After calibration - Reference movie  

Greetings

I often use manufacturer demos ... stuff from Panasonic, Samsung, Toshiba, Pioneer ... Shot to look the best.

Regards

I used the Blu-ray version of Seabiscuit. A very knowledgeable poster put together a "what to look for and why" listing that was extremely helpful. I then used Dark Knight because it's a dark film and I wanted to see the detail knowing full well that LCDs in general don't do well with black levels.

A link available? I'd like to check it out.

Here's the doc. Credit to Phase700B for putting this together.

 

Sea Biscuit Calibration Reference Sumary-3.doc 34k . file

I like the demo on the Spears and Munsil disk - it looks stunning.

Another good one is "Baraka". It is an 8K transfer to Blu-ray that took over 3 weeks to carefully scan to master it to BD.

Here's a reference.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baraka_%28film%29

There are quite a few "reference" movies one can use to check a calibration. I don't have the Spears and Munsil disk but did happen to have Seabiscuit. It's nice to have a couple of different ones to check.

One of my favorite demo disks is a Kuro demo disc that I was given by one of the Kuro engineers during their '07 US tour. I almost bought a 50" 8G Elite that day...and then got a 9G for a fraction of the price once Pioneer announced they were getting out of the display biz.

Not only is the video material on the disc outstanding, but it has some great DD Plus and DD TrueHD tracks in conjunction. It's always part of my repertoire whenever I'm showing the theater off to new people.

Blade Runner, the latest and greatest ultimate edition. Gorgeous deep blacks. And I've seen it so many times I know what it "should" look like. And of course one of the greatest movies of all time, so checking calibration with it is a good excuse to re-watch it

Honorary mention to Hero due to the colorful palette.

Demo/engineering disks are certainly nice reference disks to have but if they are not readily available to most people then other options are needed, such as well produced Blu-ray movies or test videos on commercially available calibration disks which I think is what the op was asking about.

Excellent choices. . . I've had the ultimate Blade Runner on my list for awhile and the cinematography is amazing, besides being a classic.

Two Thumbs UP!

fffttt

Was just agreeing with Michael, but I disagree that great demo discs aren't readily available - plenty are available for a reasonable price (fleabay link posted as an example):

http://www.ebay.com/sch/DVD-HD-DVD-B...=p3286.c0.m359


Agreed. Outstanding film all the way around, and excellent demo material.

I agree. And there aren't a lot of reviews of demo discs so unless you've seen them how would a person know if the material is desirable. I'll stick with production reference discs.

"Serenity" also is another great reference. Very saturated colors and detail.

If your display is properly calibrated, then all the colors you see will be accurate

If you're looking for material that contains fully saturated and luminous primaries or secondaries, I don't know that anyone has looked at that. If you've done your calibration accurately, just pick material that you personally like for impact and use that.

I believe Sea Biscuit is one of the most natural and well filmed movies in recent years. It has vibrant, accurate, natural colors as well as many details to check black level and shadow detail.

And i t is inexpensive in both Blu-ray or DVD. You can check all calibration parameters in the first 6 or 7 minutes . . . so you don't have to like the movie.


Choosing a movie with natural and accurate cinematography is the best choice. Many movies that are heavy in CGI are great "eye candy" but not always the best choice for a follow up reference.

Casino Royale

The specifics of where to look thanks to Jeff Meier.

Another excellent choice and summary of scenes! I remember reading that review also. Very well done.

An outstanding reference film. I used several clips from it in my posts about calibration in another sub-forum. Also Braveheart and Dances With Wolves...there's a lot of examples of well-mastered material out there. Even all-CGI movies like Cars or Kung-Fu Panda show off certain aspects of a well-calibrated system better than material shot on film can (depending on your display). "Natural color" and the like are really imaginary terms and inconsequential; if you have your display set properly, any material will look at is should.

Most people know what is meant by natural color rendition and it certainly isn't imaginary.

What is not "natural" for instance? Heavy CGI cartoon-like over saturated colors. Disc media is not always "accurate" nor adheres to 709 specs.

But you probably have your own ideas. ffftt.

Film isn't even natural. The gamut, contrast ratio, etc are all less than what one is capable of seeing in reality. We work within the limitations of the media on which movies are captured; upon that are imposed the vision of the producer. "Natural" is a pipe dream, which is why we have calibration standards to begin with.


Incorrect. There are very well defined standards to which studios master (regardless of the original recording medium) - if you have concrete proof of a major studio release that is not mastered at REC709 on Blu-Ray or HD DVD, I'd love to see it. Regardless of whether a movie is rendered using CGI or captured on film, it is all limited by the media on which it is composed.

Anyone who watches Sea Biscuit will recognize the natural aspects of it's color.

Watch it and see. If you disagree, it is your prerogative and not necessary to argue about it.

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/2235/seabiscuit.html

An excerpt:

Again presented in 1080p/VC-1 video, 'Seabiscuit' looks exquisite. The source material is pristine, with perfect blacks and excellent contrast that is consistent across the entire grayscale. Color reproduction is also wonderful, and even more vibrant than the already-lush standard-def transfer. Director of photography John Schwartzman ladles on the golden highlights, which imbues the transfer with a richness unusual in a modern movie. Unlike today's tweaked-up transfers, 'Seabiscuit' looks realistic and natural, with some appropriate film grain visible (mostly in darker scenes).

I own Sea Biscuit on Blu-ray. Arguing the "natural aspects" of it's [sic] color is useless as film or any other medium is a compromised version of the original "reality" in and of itself; inject director's intent, producer's prerogative, and all the people that are part of the mastering process, and the end result is never the same as reality or this elusive concept of "naturalness." Thankfully, the accuracy of the colors of any DVD or Blu-ray can be guaranteed by simply calibrating to the very well known standards to which the media was mastered. Very simple.

Re-read my post. I'm merely using the same terms HiDefDigest does in it's reviews. We are done here. Good evening everyone who originally started posting here!

Gentlemen. I think the OP has been given quite a few good films and disks to check his calibration with so let's just leave it at that. Good advice from all who contributed.

You are? Okay, thanks for participating!


I'm aware of what the reviewer said in your edited post and his subjective opinion, but it has no relevance to what I posted earlier. As has been posted many, many times before here on the calibration forum, all the things the reviewer stated are highly subjective and cannot be accurately reproduced from person to person for a variety of reasons. This is why we calibrate to the standards to which everything is mastered.

Agreed, lots of good demo material suggested all the way around.

I agree , good advice from those who contributed with positive and useful references sans any lengthy rhetoric. Even experts enjoy a true natural representation of a well filmed and transferred movie such as Sea Biscuit and others.

There are many more good reference movies on AVS here in the Blu-ray review forum as well that highlight vibrant, natural colors and a treat to view:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=187

Time

if/when this thread is reopened please stop the bickering or you will be asked to leave the thread