It's purrrrdy.The bottom line: The Spears and Munsil Blu-ray is an advanced tool for evaluating many aspects of a television's performance. The main menu of Disney's WOW: World of Wonder Blu-ray. Extremely high production values, well-made and easy to follow tutorials, and even extensive test patterns. Where Spears & Munsil is goof-proof, I found CalMAN less intuitive that I expected, and ended up spending a chunk of time on the phone with their tech support (which was excellent).Disney went all out with its foray into the setup disc world. If youve used a setup disc like Spears & Munsil and want to take the next step with a calibration program, you may find as I did that its a pretty big step.Immersive Audio Codecs Video Display Technologies / Calibration AV System.A screenshot from one of the tutorials on the Disney WOW disc. Every pattern was created using our exclusive ultra-high precision software tools and represents the state of the art in video reproduction.A forum community dedicated to Canadian TV, computing and home theatre owners. The Spears and Munsil UHD HDR Benchmark is the most accurate and comprehensive HDR test disc available anywhere. The VeCOAX ULTRA-1 is a single channel hdmi to coax digital TV channel hdmi.Screenshot: Geoffrey Morrison - Pattern: DisneyAll HDR patterns available in 600, 1000, 2000, 400 cd/m versions. If a ICC 5 profile is selected, and a calibration file with the same base name exists in the same directory, the profile will be updated with the new calibration.Download UltraViewer free to remote support your client or partner from. When a calibration file is selected, the Update calibration checkbox will become available, which takes less time than a calibration from scratch.You'll find detailed and extensive test patterns that not only help you set up your TV, but aid a trained calibrator (more on this later) in getting every last pixel of performance from your TV. Test patterns are good, if not extensive.The bad: The other discs here have more patterns, but the ones on the Disney disc are well-designed and offer all the basics and then some.The bottom line: Disney's WOWis a fantastic disc that should be the go-to choice for all beginners looking to learn about their TV, and how to set it up.BD: $39.99, DVD: $34.99- disneydvd.disney.go.com/disney-wow-world-of-wonder Digital Video Essentials: HD BasicsDigital Video Essentials: HD Basics is the latest disc from TV sage Joe Kane. More than that, it teaches more advanced subjects like deinterlacing, 24p, and more. There's a similarly designed pattern to set brightness.The good: Excellent tutorials teach the basics better than any other disc.In addition to clever and exacting test patterns, there's a whole suite of deinterlacing and scaling tests that are second to none. That said, its got just about everything most people would need.Spears & Munsil High-Definition BenchmarkNote! This has been replaced by the Spears & Munsil HD Benchmark 2nd Edition, which we've reviewed.Stacey Spears and Don Munsil created the ultimate disc for TV reviewers, and were nice enough to share it with everyone. Tutorials and test patterns will ensure everything is set up correctly.It's not as user-friendly or as slick as Disney's WOW, and real beginners could get overwhelmed. The pattern in the background here tests for per-pixel resolution.A pattern to check contrast and brightness from DVE: HD Basics.The good: Extensive test patterns, lots of tutorials.The bad: Not as easy to navigate or understand as the Disney disc.The bottom line: There's a lot here to keep the average TV enthusiast busy for hours. Not as intuitive as Disney's menu, but better than previous generations of DVE.Screenshot: Geoffrey Morrison - Pattern: JKPHere you can see DVE's most user-friendly feature: the menu overlays over the pattern so you can quickly navigate to another pattern.
![]() If you're just looking to make sure your TV isn't horribly mis-set, the Optimizer will likely do what you need. The other discs here offer more extensive (and in some cases, better) patterns. A handful of patterns will get you through the basics of setup quickly.The bottom line: If you already have, or are going to buy, a THX Certified disc, the THX Optimizer has the basic patterns to get your TV set at least better than stock. I use it while testing every TV and Blu-ray player I review.If you have a fair amount of knowledge, and know your way around a setup menu, this disc is awesome.BD: $25- spearsandmunsil.com THX Optimizer (found on THX-certified DVDs and Blu-rays)The THX Optimizer has been found on DVDs for ages, and recently on Blu-rays as well. Excel for mac import and edit tableThis is true for any setup disc. If your TV has different picture memories for different resolutions (or inputs), you'll need to be careful to make sure the settings you choose when using your setup disc apply to the other inputs/resolutions. As far as basic setup goes, using a DVD should be fine, especially when played through a Blu-ray player. If you have one of these discs, there really isn't any reason not to use them. Many of these are still available. Geoff Morrison's HDTV and home theater resource center and infotacularMany setup discs came out during the DVD era, like Avia, the Monster/ISF Calibration Wizard, and so on. Hdtv Calibration Disc Full CalibrationTo GetA trained calibrator (from the Imaging Science Foundation, for example) can calibrate your TV's color temperature, make sure every setting and connection is correct, and ensure that your TV is performing the best it can.If you're interested in learning more about getting your TV calibrated, check out my What is HDTV calibration article.Must-have Blu-ray TV setup discs-OK, admittedly this is taking my word for it, as I talk about some of the discs here with more words but fewer pictures. Full calibrationTo get the ultimate in performance out of your TV, you'll want to check out getting it calibrated by a professional.
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