Spears & Munsil 4K UHD HDR Benchmark (Test Discs) May 15, 2023

[sapiendut]

This disc is amazing with everything. It is to benchmarking. But for your projector you will need UB9000 UHD player to compensate the lack of HDR performance (for all projectors, actually)

[mrtickleuk]

Originally Posted by Stacey Spears

And pretty much every display does the wrong upsample for 2020, they apply 709. (not color conversion, chroma upsample) This will result in a half pixel shift between luma and chroma. I believe LG fixed this in 2019, not sure if anyone else has.

Argh, that's not good news. I thought that problem, once pointed out years ago, had been solved.

Do you mean that this year, LG has fixed this [in firmware] for all their recent TVs?
Or only the 2019 model TVs have this correct, and it's not possible (chipset hardware reasons etc) to ever fix it for the 2018 models, even if they wanted to?

ps. Ordered the disc, due for delivery tomorrow. Looked forward to playing!

[Stacey Spears]

Originally Posted by mrtickleuk

Argh, that's not good news. I thought that problem, once pointed out years ago, had been solved.

Do you mean that this year, LG has fixed this [in firmware] for all their recent TVs?
Or only the 2019 model TVs have this correct, and it's not possible (chipset hardware reasons etc) to ever fix it for the 2018 models, even if they wanted to?

ps. Ordered the disc, due for delivery tomorrow. Looked forward to playing!

It is not fixed on the B7, maybe the 8 series, but the 9 series for sure. This only impacts sending 4:2:0 from USB into the display. If you are using a Panasonic UHD BD player, you are good to go. OPPO has both horizontal and vertical alignment problems depending on 2020 vs. 709.

[Stacey Spears]

Originally Posted by thatguy1985

For anyone that's tested this with projection, is it worth picking up? I have a JVC DLA-550R...not exactly known to be the best with HDR - better for BT2020 (SDR converted via Oppo-203). Is this still worth picking up to dial things in?

Thanks

There is a section of SDR 709 patterns. Kris Deering can probably advice since he uses JVC. The ADL section on the disc was created specifically for him. Same for one of the contrast ratio tests (all black with a single white pixel) and a dots black pattern that he likes to use for focus.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by sapiendut

But for your projector you will need UB9000 UHD player to compensate the lack of HDR performance (for all projectors, actually)

IIRC a reviewer of one of the Christie projectors would not agree with that statement. Would love to have one but the cost is prohibitive and several kilowatts of lamp heat would require a lot of A/C . The dynamic and color gamut range of the review unit was most impressive.

[HDMan72]

Looks like I'm gonna break down and get this disc. I no longer have my X-Rite i1 Display Pro but these discussions here are wanting me to get this disc, especially since Geoff has helped me with settings on my Z9D. Might as well go deeper in and really learn whats happening behind the scenes.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

IIRC a reviewer of one of the Christie projectors would not agree with that statement. Would love to have one but the cost is prohibitive and several kilowatts of lamp heat would require a lot of A/C . The dynamic and color gamut range of the review unit was most impressive.

You know what he generally means though, i.e. projektors that are within the realms of mere mortals. I actually got chided by someone in another thread for daring to mention the C word even when talking about 'money is no object' setups, as one of them Christie beasts is about the only thing I'd consider to replace a direct-view display because I'm that much of an HDR fanatic.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

You know what he generally means though, i.e. projektors that are within the realms of mere mortals. I actually got chided by someone in another thread for daring to mention the C word even when talking about 'money is no object' setups, as one of them Christie beasts is about the only thing I'd consider to replace a direct-view display because I'm that much of an HDR fanatic.

Just yanking his chain a little, but yeah, I knew what he meant and he seems to be a good guy in a white hat. For me, just waiting to see what Kris Deering has to say about the new BenQ. His review of the JVC X9 has me wanting one those. I can not give up my big screen for more nits .

[Robert Zohn]

Just got this link to the user guide for Spears and Munsil's new HDR disc.

For DIY's I recommend only focus on using the patterns for setting the minimum luminance levels. Everyone can successfully set the black so you get the deepest and riches contrast and color saturation.

[sapiendut]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

IIRC a reviewer of one of the Christie projectors would not agree with that statement. Would love to have one but the cost is prohibitive and several kilowatts of lamp heat would require a lot of A/C . The dynamic and color gamut range of the review unit was most impressive.

Well, exceptions are always available. But those projectors require separate HVAC system and I personally have only encountered three (out of the hundreds projectors) I’ve done in the last 5 years. Thus the reason I don’t include them when I say “all projectors”.

[koberulz]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

You know what he generally means though, i.e. projektors that are within the realms of mere mortals. I actually got chided by someone in another thread for daring to mention the C word even when talking about 'money is no object' setups, as one of them Christie beasts is about the only thing I'd consider to replace a direct-view display because I'm that much of an HDR fanatic.

And yet, the website promotes them as "affordable".

[Scorsese]

Received this disc today, but as a complete noob at calibrating, what should I be doing first, lol

[DisplayCalNoob]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

No, because it's already set to maximum when displaying HDR content as per SOP on Sony TVs.

Is it possible, a 2 point grayscale calibration could bring the luminance back up to spec? Specifically focusing on Gain adjustments after lowering contrast. Does the ZD9 have a XDR mode?

[dcforsyth]

Originally Posted by Scorsese

Received this disc today, but as a complete noob at calibrating, what should I be doing first, lol

Click the link that Robert Zohn posted above.

I'm in the same boat.

[David M]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

Just got this link to the user guide for Spears and Munsil's new HDR disc.

Those guides are for the second edition (2013), so a lot of it won't translate to HDR methods. The documentation is being worked on though.

[Scorsese]

Originally Posted by dcforsyth

Click the link that Robert Zohn posted above.

I'm in the same boat.

Originally Posted by David M

Those guides are for the second edition (2013), so a lot of it won't translate to HDR methods. The documentation is being worked on though.

I see!

Will wait then, it's a very nice disc from what I've tested

[sapiendut]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

Just got this link to the user guide for Spears and Munsil's new HDR disc.

For DIY's I recommend only focus on using the patterns for setting the minimum luminance levels. Everyone can successfully set the black so you get the deepest and riches contrast and color saturation.

Do you have a link to a pdf version?

[dcforsyth]

For fellow noobs out there, here's a link that may answer some of your questions/concerns.

http://spearsandmunsil.com/3rd-edition-faq/

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by DisplayCalNoob

Is it possible, a 2 point grayscale calibration could bring the luminance back up to spec? Specifically focusing on Gain adjustments after lowering contrast. Does the ZD9 have a XDR mode?

XDR is on by default with HDR, again at maximum as per SOP.

[mrtickleuk]

Originally Posted by Stacey Spears

It is not fixed on the B7, maybe the 8 series, but the 9 series for sure. This only impacts sending 4:2:0 from USB into the display. If you are using a Panasonic UHD BD player, you are good to go. OPPO has both horizontal and vertical alignment problems depending on 2020 vs. 709.

Cool thanks for the info - if it's only from USB I can relax a bit. I have a nasty Samsung K8500 player. Currently considering getting a Panasonic UB820, but not if it has problems. Other players (like Oppo, Pioneer) are ridiculously expensive IMHO and I am simply NOT in the "high-end" market and will not be dragged up there just because I want a decent player that works. It's absurd that my very simple wishlist of features, fulfilled easily by my 20-year-old Sony DVD player and pretty much every other player at the time, seems alien to today's player manufacturers for the mainstream:

1. No fan, and very quiet operation.
2. A front display with "time remaining" count-down visible constantly during a movie.
3. A backlit remote which isn't smaller than my hand.
4. No chroma bugs, unfixed years afterwards. (I'm shocked at the Oppo, that's never mentioned by the owners?)

That's it. But impossible unless I buy something which costs 5x as much as I'm prepared to spend on a disc player. The market for mainstream (not high-end) players is utterly broken after the "race to the bottom", and it's a travesty.

[edit: I didn't intend that to be quite so much of a rant! ]