Autumn 2007 Video Processing Face Off

Think upsampled DVD is just as good as Blu-ray and HD DVD? Heard amazing things about the PlayStation 3? Interested in comparing Avivo and PureVideo? We’ve got all of that in this Autumn’s Video Processing Face Off!

Autumn is on its way. The sun is setting earlier, things are starting to cool down, and before you know it, the leaves will start to change color and we’ll be in winter. With all of the Summer movie blockbusters finally making their way to home video, and an upcoming surge of reunions and parties with the usual holiday get-togethers (i.e. Thanksgiving, New Year’s, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Bodhi Day, El ul-Fitr, Boxing Day, Festivus, Winter Solstice, Chrismukkah, or whatever seasonal holiday I haven’t mentioned that you celebrate), there’s no better time to get your home theater up and running in tip-top shape. What better way to spend a brisk autumn or winter night than having some friends over for dinner and a movie?



Of course, being a FiringSquad reader, you’re not satisfied with just “another” article that runs a bunch of tests from the HQV Benchmark DVD/Blu-ray/HD DVD. The HQV benchmark is one of the best tools in the industry for evaluating video performance, but that doesn’t tell you everything.

Likewise, as a FiringSquad reader you won’t be impressed by a reviewer claiming that “upsampled DVD is nearly as good as Blu-ray and HD DVD,” when they’re testing with a 42-inch 720p Plasma, or talk about “normal viewing distances” without even mentioning SMPTE or THX horizontal viewing angles, or simply have poor eyesight.

Just think about the last time you read someone claim that there’s no 1080p content other than Blu-ray or HD DVD. As a FiringSquad reader, you should know that the vast majority of 1080i broadcast television contains a full 1920x1080 pixels for each frame of original frame that can be reconstructed into full 1080p60 using only the data that’s available.

Without further delay, I present to you, FiringSquad’s Autumn 2007 Video Procesing Face Off.