CE Pro October 2023 - 58

CE Products
FIELD TEST
earpieces I struggled with
removing the earpieces
from the earbuds. Eventually
I was able to remove the
medium size for the small
size. I still wasn't satisfied
with the small size however,
and when I removed
the small earpieces I broke
the little snap-on clip that
secures the earpieces to the
earbuds. I did settle on the
large size, but I am not sure
if I would trust the fit if I
were going to do something
physical like a run.
Overall, the Poly Voyager
Free 60+ Earbuds provides
a nice quality music and
intelligible conferencing
experience at a competitive
price point.
Spears & Munsil
Calibration Disc
Package
Spears & Munsil have been
providing video enthusiasts,
along with integrators calibration
discs for several years.
Stacey Spears and Don
Munsil's latest calibration
bundle is a three-disc set offering
a huge range of video
test and evaluation patterns
that were shot and mastered
in 8K, as well as audio tests
for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X
immersive audio testing.
I'm not going to into the
specific patterns and evaluation
clips included in each of
the three discs, but I will say
the package provides more
than enough material for
users to set up and calibrate
a display system minus the
advanced measurement
tools that experienced pro58
| CE Pro October 2023
fessionals such as ISF's Joel
Silver and Murideo's Jason
Dustal, for example, would
bring to a jobsite.
In my opinion the new
2023 bundle is a nice step
up from the previous disc
package due to several
things that include more
test patterns and the inclusion
of a booklet that briefly
explains how to use the
materials on each disc.
Carrying a retail price
of about $60, there's a lot
of value for integrators to
purchase this bundle. I tried
the discs with my home AV
system, which includes a
Digital Projection E-Vision
4000 projector, Screen Innovations
(SI) Zero Edge Pro
matte white screen, Panasonic
DP-UB820 UltraHD disc
player, and Integra DRX-3.4
AV receiver that is driving a
7.4.2 speaker system.
I'll start by pointing out
there is a time commitment
to the process of using
the Spears & Munsil tools.
The first disc includes the
" baseline " fundamental test
patterns for brightness,
contrast, color and tint,
sharpness, and framing. It
also provides tests for AV
sync with Dolby Atmos,
Dolby TrueHD, DTS:X and
DTS-HD MA.
I went about using this
disc package over the
course of several days where
I used a single disc over the
course of each of the three
days to ensure I could use
test and evaluation patterns
in a way in which I was
comfortable. Once I used
Improving upon their previous calibration tools, Stacy Spears
and Don Munsil have developed a new three-disc package.
The Spears & Munsil bundle includes a huge range of video
test and evaluation patterns that were shot and mastered
in 8K, as well as audio tests for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X
immersive audio testing.
the disc and verified the
performance of my results
using the second and third
discs, I was satisfied with
the results I achieved.
Moreover, I am also certain
that as I become more
familiar with the patterns,
the less I will have to refer
to the included booklet to
provide me with explanations,
which will save me
time down the road.
Plus, I'm now confident
I can retire the Disney
Wow disc that I've used for
years. The Spears & Munsil
package provides everything,
and more than any
enthusiast will ever need to
improve the performance
of a display to maximize the
value of a new projector or
television. Silver, Dustal and
one of the best AV dealers
in the U.S., Robert Zohn of
Value Electronics, all state
that even basic contrast and
black level adjustments will
do wonders to upgrade the
video quality of a display
and the discs will facilitate
that and provide users the
ability to improve color accuracy
through the inclusion
of blue filter glasses (more
than half of a video signal
includes the color blue).
There have been plenty
of calibration discs to hit
the market over the past
20 years. The new Spears &
Munsil set is now the best
of the lot. It provides the
simplicity that was the key
to the Disney Wow disc's
user friendliness, and it
offers the volume of test
patterns of the old Ovation
calibration disc package for
a fraction of the cost.
The three-disc calibration
bundle is a must have for
integrators and enthusiasts
looking to improve the
quality of their AV setups.
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CE Pro October 2023

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