Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics [Blu-ray]

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Editorial Review:

Created by home theater industry legend Joe Kane, HD Basics is the
definitive High Definition home theater calibration tool. It promises to
improve your picture and give you an understanding of the concepts that
are vital to getting the most out of your HDTV.
Easy to use menu system
25 minute 'quick set-up" option including an in depth description and explanation of how to use specific test patterns to calibrate your display
Audio calibration test signals
Descriptive text in the menu to help navigate each option
A 90 minute overview of the basics of HDTV
Introduction to the world of creating HDTV programs
Audio commentary by Cinematographer Allen Daviau and Joe Kane.

Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0

I am not impressed...:

Like the other reviewers have already stated, the test pattern for contrast doesn't seem to work. I can see all the steps from black to white no matter where I set the contrast. Also the color decoder doesn't seem to be correct. The instruction say to start by setting blue levels, and then the red and green should be correct. This was not the case. Not only did my picture look better at the factory setting, but the red and green still did not match. I tried to correct this by adjusting the tint, but I was... more info

Definitely made a difference, but missing key features.:

Some quick info that I'm basing my review on: The TV I have is the Samsung LN52A750 (a very popular higher end TV right now). My HD sources are: Blu-Ray = PS3, Comcast HD cable, and an XBOX 360 for games. All of these are via HDMI.
I almost always have my TV on in a dark room which is what I wanted the calibration optimized for. I tried my naked eye, then the THX test pattern on the Terminator 2 Blu-Ray but I noticed some noise/graininess in background images sometimes.
Pros
1. Makes the THX... more info

Great, if you have the patience:

This is probably the best way, short paying for professional calibration, to get your money's worth out of your HDTV and surround sound system. It's a bit time consuming, and can be frustrating at times as it's not exactly the easiest to follow at many points. However, if you're spending so much money on a home theater, you might as well spend an extra $15 and an hour of time to use this disc and really get the best picture and sound that you can tweak out of your system.

Digital Video Essentials:

Found it rather disappointing. I have the original video essentials dvd and didn't find anything on the blue ray version to justify replacing it.

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