Is the Avia and DVE color filter the exact same thing?

I'd like to buy the Digital Video Essentials HD-DVD to get their color filter, but then rent Avia and use that as well. (Avia seems to explain things much better and it can't hurt just to rent it and check it out)

Greetings

Not exactly the same ... but then again, the filters from different packages of DVE are not the same ... and ditto for AVIA. There are always slight variances.

Filters are tools ... meant to get you in the ballpark when you don't know what to do. They are not the final answer for where you set color and tint.

Regards

Ahh, OK. That makes sense I guess.

Are the two filters (DVE vs Avia) too different be used on each other's DVDs?

Ahh, OK. That makes sense I guess.

Are the two filters (DVE vs Avia) too different be used on each other's DVDs?

No ... but stacking two of the blue filters helps get you a lot closer to the "correct" results.

Two of any of them? (eg. DVE + DVE, DVE + Avia, Avia + Avia?)

The filters are tinted polyester theatrical gels. These are manufactured by several companies: Lee, Rosco, GAM, etc. There will be slight variations in dye lots. This type of material will also fade over time, especially if left out to be exposed to light, sunlight and UV sources being the worst. Kodak wratten filters are also available but are more fragile.

Joe Kane selected GAM filters when 'DVE' was first being produced. He found at that time that they were manufacturing the best quality for his purpose. I don't know who makes the filters used in 'Avia,' or the THX glasses, or even the current ones included with 'DVE.'

Best regards and beautiful pictures,
G. Alan Brown, President
CinemaQuest, Inc.

"Advancing the art and science of electronic imaging"

Two of any of them? (eg. DVE + DVE, DVE + Avia, Avia + Avia?)

Actually, I stack one from AVS (A Video Standard, LaserDisc) and one from the original VE DVD. I should note that it's probably easier to set the tint with just one, then stack to get to the final color/saturation ... it does get a bit dim and hard to judge with two. In any case, the object is to eliminate bleed through from the other two primaries.

Both the AVS and VE filters seem to have been produced from 35mm film stock.

Ahh, OK. That makes sense I guess.

Are the two filters (DVE vs Avia) too different be used on each other's DVDs?

The patterns are not designed for specific patterns, but they do differ somewhat significantly. The colorbar test patterns on any calibration disc that is accurate should be the same, so you can choose whichever filter works best. As always, filters are a less-than-ideal method, a blue-only mode is the most accurate method to use, the filters are only there for the times when a blue-only mode does not exist.

What is a "blue-only" mode? Does the Sanyo PLV-Z5 support that?

I don't know about that display, but a blue-only mode is simply a mode where the red and green primaries are muted or blanked or otherwise turned off so you are only viewing blue. Most professional monitors do this, unfortunately many consumer displays don't have this capability. With CRT projection displays (including RP CRTs), you can physically cover the red and green lenses and thus isolate blue (or whatever color(s) you want isolate). But with a lot of displays, like direct view CRTs or other displays, unless there is provided an actual mode to disable the R and G primaries, you can't view blue in isolation. Thus the filters, which attempt to filter out everything but blue. This isn't perfect because no filter is perfect, but it's better than nothing, usually.

What is a "blue-only" mode? Does the Sanyo PLV-Z5 support that?
http://www.execulink.com/~impact/bmonitor.htm
"With Blue-Only you should see either a blue & black, or a white & black SMPTE pattern.

Now adjust the HUE (also known as Phase or Tint) so the 3 tall dark large color bars are the same shade (sometimes it is necessary to adjust the brightness to see this more easily)"
If you don't have a broadcast monitor with the blue gun control, there is a way to calibrate a regular television monitor using the SMPTE test pattern & a proper blue filter. Instructions & ordering information are at http://www.co-store.com/thx.