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Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics [HD DVD]
 
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Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics [HD DVD] (2008)

Starring: Joe Kane Director: Joe Kane Rating: NR (Not Rated) Format: HD DVD
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)


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• IMPORTANT NOTICE: This high-definition disc will only play in an HD DVD player. It will not play in a standard-definition DVD player, Blu-ray player, or PS3.
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Product Details

  • Actors: Joe Kane
  • Directors: Joe Kane
  • Format: Color, Dolby, Surround Sound, Widescreen
  • Language: English
  • Region: All Regions
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rating: NR (Not Rated)
  • Studio: DVD International
  • DVD Release Date: March 25, 2008
  • Run Time: 120 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000V6LTG2
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #44,602 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

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.

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
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 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Someone who's actually used the product, April 2, 2008
By robi1138 (Voorhees, NJ) - See all my reviews
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, however, seem to clip the above-white signals). Through testing, I came to the (somewhat surprising) conclusion that my HD-DVD player and Panasonic standard DVD player require essentially the same settings on the display when using the HDMI cable.

The audio test signals (and my subsequent A/V receiver settings) were very different, however, from standard Dollby Digital 5.1. Because my receiver does not have any HDMI inputs, in order to enjoy 5.1 Dolby TrueHD, I have to utilize the HD-A35's internal decoders and analog audio outputs. Standard DVD's have sounded very different with this setup so I was looking forward to the audio test signals on this disc (particularly subwoofer level adjustments). However, the audio test signals are much more limited in quantity than the DVE disc. It's by no means spartan (and it even has a few additional tests over DVE) but the number of tests is small. There is a dedicated LFE signal to set subwoofer level, but the Full-Bandwidth test for all speakers is mistakenly recorded as Limited Bandwidth (which already appears on the disc) so there is no simple way to match subwoofer level to main speaker levels. There are separate Full-Bandwidth signals for the 2 front speakers (and they indicate that they were recorded at the same level as the LFE signal) so this is what I used. I was hoping there would also be DD+ test signals, but there was only the (superior) Dolby True-HD. Ultimately, I was not left high and dry by the audio test signals, but there could have been more of them to finetune the settings.

Navigation of the disc is fairly simple but because HD-DVD works differently than DVD, you may find yourself over-shooting the test you actually want.

All in all, I think you can probably use your original DVE disc for most video setttings and the audio settings can be done fairly accurately with your HD-DVD player's test tone (if it has this feature). There are additional tests that make the disc worth getting (or if you don't already own DVE, this is a must-have) but it's (few) shortcomings drop it to an overall 4 star rating.

For first time calibration disc users: 5 stars
For owners of the original DVE for DVD: 3 stars
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Very HD-Friendly, but Incomplete, June 28, 2008
The Adjustments for Color, Sharpness, Brightness and Contrast are all superb and quite-well tailored to HD sets.

It is however missing a Tint adjustment (my set calls Tint a "Hue" adjustment). If Tint/Hue adjustment is on the disc, I haven't found it yet.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Just Received Item Today. Here's my Review... AWESOME!, March 31, 2008
I thought my TV was well calibrated before I bought his product (I used to sell televisions)but I was wrong. The dvd does a great job of explaining exactly what to do with each test setups which would otherwise be complicated without the great explanations. The HD-DVD version is very well set up and has very well organized menus. You can even calibrate your sound system with many different tests. The DVD provides information on everything from ambient light to even the density you should build your walls in your home theatre setup!

Whether you know nothing about home theatre setups or know everything this DVD is essential to perfect picture quality. I appreciate the value of my home theatre investment much more now that I have it properly calibrated. MUST BUY.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars DVD a dud!
The DVD did not play on any player in our house. After further review, this is common for MOST DVD's. Why sell a product for DVD players that doesn't even work?!? Read more
Published 10 months ago by M. Smith

1.0 out of 5 stars did not work for me
i loaded disk into two players would not play
put it in my computer dvd drive and did not see
any files on the disk. did not work for me
Published 16 months ago by Byron R. Churik

3.0 out of 5 stars Not working on XBOX 360 HD-DVD Player
To my dismay this HD-DVD (as of 31 Mar. 08) is not working with the Xbox 360 HD-DVD player add-on.

I pre-ordered this movie and was anxiously counting down the days... Read more
Published 19 months ago by woody

5.0 out of 5 stars Great HD DVD disc By Far.
Ignor the 1 star. This item is not out just yet, its for pre-order only. Though using the original Digital Video Essentials HD DVD (2005) I have to say its great. Read more
Published 22 months ago by NT

5.0 out of 5 stars Yes, but until 2020, thank goodness for Joe Kane and DVE HD Basics.
Why would you give a one star review for a product that has not even been released yet, and especially, why would you compare current technology to the technologies that we may or... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Dale Myrhol

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Review from HomeTheaterMag.com: Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics
Read the full review at HomeTheaterMag.com
While not everyone can perform a soup-to-nuts calibration, anyone can calibrate his or her basic video settings. If you get these right, you can greatly improve the quality of your display's picture. Discs such as DVE: HD Basics can provide all the help you need to get there. Read the full review at HomeTheaterMag.com.

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