RS15 + Lumagen vs RS25 CMS for color correction

A couple of things here. First, the HDP is a very nice device but it is getting a little bit long in the tooth. You know all the reasons why that is so, so I won't go into them. Second, I used the HDQ for a time to do gamut correction on an RS1. It does a very nice job but it will never measure perfectly. Plus, the CMS only works well at certain stimulus levels. If you measure the lower stimulus levels, they will hardly be corrected. Granted, it is more difficult to spot oversaturation at those levels, but you know that it is there. If you can live with that, save a few bucks and get the RS15 and also have a little less contrast so maybe your blacks will be a little more elevated. If it were me, I would spring for the RS25. The CMS is killer and you can get all your colors within just a few dE. If there is any sacrifice associated with the use of the CMS in the RSs, it has never been mentioned here. Your calibration will be as good as your skill level and effort that you put into it.

On the other hand, if your main goal is to simply see realistic lawns and vegetation, the RS15 + HDP combo will do just fine.

Kevin

I was in a similar boat- RS15/VP or RS20.

I got the RS20 as it was a price i could not refuse!
However, if the RS15/VP was less or close to the RS25 I might go the 15/VP route. This is given that its a radiance. The XS just came out an is a decent price...

OOPS....if you already have an HDP mine as well get th 15 and spend any additional AV coin on other parts of your system!

If I'm not mistaken, JVC's built in CMS allows control over the secondary color points, unlike the Lumagen HDP/HDQ. I have an HDP and can only control the primary colors.

Correct. It makes absolutely no sense to 'save' the money on a RS10/RS15 and then buy an external processor (even if it is a Radiance, which it had to be). No matter what the rationalization may be (even if you are thinking about using the external processor for your TV etc. as well). Just my 0.2 cents.

Another consideration (besides CMS) is that the RS25 provides better black level and on/off CR, while the RS15 delivers a little more lumens (IIRC).

Nope but the OP already has the external processor so the question is if it makes sense to save the money considering that ....

"It makes absolutely no sense to 'save' the money on a RS10/RS15 and then buy an external processor (even if it is a Radiance, which it had to be)."

Certainly not a Radiance, but it's very sensible for the non-perfectionist to spend $500 for a used Lumagen.

Although I like what my Lumagen HDQ does with my RS1 if I were starting out today I would get the JVC models that have the CMS built in. The HDP/HDQ will not pass deep color and only works with RGB if using DVI out. Plus it doesn't pass audio via DVI.

Ron

The RS15 has no control over the primary color points. It cannot do what the Lumagen HDP can do. It has no CMS at all.

iirc, you can adjust some things like gamma, but there is no full CMS.

doh! 2 minutes late to the party!!

'S OK. If I had a dollar for every time I was late to the party...

Input mode you can select color space but like the link says most players default to RGB. Even my Pioneer 51FD that has forced output modes defaults to RGB with my HDQ. Output mode on the HDQ seems to be locked on RGB. Even when I select 422 or 444 on the RS1 the colors will be way off because the HDQ outputs RGB all the time.

You can get around the audio issue as you say but you can't use the HDQ to switch video inputs in this case which is bad because you can tweek every input to look just right with the HDQ. You can't do that with most receivers. This is a non issue in my setup because video and audio are separated in my system. I have a Meridian audio processor and I don't use it to process any video. All my video source switching is done with my HDQ.

Many players output upsampled colors to help smooth color banding. Although from what I read it's only slightly better. In most cases excessive banding will be in the source to begin with. Some comercials on TV are really bad. I hardly ever see it on Bluray. My RS1 is HDMI 1.2 compliant so I can't use it anyway but others with RS10's or RS15's could use it however not with the Vision series VP's. That was my point.

Cheers,

Ron

Good question for the Panasonic AE4000 thread. I think it does have more control than the RS15, but I am not sure.

The output selections on the HDQ only effect the analog output, not the digital.

What if the OP added an ND filter to the RS15 since it has more lumens. Would an RS15 + an ND filter equal the contrast of an RS20/25 with the same setup?

An ND filter doesn't enhance contrast. THAT would be a need trick!

it will enhance black levels, though. and because of the shift could you bump up the contrast setting? or would that just destroy the peak whites?