Audio Video News

You pretty much can't read a review of a display or disc player here or anywhere without seeing references to the video processing test clips and patterns from Silicon Optix' HQV Benchmark. Now, the high-definiton HD HQV Benchmark is available to consumers on both Blu-ray and HD DVD for $20 each.

The discs can be ordered from www.hqv.com, and Silicon Optix is offering an even sweeter deal to UAV readers. Entering the following promo codes will save you a quick $5: UAVHQVBR for the Blu-ray version and UAVHQVHD for the HD DVD version. Enjoy the savings, and don't spend it all in one place! But wait, there's more!

By ordering this super cool test disc your'e also supporting a good cause. A portion of the proceeds will go to the ELF foundation, which is a non-profit charity that brings music and movies to children's hospitals across the US through its "Rooms of Magic." As much of a hardened cynic as I am ,that gets me right in the cardiac muscle. My own over for movies and music certainly goes back to my earliest memories of childhood. If you want to learn more about ELF, click here.

In addition to disc players and displays, a wider and wider variety of products are now being called on to perform vidoe processing of our HD signals, including AVRs, surround preamp/processors and outboard video processors. This disc is a very effective evaluation tool for determining whether the video processing in these products is up to snuff, which is why so many of our reviews reference these discs.

But what's even more impressive is that Silicon Optix offers clear and concise explanations of how to use the patterns and clips, and how to properly evaluate what you see, and even includes a scorecard. Roll into your neighborhood box store with one of these and make for the TVs. Watch the sales people run for cover!