Sound & Vision Home Theater Tune-Up

Rating:
Summary: Out-of-date and disappointing
Review: Guys, this is basically the same as the Avia Guide, but supposedly with more of a beginner's tilt. Otherwise it's the same material. I have the Avia disc and I'm very disappointed by its out-of-dateness and very poor navigation, plus most of the video tests are useless, and the tests don't tell you how to fix things. I do not recommend either the Avia Guide or its cousin Sound & Vision Tune-Up guide.

Rating:
Summary: So--So
Review: I bought a copy at the consumer electronics show last week, and am impressed at the quality and information of this disc. It was informative, easy to follow, and my picture is much better now on my Toshiba TV. I have not tried the audio tones yet, but the disc has a chapter for using a sound-level meter. My wife actually watched the entire disc with me -unusual for her. Very cool.

Rating:
Summary: Easy to use and effective. Worth the money.
Review: I considered getting Avia Home Theather but decided it wasn't worth 40+ dollars. If you are not a serious video/audiophile, this product does a great job. It's simple to use at the right price.
The two presenters can get a bit annoying yet amusing at the same time. My wife set through the video with me. Which means they were not too bad. The process didn't take very long. I spent around 45-60 minutes to set all the basic parameters on our projection TV and sound system.

Rating:
Summary: Easy to use and effective. Worth the money.
Review: I considered getting Avia Home Theather but decided it wasn't worth 40+ dollars. If you are not a serious video/audiophile, this product does a great job. It's simple to use at the right price.
The two presenters can get a bit annoying yet amusing at the same time. My wife set through the video with me. Which means they were not too bad. The process didn't take very long. I spent around 45-60 minutes to set all the basic parameters on our projection TV and sound system.

Rating:
Summary: Good For Its Target Audience
Review: I have both Sound & Vision Home Theater Tune-Up and the Avia Guide To Home Theater. If you're a serious video/audiophile, you will want to get the Avia Guide To Home Theater which has far more comprehensive video/audio calibration tests and procedures.

Then again, I suspect the S&V disc is more aimed at the 'mass market' and as such, it does an excellent job. The explanations are very well (and occasionally humorously) explained by two highly appealing presenters. The audio/video tune-ups are a subset of what's available on the Avia Guide disc, though the S&V disc also includes some test patterns from Avia Pro which I hadn't seen before.

I very much like the 'Extras' section of the disc which has some great demo clips from Dolby, DTS, and THX. These are not available on Avia Guide to Home Theater. Also, the DTS tune-up is not available on the Avia Guide, and is most welcome though it didn't result in any changes to my audio settings.

I experienced a strange glitch with the video on the speaker balance tune-up - the wrong speaker was highlighted or the previous menu would be displayed. Weird. I have had no problems with the Avia Guide.

Overall, at the MSRP ...I highly recommend the Sound & Vision Home Theater Tune-Up. It's informative and entertaining, and I think it will help novice users better understand and make the most of their home theaters.

Rating:
Summary: Good For Its Target Audience
Review: I have both Sound & Vision Home Theater Tune-Up and the Avia Guide To Home Theater. If you're a serious video/audiophile, you will want to get the Avia Guide To Home Theater which has far more comprehensive video/audio calibration tests and procedures.

Then again, I suspect the S&V disc is more aimed at the 'mass market' and as such, it does an excellent job. The explanations are very well (and occasionally humorously) explained by two highly appealing presenters. The audio/video tune-ups are a subset of what's available on the Avia Guide disc, though the S&V disc also includes some test patterns from Avia Pro which I hadn't seen before.

I very much like the 'Extras' section of the disc which has some great demo clips from Dolby, DTS, and THX. These are not available on Avia Guide to Home Theater. Also, the DTS tune-up is not available on the Avia Guide, and is most welcome though it didn't result in any changes to my audio settings.

I experienced a strange glitch with the video on the speaker balance tune-up - the wrong speaker was highlighted or the previous menu would be displayed. Weird. I have had no problems with the Avia Guide.

Overall, at the MSRP ...I highly recommend the Sound & Vision Home Theater Tune-Up. It's informative and entertaining, and I think it will help novice users better understand and make the most of their home theaters.

Rating:
Summary: Well worth the price!
Review: I liked the DVD. It is very easy to opperate and search for test patterns and signals. I am an audiophile or audio expert, so for me the disk was somewhat elementary. For beginers to intermediates this is a great adition to any home theater. I would have really apreciated if they would have had an audio break-in signal, which basically losses up the drivers in a new pair of speakers. That was really the only dissipointment for me.

Rating:
Summary: Finally
Review: I'm glad to see a set-up disc that doesn't cost [so much]. I have not seen the much talked about Avia disc, but my guesses are that for most people with a basic 4:3 TV and economically packaged surround system, this is all that you need and perhaps more. The on-screen narrators provide an easy-to-understand introduction for the beginner and the seperately accessible tests make it easy for the more experienced to jump right in at his own pace. I'm also glad to finally see DTS audio tests along with the Dolby Digital tests. Also helpful is the explanation of how to use RadioShack's sound meter although the disc's instructions to point the microphone up differed with the meter's instructions to point the meter at each sound source (Anybody know which way is really best?). This disc also includes a nice variety of demos to show off your system's full video and surround potential.

Rating:
Summary: Simple and reliable
Review: This DVD is a must for all people interested on audio and video quality. Also it's simple, and the narrators are very cute. It gives a basic description of new digital home theatre systems, including the receiver, the speakers, different types of connections, and useful tests of audio and video calibration.
One of the most difficult items on calibration is that of the subwoofer. The test included is perfect, and at last I can enjoy hearing the deep bass without distortion. Different digital sound tests are included like Dolby 5.1 and DTS, which make this DVD a reference guide to the new era of digital home theatre systems.