Audio Visual test materials

[Crisp_Rapper]

bit of a vaguely random thread this, i'm just wondering what sort of music/films etc to use to give audio visual equipment a sound whooping.

i'm looking for musical tracks which really work a set of speakers, that and movies which again have amazing effects (including some 5.1/dts if possible).

and also some form of dvd which has a really clear picture which is easy to use to test how good a picture is...

so boys and girls, what (if any) do you use to impress people?

[RLench]

A quick list of my faves (very quick btw...I could probably double this list )

For picture, I like:

Kill Bill volume 1 - really bright, vibrant colours duirng a lot of scenes. Looks sweet on a well calibrated CRT but looks like ass on every plasma I've seen it on

Dodgeball - bit of an odd choice but the disc quality is awesome. The scenes at the end (during the tournament) have, IMO, some of the finest most natural skin tones I've ever seen

Try and demo something with poor image. Everything can look good with reference quality stuff...not much can manage with poor quality stuff Anything with grain/edge enhancement is perfect for this. Terminator 2 is perfect for showing edge enhancement (the R2 version or any apart from the Extreme R1 version)

Audio - try and demo various types of audio (formats etc - DD, DTS, stereo and maybe PL2). Also demo for different kinds of audio...don't base everything off how loud, deep it goes

LOTR - pick any big scene and you'll hear a ****ing excellent sound mix. It's loud, it goes very deep (window-shaking levels of bass) and the sound transfer between speakers is incredible

Pulp Fiction - "Son of A Preacher Man" scene...fantastic sound mix here, IMO, and it sounds really, really nice. It builds up well and creates a sweet atmosphere

What's it all for, if you don't mind me asking?

[Crisp_Rapper]

What's it all for, if you don't mind me asking?

i recently got a job at bang & olufsen, i know the speakers etc are just utterly amazing to begin with, but i've not really tested the plasmas etc...

i'm also just looking for stuff to impress customers with i've found the beaties boy's 'intergalactic' track one which always impresses bass heads, the speakers are fantastic... wall crumblingly good (i just need ?10k for a pair)

[Commander Jameson]

Saving Private Ryan (DTS) - Opening beach assault. Sounds better in home cinema than in real cinema.
Jurassic Park (DTS) - T-rex paddock attack.
Terminator 2 (DTS) - Opening monologue and Terminator reveal. The foot crushing the skull after the end of Sarah Connor's speech is really scary.
Independence Day (DD) - City attack. The musical build-up to the initial blast in LA is very well done.
The Matrix (DD) - Lobby assault. Picture detail and sound/music are very impressive.

CJ

[Zanza]

Saving Private Ryan (DTS) - I Second that, it sounds absolutely stunning in DTS!

[mid]

Saving Private Ryan (DTS) - Opening beach assault. Sounds better in home cinema than in real cinema.

That depends on the cinema. It absolutely took my head off when I saw it in London. But then, I'm a strange person who prefers the sound of the Dolby laserdisc release to the DTS DVD as well.

If it's proper testing you want to do, you really, really need to buy Digital Video Essentials. It's only about ?13 now, and has all the calibration screens and tracks you'll ever need along with some stunning NASA-sourced, transferred-from-IMAX demo material running at insane bitrates to show off.

If you want to push the screen to its limit, grab the 2-disc remaster of SE7EN; the black detail is a nightmare for most plasma screens. General showing off means any PIXAR disc (I'd suggest Nemo), and that has the added bonus of being suitable for kids, so you can leave it running in the shop without getting complaints from parents about the bloated naked corpse...

You may well hate the films, but the two Matrix sequels had pretty amazing video masters on them as well; gloriously filmlike, deep blacks and great use of colour. The car chase in Reloaded is pretty impressive in 5.1 as well.

For ludicrous, OTT bass usage that doesn't actually sound horribly overcooked (I'm looking at you, U-571 and Die Another Day), the DTS-ES release of The Haunting is hilarious, by the way.

[ThoseOfTheUnlight]

Agreed - The Incredibles/Finding Nemo/Shrek 2/Monsters Inc are all lovely!

Mid - any links to DVE at ?13? Just ordered a Denon 2910 and want to get the screen calibrated right!

[Alastair]

I was going to start a thread over in Music, Movies... but thought this was as good a place as any.

This guy may have no taste but damn, wouldn't we all love this at home.

He seems to be mega rich (there's a shot in a mag review of him with his ferrari) and has spent silly money on the naff goldness but he's thought of everything. I like the floor box for consoles etc, imagine sitting in the middle seat playing xbox on that set-up

[Gruce]

I have a copy of Evil Dead ltd Edition Book of the dead, may not be that great but comes with a Dolby, DTS and THX set up feature, test surrond sound, video, sub woofer etc. If anyone is intrested I can burn them a copy once I've stripped out the actual film as this is the best thing I've found for setting up systems.

[Crisp_Rapper]

that setup is amazing (ly tacky!!!!!!!!) yet further proof money cannot buy taste

what i wouldn't give though, bet it looks crispy in the dark.

and to the gents who've replied with stuff to try, cheers! i look forward to busting out some movies (all in the name of research you understand )

[Alastair]

Is it possible to get a half decent surround system without a dvd player built in these days? I don't want to spend a fortune but would like a new amp with a fair few inputs and a small speaker set-up to go with my dvd player. I also like the look of the slim line amps but everything seems to be bundled with a dvd now.

Don't want to spend a fortune but would be prepared to go up to about ?500 if it's capable of making cd's sound good too.

Any suggestions, I doubt B&O will cater for my needs though eh Crisp!

[ThoseOfTheUnlight]

Problem is there that ?500 wont get you surround sound speakers that will be musical unfortuately..

Is your DVD player any good? As this all in one pack is pretty nice :

http://www.petertyson.co.uk/denondht500.shtml

[ThoseOfTheUnlight]

Or :

http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/1962

With :

http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/1311

Or :

http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/2053

?100 over budget though!

[Alastair]

What would be wrong with the speakers playing music? Are the little speakers (I really need to wall mount them you see) not capable of decent music?

My dvd player is mid range I'd say, is about 3 years old now but does everything I need it too except prog scan and i don't need that cos my tv doesn't so it anyway (I think!) It's a pioneer DV-454 or similar. Got optical output etc and DTS so I don't see the point in an upgrade.

i was looking for something like this and a nice set of capable, small speakers. What would that amp be like? Not necessarily from ebay mind.

Cheers for the advice so far though

[ThoseOfTheUnlight]

Generally, lower cost systems cant really do music that well. Even if you spend ?500 each on a DVD player/Amp/Speakers you'll probably get better sound for music out of a ?100 setup.

That amp in the link would be alright, nothing special though. However its worth mentioning though that you probably will notice a difference in the Denon all in one system in terms of picture quality over your Pioneer as well!