Scott Wilkinson

The Big Picture
DreamWorks Animation Campus
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 24, 2011
During our visit to DreamWorks Animation for the Samsung reviewers' workshop, we weren't allowed to take photos inside any of the buildings (except the motion-capture stage where the event was held), but we were free to take pictures of the grounds. Here are a few of my shots to give you an idea of just how idyllic the place is.
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Picture Control & Backlight Settings
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 24, 2011
I've always used the Spears and Munsil High Definition Benchmark Blu-ray disc to set up my TVs, and I find that there are many ways to skin a cat as far as settings are concerned. For example, I get the same result if I set contrast to 87 and backlight to 33 or brightness to 67 and backlight to 22. Is there any real difference as long as the result on screen meets the suggested result on the Spears and Munsil disc?

In a related question, does it make a difference in the cadence tests to use the deinterlacing of the TV versus the AVR ?

Kevin Cochran

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The Big Picture
Samsung Reviewers' Workshop
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 23, 2011
Last Thursday, Samsung held a day-long workshop for TV reviewers on the campus of DreamWorks Animation in Glendale, California. About 25 journalists assembled in the studio's motion-capture stage, which is painted the same Munsell gray as our own video-testing lab and ringed with cameras to capture the motion of actors wearing bodysuits with reflective dots all over them. Fortunately, we were not asked to wear such suits!
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In-Wall/In-Ceiling Speakers
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 23, 2011
I have a 15x32 living room with a plasma TV above a fireplace in the center of the 32-foot wall. I would like to put in a pseudo-home theater with 5.1or 7.1 surround sound, but I'm limited to a 5-inch-high center speaker/soundbar (up to four feet wide) under the TV, two in-wall speakers in front, and two or four in-ceiling speakers. What do you think of Polk, Gallo, Revel, and Episode (or other) in-ceiling and in-wall speakers, and what would you get on a $3000-4000 budget?

Chuck

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Do You Enjoy 3D in Commercial Theaters?
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 20, 2011
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The Big Picture
RealD at SID 2011
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 20, 2011
In addition to the news that RealD has partnered with Samsung to make so-called active/passive 3D flat panels, the company had some other interesting announcements and demos at the SID conference this week. For example, even though RealD is known mostly for passive-polarized 3D glasses, it has also developed universal active-shutter glasses that work with any manufacturer's active 3DTV.
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Sub Hum
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 20, 2011
I have a Pioneer VSX-1019 A/V receiver and a Paradigm subwoofer. When the receiver is turned off, I hear a slight hum from the sub when a certain volume is selected. I have to turn the sub volume all the way down to get rid of it. The sub is supposed to have an auto-on feature, but I'm not sure if that is working or not.

I have tried different cables from the receiver to the sub. I have used a 3-conductor AC power cord. I have tried different power strips, but I still get the hum when the receiver is turned off. How do I get rid of the hum?

Douglas Dye

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The Big Picture
Samsung 4K 3D & Other Flat Panels
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 19, 2011
Aside from the RealD passive/active 3D flat panels, Samsung had some other great demos in its booth at SID DisplayWeek. One of the most interesting was a 70-inch, 240Hz, 4K (3840x2160) 3D panel that uses active-shutter glasses. The custom footage of a woman hanging out at an oval house in the woods looked gorgeous, though all the motion was very slow, and I did see a few artifacts in the stairs during one pan.
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The Big Picture
Samsung/RealD Active/Passive 3D Flat Panels
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 19, 2011
This week, the Society for Information Display (SID) is holding its annual DisplayWeek confab at the Los Angeles Convention Center, where the future of display technology is front and center. Among the biggest announcements at the show was a partnership between Samsung and RealD to develop a new type of 3D flat panel that uses passive glasses but does not cut the vertical resolution in half like other passive-3D flat-panel technologies.
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First Flat Panel, VHS Upscaling, Panasonic Layoffs
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 18, 2011
Which non-matte flat panel should I get? Which TV does the best upscaling of VHS? What do the upcoming Panasonic layoffs mean for the future of plasma?
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