Darbee Vision won our Top Pick last year with their ugly duckling, the Darblet. While the processor didn’t have any outer beauty, its processing turned your video into a swan. Darbee evidently got the message and was showing a prototype version with a very clean aesthetic that included a gorgeous touchscreen and chassis. No word on when this may ship but one can only hope.
I’ll put this out right up front: I’m not a fan of image enhancements. They almost always hurt the image more than they ever help it, and nowadays there is an almost never-ending list of them in just about every display device. From 240 Hz smooth frame modes, to skin tone correctors and detail enhancers, we’re watching them pile up in our menus. Most are garbage and the first thing I turn off when I set up any display. So, on that note, imagine my skepticism when I got the Darbee Darblet in for review. It’s a new video processor that claims to increase depth perception, sharpness and realism with any display at any resolution, including 3D.
With more and more high-end dealers closing shop, opportunities for real demos are drying up, leaving local meet-ups as one of the few ways for enthusiasts to demo the latest gear. So I decided to host my first Pacific Northwest Area Home Theater Meetup in my hometown of Port Orchard, WA. What started out as a gathering of a few friends turned into a massive event...
Price: $15,000 At A Glance: State-of-the-art video and audio performance • Customizable amplifier • Sets the bar for connectivity • Tedious GUI and remote
Both Guns Blazing
The separates market has long been the pinnacle of audio performance for high-end home theater setups. But you’ve always had to pay a price for that performance: the lack of bleeding-edge features. While standalone processors typically set the bar for pure audio performance, many of them lack the latest features that A/V receivers offer. I’ve been guilty of envious glances at the latest high-end receiver designs, wishing that those cutting-edge features would find their way into a reference-level surround processor. But unfortunately that hasn’t been the reality—until now, that is.
Since the arrival of Blu-ray, I’ve been waiting for a player from Denon, whose high-end DVD players have served as references for me for years. So far, the standalone Blu-ray players I’ve used have left me wanting. Pioneer and Sony are the only manufacturers offering players with the construction quality I expect from a top-end player. But both of these manufacturers have delivered products with their own issues, including extremely slow response times and lack of support for cutting-edge Blu-ray features.
Looking for a Blu-ray media solution to playback your whole library from hard drives? Don’t want to pay Kaleidescape prices?? Dune may just have what you’re looking for. Their media machines can playback MKV and ISO rips of your Blu-ray library from an attached hard drive or NAS drive. They also have full support for 3D now with their TV-30 3D mini box or their full rack size HD Base 3D. At a starting price of $199 for the TV-30 3D, Dune makes server based Blu-ray playback affordable for anyone. Now if only I had the time to rip my 700+ title Blu-ray library!
AT A GLANCE Plus
Supports all SD, HD, UHD, and 4K Resolutions
Over 100 custom test patterns
Unique Color Checker function
Minus
Professional instrument pricing
Bandwidth limit may prevent some future tests
THE VERDICT
The DVDO AVLab TPG is one of the only pattern generators out there for video calibrators and evaluators that supports both UHD and 4K resolutions. This small package packs a lot of patterns and can also be used for large 3D LUT calibrations that require thousands of color combinations.
One of the most essential tools for a video reviewer is a test pattern generator. Without a confirmed and reliably accurate source for signals it is difficult to evaluate a display properly. Some people just stick to everyday viewing content like Blu-rays or DVDs, but if those sources don’t look right how are you going to figure out what’s causing the issue? A reference generator gives you the ability to evaluate a display’s capabilities with tried and true patterns that show exactly what a display’s limits are. But with 4K just making its big break-thru into the market, only a small number of generators today provide options for evaluating 4K flat panels and projectors. The DVDO AVLab Test Pattern Generator (TPG) we’re reviewing here is a super compact reference pattern generator that not only supports the majority of all common resolutions today, but also Ultra HD and full 4K.
DVDO debuted three new upcoming products at their press conference today. First up was the Air 3 ($199), their latest wireless HDMI solution that cuts the cord and gives you 10 meters of 60 GHz wireless connectivity between a device and display. The new box is smaller and lighter and now supports high resolution audio as well.
AT A GLANCE Plus
Full 3D and UHD support
Blazing fast switching
Options for legacy device support
Minus
USB location may be tricky for some
THE VERDICT
DVDO redefines what to expect from an HDMI switcher and lets your older gear play nice with the new stuff.
When I think of a video switcher, my mind’s eye typically sees a boring little box (with some buttons on the front) that does nothing more than link one of its inputs to a common output. DVDO’s Quick6 is entirely different. Not only is it the fastest HDMI switching device I’ve ever come across, but it also has a ton of useful features that can help both new and old systems alike with today’s cutting-edge gear.