictures Shia LaBeouf had on Spielberg and Lucas.

[NA9D]

Re: Test patterns, are they on the short list?

If possible, I would vote for additionally some sort of DD5.1 audio test, to verify the proper operation of each speaker, proper volume adjustments, and possibly proper speaker phase.

My BR player had something like that as an option in it's setup process. But I've sold my BR player after buying VUDU and now have nothing.

Doesn't your receiver do this? Mine does.

[BrandonC]

Re: Test patterns, are they on the short list?

Sounds like a good candidate to add to VUDU Labs (no further comment )

It would be great if they were included in Vudu labs and someone wrote up a good how to article on how to use them via the Vudu.

[HeadHodge]

Re: Test patterns, are they on the short list?

Well, to bring this thread ever so slightly back to the original topic...

Sounds like a good candidate to add to VUDU Labs (no further comment )

In the mean time, you can always upload whatever images you want to a Picasa or Flickr album... (try "jcpage" on the Picasa app for an example - ignore the other album, unless you really like random vacation photos of Big Sur...)

I'll move those to the "VUDU Demo" account once I track down whoever created it... any suggestions on useful additions?

If possible, I would vote for additionally some sort of DD5.1 audio test, to verify the proper operation of each speaker, proper volume adjustments, and possibly proper speaker phase.

My BR player had something like that as an option in it's setup process. But I've sold my BR player after buying VUDU and now have nothing.

[Jake]

Re: Test patterns, are they on the short list?

Well, to bring this thread ever so slightly back to the original topic...

Sounds like a good candidate to add to VUDU Labs (no further comment )

In the mean time, you can always upload whatever images you want to a Picasa or Flickr album... (try "jcpage" on the Picasa app for an example - ignore the other album, unless you really like random vacation photos of Big Sur...)

I'll move those to the "VUDU Demo" account once I track down whoever created it... any suggestions on useful additions?

[aaronwt]

Re: Test patterns, are they on the short list?

During a calibration you typically have the TV calibrated for your main source. In my case it was my Blu-ray Disc player. Then all my other sources are adjusted through my external video processor. So the calibrator checks the other sources and does the adjustments from the scaler. For something like the VUDU he puts a signal generator on that input then actually looks at the content to make adjustments since there are no test patterns to use.

Worst case if i don't feel things look right from the VUDU I can make adjustments in my video processor, but the 8 titles I've watched this past week have all looked fine.

[jokeysmurf]

Re: Test patterns, are they on the short list?

No Hodge, it's a big Zenith Console with vacuum tubes.

For the record: my TV is a 50" LG plasma.

And I don't doubt calibration is effective and gives a better picture. No question. My point is simply that the people who have complained about black levels with Vudu are the people who have their sets professionally calibrated. I am very sensitive to black level and depth of detail (which is why I went plasma over LCD for one thing). On HDX, I have never seen what has been talked about.

I would suggest that if getting down to the "film" quality is as important as you say, then I would get the Vudu input professionally calibrated.

This could suggest, if the number of cases is statistically significant (which I doubt, since we're talking about a few people that you've noticed), is that the Vudu is by default outputting its colors quite differently than the norm of other HD devices.

It calls for too much speculation and is sort of useless. Until Vudu provides a calibration pattern, there is not much true calibration that we could do.

[NA9D]

Re: Test patterns, are they on the short list?

No Hodge, it's a big Zenith Console with vacuum tubes.

For the record: my TV is a 50" LG plasma.

And I don't doubt calibration is effective and gives a better picture. No question. My point is simply that the people who have complained about black levels with Vudu are the people who have their sets professionally calibrated. I am very sensitive to black level and depth of detail (which is why I went plasma over LCD for one thing). On HDX, I have never seen what has been talked about.

I would suggest that if getting down to the "film" quality is as important as you say, then I would get the Vudu input professionally calibrated.

[HeadHodge]

Re: Test patterns, are they on the short list?

-I don't know what kind of TV you have, but starting with that data point, your ability to actually see films as intended for theater will vary wildly.

This is what Shultzy watches HDX movies on.




This is what Shultzy uses for Instant HD viewing.





That's why he's not sure if he should have them calibrated or not.

[jokeysmurf]

Re: Test patterns, are they on the short list?

You obviously missed my point. Let me make it a little more pointed:

- You spent, I don't know how much to have your TV professionally calibrated.

- I spent ZERO dollars to have my screen calibrated and set the colors and all to the way I like them.

- You have black crush issues with the HDX movies.

- I have no such issues with any source.

Ergo: Does calibration really help?

Of course it helps. But the fact that your TV is the way you like it suggests that you are not interested in seeing the films as the director and cinematographer had intended them to be seen. I don't know what kind of TV you have, but starting with that data point, your ability to actually see films as intended for theater will vary wildly. I am interested in precision film reproduction as part of my viewing experience. You might not care, and simply want to see films with sharp detail, a better experience than your p-scan DVD player. For me that is not nearly enough.

So ISF helps, but every TV must be calibrated against each separate input. That means if you have a PS3, a Vudu, a cablebox and a Toshiba HD-DVD player, four inputs require separate changes in your TV's color calibration menu. That is because all four devices treat color differently. If you lack black crush in your current setup, I can gaurantee you the rest of your PQ is off in some other respect that you probably don't notice, and therefore believe to be insignificant.

[Nded]

Re: Test patterns, are they on the short list?

You obviously missed my point. Let me make it a little more pointed:

- You spent, I don't know how much to have your TV professionally calibrated.

......snip......

Ergo: Does calibration really help?

I would think this depends on a number of factors:

1) The quality and "calibratability" of the device in question.

2) The skills/talents/tools of the professional involved.

3) The eye of the beholder.

[aaronwt]

Re: Test patterns, are they on the short list?

My professionally calibrated sets are fine.

I try to get my main set calibrated once a year. Although last year I had 3 visits. One for my Toshiba DLP and two for my Samsung LED DLP.

Since my first professional calibration in 2001, I consider it a requirement for my main viewing display.