TEST DVDs

[poneal]

Do you recommend the Sound and Vison or the Avia Guide to Home Theater test DVDs? The Avia is like $50 and the Sound and Vision $18. If I get the Avia will I ever use some of the features that jack the price up so high? Will the Sound and Vision fulfill my needs for calibrating my system? Let me hear what you all have to say.

[Woochifer]

If you're a beginner at the calibration game, I would take the S&V disc over the Avia disc. Not only is it cheaper, but it has 6.1 audio tests which the Avia disc does not have. Ovation Software makes both discs, so they're roughly comparable quality. The Avia disc does have more advanced tests, especially with video, but you have to really know what you're doing (and know your way around service menus) to fully take advantage of the extra features. Avia has been updated to Avia Pro, but that newer version is an uber-advanced $400 six-disc set aimed strictly at installation professionals.

The S&V disc has a great set of basic tests and helpful tutorials. It's a bargain at $18 and will greatly improve the overall performance of your system, especially in the video.

If you want something more advanced than the S&V disc that's less expensive than the Avia disc, then try out the new Digital Video Essentials DVD. It costs $25 and has a much more advanced range of tests, but it's not nearly as easy to use as the S&V disc.

[poneal]

Thanks, I think I will go with the S&V $18 one. I do have an SPL meter and have used the test tones from my receiver to balance the speakers. I'm assuming that the S&V has more extensive test tones than just the pink noise that my receiver puts out. Thanks again for the input.

[Woochifer]

Thanks, I think I will go with the S&V $18 one. I do have an SPL meter and have used the test tones from my receiver to balance the speakers. I'm assuming that the S&V has more extensive test tones than just the pink noise that my receiver puts out. Thanks again for the input.

Actually, the S&V test tones are not that much more extensive, just more accurate because they are not wideband tones. The bass range on the wideband tones from your receiver can distort the overall readings if you got severe room-induced peaking at specific low frequencies.

Like I said, I think you'll be most surprised by the huge improvement with the video quality. By default, most TVs have the brightness and sharpness dialed up way too high. The video tests allows you to properly balance all the various settings, and it does look much better.