Good scene to tell if your tv is crushing blacks?

[drb124]

I am looking for a scene that will allow me check if my tv is crushing blacks. I have calibrated it with an i1 display meter, but I just wanted to see it in action..

[brett_day]

transformers blu ray

the scene where the ospreys are flying over the desert at the beginning of the moive. if you can make out the detail in the shadow on the tail of the plane (the squadron insignia and the call sign) then you are on the right path

if you still just see a glob of black on the back of the plane, some tweaking is in order

[JJ]

Interesting thread. I'd love to hear more examples.

[Driver_King]

The Dark Knight?

[Zman2k2]

This is a great thread. Problem is they drive me crazy, because every example that is presented for something, I have to go check for myself. I'm caught jumping between the computer and the theater. So keep the examples coming.

[SlmShdy1]

What exactly is "crushing blacks" anyway?

[Squozen]

Surely a test disc is a better thing to use than a movie?

[brett_day]

Originally Posted by SlmShdy1

What exactly is "crushing blacks" anyway?

when you crush blacks you are essentially losing all detail in the blacks in the picture.

Imagine this:

A scene in a movie that has a lot of shadow, a man in a black suit appears but you cannot make out the outline of the man, you see no detail. That is black crush.

If your tv is calibrated properly in the exact same scene you would be able to see the outline of the man in the black suit against the black background and it would not just look like a glob of black on the screen.

[SlmShdy1]

Gotcha.

I'll have to try out that scene you recommended.

[Driver_King]

Yeah, I'd say basically the whole Dark Knight movie.

[CasualKiller]

Best thing I've found to ensure your HDTV is properly set up without doing an actual ISF calibration is this disc:



http://www.monstercable.com/productdisplay.asp?pin=3971

Despite the Monster logo on it it's all done to ISF quality levels. It doesn't have hard to use color charts and gray scales etc, it uses actual real life images to set your black levels/contrast/sharpness/color etc etc.

[brett_day]

Originally Posted by Driver_King

Yeah, I'd say basically the whole Dark Knight movie.

ya pretty much

properly adjusting the black level though can yield some pretty amazing results. There is so much detail that you could be missing out on during movies if you are indeed suffering with black crush

[brett_day]

everyone should use this! it is free!

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=948496

will still need a color card like the ones that comes with dve basics etc but this is an awesome tool! download the version you want, burn the .iso and away you go!

[joegs300]

Any Zombie movie with dark scenes.

[LUkassZ]

Not that it matters, but isn't it called clipping and not crushing?

[brett_day]

Originally Posted by LUkassZ

Not that it matters, but isn't it called clipping and not crushing?

clipping is in regards to whites. White Clipping and Black Crushing

[jsteinhauer]

Clipping and crushing can occur at either end of the grayscale. If below black or above white information can not be seen using a test disk, you have clipping. Crush is when your grayscale does not come out of black fast enough, or the near black gamma is too high. 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% black are difficult to discern from black and you won't be able to make out details in the shadows, even though your depth of black may be outstanding. Reviews typically don't give objective measurements of this. If you have a test disk, you need one with 1 or 2% gradations of gray near black to really make this out by eye. One of the commonly referenced sources for observing shadow detail is Master and Commander, belowdeck scenes. But, you have to know what to see. In the shadows in the back, you should still be able to make out some details in the wood structures in the background. Some movies have poor shadow detail to begin with, even though they are dark. AVP-R is one, and Bangkok Dangerous has a lot of night scenes, but very poor depth of black. Other movies that I have noticed my display/player settings really impact black levels and shadow detail are Pan's Labyrinth and some Harry Potter titles. Shadow detail in 30 Days of Night is not well defined.

[skinnhc]

Originally Posted by brett_day

transformers blu ray

the scene where the ospreys are flying over the desert at the beginning of the moive. if you can make out the detail in the shadow on the tail of the plane (the squadron insignia and the call sign) then you are on the right path

if you still just see a glob of black on the back of the plane, some tweaking is in order

If it's not too much trouble could you please tell me the exact time in the movie that I should be looking for this. I would like to Pause the movie to check.

Thanks!

[Uncle Leo]

Is digital video essentials worth buying?

[brett_day]

Originally Posted by Uncle Leo

Is digital video essentials worth buying?

yeah it is pretty good or you could just use the free one that i talked about about in an earlier post. If you don't like the idea of either of those 2, most pixar titles have a calibration piece of their discs