You are correct.

Best regards,
Randy Freeman

I think I understand all that, Randy; it's just that you made is sound as if the gamma factor itself could smooth out a curve. Hence the head scratching :).

What I understand is this;
- use gamma factor to take overall gamma response to wherever you want it (for example, from 2.0 to 2.2).
- if the response curve has any bumps (and if it does, those bumps will be present regardless of gamma factor applied - in fact they might be amplified after applying it), THEN use the parametric Color Temp functionality to smooth those out.

Are my assumptions correct?

Thanks guys, that's how I assumed it all worked.

Randy- when you say contouring, what does this look like?

Contouring is a non-smooth change in color. I see this at the moment and I'm not using the gamma factor. I'll try this and see if it improves.

Quick QUESTION:

I am trying to program a memory for subtitled films (cropping the bottom). To do so, I need a 2.50 Output Aspect. How do I do this and use 1 config? Normally this config is 2.35 Output Aspect ratio. I obviously want the same config as it stores my primary 1080P24sF resolution. It seems I can only store one output aspect per config. I can't seem to save different aspect ratios within the same config even with the help of different memories (e.g A, B, C, D).

Lumagen says I should be able to do this... How is that??

Any help?

You can press "MemA" to recall the settings to view 2.35 movies without subtitles. In this memory set the output aspect of the Radiance to 2.35.

You can press "MemB" to recall the settings to view 2.35 movies with two lines of subtitles. In this memory set the output aspect of the Radiance to 2.50 in order to shrink a 2.35 movie a bit. This will create the room you need to display the second line of subtitle.

The following instructions assume that you are using a 2.35 screen.

You need to use two different output configurations to store the two different output aspect ratios.

To assign Config0 to MemA and Config1 to MemB:
1. Press "MemA".
2. Press "Menu, Input, Video Setup, [resolution], Outx Select, Config0, Ok".
4. Press "MemB".
5. Press "Menu, Input, Video Setup, [resolution], Outx Select, Config1, Ok".

This is how to set up "MemA" for a 2.35 output aspect ratio.

6. Select the input on the Radiace that is conncted to the video source.
7. Press the "MemA" user memory button where you will store this configuration.
8. Press the 2.35 input aspect ratio button on the remote.

This is how to set up "MemB" to make room bellow the image to view the second line of subtitle.

9. Select the input on the Radiance that is connected to the video source.
10. Play a 2.35 movie and pause on a scene that has two lines of subtitle.
11. Press the "MemB" user memory button where you will store this configuration.
12. Press the 2.35 input aspect ratio button on the remote.
13. Set the output aspect to 2.50 by pressing "Menu, Output, Configs, [config], Aspect, Ok, Single output aspect, Ok, 250, Ok".
14. Set the side bar color to black by pressing "Menu, Output, Configs, [config], Other, Graybar, Sides, Ok, <set to 0>, Ok".
15. Set the bottom cropping to rise the bottom of the picture so that the picture is the correct aspect ratio by pressing "Menu, Input, Video Setup, [resolution], Size, 2.35, Crop BotRght, Ok, <press the up arrow button to adjust the bottom of the picture up>, Ok".
16. Save the new configuration by pressing "Menu, Save, Save, Ok, Ok".

Best regards,
Randy Freeman

Wonderful explanation. Thanks for the clarification.

Contouring is a non-smooth change in color. I see this at the moment and I'm not using the gamma factor. I'll try this and see if it improves.

how deep I am into this stuff and I have to admit I didn't know that this was the definition of contouring :o

that is the first thing I noticed when looking at my Panny BD30 with HD-SDI mod, color smoothness and gradients are much improved over HDMI

thanks for the explanation ;)

-Gary

Can I put in a vote for 4 sdi (2SD + 2HD would be fine). I have 3 SD-SDI sources and might add an HD-SDI source.

Wow. You like your SDI, huh? Seriously, that is an extreme. I'm sure Jim will be happy to consider it if there is enough interest, but from my experience this is an extreme. I suppose it all depends on the cost and how much physical space it will take.

(1) SDI, (1)HD-SDI is plenty for me. Can't see hacking a Tivo etc., since broadcast has enough control to screw with it anyway. Just need SD DVD ad BRD.

2 SD/HD-SDI inputs would be just fine, same as with the VP50pro from DVDO ;)

you can use SDI switchers any day for more than two sources

-Gary

Wow. You like your SDI, huh? Seriously, that is an extreme. I'm sure Jim will be happy to consider it if there is enough interest, but from my experience this is an extreme. I suppose it all depends on the cost and how much physical space it will take.


Yep I like my SDI. Have an SDI Terrestrial, SDI Satellite and SDI DVD box. The two TV boxes I'm particularly fond of, I have tried various boxes with HDMI but just cant beat the consistent 576I 4:2:2 output from the SDI boxes.

I dont know what the additional cost is for SDI inputs but wouldnt it be nice to one up DVDO on the inputs front? The switchers seem to be either very high priced or in rack width :(

you can use any extron composite video/coaxial audio switcher for SDI, works wonderfully

all you need is the bandwidth and the Extrons certainly have it

I bet you could score a 4 > 1 for 50$ max on ebay ;)

and yes SDI is where it is at for video, bottom line no BS

-Gary

http://www.national.com/cat/index.cgi?i=i//330

Switching cost difference between 2 and 4:1 on the chip is a few bucks. Other component costs for the socket and paths are minimal and the required real estate on the back panel for an extra 2 sdi ports is very small. Is 4 ports really so difficult?

Will take a look at the Extron.

hell yes 4 would be nice, but 2 would be a start because Lumagen didn't even have 1 single SDI on the Radiance :o

-Gary

Again, I don't think cost is the issue. I think it is more of the space...they may have to drop other stuff to accomodate, and if the demand isn't there, well then that could hurt it ultimately.

Gary has a good point...the Extron SDI switcher is quite good.

I agree that the demand for SDI inputs has gone down due to the availability of video sources that have a high quality digital output and more projectors that have digital inputs which support HDCP. We still receive some requests for SDI inputs so the preliminary spec for the RadiancePro includes two HD-SDI inputs.

Best regards,
Randy Freeman

While we're talking about our 'druthers', I'd druther had a Radiance-Lite, with 2 HDMI inputs and 1 output, but with all the scaling, CMS, etc., features of the full Radiance. I.e., something that effectively replaces the HDP with updated I/O's and performance.

Would you want any audio inputs and outputs, other than HDMI audio?

Would you want any audio inputs and outputs, other than HDMI audio?

Not necessary. I send all HDMI outputs from the sources (cable tv box, BR/DVD player) to an AVR that deals with the audio and simply passes the video through (from a single HDMI output) to my projector. I would put the Radiance between the AVR and the projector and thus actually only need 1 HDMI input into the Radiance and 1 output.

While we're talking about our 'druthers', I'd druther had a Radiance-Lite, with 2 HDMI inputs and 1 output, but with all the scaling, CMS, etc., features of the full Radiance. I.e., something that effectively replaces the HDP with updated I/O's and performance.

That sounds like the rumoured RS which is what I would like as well assuming it was priced right. I/O decisions I guess would endeavour to capture the most potential users; 2 and 1 would work for me also. From what I remember however, according to JRP, the RS if it gets built is at least a year away.

Thanks smyth22. Yes, you're right that the XS will not be out for a while. I was just trying to reinforce interest in this model to encourage Lumagen to get it out asap!

Would you want any audio inputs and outputs, other than HDMI audio?

I believe these are a waste of time, you just need to make the processing time rock solid consistent so a delay time can be set on the receiver/prepro (The vast majority of them have this feature especially the higher end gear that Lumagen users tend to have).

It amazes me that back panel space is at a premium yet it is still filled with audio inputs!

Thanks smyth22. Yes, you're right that the XS will not be out for a while. I was just trying to reinforce interest in this model to encourage Lumagen to get it out asap!

I was too; how do we convince Lumagen the XS is likely to be a stronger money maker than the the Pro? JRP was even willing to consider a calibration box which basically contained only the CMS-gamut-colour temprature tools. To me that would be a must buy for anyone purchasing a projector worth more than a few thousand dollars. However, it it Jim's money at stake not mine.

Would you want any audio inputs and outputs, other than HDMI audio?

I would not want any analog audio inputs or outputs. HDMI only. I plan to let my pre-pro do the switching so I only need a single HDMI input on the VP but having at least two would be a good idea for flexiblity . Then hopefully the VP would have virtual inputs so that I could customize those inputs to each source. Now, I only have 4 video sources and can not imagine that I would ever fill up my rack with more video components than that. Mostly likely I will only have three, a Sat box/HD-DVDR, HD-DVD player since I already have one and a Blu-ray player.

I was too; how do we convince Lumagen the XS is likely to be a stronger money maker than the the Pro? JRP was even willing to consider a calibration box which basically contained only the CMS-gamut-colour temprature tools. To me that would be a must buy for anyone purchasing a projector worth more than a few thousand dollars. However, it it Jim's money at stake not mine.

I agree. I think Lumagen is missing a window. Further, as for stand alone video processing, I can not imagine a bigger window for this type of device in years. It must be hard to design an affordable solution because not only Lumagen but all of the VP companies have left a lot of money on the table.

Hey Bulldoger: I am not sure about the reasons but Lumagen is a small company that maybe does not have the staff needed to focus on several products at once without compromizing on overall product quality and customer service. They have all the bits for the calibration box but integrating them and producing a nice friendly interface is probably not a trivial undertaking.

As an incentive, maybe get a big bunch of calibrators to agree to buy the box and bundle it with a calibration as one of their highest recommened options for customers who don't need a full blown VP.

I think you hit the nail on the head. lumagen is a small but great company. There is no better company for providing customers and installers with whatever help is needed. It continually devotes its limited resouces to quickly debugging and adding feastures to its products. As an owner of a Radiance, I couldn't ask them for or expect anything more. They are the best.

I think you hit the nail on the head. lumagen is a small but great company. There is no better company for providing customers and installers with whatever help is needed. It continually devotes its limited resouces to quickly debugging and adding feastures to its products. As an owner of a Radiance, I couldn't ask them for or expect anything more. They are the best.

Ditto. Best component I own (Radiance) and one that won't be replaced while all others will come and go.

I think you hit the nail on the head. lumagen is a small but great company. There is no better company for providing customers and installers with whatever help is needed. It continually devotes its limited resouces to quickly debugging and adding feastures to its products. As an owner of a Radiance, I couldn't ask them for or expect anything more. They are the best.

I totally agree.

I know it must be difficult to do. Lumagen seems to be a model company as far as product support. I wish all of the products I owned provided just 50% of the support I see on this forum from them. Based on this, I am not even considering any other companies for video processing. The Radiance XD is just more than I need and the older models do not offer quite enough of what I need.

I know it must be difficult to do. Lumagen seems to be a model company as far as product support. I wish all of the products I owned provided just 50% of the support I see on this forum from them. Based on this, I am not even considering any other companies for video processing. The Radiance XD is just more than I need and the older models do not offer quite enough of what I need.

I'm right where you are, Bulldogger.

Big news. Lumagen has turned over its sales of the Radiance line to Sencore. In essence, Sencore is the distributor of the Radiance line. Sencore will sell direct as full MSRP of $4500. Sencore will govern the dealers and refer sales to existing dealers in the customer' area. Sencore will add new dealers as opportunities may arise through Sencores hugh base of ISF calibrators using Sencore equipment.


I heard that Sencore bought Lumagen. Is that correct?
I think that tight integration of these products would make a great offer.

I hope they can come up with a solution for the AVS enthusiast, sort of Multi-Equalization for Video.

- Rich

I heard that Sencore bought Lumagen. Is that correct?

"Sencore, Lumagen Create Strategic Partnership Jun 16, 2008

Sencore and Lumagen have formed a strategic partnership to provide the highest quality video in the home theater and commercial AV markets. The idea behind pairing Lumagen's Radiance series video processors and Sencore's calibration tools is to enable integrators to completely implement video systems and correct many built-in problems in video displays.

The RadianceXD is a video processor and switcher that supports 18 video inputs: six 1080p60-capable HDMI with HDCP, four SD/HD component, four S-video, and four composite. The RadianceXD features two HDMI outputs at resolutions up to 1920 x 1080, at 60-Hertz (1080p60). The Radiance family of products offers 10-bit processing, per-pixel standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) video de-interlacing with adaptive diagonal filtering, edge-enhancing scaling technology that does not add ringing. Additional important image quality features include temporal noise reduction for both SD and HD sources, and extensive calibration options.

Teaming the Sencore VideoPro generator and ColorPro color analyzer with the Radiance allows 11-step parametric grayscale and gamma calibration and full color space correction, independently at all primary and secondary points.

“These are perfectly matched technologies that play off of each other’s strengths, creating an integrated solution that AV integrators previously have not been able to address without highly specialized personnel and materials," stated Al Bowden, Sencore’s CEO. "We are looking forward to working together with such a high-quality partner company, especially with the caliber of people like Jim Peterson, who has set the bar for quality in the video processor industry.”

Lumagen’s founder, Jim Peterson, added that by integrating the Radiance family of video processors with Sencore Calibration Tools, "display optimization can be done precisely and quickly using Sencore’s user friendly GUI. The Sencore-Lumagen partnership allows Lumagen to focus on product improvements, while Sencore provides the five-star support that they are known for,” he stated."

D

"Sencore, Lumagen Create Strategic Partnership Jun 16, 2008

Sencore and Lumagen have formed a strategic partnership to provide the highest quality video in the home theater and commercial AV markets. The idea behind pairing Lumagen's Radiance series video processors and Sencore's calibration tools is to enable integrators to completely implement video systems and correct many built-in problems in video displays.

The RadianceXD is a video processor and switcher that supports 18 video inputs: six 1080p60-capable HDMI with HDCP, four SD/HD component, four S-video, and four composite. The RadianceXD features two HDMI outputs at resolutions up to 1920 x 1080, at 60-Hertz (1080p60). The Radiance family of products offers 10-bit processing, per-pixel standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) video de-interlacing with adaptive diagonal filtering, edge-enhancing scaling technology that does not add ringing. Additional important image quality features include temporal noise reduction for both SD and HD sources, and extensive calibration options.

Teaming the Sencore VideoPro generator and ColorPro color analyzer with the Radiance allows 11-step parametric grayscale and gamma calibration and full color space correction, independently at all primary and secondary points.

“These are perfectly matched technologies that play off of each other’s strengths, creating an integrated solution that AV integrators previously have not been able to address without highly specialized personnel and materials," stated Al Bowden, Sencore’s CEO. "We are looking forward to working together with such a high-quality partner company, especially with the caliber of people like Jim Peterson, who has set the bar for quality in the video processor industry.”

Lumagen’s founder, Jim Peterson, added that by integrating the Radiance family of video processors with Sencore Calibration Tools, "display optimization can be done precisely and quickly using Sencore’s user friendly GUI. The Sencore-Lumagen partnership allows Lumagen to focus on product improvements, while Sencore provides the five-star support that they are known for,” he stated."

D


That sounds great.

- Rich

I didn't here anything about a sale of the company, just distribution of the Radiance through Sencore. Dealers order through Sencore. Support, service, continued product upgrades through Lumagen. Non Radiance sales through Lumagen.

This move may offer advantages for Sencore and Lumagen: Lumagen gets a robust distribution channel and Sencore gets to market a product that enhances the value of their calibration tools.

However, I seriously doubt that this will benefit consumers. One of Sencore's core business models is to rebrand existing products and then sell them to the professional market at a substantially higher price.

I am hard pressed to think of a case where "strategic partnerships" like this have benefited consumers. The example comes closest to mind is DataColor's acquisition of ColorFacts, which was a disaster for consumers IMHO.

Plus I don't see anything about exclusivity. Which means you should still be able to get a Radiance through, say, AVS - right?

Wow. Those of us who got in at the beta price got the deal of the century.

Who sets the pricing? Lumagen or Sencore?

Plus I don't see anything about exclusivity. Which means you should still be able to get a Radiance through, say, AVS - right?

Yes you can.

If sales are going to be via Sencore exclusively and not from Lumagen to the dealers, Oh I think this is bad. Very bad. Price a Accupel 4000 and *try* to price a Sencore VP400. Once you get past the heavy sales pitch on an entire Sencore setup, and get the price, I expect you will find Sencore's things are incredibly overpriced IMHO. Incredibly. The same tristimlus POD they sell is 4 times what it can be had under another brand. We shall see, but as a small Lumagen dealer I see no good coming from this for my end users. This product is already pricy, took a long time to get out of Beta, and has competition. Adding Sencore as a middleman can only mean higher pricing in the long run. I don't see AVS carrying any Sencore signal generators, or Sencore calibration tools. For that matter, I've never seen anyone sell anything new "Sencore" brand, except Sencore. I wonder how this will affect the direct to end user upgrade plan from the current to the new box? Hope I'm wrong. Bet I'm not.

If sales are going to be via Sencore exclusively and not from Lumagen to the dealers, Oh I think this is bad. Very bad. Price a Accupel 4000 and *try* to price a Sencore VP400. Once you get past the heavy sales pitch on an entire Sencore setup, and get the price, I expect you will find Sencore's things are incredibly overpriced IMHO. Incredibly. The same tristimlus POD they sell is 4 times what it can be had under another brand. We shall see, but as a small Lumagen dealer I see no good coming from this for my end users. This product is already pricy, took a long time to get out of Beta, and has competition. Adding Sencore as a middleman can only mean higher pricing in the long run. I don't see AVS carrying any Sencore signal generators, or Sencore calibration tools. For that matter, I've never seen anyone sell anything new "Sencore" brand, except Sencore. I wonder how this will affect the direct to end user upgrade plan from the current to the new box? Hope I'm wrong. Bet I'm not.

Don't worry. It's just supply and demand. Where there is demand, there will be supply, either from Lumagen or someone else.

Hear, hear. The Radiance XD already costs more than a RS1, and I don't think most people will think it's worth it. For Lumagen to be successful they really need to concentrate on selling LOTS of vp's, and thus produce a Radiance-Lite for $1000, i.e., a modern replacement for the HDP, with say 2 HDMI inputs and 1 output, with the video processing and CMS of the XD. They would sell tons of these and do much better than bringing out a 'pro' model with even more inputs/outputs that most people really don't need.

Effective July 1, dealers must order the Radiance from Sencore, not Lumagen. Effective July 1, the list price of the Rradiance has increased from $4000 to $4500. Dealer prices have been raised proportionally.

Hear, hear. The Radiance XD already costs more than a RS1, and I don't think most people will think it's worth it. For Lumagen to be successful they really need to concentrate on selling LOTS of vp's, and thus produce a Radiance-Lite for $1000, i.e., a modern replacement for the HDP, with say 2 HDMI inputs and 1 output, with the video processing and CMS of the XD. They would sell tons of these and do much better than bringing out a 'pro' model with even more inputs/outputs that most people really don't need.

If Lumagen doesn't produce a product like I've described above, someone else will and reap the rewards.

If Lumagen doesn't produce a product like I've described above, someone else will and reap the rewards.

That would be assuming that someone else can come up with CMS algorithms that work. As someone else pointed out, the XD stayed in beta for a long time. For good reason.

Also, do we know that there is a market for that kind of box? Out of gamut colors, combing, mpeg artifacts, etc... drive me nuts, but the truth is they don't bother that many people.

Maybe Lumagen plans on becoming an OEM. It might make more sense to sell the prepackaged technology to integrate into receivers or displays. I'm sure they've at least considered that.

Yes you can.
But you'll have to sell it at MSRP now. Right?

I gotta agree with GetGray here - I wouldn't have gotten an XD if it weren't for the preorder/beta pricing. Even then it's a luxury for me. I'm glad - really glad - I have it but I could have lived without it. Now, $4500? I wouldn't even consider it for a second.

OTOH you have to assume Lumagen knows what it's doing, and is doing what's best for the business. Which is not always coincidental with what's best for the consumer.

Is this why there hasn't been a firmware update for the Radiance in a little while?

Maybe Lumagen plans on becoming an OEM. It might make more sense to sell the prepackaged technology to integrate into receivers or displays. I'm sure they've at least considered that.


In another thread, Jim Peterson said that he was exploring some OEM options.

Most audio receivers now do some video processing. I would never use any that are available today. The first one that has Lumagen quality processing and CMS, etc. in it will have a tremendous advantage. It seems natural to do this.

Jim also said that they might be an OEM for a display manufacturer. Again, seems natural to me. Gets rid of a box.

Pioneer or Onkyo or Yamaha sell tons more receivers than Lumagen sells VPs. That is why the Radiance is so expensive, they make up in price what they lack in volume.

Effective July 1, dealers must order the Radiance from Sencore, not Lumagen. Effective July 1, the list price of the Rradiance has increased from $4000 to $4500. dealerprices have been raised proporionally.

Wow! I got a fantastic price on mine... likely I could sell it for $1K more today than when I bought it!!!:)

But I won't as it is an asset in my system.

I have found the piece to be rock solid for the last couple months. For a new HDMI product, I have been most impressed with the HDMI handshaking. There have been zero issues whether you quickly switch inputs and with a multitude of various HDMI sources in my set up (5). I am enjoying the piece immensely and is a big asset to my CIH set up.

I'm on vacation and have not been following this thread for a while. Just thought I would let you know some of the facts surrounding the Sencore arrangement.

- First, Lumagen is still an independent company. Sencore did NOT buy Lumagen.

- We signed the exclusive marketing and sales distribution deal with Sencore to increase our sales. They are acting as our distributor, not as a dealer themselves. So, they will buy from Lumagen and resell to dealers. All current Lumagen dealers can continue to sell Lumagen products. Sencore has already added a number of new dealers to the mix. We had a number of areas where we did not have dealer support and we believe having Sencore act as our distributor will allow more people to have access to the Lumagen technology.

- Products will be labeled "Sencore by Lumagen" to highlight this arrangement.

- Internationally, our current distributors are still in place, and international dealers can still buy from them. Sencore is considering how best to handle international sales, and is in discussions with the international distributors.

- The RadianceXD price did increase to $4495 in the U.S., but this was planned before the Sencore deal came about. The RadianceXE is going to be $4995. This is actually $4 less than we had planned before the Sencore deal (okay not a significant difference). So, the cost of having Sencore as our distributor is not placed on the consumer. We, of course, make less per sale, but we fully expect to more than make this up in higher volumes.

- Everyone who purchased a RadianceXD in the U.S. before June 30, 2008 can still upgrade to the RadianceXE when it becomes available for $1000 directly with Lumagen. We have made similar arrangements for upgrades in other countries for purchases before June 30, 2008, but the price might be higher due to shipping/customs/duties/VAT.

- You can continue to contact Lumagen for support, and we will continue to follow the threads and post on AVS. Over time, we plan to train Sencore to be able to provide answers for questions for new sales, but we are going to continue provide the same high-quality support as we have always had.

- As I have mentioned, and others have highlighted, we are looking to become more of an OEM manufacturer, and will be looking for companies who value video quality and want to integrate Lumagen technology with their projectors, televisions, or AV processors.

- We have found all the Sencore people we are working with to be excellent. Do note that, as with any new arrangement, we know there will be some issues that will arise. We will do our best to resolve these as quickly as possible as they come up. If you have an issue to discuss, please send them to support (at lumagen.com) if they are technical and sales (at lumagen.com) if they are business related.

- Lumagen has not changed. We believe this distribution arrangement will increase the availability of Lumagen products, and actually increase the level of support as Sencore comes up to speed on the Lumagen technology.

Thanks for your support and patience as we work through this change.

Jim, will the XE require our current units be sent in for work or some sort of swap of a new unit? I do not need HDMI 1.3 now, so will this upgrade be available for a long period or is the window of opportunity a brief one to upgrade to an XE?

Thanks and congrats.

Jim, will the XE require our current units be sent in for work or some sort of swap of a new unit? I do not need HDMI 1.3 now, so will this upgrade be available for a long period or is the window of opportunity a brief one to upgrade to an XE?

Thanks and congrats.

We will allow some customers who are technically able to do the board swap themselves. This is on a case by case basis. If you want to do the board swap yourself, please ask when you purchase the upgrade.

I have set a deadline of 12/31/2008 for the upgrade, but am willing to consider an extension. The issue is we don't make money on the upgrade until we are able to resell the "pre-owned" boards. I'm not sure how long the market window will be for us to resell the used boards and so will be considering how long to extend this deadline as this become clearer.

Is this why there hasn't been a firmware update for the Radiance in a little while?

No, there haven't been an update in a while (if you call that a while, the last one was June 20th - compare with direct competitors) because the product is rock stable. I assume Lumagen is working on post-production features (PiP among others).

We will allow some customers who are technically able to do the board swap themselves. This is on a case by case basis. If you want to do the board swap yourself, please ask when you purchase the upgrade.

I have set a deadline of 12/31/2008 for the upgrade, but am willing to consider an extension. The issue is we don't make money on the upgrade until we are able to resell the "pre-owned" boards. I'm not sure how long the market window will be for us to resell the used boards and so will be considering how long to extend this deadline as this become clearer.

Jim,

A quick clarification please. If a customer buys a XD today the price is $4995, and will receive a HDMI 1.1 unit, but will get a FREE upgrade to HDMI 1.3 - XE when it is available?

Thanks. And enjoy your vacation.

Changes happen all the time in this industry. Some good and some bad.
In this case we are all glad to see Lumagen expanding. The Lumagen name has earned a respectful place in the Home Theater Market. In this case this change is welcomed. Congratulations;)

PS: Please add a Edge Enhancement filter to your VP:)

My wife and I watch a lot of foreign language movies which are subtitled in English. In the majority of instances, we can read multiple subtitle lines with no problem. But with some movies the last line is cut off at the bottom and cannot be seen.

Is there some adjustment in the XD which I can set to allow me to see the last line(s)? Any assistance would be helpful.


thanks

Did you set output aspect ratio in the Radiance? Is your display set to the same aspect ratio? Did you turn off overscan in the display? These should be one time settings.

Are you selecting the appropriate input aspect ratio for whatever movie you are watching? This you need to change by movie/show.

Are you zooming in the Radiance or source?

If all the above is correct you can use the input sizing controls to expand the active area of the picture down more to get the rest of the subtitle but verify everything above first.

Shawn

My wife and I watch a lot of foreign language movies which are subtitled in English. In the majority of instances, we can read multiple subtitle lines with no problem. But with some movies the last line is cut off at the bottom and cannot be seen.

Is there some adjustment in the XD which I can set to allow me to see the last line(s)? Any assistance would be helpful.


thanks

You're probably zoomed in, or have the wrong source aspect ratio. It is easy to get these settings off accidentally, because they're triggered by the arrow keys of the remote whne no menu is up.

The up/down keys trigger the zoom. Hitting down repeatedly will zoom out completely. If that doesn't do it, try resetting the source aspect ration as well. Should be 16/9, presumably. You can hit 16/9 on the remote, or toggle between the different aspect ratio with the left/right arrow keys - again, when no menu is up.

Hope this helps.

You're probably zoomed in, or have the wrong source aspect ratio. It is easy to get these settings off accidentally, because they're triggered by the arrow keys of the remote whne no menu is up.

The up/down keys trigger the zoom. Hitting down repeatedly will zoom out completely. If that doesn't do it, try resetting the source aspect ration as well. Should be 16/9, presumably. You can hit 16/9 on the remote, or toggle between the different aspect ratio with the left/right arrow keys - again, when no menu is up.

Hope this helps.

Thanks to you and SFogg I have confirmed that it is a source problem, not a XD problem. I should have unplugged my source from the XD before appending to confirm that it was/not the XD.:eek:

Turns out that some of the source material I watch has been poorly encoded with their subtitles - it appears that the font of the subtitle is so large it falls off-screen. When I change the format to have plenty of black bar-space under the true content area, I do get to see the second subtitle - appearing in that black bar area!

Thanks for your quick feedback. I also learned from your appends and will have move fun w/the XD than before.:D

Turns out that some of the source material I watch has been poorly encoded with their subtitles - it appears that the font of the subtitle is so large it falls off-screen. When I change the format to have plenty of black bar-space under the true content area, I do get to see the second subtitle - appearing in that black bar area!Are you using a 2.35:1 screen then? If so, this is a common known problem.

Sorry for saying "off-screen" when I really meant outside of the normal movie content area - into the black bar on the bottom of the movie.

When I view this 4x3 movie there are gray bars on right and left and black bars top and bottom. This is the bottom, still part of the "movie" but no video really falls here except the second line of the subtitles.

I hope I am making myself clear.

Are you using a 2.35:1 screen then? If so, this is a common known problem.

all of the technology we have and blu-ray can't (or should I say won't) implement movable subs, the ability is there(ala Immortal Beloved) but BD is too dumb to implement it on a regular basis :mad: :mad:

-Gary

A rewrite of the FAQ is coming now that the XD is no longer beta. I do know it's a bit out of date (the functionality details are not though).

I have read in a couple of threads over in the $20K subforum that some users report that the Radiance slightly softens the image, and someone suggested that by default the Radiance has noise reduction that can't be disabled. Is this true?

I have read in a couple of threads over in the $20K subforum that some users report that the Radiance slightly softens the image, and someone suggested that by default the Radiance has noise reduction that can't be disabled. Is this true?

This problem has been solved a couple / few firmware releases ago...

I have read in a couple of threads over in the $20K subforum that some users report that the Radiance slightly softens the image, and someone suggested that by default the Radiance has noise reduction that can't be disabled. Is this true?The Lumagen NoRing scaling algorithm in the Radiance (and other Lumagen products) incorporates some mosquito NR. The softening claims came about with pre-production software. Production software contains the ability to bypass scaling independently in the horizontal and vertical directions. For display resolution equal to source resolution, scaling is automatically disabled by default, though the settings can be set manually. For vertical stretching for CIH setups, horizontal scaling can be disabled.

"The softening claims came about with pre-production software. Production software contains the ability to bypass scaling independently in the horizontal and vertical directions."

The softening claims in the pre-production software may not have even had anything to do with the scaling MNR. It could have been the problem where on occasion it lost about half of the vertical resolution on HD sources. That of course has been corrected once it was identified.

For those worrying about this make sure reports are with current/production software levels. Anything that came before the resolution loss fix and/or the scaling bypass options are out of date reports.

Shawn

The Lumagen NoRing scaling algorithm in the Radiance (and other Lumagen products) incorporates some mosquito NR. The softening claims came about with pre-production software. Production software contains the ability to bypass scaling independently in the horizontal and vertical directions. For display resolution equal to source resolution, scaling is automatically disabled by default, though the settings can be set manually. For vertical stretching for CIH setups, horizontal scaling can be disabled.


I have a CIH set up.. but have left most menu items left to default short of changing the input AR.

For an ideal stretched picture (outputting 1080P24sF), what areas should I adjust in the menu?? Scale bias? Horzontal?

I'd appreciate some guidance here.

Thanks.

Jeff,

Leave it alone, it will automatically turn off scaling when it can even in a 2.35 setup.

Shawn

Jeff,

Leave it alone, it will automatically turn off scaling when it can even in a 2.35 setup.

Shawn

Thanks and will do.

Thanks for the clarification guys, good to know this issue has already been addressed.

The Lumagen NoRing scaling algorithm in the Radiance (and other Lumagen products) incorporates some mosquito NR. The softening claims came about with pre-production software. Production software contains the ability to bypass scaling independently in the horizontal and vertical directions. For display resolution equal to source resolution, scaling is automatically disabled by default, though the settings can be set manually. For vertical stretching for CIH setups, horizontal scaling can be disabled.

So does this mean pass-through is currently available for the same resolution in/out?

Yes.

By default without making any changes?

Yes. You can check by bringing up the info screen and pressing "Alt" twice (IIRC).

I'm having problems updating to the latest firmwares.

The most recent which has successfully updated is 061508.

062008 updates and appears successful, checking info shows updated firmware. But when trying to change any settings it freezes and becomes unresponsive. This occurs through regular firmware update or bootloader method.

071108 updater goes through usual process and appears to complete. When turning on after the update, display reports an signal, but remains black. Radiance is then unresponsive. This occurs through regular firmware update or bootloader method.

Any thoughts?

I'm having problems updating to the latest firmwares.

The most recent which has successfully updated is 061508.

062008 updates and appears successful, checking info shows updated firmware. But when trying to change any settings it freezes and becomes unresponsive. This occurs through regular firmware update or bootloader method.

071108 updater goes through usual process and appears to complete. When turning on after the update, display reports an signal, but remains black. Radiance is then unresponsive. This occurs through regular firmware update or bootloader method.

Any thoughts?

I am running 6/20 and have no problems. Make sure you disconnect ALL source INPUTS to the Radiance before updating and try again. If that doesn't work, I suggest you post the problem in the Lumagen users forum. Good luck.

When is 24fps and 48 fps output coming from i60 input with 2:3 pulldown?

When is 24fps and 48 fps output coming from i60 input with 2:3 pulldown?

To me this is the most important feature not yet added. Dish and Directv now or will soon have 100 HD national channels many of which are HD movies. Watching in 24p would be nice.

Presently the 1080p24 output on the Radiance is only implemented for 1080p24 input. It is quite a bit of work for us to do the full implementation of 1080p24 output for all input rates. My quess is that we are a few months away from working on this.

Have you tried using the 1080p48 output mode? I think that it should be working correctly. Let us know if you see any issues.

Best regards,
Randy Freeman

Unfortunately my pj does not accept 48p, only 24p, 50p and 60p.

Presently the 1080p24 output on the Radiance is only implemented for 1080p24 input. It is quite a bit of work for us to do the full implementation of 1080p24 output for all input rates. My quess is that we are a few months away from working on this.

Have you tried using the 1080p48 output mode? I think that it should be working correctly. Let us know if you see any issues.

Best regards,
Randy Freeman

I thought we were only talking about interlaced to 24p output. Not "all input rates" to 24p. I think I remember Jim explicitly ruling out 60p to 24p for example.

If Randy is talking about converting "all input rates" to 24p, please, let's not discourage him.

In particular, 720p60->1080p24 (for film-based sources) would be a great thing to have.

60Hz interlaced to 24p as well, of course.

All input rates would be great but if it speeds things along initially the most popular rates could get things going for most situations. Other rates could be added later.

From my limited perspective the most popular rates would be 480i/540i and 1080i and maybe 480p, all at 50/60Hz. But maybe it is just as easy to do "all or none."

Out of curiousity what would be a source for 720p60->1080p24?

Out of curiosity what would be a source for 720p60->1080p24?Most ABC and Fox network shows are film-sourced and broadcast at 720p60.

All input rates would be great but if it speeds things along initially the most popular rates could get things going for most situations. Other rates could be added later.

From my limited perspective the most popular rates would be 480i/540i and 1080i and maybe 480p, all at 50/60Hz. But maybe it is just as easy to do "all or none."

Out of curiousity what would be a source for 720p60->1080p24?

+ 1 ...I agree that conversion to 24p on the popular/common rates is the ONE item I am waiting for.

I'm not trying to mislead anyone. We won't be doing cadence detection for 480p, 720p or 1080p60 video sources.

I'm not trying to mislead anyone. We won't be doing cadence detection for 480p, 720p or 1080p60 video sources.

Randy,
Is this because it is physically impossible or because you guys do not see a need for it? Also, will the Radiance Pro be able to do this (cadence detection)?
Thanks,
Laggs

Unfortunately my pj does not accept 48p, only 24p, 50p and 60p.
Same here. It would be really appreciated if the special but very frequent case of 1080i with 2:3 pulldown to 1080p24 were implemented soon and not delayed for several months. The other cases are less urgent.

RE: 480i60 and 1080i60 film to 24p conversion, my request has already gone to Lumagen, but I'll re-iterate it here: This feature, proven to work well in the Vision HD series, was one of the *main* reasons I bought Lumagen over DVDO and PMS. The simple truth is that Vision HD products have this feature and the production software of the Radiance doesn't. For this reason, at the moment, I would have been better off buying the HDQ.

Please can the addition of this feature be given the utmost priority?

RE: 480i60 and 1080i60 film to 24p conversion, my request has already gone to Lumagen, but I'll re-iterate it here: This feature, proven to work well in the Vision HD series, was one of the *main* reasons I bought Lumagen over DVDO and PMS. The simple truth is that Vision HD products have this feature and the production software of the Radiance doesn't. For this reason, at the moment, I would have been better off buying the HDQ.

Please can the addition of this feature be given the utmost priority?

I'm also patiently awaiting this feature as is it's something I sacrificed (on the basis it would be available at production status) by upgrading from the HPD.

I have a reasonable R1 DVD and HD DVD (1080i from Tosh A1) collection I would also like to see this high on the priority list.

D

I'm also patiently awaiting this feature as is it's something I sacrificed (on the basis it would be available at production status) by upgrading from the HPD.

I have a reasonable R1 DVD and HD DVD (1080i from Tosh A1) collection I would also like to see this high on the priority list.

D

+1

I'm not sure why it would take several months to get to production software. It seems a more wanted feature than any of the other planned post-released promised features.

24fps

+1

The full implementation of the 1080p24 output on the Radiance is at the top of the list. We will be starting to work on this big project soon.

Best regards,
Randy Freeman

what about auto switching(auto sensing) from different sources(ie. ps3 , cable,dvd player,etc..)instead of using input +#'s from the remote....
(wife and kids would love that).....

Is there any chance we could get more than 8 output configurations? I'm already running out of them: CMS on versus Off, 24 HZ versus 60 Hz output, Gamma 2.2 versus 2.4. No place for 50Hz output for example.

Is there any chance we could get more than 8 output configurations? I'm already running out of them: CMS on versus Off, 24 HZ versus 60 Hz output, Gamma 2.2 versus 2.4. No place for 50Hz output for example.

This is planned - see the FAQ in my thread. However it's not a high priority right now. If enough people ask for it that might change though, Lumagen is rather responsive to the users' needs.

Lumagen is rather responsive to the users' needs.Except they're rather busy now on genlock and 60i to 24p. ;)

Except they're rather busy now on genlock and 60i to 24p. ;)

He he... yeah but as you know that's also in response to users' needs. :)

I'm looking forward to those smooth 24p pans on my HD DVD discs and LOTR DVDs...

Is there any chance we could get more than 8 output configurations? I'm already running out of them: CMS on versus Off, 24 HZ versus 60 Hz output, Gamma 2.2 versus 2.4. No place for 50Hz output for example.

We recently added the virtual input feature to the Radiance. You can use the virtual input on any unused HDMI input as an additional user memory.

For example, you have a satellite box connected to HDMI input 1 that you would like to also link to an output configuration that is set to an output resolution of 1080p50. If HDMI input 5 isn't used, you can use the virtual input menu to set the physical input for HDMI input 5 to input 1.

1. Select HDMI input 5.
2. Press "Menu, Input, HDMI Setup, Physical In, 1, Ok".
3. ink HDMI input 5 to an output configuration that is set to an output resolution of 1080p50.
4. When you are done "Save" the new settings.

Best regards,
Randy Freeman

We recently added the virtual input feature to the Radiance. You can use the virtual input on any unused HDMI input as an additional user memory.
For example, you have a satellite box connected to HDMI input 1 that you would like to also link to an output configuration that is set to an output resolution of 1080p50. If HDMI input 5 isn't used, you can use the virtual input menu to set the physical input for HDMI input 5 to input 1.
1. Select HDMI input 5.
2. Press "Menu, Input, HDMI Setup, Physical In, 1, Ok".
3. ink HDMI input 5 to an output configuration that is set to an output resolution of 1080p50.
4. When you are done "Save" the new settings.

There is no configuration for output 1080p50 because all 8 are already defined to be not 1080p50. I don't see how a virtual input can help here.

Increasing the number of output configuration memories would impact the internal data structure, the configuration backup utility and other items. There might be another way to accomplish what you want to do. You could use a macro on a programmable IR remote or RS232 control system to toggle the CMS on/off. This would free up two output configuration memories for a different use. Anything that you can do using the Lumagen remote can be automated by using a macro.

There is a full list of the Lumagen IR and RS232 commands at the end of the Vision FAQ on our website.
http://www.lumagen.com/testindex.php?module=faq_vis

There is also a full list of commands in the back of the Radiance manual.
http://www.lumagen.com/testindex.php?module=manuals

Best regards,
Randy Freeman

Randy,

Perhap Lumagen could add an ALT, X ir command to toggle CMS on and off....

Perhap Lumagen could add an ALT, X ir command to toggle CMS on and off....This would certainly be useful for A-B'ing gamut calibration, as long as it's a smooth change.

This would certainly be useful for A-B'ing gamut calibration, as long as it's a smooth change.

How would this be different from using a memory where gamut is off? The remote has A-D buttons for one button memory switch.

You wouldn't need to use up a memory :)

You wouldn't need to use up a memory :)

Good point. I suppose if you've run out of output configs anyway, you've got none to use with a specific memory.

Maybe Jim could put in a Menu 0xxx direct command.

I can understand toggling the CMS on/off to demonstrate the image improvement with the CMS calibration. But you can already use the menu command to demonstrate this. Is there a reason that you want to have a direct command to turn CMS on/off? We are just trying to understand how this would be used.

Best regards,
Randy Freeman

I can understand toggling the CMS on/off to demonstrate the image improvement with the CMS calibration. But you can already use the menu command to demonstrate this. Is there a reason that you want to have a direct command to turn CMS on/off? We are just trying to understand how this would be used.

Best regards,
Randy Freeman

For quick, direct A/B comparisons. A lot faster and less tedious than going through the menus. A MENU0xxx string (which I don't think exists for this command right now) would be an acceptable alternative, since it could be macro'd into a remote or controller.

Is there a list of Menu Direct commands for the XD?

Is there a list of Menu Direct commands for the XD?

In the manual.

Thanks, but I thought there would several more. The HDP has a very different set of Menu commands, not all of which are documented.

In the manual.I'm not sure it's a complete list Dave.

We recently added the virtual input feature to the Radiance. You can use the virtual input on any unused HDMI input as an additional user memory.

For example, you have a satellite box connected to HDMI input 1 that you would like to also link to an output configuration that is set to an output resolution of 1080p50. If HDMI input 5 isn't used, you can use the virtual input menu to set the physical input for HDMI input 5 to input 1.

1. Select HDMI input 5.
2. Press "Menu, Input, HDMI Setup, Physical In, 1, Ok".
3. ink HDMI input 5 to an output configuration that is set to an output resolution of 1080p50.
4. When you are done "Save" the new settings.

Best regards,
Randy Freeman

If I follow your steps 1 to 4 and create virtual input 5, can I then have the 4 MEMs A to D also to assign to this virtual input 5. They would be different configs than the ones assigned to HDMI input 1

Thasks

Hi Dan,

Yes, you can use the vertual input feature to add four more user memories to an input.

On the Radiance we took the approach of adding more commands to the menu. There are less direct commands because most of these functions are now available in the menu. There are still a few direct commands that are needed such as commands to set the output resolution and factory reset.

Best regards,
Randy Freeman

Add me to the list of peeps waiting for 24p output with 50i,60i input.
Any timeline on when we can expect this feature implemented?

We are presently working on the full implementation of the 1080p24 output on the Radiance. We are expecting this work to take several weeks.

Best regards,
Randy Freeman

Before the AVS server crash I posted a question about SDI-HDMI converters. For the thread's posterity I mentioned I have a SDI'd Denon 2900 I am very happy with. But I want to switch from the HDP to the Radiance and need to deal with that SDI I/O. We talked about using a Oppo with 480i out over HDMI, but I personally preferred to use my Denon, and I am looking to HD-SDI, too.

I spoke to Lumagen and as I suspected a Lumagen brand converter is not actively being pursued at this time. May (probably won't) ever be.

After doing some research I found there appears to be only one converter that has a clean transition from SD-SDI to HDMI (no colorspace, gamma, or scaling happening in the conversion). It's the "BlackMagic" brand converter. AJA's screws with it. The Blackmagic MSRP is pricey, but not horrible (~$495) I mean relative to the $$ for a Radiance . It is supposed to do the YCbCr in, YCbCr out and only change the physical layer (SDI to HDMI), no other conversions, period. Just what a Radiance owner would want.

I will be signing up as a dealer for them tomorrow. For those in a similar situation, I'll be happy to pass along a discount to my AVS customers if they need one. But I don't know what that is yet, or what sales restrictions they have. Their market is broadcast video, not HT so maybe no restrictions. CineSlide customers can have one at my cost plus shipping.

Possible fringe benefit to this converter is it will handle HD-SDI, too. So I can try a HD-SDI'd BluRay box from Member Gary Murrell (see www.custom-ht.com) :). I feel a distinct vaccum coming from somewhere, hmmmm ;)

Best, Scott

Hey Scott, before the server crash you mentioned something about incompatibilities between the getgray disc and oppo players - can you elaborate? I intend to get the disc pretty soon...

Hey Scott, before the server crash you mentioned something about incompatibilities between the getgray disc and oppo players - can you elaborate? I intend to get the disc pretty soon...

I don't want to take this thread too far off-topic about the GetGray calibration DVD (http://www.calibrate.tv), so I answered your question in it's own thread LINKED HERE (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14426057#post14426057). HTH, Scott

During the server crash someone recommended I try some software for control of the Radiance via RS-232 via PC. Could you please repost? Thanks

During the server crash someone recommended I try some software for control of the Radiance via RS-232 via PC. Could you please repost? Thanks

I think I mentioned CQC, but that might be overkill if all you're trying to do is control the Radiance. I think Girder Pro has a serial module as well. Not sure about the learning curve on either of these though.

What exactly are you trying to do? Are we talking everyday control, or is it just to 'work' the XD when doing calibration or initial setup?

Before the AVS server crash I posted a question about SDI-HDMI converters. For the thread's posterity I mentioned I have a SDI'd Denon 2900 I am very happy with. But I want to switch from the HDP to the Radiance and need to deal with that SDI I/O. We talked about using a Oppo with 480i out over HDMI, but I personally preferred to use my Denon, and I am looking to HD-SDI, too.

I am/was in a similar situation, having spent considerable $$ getting a heavily modded Denon 3900 with SDI output among those modifications. It remains my sole area of disatisfaction with Radiance that there is no SDI input - I am not surprised their converter is 'back burnered' and I suspect the PRO version may end up similarly given the increasingly narrow niche market for outboard video processors!

I tried a number of the SDI-to-HDMI converters on the market and was ultimately unhappy with all of them. I gave up and bought the Oppo 980H. Subjectively I am not sure the video through the Oppo via HDMI is quite as good as it was via SDI from the Denon, but it is close enough given that I watch fewer and fewer DVDs these days (just as DVD 'soured' me on lasderdisc, Bluray has done the same for DVD).

I would like to be able to reduce the number of players in my system (for clutter reduction if nothing else) and have been eyeing the market for a new bluray player that can do 'source direct', and while 1080p24 for Bluray is increasingly common, 480i60 for DVD seems to be far less common.

I am/was in a similar situation, having spent considerable $$ getting a heavily modded Denon 3900 with SDI output among those modifications. It remains my sole area of disatisfaction with Radiance that there is no SDI input - I am not surprised their converter is 'back burnered' and I suspect the PRO version may end up similarly given the increasingly narrow niche market for outboard video processors!

I tried a number of the SDI-to-HDMI converters on the market and was ultimately unhappy with all of them. I gave up and bought the Oppo 980H. Subjectively I am not sure the video through the Oppo via HDMI is quite as good as it was via SDI from the Denon, but it is close enough given that I watch fewer and fewer DVDs these days (just as DVD 'soured' me on lasderdisc, Bluray has done the same for DVD).

I would like to be able to reduce the number of players in my system (for clutter reduction if nothing else) and have been eyeing the market for a new bluray player that can do 'source direct', and while 1080p24 for Bluray is increasingly common, 480i60 for DVD seems to be far less common.

contrary to what everyone is saying there is still alot of interest in SD-SDI devices and HD-SDI is starting to take off, I am swamped ;)

both are very important for ultimate PQ and it is disturbing that Lumagen didn't have these inputs on the Radiance, hopefully the pro version will fill that void ;)

I was really close to coming on the forum and saying that the Oppo 980 via 4:2:2 480i was something that was seriously in contention with SDI modified DVD classics like the RP91 etc., but the past week I spent some time with a modified RP91 and a Oppo 980 comparing them with the best SD DVD's out there (original Star Wars rilogy, Cape Fear, James Bond UE) the Oppo just simply can't match the RP91 via SDI, about 6 months back I had taken the RP91 out of my system due to what few SD DVD I watch anymore and need of rack space, after being reminded I now have a SDI modified RP91 back in my rack as of yesterday :p , if you care about SD DVD do not ditch your SDI modified player, SD DVD is still very much enjoyable

-Gary

BTW, my earlier post appears a bit 'cranky'. I am very happy with the Radiance, and Lumagen have achieved a new level in 'consumer interaction and responsiveness' that is refreshing. The SDI issue really is my only area of complaint. Perhaps the Black Magic converter is worth a try!

I think I mentioned CQC, but that might be overkill if all you're trying to do is control the Radiance. I think Girder Pro has a serial module as well. Not sure about the learning curve on either of these though.

What exactly are you trying to do? Are we talking everyday control, or is it just to 'work' the XD when doing calibration or initial setup?

Mainly the latter. The Radiance shares some IR codes with my VP50Pro, so while tweaking, both vp's start doing odd things and it really interferes with everything.

I would like to be able to reduce the number of players in my system (for clutter reduction if nothing else) and have been eyeing the market for a new bluray player that can do 'source direct', and while 1080p24 for Bluray is increasingly common, 480i60 for DVD seems to be far less common.

The new Pioneer Blu Ray player offers source direct output. So one can use 480i/60 and 1080p/24.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1054927

I picked one up from Best Buy to compare to my Panasonic BD30 and OPPO 980. Unfortunately, BB was selling "demo units" =same production hardware, but new production firmware is needed. Pioneer is sending a firmware disc and I'll be able to compare the different units. My son's football practices have prevented me from spending much time in my HT...

I also have a Denon SDI modded unit stored away...and am considering a Blackmagic SDI-HDMI converter. As I do some comparisons, I'll post my amatuer (eye) thoughts here.

I also have a Denon SDI modded unit stored away...and am considering a Blackmagic SDI-HDMI converter. As I do some comparisons, I'll post my amatuer (eye) thoughts here.

Would be interested in your impressions.

I still use my SDI-modded Denon because it also has a useful 3xSPDIF audio mod that gets SACD digitally into my Meridian processor.

I wonder if anyone yet has actual hands-on experience with the Black Magic?

I wonder if anyone yet has actual hands-on experience with the Black Magic?


Here's a thread from Radiance beta forum on hands on impressions

That's in the restricted beta forum... ;)

That's in the restricted beta forum... ;)

ooops...I'll edit out the link.

ooops...I'll edit out the link.

Yes, thanks, I know about it, however, details are somewhat scarce in that thread also.

Randy,

the way it is now the Radiance has less options for output configurations than the Vision series because of the way the gamma/RGB equalizer is tied to an output resolution. With the Vision series, gamma was tied to the A/B/C/D input structure on a per input memory basis and theoretically a Vision HDQ could have had 40 different gamma curves that were independant of the 8 output resolutions. Now we are limited to 8 different curves that are tied to the output resolutions so that when we want to have2 curves for each output resolution we want to use we effectively cut the output resolutions we can use in half.

With users who are using the Radiance in a more sophisticated way (on could also say in the way it is supposed to be compared to more simple video processor designs ;)) this is far from optimal as gamma can vary due to several factors, the most common being different sources and of course different gamma settings dependant on source material and ambient lighting. To arrive at a certain gamma I have at least 3 different gammas for example from my PC, HD-players and my LD-players all for the same output resolutions - this uses up the available memories very fast and due to the before mentioned constraints I have not been able to do this as precise as I did with the Vision series of processors.

So beefing up the output and input memories would be great for these cases, having the RGB Equalizer/gamma on the input side again would be even better.

And I also agree with what has been said here before: The first priority right now should be 1080p24 ouput from 1080i and 480i film based sources. You got it right with the Vision series and this was a big selling point for these, the Radiance should have it, too.

Oliver

I was really close to coming on the forum and saying that the Oppo 980 via 4:2:2 480i was something that was seriously in contention with SDI modified DVD classics like the RP91 etc., but the past week I spent some time with a modified RP91 and a Oppo 980 comparing them with the best SD DVD's out there (original Star Wars rilogy, Cape Fear, James Bond UE) the Oppo just simply can't match the RP91 via SDI, about 6 months back I had taken the RP91 out of my system due to what few SD DVD I watch anymore and need of rack space, after being reminded I now have a SDI modified RP91 back in my rack as of yesterday :p , if you care about SD DVD do not ditch your SDI modified player, SD DVD is still very much enjoyable

-Gary

Gary,

I hate to read that as I have two RP91 that I cannot use anymore because of the lack of SDI inputs on the Radiance and after looking for hours and days for a player with proper 480i output I was about to give the Oppo 980 a try. Can you please elaborate on how these are different ?

Oliver

Gary,

I hate to read that as I have two RP91 that I cannot use anymore because of the lack of SDI inputs on the Radiance and after looking for hours and days for a player with proper 480i output I was about to give the Oppo 980 a try. Can you please elaborate on how these are different ?

Oliver

Oliver to put it simply, the RP91 is cleaner and has less noise and digitalness look to the image, it is hard to describe but cleaner is the word

the Oppo 980 via 4:2:2 480i is the closest to SDI I have seen but it just can't match a good old RP91 or any other player with that decoder and SDI mod

-Gary

Gary, do you think this is down to MPEG decoder differences, or the additional processing in the Oppo path? Given how good the 980 is already, I wonder if Oppo would consider adding a mode to bypass all processing between the MPEG decoder and the HDMI output (e.g. black level, color control, etc.) for the ultimate in performance?

Gary, do you think this is down to MPEG decoder differences, or the additional processing in the Oppo path? Given how good the 980 is already, I wonder if Oppo would consider adding a mode to bypass all processing between the MPEG decoder and the HDMI output (e.g. black level, color control, etc.) for the ultimate in performance?

can't really say, I have compared Oppo players with SDI to the 980 as well, the difference was not as large but still there, so I think IMHO it is SDI AND decoder performance in the RP91, this Panny decoder is in the RP81, RP91, XP30, XP50, CP72, Denon 1600 and Yamaha CX1/S2300/C950

I have a Yamaha CX1 and it is the ultimate SDI image I have seen along with the S2300, the build, shielding and power supplys in these babies are unreal :eek:

-Gary

Thanks. I forgot that SDI modded Oppo player are quite "common".

I'm wondering if anyone would be able to tell the difference in a double blind test...

(Ok so that's a loaded question. I think the answer is a resounding "NO". People, if you have a Radiance or are thinking of getting one, trust me the 980's hdmi output combined with the XD's best-in-the-industry upscaling is going to make you very, very happy... sdi, shmsdi.)

I should state that I have the Radiance and Oppo 980 combo and the results - for DVD - are simply superb; better than any other projected DVD image that *I* have seen.

I'm wondering if anyone would be able to tell the difference in a double blind test...


that doesn't mean one or the other is better, looking at test patterns will most of the time show a difference, the 980 and a scaler of this quality will make anyone happy but there is better out there ;)

-Gary

I watch movies, not test patterns.

Randy,

the way it is now the Radiance has less options for output configurations than the Vision series because of the way the gamma/RGB equalizer is tied to an output resolution. With the Vision series, gamma was tied to the A/B/C/D input structure on a per input memory basis and theoretically a Vision HDQ could have had 40 different gamma curves that were independent of the 8 output resolutions. Now we are limited to 8 different curves that are tied to the output resolutions so that when we want to have2 curves for each output resolution we want to use we effectively cut the output resolutions we can use in half.

With users who are using the Radiance in a more sophisticated way (on could also say in the way it is supposed to be compared to more simple video processor designs ;)) this is far from optimal as gamma can vary due to several factors, the most common being different sources and of course different gamma settings dependant on source material and ambient lighting. To arrive at a certain gamma I have at least 3 different gammas for example from my PC, HD-players and my LD-players all for the same output resolutions - this uses up the available memories very fast and due to the before mentioned constraints I have not been able to do this as precise as I did with the Vision series of processors.


Oliver

Presently the menu buttons on the remote are used for Menu navigation, Zoom, and Aspect ratio. We are looking at adding selectable functions to the arrow buttons on the remote. You would have a number of features that could be assigned to the arrow buttons such as Menu only, Zoom, Aspect ratio, Vertical shift, Gamma factor, Audio delay, or Gamut on/off". This would give you a simple way to increase or decrease the gamma factor without using a memory. Would this change meet your needs?

Best regards,
Randy Freeman

I'm wondering if anyone would be able to tell the difference in a double blind test...

(Ok so that's a loaded question. I think the answer is a resounding "NO". People, if you have a Radiance or are thinking of getting one, trust me the 980's hdmi output combined with the XD's best-in-the-industry upscaling is going to make you very, very happy... sdi, shmsdi.)Scaling is not really the issue. It's not even the deinterlacing. The great value of the Radiance are its image adjustment features, the ability to calibrate gamma, grayscale, and the color gamut. Implementing these features is really what can make a huge difference to the image quality. Using these, it would be quite easy to pass a double blind test.

Presently the menu buttons on the remote are used for Menu navigation, Zoom, and Aspect ratio. We are looking at adding selectable functions to the arrow buttons on the remote. You would have a number of features that could be assigned to the arrow buttons such as Menu only, Zoom, Aspect ratio, Vertical shift, Gamma factor, Audio delay, or Gamut on/off". This would give you a simple way to increase or decrease the gamma factor without using a memory. Would this change meet your needs?

Best regards,
Randy Freeman


Randy,

these user selectable functions will be a welcome fuctionality - you guys rule !

Regarding the gamma factor: This is not the whole story as I usually prefer to add a little bit of luma finetuning on top of that adjustment, pretty much all projectors need that for a smmoth gamma curve, something that I cannot toggle on/off.

Ideally I would prefer to be able to set gamma per input and then to have the gamma factor adjustability on top of it for different lighting situations and different program material.

You see it is hard to give up some niceties provided by the Vision series :)

Regards

Oliver

I watch movies, not test patterns.
But Test patterns are so fun to watch, more fun than commercials even. :p

I have a Panasonic TH50PZ700U. I have been unable to get closed captioning to work on this TV using the Radiance XD. Directly connecting the source signal works fine. Any suggestions?

Presently the menu buttons on the remote are used for Menu navigation, Zoom, and Aspect ratio. We are looking at adding selectable functions to the arrow buttons on the remote. You would have a number of features that could be assigned to the arrow buttons such as Menu only, Zoom, Aspect ratio, Vertical shift, Gamma factor, Audio delay, or Gamut on/off". This would give you a simple way to increase or decrease the gamma factor without using a memory. Would this change meet your needs?

Best regards,
Randy Freeman

Presumably this sort of functionality will also be, if not already, available via RS232?

Mark

I watch movies, not test patterns.

that comment makes no sense to me at all, if test patterns show a difference it translates to movies as well, simple logic :confused:

why use test patterns to calibrate and makes adjustments?, just use movies next time ;)

-Gary

that comment makes no sense to me at all, if test patterns show a difference it translates to movies as well, simple logic :confused:It's not 'simple logic' in fact it's patently false/misleading. Even if they do translate, the real question is can you see them? My RS1 is installed so that I have to use a fair amount of vertical lens shift. Unfortunately, this introduces misconvergence with respect to the red grid. This is very much visible (and cringe inducing) on a horizontal white lines pattern (one on, one off). You can see a 1/4 to a 1/2 shift of the red grid. Is it visible on real world material? Absolutely not. The resulting picture is as 3D and lifelike as they come. I'm wowed each and every time I sit down and watch a movie.

why use test patterns to calibrate and makes adjustments?, just use movies next time ;)OF COURSE you have to use movies and real world material during calibration on top of patterns. D'uh. Gamma adjustment is the prime candidate for that.

You keep on talking about improvements of sdi over hdmi, but never qualify them. The only screenshots you've ever shown are ones that have been debunked, so to speak, because the comparison pictures were from the 970, which has a buggy 480i hdmi output.

Furthermore, as Tom H. points out, a bunch of other factors are much more important and will improve picture quality by a factor of magnitude when compared to whatever theoretical (and, as far as I'm concerned, close to non-existing) improvement sdi would bring to the table, like fully correctable gamut and 11-point (soon to be 21) adjustable grayscale/gamma . That's where anyone who truly cares about picture quality will direct their energy.

Oliver to put it simply, the RP91 is cleaner and has less noise and digitalness look to the image, it is hard to describe but cleaner is the word

the Oppo 980 via 4:2:2 480i is the closest to SDI I have seen but it just can't match a good old RP91 or any other player with that decoder and SDI mod

-Gary

Gary,

thanks, that is something I have thought about quite a bit and I have decided to have a look for myself. I have an HDLeeza that I can use to compare the two and that is what I will do in a week or two. I will have more peace of mind knowing what I am or what I am not missing :)

Oliver

...11-point (soon to be 21) adjustable grayscale/gamma
Are you just speculating here, or did they actually say that 21-point will be released soon?

Are you just speculating here, or did they actually say that 21-point will be released soon?

It's been planned from the beginning (unless it's been scratched, but I haven't heard if it has... and I do stay on top of this :)). "Soon" probably wasn't the right word to use. I don't think there is a time frame on it. But it's coming... eventually.

I bought a radiance XD a couple months ago. I'm using it to scale Apple TV to my 720p projector and manage different aspect ratios primarily. I haven't gotten into any setup / color settings yet.

the problem I'm having is that I'm not getting any DD5.1 audio into my lexicon MC-1 processor - just Dolby digital.

My source is HDMI from the apple TV. I get the same problem from an HDMI standalone DVD player.

Is this scaler not capable of passing digital audio from HDMI source? If it is, any help on why it's not?

(I've verified that the source file has DD5.1 audio, BTW)

the problem I'm having is that I'm not getting any DD5.1 audio into my lexicon MC-1 processor - just Dolby digital.

I'm not sure what you mean by DD5.1 and dolby digital - to me they're the same thing. The XD can pass PCM sound, from 2 to 5 channel, and also Dolby Digital and dts as bitstream (the formats used on DVD).

You'll have to be more specific - what format exactly are you trying to pass? How is the MC-1 plugged into the XD - coax or hdmi?

When watching NTSC, I should set HDMI input type to RGB-VIDEO? And with PAL, I should set to RGB-PC?

What should output HDMI level be set to for each of these? Should it be matched or can I leave it at RGB-PC?

How about HD-DVD and BD?

When watching NTSC, I should set HDMI input type to RGB-PC? And with PAL, I should set to RGB-FULL?

What should output HDMI level be set to for each of these? Should it be matched or can I leave it at RGB-FULL?

How about HD-DVD and BD?

PC and FULL are the same thing. Do you mean VIDEO and PC? (Sometimes called Normal and Enhanced - talk about a misnomer!)

Input should almost always be set to Video, unless the source is... a PC.

I think some players (the PS3 for example) will let you output full RGB, but that should be avoided, since it messes with the original signal (BD and HD DVD material, just like DVD, is encoded using video standards - that's Video, aka Normal levels).

I'm not sure this also applies to PAL material, but I would bet that it does. I would just set everything to Video.

It's not 'simple logic' in fact it's patently false/misleading. Even if they do translate, the real question is can you see them? My RS1 is installed so that I have to use a fair amount of vertical lens shift. Unfortunately, this introduces misconvergence with respect to the red grid. This is very much visible (and cringe inducing) on a horizontal white lines pattern (one on, one off). You can see a 1/4 to a 1/2 shift of the red grid. Is it visible on real world material? Absolutely not. The resulting picture is as 3D and lifelike as they come. I'm wowed each and every time I sit down and watch a movie.

OF COURSE you have to use movies and real world material during calibration on top of patterns. D'uh. Gamma adjustment is the prime candidate for that.

You keep on talking about improvements of sdi over hdmi, but never qualify them. The only screenshots you've ever shown are ones that have been debunked, so to speak, because the comparison pictures were from the 970, which has a buggy 480i hdmi output.

Furthermore, as Tom H. points out, a bunch of other factors are much more important and will improve picture quality by a factor of magnitude when compared to whatever theoretical (and, as far as I'm concerned, close to non-existing) improvement sdi would bring to the table, like fully correctable gamut and 11-point (soon to be 21) adjustable grayscale/gamma . That's where anyone who truly cares about picture quality will direct their energy.

It's kind of funny, I was about to weigh in on this debate and then realized that I actually haven't watched a DVD on 'the big rig' for over 6 months - it's been all Bluray. So, perhaps I'll just stick to not using my Oppo 980 instead of buying yet another SDI-to-HDMI adapter that I also won't use :). I guess it's all a moot point (or a 'mute' point so many on the forum insist on saying :D).

PC and FULL are the same thing. Do you mean VIDEO and PC? (Sometimes called Normal and Enhanced - talk about a misnomer!)

Input should almost always be set to Video, unless the source is... a PC.

I think some players (the PS3 for example) will let you output full RGB, but that should be avoided, since it messes with the original signal (BD and HD DVD material, just like DVD, is encoded using video standards - that's Video, aka Normal levels).

I'm not sure this also applies to PAL material, but I would bet that it does. I would just set everything to Video.
Woops, that's what I meant. So everything set to Video on input, except for things like Xbox360 and PS3 should be set to PC/Full?

What should output be set to? Set to match the input, or can I just leave it on Full?

Woops, that's what I meant. So everything set to Video on input, except for things like Xbox360 and PS3 should be set to PC/Full?

What should output be set to? Set to match the input, or can I just leave it on Full?

No, even the Xbox and the PS3 (especially the PS3) should be set to Video. You *could* set them to PC if you make sure to output 'Enhanced' hdmi, an option that can be fond in the settings of either console. But that's not recommended.

Output should also be matched to what your display is set up to, and again, Video is typical and the recommended setting.

No, even the Xbox and the PS3 (especially the PS3) should be set to Video. You *could* set them to PC if you make sure to output 'Enhanced' hdmi, an option that can be fond in the settings of either console. But that's not recommended.
Do you mind explaining why this is not recommended? Thanks.

Thanks for doing the FAQ work!!!

Does this already work, or is there another way to get NLS to work stretching a 4:3 image that is encoded as 16:9 with the black bars built in? (i.e. SD broadcasts on a HD station)

Has this question been answered? If so, please point me to it. Thanks.

Do you mind explaining why this is not recommended? Thanks.

Because you're introducing a conversion from Video levels to PC, at least in the case of the PS3 reading BR discs (or the X-Box reading DVDs or HD DVDs).

I'm not sure what happens when the consoles are used for playing games, I imagine that internally they use the full RGB range, and then the console converts from full (PC) to Video. Now if you set the console to output PC, one of two things might happen; the console converts back from Video to PC, -or- the console bypasses the conversion to Video in the first place.

Or maybe the games work within the video range to begin with. Honestly, I don't know and wish someone would chime in. All I know is that Video being the standard range, that's what I use for everything. If I'm losing out while playing games, I can't tell (the restricted Video range for colors is not nearly as big a deal as it sounds on paper).

Everything should be set for video levels inc PAL material, unless its a PC/HTPC as mentioned, on the input or you are using a PC related connection eg. VGA or DVI on the display (some monitors require 0-255 PC input levels with these connections).

It's always best to use a greyscale ramp to check for correct Video/PC setting, that the range is correct and with no clipping!

HTH.

RGB should never have compressed levels. It should be full-range 100% of the time no matter what. Anything that does not behave that way is bugged.

RGB should never have compressed levels. It should be full-range 100% of the time no matter what. Anything that does not behave that way is bugged.

Setting hdmi on Video does not 'compress' the levels. It just uses a different range (16-235 instead of 0-255). That's the way ALL material is encoded on dvd, br, etc. Are you saying those formats are 'bugged'? :rolleyes:

I am going to get a stand-alone blu-ray player.
I would like the get a cheap one, but when I read some reviews, there are many players that produce jaggies converting 1080P/24 to 1080P/60.
Apparently, the cheap ones convert to 1080i/60 then to 1080P/60. That sounds like a bad idea.

Can the Radiance accept a 1080P/24 source and convert it to the native rate of my panel 1366x768/60?

If it can, then all I need is a player that can act as a transport and hopefully just pass the signal in its native rate and has bitstream audio out.

Any suggestions?

- Rich

Setting hdmi on Video does not 'compress' the levels. It just uses a different range (16-235 instead of 0-255). That's the way ALL material is encoded on dvd, br, etc. Are you saying those formats are 'bugged'? :rolleyes:

Those are all encoded in YUV. The levels for YUV for TV are typically compressed, yes compressed, from 0-255 to 16-235. Meaning the conversion is Y = 16 + Y*220/256, etc.

The standard of doing that does not and should not be applied to RGB.

Those are all encoded in YUV. The levels for YUV for TV are typically compressed, yes compressed, from 0-255 to 16-235. Meaning the conversion is Y = 16 + Y*220/256, etc.

The standard of doing that does not and should not be applied to RGB.

Really? From Chris Wiggles' FAQ (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=494606):

Video from DVDs or other digital sources, follows Studio RGB standards which encodes reference black at level 16, and nominal reference white at level 235. Outside these bounds is the footroom and headroom that contain blacker-than-black(BTB) and peak white data. Footroom and headroom is necessary for the best possible video reproduction for the reasons discussed briefly in background section 1

Emphasis mine.

DVDs, digital broadcasts, HD DVD and Blu-Ray are all usually encoded in YCbCr 4:2:0 with video levels. If you convert this to full range RGB you're clipping head and toe room (WTW & BTB). So it is not recommended to do that. Instead IIRC DVD players, sat receivers and HD DVD and Blu-Ray players usually output YCbCr or RGB with video levels. That's also what most TVs expect by default.

Really? From Chris Wiggles' FAQ (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=494606):



Emphasis mine.

Chris is wrong. That standard is for YUV. You are supposed to convert full-range RGB to compressed levels when you convert the colorspace to YUV for broadcasting/burning to disc.

Darn. That would mean my calibration DVD (http://www.calibrate.tv) is wrong, and so are DVE Pro, Avia Pro, Greg Rogers and all the pros that assisted with my DVD's development. We all encode "black" as RGB 16,16,16, white as 235,235,235. Perhaps is is a symantics issue or some other misunderstanding.

Did anyone notice tbrunet don a disguise ;) :D Just kidding...

Darn. That would mean my calibration DVD (http://www.calibrate.tv) is wrong, and so are DVE Pro, Avia Pro, Greg Rogers and all the pros that assisted with my DVD's development. We all encode "black" as RGB 16,16,16, white as 235,235,235. Perhaps is is a symantics issue or some other misunderstanding.

Did anyone notice tbrunet don a disguise ;) :D Just kidding...

DVD is not in and does not support RGB format. You are not interpreting correctly.

You are encoding black as the YUV equivalent of RGB(16,16,16), etc. But if the actual colorspace were RGB, black would be RGB(0,0,0).

As a side-note, it is good for Lumagen to offer the selection but any source that sends compressed levels with the RGB colorspace is doing it wrong.

What does switching from RGB to component do to a calibration (technically)? What parameters does it effect?

I kind of remembered there was Video RGB and PC RGB. Wiki turned this up:

Typically, RGB for digital video is not full range. Instead, video RGB uses a convention with scaling and offsets such that (16, 16, 16) is black, (235, 235, 235) is white, etc. For example, these scalings and offsets are used for the digital RGB definition in the CCIR 601 standard.



Does this apply to what we are talking about?

DVD is not in and does not support RGB format. You are not interpreting correctly.

You are encoding black as the YUV equivalent of RGB(16,16,16), etc. But if the actual colorspace were RGB, black would be RGB(0,0,0).

As a side-note, it is good for Lumagen to offer the selection but any source that sends compressed levels with the RGB colorspace is doing it wrong.

YUV must be converted to RGB. You can convert it to linear RGB, or to studio RGB. If you want to do it right, you convert it to studio RGB. See Chris Wiggles' FAQ, who is definitely NOT wrong.

My last post on the topic. Don't listen to this guy - keep your inputs and outputs matched to video level hdmi. Jeez.

What does switching from RGB to component do to a calibration (technically)? What parameters does it effect?

I'm not sure I understand the question. RGB is a format, component is physical type of output. Do you RGB to YCbCr? What do you mean by switching? The XD only has hdmi outputs.

RGB and Component are both formats.

The Radiance can alter it's digital output from RGB to Component digital formats and that is what The Bland is asking about.

I guess the issue with calibrating for one output type then swapping to another is that somewhere in the display another colourspace conversion may take place that could cause errors. So it's best to check what happens if you do change anything after a calibration.

I'm not sure what you mean by DD5.1 and dolby digital - to me they're the same thing. The XD can pass PCM sound, from 2 to 5 channel, and also Dolby Digital and dts as bitstream (the formats used on DVD).

You'll have to be more specific - what format exactly are you trying to pass? How is the MC-1 plugged into the XD - coax or hdmi?

I'm getting only dolby pro logic, not any 5.1/DD.

The MC-1 does not have any HDMI inputs, just coax and optical. Right now I've got it hooked to the Radiance via coax and cannot get any DD signal to register.

Very frustrating to spend all this money trying to upgrade my system and then timewarping back to 1990 audio technology!

I'm getting only dolby pro logic, not any 5.1/DD.

The MC-1 does not have any HDMI inputs, just coax and optical. Right now I've got it hooked to the Radiance via coax and cannot get any DD signal to register.

Very frustrating to spend all this money trying to upgrade my system and then timewarping back to 1990 audio technology!

I suggest you post your problem on the Lumagen site's users forum. You will certainly get a solution there. In the interim, have you checked the audio input EDIDs to make sure the formats you want to use are turned on as well as the outputs you want to use?

I'm getting only dolby pro logic, not any 5.1/DD.

The MC-1 does not have any HDMI inputs, just coax and optical. Right now I've got it hooked to the Radiance via coax and cannot get any DD signal to register.

Very frustrating to spend all this money trying to upgrade my system and then timewarping back to 1990 audio technology!

Well, SPDIF is 1990 technology...;). Time to get HDMI. This is what the Radiance is built for as a primary focus.

There has been a lot of trouble with the SPDIF. Your best bet is to bypass the Lumagen and SPDIF straight to your pre/pro. This is what I do as well (I own a Radiance). My DVD and D-VHS all send coax audio directly to my pre/pro.

Better yet, get a receiver / pre-pro with HDMI. The Lumagen is passing that and soon with HDMI 1.3 upgrade, you'll be able to bitstream the lossless codecs without issue.

No schedule yet for the RadianceXS. I will say we have yet to design the circuit board for the RadianceXS - although the RadianceXE circuit board is ready to order what we believe is the production revision of the board. Once we have tested the RadianceXE production board, we will spin the board for the RadianceXS.

Sorry but that is as specific as I can get.

Thanks for the interest.

Wondering if the pricing of RadianceXS will be closer to Denon DVP-602CI or closer to DVDO Edge/GefenTV Scaler Pro.

You are encoding black as the YUV equivalent of RGB(16,16,16), etc. But if the actual colorspace were RGB, black would be RGB(0,0,0).

As a side-note, it is good for Lumagen to offer the selection but any source that sends compressed levels with the RGB colorspace is doing it wrong.No, that is wrong. Conversions between YCbCr and RGB (or visa versa) should always be done whenever possible using the same digital range. Converting from the 16-235 YCbCr (or RGB) video range (235 is reference white) to the 0-255 RGB PC range will introduce non-linearity errors, and of course clip video values that exceed 235. (Digital video values are permitted to occasionally exceed the 235 reference white level.) Conversions in the reverse direction will also introduce non-linearity errors so digital 0-255 RGB PC coding should be avoided whenever digital YCbCr video is ultimately required (since there is no standard 0-255 PC range for YCbCr formats). Of course the same considerations apply when working with 10-bit video as well.

Because of these important video quality considerations, SMPTE 274M (1080i and 1080p formats) and SMPTE 296M (720p formats) are totally clear that RGB digital video is to be coded using the 16-235 8-bit range (or 64 to 940 10-bit range, or 256-3760 12-bit range) for black to reference white. Also see EIA-CEA-861 which specifies 16-235 (black to reference white) coding for all digital RGB video formats, but 0-255 for the VGA PC format (no other PC formats are included in that standard). The HDMI standard incorporates this EIA-CEA-861 standard.

(We also include the option of using digital RGB PC levels for all video formats in the AccuPel generators for compatibility with PC monitors, old presentation projectors, and old video processors that didn't adhere to digital video standards, and PC output boards that don't provide digital video levels.)

The 8-bit conversion formula you gave earlier (Y = 16 + Y*220/256) is also wrong. It is 16 + 219 * L/256 for L = 0 to 256, not 16 + 220 * L/256. Of course you round the result to the nearest integer.

I think several people have had this problem, but I haven't seen a solution. When my directv HR22 DVR switches resolution the audio cuts out. Rebooting the RadianceXD fixes the audio. I've heard others say that switching inputs or pulling the HDMI link also restores the audio.

Anybody have a solution?

Thanks,
Pingwax

I think several people have had this problem, but I haven't seen a solution. When my directv HR22 DVR switches resolution the audio cuts out. Rebooting the RadianceXD fixes the audio. I've heard others say that switching inputs or pulling the HDMI link also restores the audio.

Anybody have a solution?

Thanks,
Pingwax

I haven't had that problem with an SA 8300HD but do occasionally have both an audio and video sync issue when going from STB 480i to 720p. I go back to the 480i station and then try the 720p again. That always fixes it. Changing inputs will also fix it but not always the 1st time.

I think several people have had this problem, but I haven't seen a solution. When my directv HR22 DVR switches resolution the audio cuts out. Rebooting the RadianceXD fixes the audio. I've heard others say that switching inputs or pulling the HDMI link also restores the audio.

Anybody have a solution?You're seeing this with recent versions of the Radiance fimrware?

I had this exact problem for a long time with (in particular) the TiVo Series 3 in "native" mode, i.e. HDMI audio was always lost when the source changed resolution. But the problem vanished with one of the software updates a few months ago. Now audio is lost for only a few seconds after a resolution change, and it always returns.

I'm beginning to think I may have some sort of hardware problem. Updating FW seems to be hit and miss for me. Some versions work, but most don't. It's becoming a real pain in the ass to try the latest one, find out it doesn't work for me, then reload the last known working version.

Any thoughts as to what may cause this sort of behaviour?

You're seeing this with recent versions of the Radiance fimrware?

I had this exact problem for a long time with (in particular) the TiVo Series 3 in "native" mode, i.e. HDMI audio was always lost when the source changed resolution. But the problem vanished with one of the software updates a few months ago. Now audio is lost for only a few seconds after a resolution change, and it always returns.

Which software version was this?

I notice this when BD menus play and then it switched to the main movie or right off the bat when the disc is played.

I have had issues with losing all audio with some audio on some BD discs. Occasionally, just the center and rears cut out. I use HDMI2 out for audio. I send multichannel LPCM. I decided to route my audio to my surround processor first as it was exasperating not knowing if I'd have an issue everytime i'd fire up.

I'm confident Lumagen will fix it, but it is an issue..

Has anyone noticed any increased audio issues with the latest software?

Has anyone noticed any increased audio issues with the latest software? In a word, yes, but I'm not certain how repeatable/sever the issue is going to be.

I just posted this on the the Lumagen Beta forum, but having it here as well may be useful:

"I just upgraded to the 072608 release version of the firmware yesterday (previous version was 061508). Last night I was watching a DD 5.1 movie and I heard a hiss for about one second and then the sound quit altogether. I put the Radiance into standby and back to on and the sound came back on. I reversed back to the same movie scene and no issue occurred on the 2nd playback.

The DVD player is a Sony 777 changer, connected to the Radiance via component video and coax audio. The Radiance feeds coax audio to my PrePro.

I'll keep an eye (?ear?) on this as I haven't experiences any audio issues to date besides the one last night."

What have you guys found to be the most stable software (audio-wise)?

I'm beginning to think I may have some sort of hardware problem. Updating FW seems to be hit and miss for me. Some versions work, but most don't. It's becoming a real pain in the ass to try the latest one, find out it doesn't work for me, then reload the last known working version.

Any thoughts as to what may cause this sort of behaviour?

I have never had a problem updating the firmware. However, I do remember a few problems being posted in the beta forum. Make sure you disconnect all inputs to the Radiance before updating or at least any that might have some kind of active signal. Also, an early instruction was to set the transfer speed to no higher than 28k. Hope this helps.

Just to let everyone know that has CalMAN v3 we just released v3.11 which has much better RadianceXD support.

We now support automation control for:
Reference Patterns
Adjustable Patterns
Grayscale patterns in 5% increments, window and full field
Color patterns in 5% increments, window and full field
RGB gating

Just to let everyone know that has CalMAN v3 we just released v3.11 which has much better RadianceXD support.

We now support automation control for:
Reference Patterns
Adjustable Patterns
Grayscale patterns in 5% increments, window and full field
Color patterns in 5% increments, window and full field
RGB gating

Just to let everyone know that has CalMAN v3 we just released v3.11 which has much better RadianceXD support.
Awesome! Perfect timing, was going to do my greyscale again tomorrow night, this will make it much easier. Thanks Derek!

By default CalMAN starts up with Reference pattern. To switch to Adjustable patterns or back to Reference patterns see "Additional Test Patterns" within a calibration session for the toggles.

Just to let everyone know that has CalMAN v3 we just released v3.11 which has much better RadianceXD support.

We now support automation control for:
Reference Patterns
Adjustable Patterns
Grayscale patterns in 5% increments, window and full field
Color patterns in 5% increments, window and full field
RGB gating

If I buy Calman and a sensor... Can I hook it up to my Radiance, go have a glass of wine and come back to a perfect calibration?

If I buy Calman and a sensor... Can I hook it up to my Radiance, go have a glass of wine and come back to a perfect calibration?

Someday but not currently.

What we provide is all the automation to display the correct pattern and then take a reading and so on for a full grayscale run which is typically 11 patterns or even 21, same with gamut which is White RGBCMY plus white at 100%. So you could take a few sips of wine while the runs happen but at the end you as the human still need to decide what to do to fix any problem areas. We do provide extensive documentation and interactive help as to what to look for and how to correct it. We are also the only calibration package to have a Gamut Luminance chart and a build in color calculator so that in itself takes a lot of the guess work out of advanced CMS work.

Derek, where do I find the color calculator?

Just to let everyone know that has CalMAN v3 we just released v3.11 which has much better RadianceXD support.

We now support automation control for:
Reference Patterns
Adjustable Patterns
Grayscale patterns in 5% increments, window and full field
Color patterns in 5% increments, window and full field
RGB gating

That is so cool! Thanks for letting us know. The timing is good because I was going to load calman on my Theater's PC next week.

Very cool stuff.

Just had my first Radiance caused audio glitch last night. At least turning the machine off and then on fixed it.

I need to get the latest build too. It has been a while.

I'm beginning to think I may have some sort of hardware problem. Updating FW seems to be hit and miss for me. Some versions work, but most don't. It's becoming a real pain in the ass to try the latest one, find out it doesn't work for me, then reload the last known working version.

Any thoughts as to what may cause this sort of behaviour?Hardware issues certainly should not be ruled out as a possible cause. You should talk to Lumagen support about the issue if you aren't already.

I was having mysterious and inconsistent issues myself with HDMI audio, and finally at Lumagen's suggestion I shipped the unit to them. I forget the details but it turned out to be something that was preventing proper application of updates. They paid for shipping both ways and turned it around in a matter of days. (Yet another example of their superior customer service and support.)

Derek, where do I find the color calculator?

Use the "Gamut with Luminance" layout from the "Example Calibration Layouts" is has the calculator in the upper right corner with all the data filled in based on your choice of white point target, gamma formula, target gamma and 100% white reading. It will update it self if you make any changes to any of your choices or your 100% level changes.

Very cool stuff.

Just had my first Radiance caused audio glitch last night. At least turning the machine off and then on fixed it.

I need to get the latest build too. It has been a while.

Describe your glitch?

Well the glitch was kinda weird.
I have my PS3 hooked up via HDMI.
I loaded Rock Band and the main menu switched over fine, but when it went to go to Dolby Digital, all that came out was crazy noise.

So I thought it was the PS3 so I reset it and had the same results.
I put the Radiance in standby mode and then back on and voila, the audio was fine.

Hey do any of you guys use NLS with a HE anamorphic lens.
I decided that for non-critical 16:9 content, I will just keep the lens in place and use NLS to fill my scope screen.

Anybody else do this?

If so, what NLS settings did you use?

Hey do any of you guys use NLS with a HE anamorphic lens.
I decided that for non-critical 16:9 content, I will just keep the lens in place and use NLS to fill my scope screen.

Anybody else do this?

If so, what NLS settings did you use?

I tried it watching football. Looked too weird, tried the whole range of the NLS.

I tried it watching football. Looked too weird, tried the whole range of the NLS.

I don't think I would use it for sports. I was watching from the basement and some of the settings were pretty good. Every once in a while there was some noticeable weird stretchyness on the sides.

On another note, I was talking to Jim this morning. When PIP/POP gets enabled, we should be able to get a nice side-by-side on a 2.35 screen.

Any news on the Pro model from CEDIA?

Any news on the Pro model from CEDIA?

Did not ask. From earlier communications, I think the XE is to start testing at the end of this month. I would think that the Pro version is a long ways out.

On another note, I was talking to Jim this morning. When PIP/POP gets enabled, we should be able to get a nice side-by-side on a 2.35 screen.

I presume a 4:3 side by side then? Did he elaborate on that feature?

I'm not sure what i would use it for.

I presume a 4:3 side by side then? Did he elaborate on that feature?

I'm not sure what i would use it for.

Not necessarily 4:3, I think it could be anything. There would be downscaling involved, which would actually be performed by the Gennum. My only use would be watching 2 separate football games. I would have to hook up a second DirecTV box which would be a pain, but worth it.

OK. I see. I guess they would have some mechanism for switching from one audio source to the other. I guess I could see myself using the functionality if I was casually watching something on dish network while surfing the web on the PC at the same time.

That could be cool.

Any news on the Pro model from CEDIA?All information thus far from Lumagen would suggest 12 to 18 months minimum for the Pro (which I'm pretty sure is still a drawing board concept).

Is there any word about the 1.3 update for the Radiance XD?

- Rich

We should have a couple RadianceXE (HDMI 1.3) beta boards available by the end of October. We expect to have RadianceXE production units available in Q1 2009.

We will be running the RadianceXE beta program through the end of the year and will, depending on demand, only have boards available for RadianceXD customers. All current RadianceXD customers will have the opportunity to upgrade to a RadianceXE for $1000. This offer is only available direct from Lumagen. We will be posting more details on the upgrade offer next month.

Best regards,
Randy Freeman

Randy, what's involved with the upgrade?

When you say beta boards, are you saying that the production boards will be different?

THIS IS THE OLD 'PRERELEASE' VERSION OF THE FAQ. THE NEW VERSION IS ON THE FRONT PAGE, THIS VERSION IS STORED HERE FOR REFERENCE.

This FAQ will be updated on a regular basis. Currently the Radiance isn't released so the FAQ's address expected functionality. After the release, I hope to make it into a user's/tweaker's guide. New (since last update) questions or questions with revised content are highlighted in red.

***

I have been following the Radiance XD thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=723537) since it started, and some questions tend to pop up repeatedly. So I thought it would be nice to gather all the useful info in a central place without having to wade through 40+ pages :)

Caveat: I don't work for Lumagen, hence the 'unofficial' in the title. Disclaimer: I do own a beta unit, but that doesn't mean I have insider knowledge - the following I just gathered from the thread mentioned above, but since Lumagen folks (users "jrp" and "RandyFreeman") participate regularly, the info should be pretty reliable. Don't hold me to it though.

Feedback/help/love or hate mail: PM me.

What's the RadianceXD? (updated 01/31/08)
The new video processor from Lumagen. Note that there is no space, it's a single word: "RadianceXD". The thread title has a typo!

What does 'XD' stand for, if anything? (new 01/31/08)
X stands for eXtreme video (performance wise) and D stands for Dual outputs.

Who's Lumagen?
From their website (http://www.lumagen.com):Lumagen is a privately held video systems product company that was founded in September of 2001. We are headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon where we beaver away at equipping home theaters with the technology to make movies jump off the screen. Lumagen provides solutions for video switching, calibration, plus deinterlacing and scaling. Together these allow knowledgeable integrators and enthusiasts to provide the best quality and most accurate video images for their home theater installations.

Specs? (updated 2/2/08)
(The following is from the official Radiance XD brochure (http://www.lumagen.com/docs/RadianceBrochure051607_hires.pdf))
Inputs/outputs:
18 video inputs: 6 HDMI (SD/HD), 4 Component (SD/HD), 4 SVideo and 4 Composite
18 audio inputs: 6 HDMI, 4 stereo (analog), 2 optical and 6 COAX
Outputs: two HDMI video outputs, two coax audio outputs

Key features:

10-bit processing
Proprietary Lumagen “no-ring” scaling
Each input has 4 user configuration memories
Each memory has 8 resolution submemories
2:2, 3:2 and 3:3 pull-down for SD/HD film sources
Per-pixel SD/HD video de-interlacing
Adaptive diagonal filtering
MPEG mosquito and block artifact reduction
Temporal noise reduction for SD/HD sources
Output resolution from 480p to 1080p, plus 1080i
User programmable non-linear-stretch (NLS) mode
4:3, LBOX, 16:9, 1.85, 2.35 and NLS input aspect ratios
Programmable output aspect ratio from 1.33 to 2.35
Extensive support for anamorphic lenses
Automatic detection for NTSC, PAL and SECAM
Extensive suite of test patterns
Parametric grayscale calibration
Parametric Gamma calibration
Programmable input/output color-space
Y/C-delay calibration
User-adjustable image enhancement
CUE and ICP filtering
Eight channel audio at 96 kHz
Two 12-volt trigger outputs
IR and RS232 control
LVTTL IR format command input
Universal power supply
Optional external SDI to HDMI converter
Optional external HDMI to analog converter
Optional ears for rack mounting ($49 - available directly from Lumagen)

Note that the specs listed in the first post of the XD thread are incorrect; they have changed ever since it was announced. (It lists 5 HDMI and 2 component inputs, for example.)

Sounds nice. What else? (updated 10/1/07)
The Radiance XD uses the VXP GF9450 (http://www.gennum.com/video/functions/ip.php), the current flagship image processor from Gennum. By all accounts, the GF9450's deinterlacing, noise reduction, and mpeg artifact reduction abilities are top notch. They better be, because that's all the chip is being used for. The rest of the processing (scaling) and the calibration features are handled by Lumagen. (Note that jrp stated that "deinterlacing and noise reduction" is done by Gennum and the rest by Lumagen, but I'm going out on a limb here and assume that MPEG Block Artifact Reduction, a.k.a. BAR, is done in the Gennum chip as well.)

Also, not listed above is PIP (picture-in-picture) functionality. The PIP window should be selectable from any of the inputs. This could be used to check security cameras, for example. Some have requested multiple PIP windows, but according to Lumagen the XD's architecture simply won't allow it.

HDMI outputs only? This is not going to work with my CRT projector.
An external HDMI to RGBVH box (with BNC connectors) is planned. However according to jrp it will not work with hdcp encrypted sources, the hdcp license preventing this. It will use the same digital/analog converter as the one found in the Vision series of processors. As with most post-release add-ons related to the Radiance, there is no time frame or known price yet. Note that hdmi input cards (with hdcp support) are available for most models of crt projectors these days.

What's this 'no ring' scaling thing about?
Upscaling tends to introduce so-called 'ringing' artifacts, that look like halos (comparable to some extent to edge enhancement (http://www.videophile.info/Guide_EE/Page_01.htm) artifacts). Lumagen uses a proprietary upscaling algorithm which is widely recognized as the best in the industry. Here are some comparison pics. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=11473155#post11473155) The Radiance algorithm has been improved from the version found in the Vision processors.

Can I still use the Gennum scaling?
At some point jrp indicated they might make this an option, but I don't think this would be a high priority on their to do list, seeing how their scaling is universally considered superior. In other words: why would you want to do that?

What about SDI/HD-SDI inputs? (updated 12/20/07)
There are none on the XD, but its potential high end brethren (dubbed the 'RadiancePro') will have them. That's the plan anyway. If you really want an SDI input, Lumagen will release an HD-SDI->HDMI external input box, as mentioned above. (Yes, HD-SDI, not SDI - the HD flavor accepts SDI signals though). There is no schedule for it at this point, but retail price has been set to $599. Note that AJA is already making such a device. Link (http://www.aja.com/html/products_converters_HI5.html). You can find it online for less $500. I think I read somewhere that this device cannot do 480i passthrough, it will be converted to 480p. So that would defeat the XD's deinterlacing unit, not an ideal solution.

The RadiancePro? Tell me more! (updated 12/20/07)
Don't hold your breath. Lumagen is finishing the XD first, and will in fact do the XD 1.3 (see two questions down) before doing the Pro. That would put the Pro more or less in 3rd quarter of '08 (beta version). There are no specs at this point, besides two HD-SDI inputs. A possible feature Jim mentioned is the ability to have different resolutions on each output. Note that although the Pro is definitely in the plans for Lumagen, it is not yet certain that it will see the light of day. It could be scrapped if for example Lumagen realizes that the market is too small to support enough sales to offset development costs. At this point in time though, it seems more likely than not.

All my equipment is black. The XD's silver is going to stand out. Can I have it in black? (updated 10/06/07)
You'll be able to get the Radiance with an optional black faceplate. It'll set you back $200 though. See this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=11832632#post11832632) for links to a couple of pictures by member RichB. Purty. Also, see Phil's pics toward the bottom of the FAQ.

Does it have HDMI 1.3? (updated 12/20/07)
No. The 6 hdm inputs and 2 outputs are of the 1.1 variety. Lumagen announced from the beginning that they would be upgradable to 1.3, but a confusing wording led most to believe that this would be a simple (and somewhat inexpensive) swap - it won't be, as Jim has indicated that it will require swapping the main motherboard as well. Lumagen has realized (a bit too late if you ask me) that the market simply demands 1.3, whether it's needed or not (according to Jim , mostly not, and I tend to agree, but this is an entirely different FAQ (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=789994) altogether). Having come to this realization, a 1.3 version of the XD will be in the works shortly. Owners of the current (1.1) version will be able to upgrade via a Lumagen-sponsored program, whose price point should be announced shortly. It will require sending the unit back to them, though, as the swapping of the inputs, outputs, and motherboard can obviously not be done by the owner. To keep the upgrade cost reasonable, Lumagen will resell the 1.1 innards in a new case at a reduced price. Stay tuned.

Upgradeability is cool though - anything else?
Yes. The inside of the XD consists 3 main boards; the Gennum (deinterlacing, NR, BAR), the Lumagen FPGA (scaling, calibration), and the audio/misc board. Each of these can be replaced independently. (Lumagen has not stated whether these would be 'field upgradeable' (meaning they send the replacement card and you swap it yourself) or if the unit would need to get shipped back to them for replacement.) This is of course no guarantee that the XD is 100% future proof - a few AVS'ers have pointed out that "upgradeability" has been used time and again as a marketing tool by various electronics companies, with no follow through to speak of - just because the parts are replaceable doesn't mean they will get replaced. Hopefully Lumagen will have a better track record on this.

Price?
MSRP is $3999. Preorder price is lower, at least it was when I preordered. Contact AVS for more info.

Not cheap. (new 9/24/07)
What part of "preorder price is lower" don't you get? (Seriously: call AVS while you still can.) Anyhow, on top of the XD and the Pro, Lumagen is also planning a RadianceXS - that would be the 'light' (aka cheaper) version of the XD.

The RadianceXS? Tell me more! (updated 11/03/07)
No official announcement has been made, however Lumagen has been 'thinking about it.' Here is what we know so far:
Fewer inputs: 4 HDMI, 2 component, 2 composite, 2 SVideo, 6 Coax and 2 Optical (S/PDIF)
Fewer outputs: 1 HDMI, 1 Coax S/PDIF
No Pip/Pop support
Picture quality will be the same as the XD
Standard color will be black, a silver option will be considered
Casing will probably be 1U (XD is 2U, this refers to the height of the unit)
Only one HDMI receiver (the XD has one per HDMI input, allowing it to keep each input 'alive' even if you switch to another one)
Feature set will be reduced compared to the XD

What we don't know: the price, and the time frame. (Don't hold your breath - in all likelihood, it'll be a while.)

I don't live in the US. Local Lumagen distributors are charging an arm and a leg for the XD - much more than the equivalent of US$4000, despite the currently weak dollar! What can I do? (updated 11/20/07)
First, note that the above isn't necessarily true in any and all countries outside the US. CALL YOUR LOCAL DEALER and find out for yourself. Chances are, you will not get the equivalent to the US price, but it might not be so bad. Besides, the premium that non-US dealers are asking often covers extra service and support; they might help you set it up, or maybe even provide you with ISF calibration. That said, sometimes the price asked simply isn't reasonable, and the dealer won't move. What to do? Unfortunately, US dealers are not supposed to sell outside the US. But some will. Another solution would be to have a person in the US buy one for you and ship it to your country of residence. As a last resort, try contacting Lumagen directly and explain your situation. No guarantee here, but they will at least listen and have been known to be helpful.

Is there a trade-in program?
Yes. You will get 33% of your current Lumagen unit's MSRP. It is recommended that you try to sell it yourself, as you will likely get more than this.

Is there a competitive trade-in program?
I'll quote Jim Peterson on this one: "We do not have an official program. However, I am happy to discuss specific cases if you give me a call (503-574-2211) or email me at support@lumagen.com"

Ok, that all sounds great - when does it come out?
When it's ready.

No, seriously. When is it coming out? (updated 01/08/0)
Well, let's see. I got on the preorder list mid March, and according to Jason Turk (AVS) at the time, Lumagen was aiming for an April release. This has been pushed back ever since (to Summer, then late Summer, etc). Note however that Lumagen never committed to a firm date. When asked recently, they said: "We still need to implement a few more important features in the software before the Radiance will officially be in production. Sorry that I don't have an exact date for production, but it's not too far away." (9/13/07) When asked even more recently, they said: "Since CEDIA we have been shooting for a Q4 production release. (...) Still might make it." (10/17/07). Clearly that did not happen.

Hmm, okay, so where are we now? (new 12/20/07)
February'08 is the latest announced (again, not official) release time frame, but it doesn't look too likely either. The last few weeks of 2007 were spent chasing bugs, and currently the team is hard at work on the CMS features. There have been some back and forth about the best way to implement some of its features; I will not pretend to understand the arguments being discussed, as they are highly technical in nature and I am just starting to learn the basics of calibration. I will say this however; "getting it right" is indubitably what is driving the development, NOT "getting it out the door as soon as possible."

But I want it now!
Get a beta unit. You can get them from AVS or directly from Lumagen. Contact either for more information.

Beta he? Well... (updated 10/26/07)
It's a bit of a misnomer. Only the software is beta - the hardware itself is production hardware, e.g., final. It used to be that you had to sign a NDA, but not anymore as of 10/25/07.

So what is the software in? If it's beta, should I expect a lot of missing features or some unstability? (updated 05/13/07)
No. All planned 'for release' features are in (see list below). In any case, the XD has been usable and stable for quite a while now. Of course, bugs are being fixed as they are discovered and reported.
Input selection for video
Input aspect ratio selection (except NLS)
Input memories (A, B, C, D)
Input Zoom
Input sub-resolution memory auto-selection
Input sizing (a.k.a. input cropping)
Input level (i.e. Video or PC)
Black-level, Contrast
Input color-space selection (i.e. ITU-Bt.601 or ITU-Bt.709)
Color, Hue, plus Color/Hue offsets
Output resolution (only the defaults for now)
Output vertical rate (50 or 59.94 only)
Output Aspect ratio
Output level (i.e. video or PC)
Input sub-memories can refer to different output configurations
Auto-select NTSC at 60 and PAL at 50 using different output configurations
HDMI video EDID configuration
HDMI audio EDID configuration
Some context sensitive help
Set pillar-box, side-bar, and letter-box top-bar, level
Save the setup to flash memory
Audio switching for HDMI audio in to HDMI audio out
Ability to configure output 2 as audio only
Audio switching for COAX/TOS in, and stereo in, to SPDIF out or HDMI out.
HDMI input audio in formats compatible with SPDIF can be output on COAX SPDIF out.
Menu commands to associate an audio input with the selected video input.
Primary gamut control
Trigger output control
Front-panel LED action control
Grayscale/Gamma (11 point parametric. Note: 21 point comes later)
Test Patterns (more to come later)
Adjust video while viewing test patterns
Output support for 8-bit 4:4:4 and 12-bit 4:2:2 (YCbCr).
Output dither for 4:2:2 format to 8-bit or 10-bit resolution
Input 7 to 10 type select (YPbPr, RGBcvS)
Image enhancement controls
Video input pipeline with source switching and format conversion
No-ring scaling engine and output data path
Improved pipeline precision versus the Vision series (with more to come)
Improved down-scaling versus the Vision series (with more to come)
Faster video switching versus the Vision series (with more to come)
All HDMI inputs remain active (including HDCP) when not selected
EDID supports 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 HDMI video input modes
Vision series style RS232 commands
List-based selection of output resolutions
Pixel accurate output-timing programmability
24p, 24sF, 48p output support for 24p input
Copy input memory
Linear gamma for color-gamut control
Copy output configuration
Label input memory
Non-linear-Stretch (NLS) for 4:3 sources on a 16:9 screen
Input 7 to 10 type select (add RGBHV, RGBS, RGsB)
Undo save command
Single adjustment control for gamma (in addition to 11-point gamma)
Non-linear stretch (NLS) for 4:3 sources on a 16:9 screen
Scale bias: can turn off scaling in x, or y, or both if input & output resolutions match.
Output blanking left/right/top/bottom. Called masking in Menu

If all planned 'for release' features are implemented, why isn't the XD officially released then? (new 05/13/08)
I believe a few last bugs are being fixed, and some precision improvements are being made to the pipeline. Official release should be very, very soon.

Are there features planned for after release? (updated 05/13/08)
Yes. Quite a few actually. Here is a list, and Lumagen is continually adding and reprioritizing this list based on user feedback.
Improve 1080i output resolution
Virtual input (Use 1 physical input but select as any one of several input numbers)
PiP
Input sub-memory format select (resolution, rate, and interlace)
Y/C delay (luma to chroma delay error correction)
CUE filter (to fix chroma up-sample error)
Output sync polarity
Scale 240p as progressive input
Genlock
Lower latency “game mode” (Approx 4 mS)
Near zero latency “pass-through” mode.
Additional improvements in pipeline precision
Additional improvements in downscaling
Additional Test Patterns
PoP
24p, 24sF, 48p output support for interlaced input
Configure Zoom step-size
Grayscale/Gamma (21 point parametric)
Additional context sensitive help
Ability to configure output 2 as digital pass-through
Horizontal pass-through (with other processing available)
Vertical pass-through (with other processing available)
Auto input aspect selection for HDMI inputs
Fast image shift up/down for 2.35 material
Non-linear-Stretch (NLS) for 16:9 sources on a 2.35 screen
Upload/download configuration to/from PC
Programmable audio delay
Additional RS232 command/status

Also, possibly - but after the above has been done:
Interpret and report audio stream info on screen
Add eight additional output configurations
Auto input size (i.e. crop) to current active source image size
But wait, there's more! Hmmm no, wait, that's it for now. But remember that Lumagen has a history of providing updates to its products well beyond their original release date. These updates include not only bug fixes (obviously) but new features as well. Jim Peterson has stated that the XD will be Lumagen's flagship processor for the foreseeable future, so here's hoping to improvements aplenty.

Can you tell me exactly what the 'image enhancement controls' do? (updated 2/29/08)
The Gennum image enhancement controls are:
- 2D/3D noise reduction
- Mosquito noise reduction
- Block artifact reduction
- Edge enhancement
- Dynamic contrast enhancement

Some screenshot examples can be found here (http://www.sigmadesigns.com/public/Products/GF9450/pdf_files/GF9450_br.pdf), however the linked document being from Gennum itself, I'd take it with a grain of salt. That said it will give you a concrete idea of what these controls are supposed to do. In the document, I'm not sure if 'detail enhancement' corresponds to a feature implemented in the XD (the sharpness control perhaps?). Also, remember that Lumagen's scaling has a built-in mosquito noise reduction algorithm, so the Gennum noise reduction controls should be applied accordingly. (I will experiment a bit with these and report back - my first impression is that they will be mostly useful for bad/heavily compressed sources such as... drum roll... cable. Yeah, you didn't see that one coming did ya.)


What about blending? (new 10/21/07)
Blending, from the moment it was suggested, was always on the 'maybe'-list. Lately, it seems it's moved on the 'probably not'-list. In Jim's words: "At this point we are thinking this will be a feature for the RadiancePro. There is some chance we might add it to the RadianceXD, but at this point there are no plans to do so."

Ok - I just got a beta unit. Can I get access to the beta user forum? (updated 11/14/07)
You sure can. First register on the Lumagen User Forum (http://www.convergent-av.co.uk/forum/). Then you need to contact your dealer/distributor, who in turn should email convergentav at btinternet dot com. The email should contain your name and forum user name (with confirmation that you have acquired a unit of course), so the admin can give you access. If you got the unit from AVS, you can email support@lumagen.com directly with your name and user name, and they will forward the request on your behalf. (You can bypass AVS here because units ordered from AVS are in fact shipped directly from Lumagen.)

Can you tell me more about the audio delay feature? Correct lip sync is important to me. (updated 9/24/07)
As mentioned above, there will be an audio delay feature. You will be able to configure it per input resolution (not just per input - see question about memories configuration below), and it will work regardless of the ouput (hdmi or coax). You will also be able to adjust the delay on the fly (with the remote) if a particular movie/program is misbehaving. The audio delay feature is not planned for release, but will be available in a subsequent firmware update. The reason for this is that it has been deemed a low priority enhancement - jrp has stated that many beta users have simply set the delay to 0 ms - the XD simply is that fast, and a delay isn't necessary.

What are the 'game' and 'passthrough' modes mentioned above? (updated 11/17/07)
If you intend to connect video game consoles to the XD, low latency modes will be available. This is planned for after production release. Normal mode with Genlock: 20mS approx - uses Gennum for processing so all features are available.
Genlocked game mode: 4 mS approx - bypasses Gennum. Calibrating and scaling features are available, but not the Gennum image enhancements.
Pass-through: 0.01 mS - calibration features are available. No scaling or image enhancement.
Note that 20ms is just a bit more than one frame's time (or exactly one frame in PAL/50Hz).

What do we know about the audio features - besides that they were hard to implement? (new 10/17/07)
Any audio input (analog, coax, optical, hdmi) can be associated with any video input AND directed to any of the audio outputs (one or both hdmi , and/or coax - yes, simultaneously if desired). Furthermore, the XD offers extremely flexible audio EDID control (EDID is the identification data that allows components to publicize what video resolutions/audio formats they're capable of - this works only with hdmi of course). Basically, any of the outputs' EDID, or a user-made one, can be passed back to any of the sources. Also, note that video EDID can be passed back from the other output than the one used for audio.

Can you direct different inputs on each of the outputs?
No. The way it works is that you choose one input, and direct it to one, or both outputs. However you can replace the video signal in the second output with a blank 720p signal if you are using that output for audio to a receiver or preamp.

Is the manual available online? (updated 01/09/08)
Yes. Get it here (http://www.lumagen.com/testindex.php?module=manuals).

I see discussions about input and output memories/configuration. I don't get it, and it looks like I'm not the only one. (updated 9/24/07)
I'll give it a try, but see also the question about the CMS. The Radiance has 4 configuration memories per (physical) input: they are named MEMA, MEMB, MEMC, and MEMD. To each of these you can assign input specific settings to correct for source problems. Each MEMA/B/C/D holds 8 input resolution sub-memories, one for each of the following resolutions:
480i/p60
576i/p50
720p60
1080i50
1080i60
1080p24
1080p60
Other
Each of these hold picture settings as well, such as output resolution and refresh rate.The 'Other' is a catch-all that the Radiance falls back on when it can't match on any of the other 7 resolutions. So when you are feeding say 1080i60 through a particular input, you can select from one of 4 memory settings for it. With me so far?

I'm not sure. I don't see the point of all this. Can't you just set the output to the native resolution of your display and be done with it? (updated 9/24/07)
Well first of all the native resolution doesn't tell us anything about the refresh rates the display accepts. For example, if your shiny new LCD accepts 24p, that's probably what you want to feed it to avoid motion judder (in theory anyway) if you're getting 24p in. The configuration abilities above will have the Radiance switch automatically from say 1080p60 to 1080p24 if the source material calls for it. Also, even with the same source, different resolution inputs might result in wildly different output adjustments being needed, the typical example being a cable box with SD and HD channels. So there definitely won't be a one-size-fits-all output configuration for your display.

Ok, I get it now, but why do I need 4 memories per input? (new 9/24/07)
This is useful in a number of situations. If you have an anamorphic lens for example, you would probably use one MEM for when the lens is on, another for when it's off. Or, if your room isn't a batcave, you might want to setup different configurations for different times of the day depending on the ambient light. In any case, whatever your situation is, chances are the XD's got you covered.

Right, right. Sounds good. Any other configuration memory details I should know about? (new 9/24/07)
Why yes! First of all, the input resolution sub-memories can be reprogrammed to catch different resolutions. Jrp gave the example of 720p24, an Apple HD format. The 'Other' (8th) sub-memory cannot be reprogrammed, as a 'catch-all' is needed. Also, the SD inputs (composite, s-video), only have two resolution sub-memories for each of their 4 memories (480i/p60 and 576i/p50).

Any other unique feature(s)?
When it comes out, the Radiance XD will be the only consumer grade video processor to offer a full CMS (color management system). It will allow for correcting 'out of specs' colors on certain display devices that may need it and don't offer the necessary controls - the notorious example du jour would be the JVC RS1.

Can you tell me more about the CMS?
I have no details on the specifics of the user interface, but you will be able to control gamut (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamut), grayscale (http://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/calibrate-your-system/grayscale-calibration-of-home-theater-televisions), gamma (http://www.photoscientia.co.uk/Gamma.htm), and color/hue (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hue). Gamut, grayscale and gamma settings are associated with output configurations, while color and hue settings are set per input. Additionally, contrast and brightness settings can be set per input resolution sub-memory (see the question about memories above).

That sounds pretty complex.
This system is meant to direct calibration settings where they are needed. For example, contrast and brightness settings can be set per input resolution so the same cable feed can be set up differently for SD and HD channels. On the other hand, gamut correction makes sense for your display device. And so on.

Is a CMS that useful? (updated 01/08/08)
User sfogg has started experimenting with the first version of the CMS that was just added to the software. You can see before/after shots there (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=11959947#post11959947) and in subsequent posts. As you can see, the XD tones down the RS1's infamous oversaturation - the result may or may not be to your liking, in fact some users prefer the saturated colors, but others say that once you go 'correct' you cannot go back. In any case, the use of the CMS will not be limited to the RS1 of course, and should allow for precise calibration of most displays. Doing a CMS 'right' is not trivial, and if Lumagen pulls it off this will be a big differentiator between the XD and its competition. I will add this; I have started to experiment with the grayscale calibration (http://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/calibrate-your-system/grayscale-calibration-of-home-theater-televisions) feature (grayscale is the second most important aspect of a calibration right after brightness and contrast setup.) The results are not subtle - in a good way. And I didn't even try very hard.

Ok. It all sounds fantastic, but how does it perform? Is there any feedback from the beta testers yet? Any screenshots? (updated 01/28/08)
As of 10/25/07 the NDA for beta users has been lifted, so users can comment on all aspects of the XD's functionality (issues related to beta testing are still to be discussed on the closed Lumagen forum). No earth shaking revelations, as the NDA had been lifted previously for video features, and a few reports came out at the time - I took the liberty of highlighting a couple cool/interesting things:
User VirusKiller: "I'm using a Radiance with a JVC HD1 (RS1). Sources are Oppo HD970 (DVD), Toshiba HD-XA1 (HD DVD), Sony PS3 (Blu-Ray), and a SkyHD satellite receiver (here in the UK). All connections are via HDMI. The deinterlacing from the latest Gennum chip is pretty much beyond reproach. My comment covers deinterlacing of 480i60 film, 576i50 video and film, 1080i60 film, and 1080i50 video. Lumagen's NoRing scaling is quite exceptional. I haven't seen it in the Vision series, but one other Radiance Beta user privately commented to me early on that the Radiance's scaling is "at least as good" as his HDQ. No doubt it will get even better as the algorithms are refined. In short, the image from vanilla DVD is the best I have seen, bar none. To put this into context, I have previously seen Faroudja 2310 (Philips 963SA SDI --> Crystalio I --> Panasonic AE900), Gennum 9351 (Oppo HD970 and Meridian G98 480/576p HDMI --> JVC HD1), and Meridian (G98 --> JVC HD1 and 800 --> DVP1080 --> MF1) scaling solutions. Take a good disc such as Star Wars Ep. IV and it really "approaches" HD. Certainly, it is exceptionally filmic with minimal artifacting. In fact, almost all artifacting I've seen is due to excessive edge-enhancement in the source material. Obviously, the Radiance has much less to do with full HD signals. Nevertheless, images from HD DVD, Blu-Ray, and HD satellite look appropriately stunning. HD sport is quite wonderful on the big screen – recent football (soccer!) matches on the BBC, for instance. Planet Earth in HD on Sky is quite breathtaking. Scaling of SD satellite is better than my old SDI-modded sat receiver into the Crystalio. Bit-rate is most definitely a significant factor in the final image quality. For reasons I cannot comment on at this time, I expect the quality of OTA broadcasts to improve considerably before the production release. The Radiance is a lot more usable than I thought it would be. It's a very fast machine and very pleasant to use. The menus take a little getting used to if you are new to Lumagen, but quite logical IMO. I have to comment about the whole Beta process. Quite simply, it's been a pleasure. Jim and his team are very open about things and very quick to respond to issues. As it should be IMO. I purchased a Beta unit very early on. I wanted the best quality, a certain minimum feature set, excellent customer service, and a large degree of future-proofing. I have not been disappointed so far. Negatives? In terms of video quality and Beta customer experience, erm, none. In terms of things I can't comment on, nothing of significance. Really."
User Eitzel, commenting on the above: "I have to whole-heartedly agree with the above and the images from the Radiance are awesome."
VirusKiller was asked: "What does the Radiance bring to the table for HD-DVD and BR compared to the HD1's internal processing (from HD-DVD's 1080i60 and PS3's 1080p24)? (Gamut control not counting since not available so far)." And he replied: "In terms of purely displaying the 1920x1080 pixels on a 16:9 screen, I would say not much for 1080p24 source inputs. If all you are interested in is film, then a 1080p24 HD DVD player and a 1080p24 Blu-Ray player should work very well with the HD1. This will be true for most people. However, 24fps genlock for 1080i60 film sources is an important feature that is not in the HD1. You might say that future HD DVD players will output 1080p24, but if you're a purist it's a little more subtle than that. For video material on HD DVD or Blu-Ray you would want to set the player's output to 1080i60 rather than 1080p24 so that proper video deinterlacing can be performed. If the player does not allow conditional output (i.e. 1080i60 for video and 1080p24 for film) then you would need to use 1080i60 all of the time and genlock would be important. Other features (apart from the CMS) would be vertical stretch for CIH systems, not to mention sophisticated independent display and source calibration, and A/V switching and transcoding."
User sfogg: "As said the deinterlacing of the Radiance appears to be top notch. No worries about jaggies or anything like that with video material. The newer menu structure of the Radiance is nice as it keeps the same efficient tree design of the earlier units but is easier to understand for someone new to the Lumagen as it doesn't have all the abbreviations. The new input memory design of the Radiance is very very nice. This lets you really tweak sources that output multiple resolutions such as the PS3 and so on so that you can fix framing, output different resolutions or refresh rates automatically based on input resolution/rate and so on. Also handy for dealing with the weird levels of the PS3 for example by setting 1080i/p24/60 inputs for Video Levels with 720p for PC. Can of course do things like that with the A/B/C/D input memories as well. One feature I'm surprised more haven't made comment on is that all the HDMI inputs on the Radiance are active at all times. It keeps HDCP connections up even when an input is not the selected input. This will make things like BR/HD-DVD comparisons much easier as the players won't stop when you change inputs."
Myself: (See the whole post/thread there (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=985051).) "We put in "Live Free or Die Hard" (BR) in the PS3. We settled on an early scene in the movie, where McLane pulls a guy out of a car and starts arguing with his daughter. In this scene the point of view moves around the car and at some point focuses on McLane and the other guy. They are behind the car, and the background is filled with buildings. We paused right there, and started to switch between the XD and the D2. The problem here is that it wasn't a quick switch (Wayne was behind the rack rearranging the connections), making it difficult to do a real A/B, but after a few times back and forth, the differences between the two became clear. The silhouettes of McLane and the guy were noticeably sharper with the XD than the D2. In fact with the XD they were very distinct from the background, whereas they tended to blend in with the D2. The XD gave the scene a much more '3D' look which was also apparent when playing (not just pausing). And that's with a pretty noisy source material! (And out-of-the-box settings for the XD.)"


What about build quality? (new 12/20/07)
Glad you asked! Here's a full account by Phil, a.k.a. escon. Enjoy!

--
This is a brief look at the innards of the XD. Ever the engineer, the first thing I did after I received mine was to have a look inside it. Below are some shots of it with full permission from Lumagen BTW. It will be a couple of weeks before I get the chance to fully integrate it into my system - many new components are to go in at the same time. Luckily, my display's native resolution of 768p (768 x 1280) is already supported, so I should get a good feel in how it compares to my DVDO VP50.

http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/8416/frontviewcroppedhl3.jpg

The XD design is focused on having a sleek uncluttered look – just the two “eyes” on the left side of the front faceplate are the only indication that there is a connection with the outside world. The left eye (multicolour LED) serves as the Status indicator; changing colour depending on the state the XD is in. The one next to it is the IR sensor. The unit you see here has the optional Black Faceplate – the standard is a Silver one. I much prefer the black myself – I think it gives the unit a much classier look – but, each to his own. If you specify a Black faceplate at the time you place the order, rather than exchanging it for the standard Silver one at a later date, there is only a minimal surcharge.

http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/4666/reavviewcroppednp0.jpg

http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/7653/insideangledxu0.jpg

The inside of the XD is beautifully “crafted”. The Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) show no late/last minute changes to the design and it looks like it is a fully mature product, true to Lumagen’s claims. As has been discussed extensively in the Lumagen RadianceXD thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=723537), you can clearly see that the I/O is contained on the main PCB. If an upgrade to HDMI 1.3 is ever required, this board will have to be swapped over for an updated one. Note that each of the six HDMI 1.1 Input connectors and of course each of the two HDMI output connectors has its own dedicated chipset. This allows continuous HDCP connection/connectivity, even if the inputs are switched, leading to rapid source switching.

The whole of the XD remains uncannily cool. Barely warm to the touch for both the unit and the external power supply. I measured just 18 watts of total power consumption. It would be an absolute no brainer to squeeze the whole innards of the XD into a 1U high box as far as heat build up/dissipation is concerned.

As an alternative to an HDMI 1.3 upgrade, maybe some time in the not too distant future, an external converter box that converts the new HD/BD audio signals into multi channel PCM which the HDMI 1.1 inputs can handle without any problems, could be another way to upgrade the one or two HDMI inputs that need it. (Dave's note: this is pretty unlikely now that a new version of the XD with hdmi 1.3 is planned.)

Another way not requiring any additional external or internal hardware is to have the AVR in front of the XD so that the Audio is pulled out with the Video signal being passed onto the XD for processing.

Another variant is to just have the HD/BD player directly go into the AVR whilst still connecting the remainder of your sources into the XD first. The HDMI output of the AVR goes back into the XD before being passed onto the display after in has processed it to your liking. See this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12462119#post12462119) for details.

Lastly, yet another variant on the above is to connect all your sources into your AVR and have the XD change its internal settings as you switch sources - a macro would set your AVR as well as a "virtual" input on the one HDMI input on the XD.

There are clearly many ways to get around not having HDMI 1.3 input ports. I was a strong sceptic at first and was going to wait and see if Lumagen would be bringing out an HDMI 1.3 upgrade (sooner rather than later). But I was convinced after all the discussions on this topic in the Lumagen Radiance XD thread that it was really not such a big drawback in having HDMI 1.1 ports.

The Gennum VP can clearly be seen to be on its own daughter board and as Lumagen has said, this can be upgraded to a new board should a later/better version of the Gennum VP come out at a later date. The top most piggyback board carries all of the Audio I/O connectors, analog as well as digital, but with very little circuitry contained associated with it. It also carries the POWER IN and the RS232 FW upgrade/control connectors as well as the Lens Trigger signals.
--

All right, I know this was overdue, and rather than waiting to finish the entire new version of the FAQ, I figured I'd post what I have and add to it as I go. Sorry it's not going any faster, I have a day job and also spend a fair amount of time enjoying my setup built around the XD :).

I have preserved the latest version of the old FAQ for reference, see previous post (it is linked in the first post too).

Upcoming topics: no ring scaling mini review, what's all the fuss about this CMS thing anyway (with comparison pictures!), what makes the XD so flexible (this one is about the memory/configs), what's the best DVD player to use with the XD (and on a related topic, why you don't need SDI), semi-obscure but cool XD features, upcoming features and updates.

If you have a topic to suggest, don't hesitate (here on by PM). However keep in mind that none of the topics covered in this FAQ will be too technical - that is reserved for a different FAQ/thread, where I will get into detail about setting up and using the XD, especially the more delicate parts like overall setup, the CMS workflow, the audio setup, driving two different displays, etc...

Enjoy!

It'll be like the beta on XD. The hardware should remao the same but there are going to be slight software differences that will need to be tested before production status is called I'd guess

Will 1.3 be the only difference in XE?

Also, I don't suppose Lumagen has a competitive trade-in program like DVDO?

(Note that jrp stated that "deinterlacing and noise reduction" is done by Gennum and the rest by Lumagen, but I'm going out on a limb here and assume that MPEG Block Artifact Reduction, a.k.a. BAR, is done in the Gennum chip as well.)

Blocks are considered noise as well. Noise is deviation from the correct/original signal and SNR (and PSNR) is applicable to compression just as much as it is to transmission.

Will 1.3 be the only difference in XE?
AFAIK, yes.

Also, I don't suppose Lumagen has a competitive trade-in program like DVDO?
When the beta program was going on, they said to call them to discuss this on a case by case basis. However they're not handling sales of the XD anymore, so my guess is no. I would still call them, the worst that can happen is they say no.

The main difference in the new RadianceXE is the HDMI 1.3 receiver and transmitter chips on the main board. Because the pin-out of these chips is different we had to re-layout the board.

We no longer take competitive trade-ins because every potential customer for that program sold their used video processor on-line. There is a very active market for used video processors. It should be easy to sell your used video processor and then purchase a new Radiance video processor from Lumagen.

Best regards,
Randy Freeman

Hi Randy, reason I ask is my current XD has a faulty mainboard. I was going to swap it for a replacement, but perhaps I can swap it and pay for the 1.3 board instead if it will be final hardware.

Hi Randy, reason I ask is my current XD has a faulty mainboard. I was going to swap it for a replacement, but perhaps I can swap it and pay for the 1.3 board instead if it will be final hardware.

What's wrong with your current board?

Hi Geno,

It might make sense for you to upgrade to the new RadianceXE board. Please send an email to support@lumagen.com so that we can explore this option.

Best regards,
Randy Freeman

What's wrong with your current board?
Problem with the flash ROM. I posted earlier how only some FW versions work while others do not.

Thanks Randy - I will be waiting to upgrade to the XE board, I believe Jim fowarded an email for me to that address.

A question about trigger:

Is there any way to power-on the lumagen automatically when i turn on the A/V?

I see at the backpanel that there are two trigger outputs but I need trigger input instead. Correct?



P.S. Sorry if this question has been answered before, I moved recently to Lumagen's camp, so it is too difficult to read almost 3K posts....

"Is there any way to power-on the lumagen automatically when i turn on the A/V?"

What receiver or pre-pro do you have? Does it have RS232 on it?

If it does my UT (http://switch-box.com/Universal_Translator.html) can be used to turn on/off the Lumagen along with your receiver/pre-pro. It will also automatically switch the Lumagen's inputs in response to you picking inputs on the receiver/pre-pro. And if you happen to have a Lexicon or Meridian you can get your processors front panel display up as an On screen display through the Lumagen.

Shawn

A question about trigger:

Is there any way to power-on the lumagen automatically when i turn on the A/V?

I see at the backpanel that there are two trigger outputs but I need trigger input instead. Correct?



P.S. Sorry if this question has been answered before, I moved recently to Lumagen's camp, so it is too difficult to read almost 3K posts....

You're correct, the triggers are outgoing only. There is no way to automatically turn on the XD save for an external automation system like Shawn describes. However most people leave the XD on all the time. I do, even though I could automate it; the reason is, the boot sequence takes a few seconds during which no commands are acknowleged during , so you have to write macros to take the boot sequence into account. A bit of a pain. Leaving the XD on consumes almost no energy and solves that issue.

"the boot sequence takes a few seconds during which no commands are acknowleged during , so you have to write macros to take the boot sequence into account. A bit of a pain."

Lumagen should make input change commands automatically turn on the unit if it is in standby. That would take care of this.

Shawn

You're correct, the triggers are outgoing only. There is no way to automatically turn on the XD save for an external automation system like Shawn describes. However most people leave the XD on all the time. I do, even though I could automate it; the reason is, the boot sequence takes a few seconds during which no commands are acknowleged during , so you have to write macros to take the boot sequence into account. A bit of a pain. Leaving the XD on consumes almost no energy and solves that issue.

Almost no energy, IMO, is 1 watt or less. Do you make that grade?

I have my VP50 on a triggered power strip and the bootup time is FAR less than my projector or most RPTVs.

Almost no energy, IMO, is 1 watt or less. Do you make that grade?
I don't know. I know that the XD is meant to stay on, and that Lumagen was careful about idle consumption.

I have my VP50 on a triggered power strip and the bootup time is FAR less than my projector or most RPTVs.
It's not the boot time so much as the fact that it doesn't take in commands during that time.

If the Radiance is in standby the commands that you send, via RS232, after you send the "on" command are buffered. The Radiance will respond to the commands that you send, after the "On" command, but it might take a few seconds.

The Radiance takes about five seconds to boot up after you apply AC power. Durring this time it can't accept any RS232 commands. You can program a delay into most control systems so you don't send commands to the Radiance during this time.

Best regards,
Randy Freeman

Thanks all of you for your reply.

Although I do believe you that "XD is meant to stay on...." I'm a bit worried because the local power supply network is very unstable...

Anyhow, strange absense for such a device. Especially when you have many units on the chain, I think it is very practical having Auto-Power on (e.x. by detecting input signal from the source).

Maybe we can see this feature at future firmware rev. ;-)

Thanks all of you for your reply.

Although I do believe you that "XD is meant to stay on...." I'm a bit worried because the local power supply network is very unstable...

Anyhow, strange absense for such a device. Especially when you have many units on the chain, I think it is very practical having Auto-Power on (e.x. by detecting input signal from the source).

Maybe we can see this feature at future firmware rev. ;-)

But any kind of auto sense means the unit is not really off, doesn't it now? I don't think it would be doing much less work than it is right now when it's on with no signal. Maybe more, in fact, if it has to constantly scan for inputs.

Think about it.

Hi,
got my Radiance yersterday and starting to figure out setting up this fantastic device. Two short questions :

How do I have to configure the radiance to pass the frequence of the Input signal ( 24,50,60 Hz)? I set the output to config 3 and and now it displays everything @ 1920x1080p @ 60 Hz...

Does the device has any functions to get automaticly to stand-by when all devices are turned off and get back to life if it`s needed?
(I see this question is discussed above)

Thank you for your help

"Auto input switching" and "auto shutdown" are already on our list of potential features. The "auto input switching" powers the Radiance on from standby when an input is detected and allows you to set the input priority. The "auto shutdown" is a sleep timer that would put the Radiance in standby after the input source turns off.

Best regards,
Randy Freeman

Hi,
got my Radiance yersterday and starting to figure out setting up this fantastic device. Two short questions :

How do I have to configure the radiance to pass the frequence of the Input signal ( 24,50,60 Hz)? I set the output to config 3 and and now it displays everything @ 1920x1080p @ 60 Hz...

Setting the ouput to a config is global, which is why you get 60Hz with all signals. You need to feed the XD a given signal and then do:
Menu -> Input -> Video setup -> (choose active resolution) -> Out1 (or Out2) Select -> select configuration.

You'll probably want to set up 3 or 4 different output configurations, I'm guessing all 1920x1080 with different refresh rates (24, 25, 50, 60 Hz). Assign them to the correct input subresolution memories. Note that you have to feed that resolution to the XD. It lets you select and tweak non-active resolutions, but that's buggy right now. Only work on active resolutions.


Does the device has any functions to get automaticly to stand-by when all devices are turned off and get back to life if it`s needed?
(I see this question is discussed above)

See Randy's post above.

"Auto input switching" and "auto shutdown" are already on our list of potential features. The "auto input switching" powers the Radiance on from standby when an input is detected and allows you to set the input priority. The "auto shutdown" is a sleep timer that would put the Radiance in standby after the input source turns off.

Best regards,
Randy Freeman

I'm starting love the support team of this product ;)

New entry in the FAQ about the XD's configuration capabilities. Hang on to your hats!

Setting the ouput to a config is global, which is why you get 60Hz with all signals. You need to feed the XD a given signal and then do:
Menu -> Input -> Video setup -> (choose active resolution) -> Out1 (or Out2) Select -> select configuration.

You'll probably want to set up 3 or 4 different output configurations, I'm guessing all 1920x1080 with different refresh rates (24, 25, 50, 60 Hz). Assign them to the correct input subresolution memories. Note that you have to feed that resolution to the XD. It lets you select and tweak non-active resolutions, but that's buggy right now. Only work on active resolutions.


Thanks for your help - it works flawless :-D Next week I'm going to explore the more advanced features. Hope to be able to do most of the settings myself :)

I haven't upgraded the firmware for quite some time. I upgraded it yesterday. WOW! That sucker keeps getting better and better. I can detect no image softening any longer.

The Sencore folks at the Cedia Expo were rather clueless about many features of the machine. They for example had no clue about the deinterlacing chip being on a daughter board and capable of being changed as better chips come along. They kept babbling about features that are totally due to their use of the Gennum chip as being their own.

It does seem strange about calling it a Sencore product when it will always be a Lumagen and a product entirely by the Lumagen team.

I See that SpectraCal now offer the Lumagen RadianceXD In A package Deal with an i1pro spectro/CalMan standard Bundle....:cool: