Just picked up DVE on BD and was VERY surprised to see the S&W Zone Plate completely absent (despite its inclusion on the DVD version), and no kind of substitute provided. I am a big fan of this pattern and have been using it to test motion handling since A Video Standard on laserdisc. I was really looking forward to having this pattern available in 24p for the first time.

Does anyone have any recommended alternatives? Is there perhaps a WMV or MKV of this or a comparable pattern that I can at least play via HTPC?

DisplayMate MultiMedia Version With Motion - contains a number of motion patterns with instructions on how to quantify motion blur (though not resolution). This costs quite a bit more than any version of DVE but it has an extraordinary array of evaluation patterns. Stationary patterns bypass the video board in the PC and address the frame buffer directly so the output is always accurate.

Use PhotoShop or Paint.Net to create your own pattern. Create zones of single pixel black/white alternating lines, then 2-pixel wide lines, then 3-pixel wide lines (you may or may not want to go wider than that). Crop the image so that it fills maybe 10% of the area of a 1920x1080 screen, display the image on your screen and simply use your mouse to drag the image across the screen in various directions (vertical, horizontal, diagonal) and at various speeds (fast, slow, medium). Watch what happens to the patterns of single pixel, 2 pixel, and 3 pixel lines... take note of which pattern(s) remain visible during various motions. You may prefer to put horizontal and vertical line patterns in the image you create to give an additional perspective on blur/resolution. Note that the single-pixel line patterns will only appear correct/normal on displays that have 1:1 pixel mapping modes.