review: HD BASICS (Blu-ray)

DVD International  //  Buy from Amazon.com High Definition television represents the biggest shift in home entertainment communications since the introduction of the color television over half a century ago. Yet, if you are like most people, your HDTV is among the most used and least understood devices in your home. Buying an HDTV is a major purchase -- but it does not mean that you will enjoy the crisp and true images intended by HD content producers. Getting the most out of your HDTV set will require some adjustments. HD Basics will teach you both how to make these adjustments and why they are necessary. And, taking advantage of the interactivity provided by the leading HD formats, everything is organized in a refreshingly new way that allows you to access what you need, when you need it. Created by home theater industry legend Joe Kane, HD Basics is the definitive High Definition home theater calibration tool. It promises to improve your picture and give you an understanding of the concepts that are vital to getting the most out of your HDTV. I love my home theater set up, and it's now been about a year since I purchased my PS3 (primarily so I could enjoy Blu-ray movies in the comfort of home.) However, I've not yet calibrated either my plasma tv nor my audio/video receiver for optimal output - thankfully, the fine folks @ DVD International have just released "HD Basics" on Blu-ray, which will not only give you very educational oveviews on the HD world, but also provide a myriad of tests to calibrate the audio & video portions of your HD setup. Admittedly, I only sampled the "entertainment" (or "edu-tainment") portions of this disc, as I was eager to get to calibrating my system, so once I dove in and began working my way through the various test patterns and signals, within 10-15 minutes I had my system looking and sounding better than it ever had before. There's only minimal tweaks possible on my PS3, but I was able to get my Vizio plasma to sing (not literally, but it looked so good that I sure as heck wanted to sing its praises!) Thank you, DVD International - this is a fantastic release that will ensure my system stay tweaked and optimized for years to come. Anyone looking to get the most from their HD setup would do well to pick up this self-help disc! What all is included? printed manual with home theater set-up information 25-minute "quick setup" option (with how-to guides for using test patterns) audio callibration tools 90 minute overview on HDTV introduction to the making of HDTV programs audio commentary by cinematographer Allen Daviau audio commentary by Joe Kane (for demonstration materials) Joe Kane's Digital Video Essentials tri-color filter multiple test patterns for calibrating YOUR hd setup! Closing Thoughts Entertaining & incredibly helpful disc for optimizing your Blu-ray HD setup!