Introduction to Video Accessory Reviews

Most home theater enthusiasts can enjoy their movies with a good display and an audio system anchored by an AV receiver or surround processor. But for those born with the tweaking gene, there are performance-enhancing products to get you that last one-percent towards perfection.

If you have a large DVD library, an advanced video processor can go a long way towards making standard-definition content look better. Even with the scaling solutions built into most players and displays, there are products that can take you further. Some come in the form of small boxes that connect between your source and display, and others demand space in your equipment rack and come at a premium price.

Another product near-and-dear to home theater buffs is a projection screen. Even the best display won’t show you what it can do if you throw the image on a wall. Screen materials come in a dizzying array of sizes and types so it’s important to know what will work best for your individual space. The newest models can even reject ambient light so you don’t have to watch movies in the dark. Our reviews cover screen material technology and we include contrast and color-shift testing so you can determine the best possible match for your projector.

Review Categories

Video Calibration

Video Processors

Stands, Racks, Furniture, Room Treatment

Video Accessories Misc.

Screens

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Video Accessory Reviews

The New Wave of Color Calibration Technology: Cube Calibration

By Chris Heinonen and Mark Vignola

One of the Awards given out in 2012 by Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity for "Technology on the Rise" was for Cube Calibration. For most people this probably doesn't mean much yet, but for those of us that are calibrators, or enthusiasts with an interest in calibration technology, this was a huge development. One might even say that Cube Calibration is the biggest improvement to consumer display technology since the introduction of the Color Management System (CMS).

Video Calibration

CalMAN Calibration Software Version 5

Chris Heinonen

 

There are a few different programs out there to assist in calibrating a display, but CalMAN from SpectraCal is currently the most prevalent. CalMAN is used for ISF Level I and II training, and is available in a variety of different configurations ranging from the DIY user to the full time calibration professional.

Video Calibration

Lumagen Radiance XS-3D Video Processor

Chris Heinonen

Last year I looked at the Lumagen Radiance Mini-3D video processor and its interaction with ChromaPure software for automated calibrations. Paired with an older projector, it was able to provide an accurate grayscale, gamut, and gamma providing an image that was far more accurate than without it. Now, we take a look at the Radiance XS-3D video processor, which is a step up from the Mini-3D.

Video Processors

Screen Innovations Black Diamond Zero Edge Projection Screen

Chris Eberle

When designing a home theater, the screen is often the last consideration in the plan. After all, it's much more interesting to research electronics and their associated specs than to look through screen material samples and frame designs. Other than size, few of us think much about our choice of screen. Screen Innovations markets projection screens in all sizes, aspect ratios, and gain (screen brightness). In this review, we take a look at their Black Diamond Zero Edge projection screen.

Screens

ChromaPure 2.2 Video Calibration System and Lumagen Radiance Mini-3D Video Processor

Chris Heinonen

If you've read the previous DIY calibration articles here at Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity, then you've seen us cover ChromaPure and CalMAN calibration systems, and the DVDO Duo video processor. This time we're going to look at the newest release of ChromaPure, version 2.2, as well as the Lumagen Radiance Mini-3D Video Processor, both individually and together.

Video Calibration

Home Theater WallWizard XM37 Flat Panel HDTV Wall Mounting Bracket

Piero Gabucci

One of the things I like about CEDIA is discovering something that I hadn't expected to impress me. Oh sure the dazzling larger than life flat panels, or bright projectors are always omnipresent. The beautiful glossy speakers and sometimes those overstuffed theater chairs are a welcomed relief. But this year walking by the WallWizard booth it was the motorized wall mounts caught my attention. When I was introduced to them I was shown some innovative ideas that seemed to solve issues we've all thought about but never seen addressed.

Stands/Racks/Furniture/Room Treatment

OmniMount LEDP75 Wall Mount Kit for Flat Panel HDTV’s

Jim Milton

While at CEDIA last September, I witnessed a demonstration of the OmniMount LEDP75 wall mount kit and was fascinated with the ease of installation and the uniqueness of the design. From the initial cutting to mounting took the technician about 15 minutes. The fact that they were also giving away a free LCD flat panel from Samsung did not dissuade me from watching the demo either. (No…I did not win).

Stands/Racks/Furniture/Room Treatment

ClearStream Micron Over-the-Air Indoor DTV Antenna

Sumit Chawla, Ph.D.

A recent search on DTV stations in the San Francisco Bay Area listed all the channels within 100 miles of San Francisco. The list was long. Many transmitter locations were far away, so I was not going to receive all the channels. But still, the count was healthy. The site even listed several stations that are not broadcasting yet, but had either applied for or had received approval by the FCC. The ClearStream Micron Over-the-Air Indoor Antenna is designed to pull in those distant stations. Does it work?

Video Accessories Misc

Screen Innovations Black Diamond II HD Front Projection Screen

John E. Johnson, Jr.

One of the major problems affecting those of us with projectors is the ambient room light that tends to desaturate colors of the images on the screen when we watch movies. Screen Innovations (SI) has designed a new material that helps solve this problem. It's called the Black Diamond II HD. The screen can be wall mounted, or ceiling mounted with or without motorized control.

The company also offers other types of screen material such as fabric that lets sound come through so you can place your speakers behind the screen.

Screens