Spears & Munsil UHD HDR Benchmark 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		0.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Spears & Munsil UHD HDR Benchmark 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 2, 2019

When several of us reviewers at Blu-ray.com transitioned to 4K equipment, those of us in ostensibly smaller markets found it rather difficult to find qualified, trained calibrators able to handle this "newfangled" technology. If I'm remembering correctly, even some reviewers in pretty darned huge markets like New York City had to do at least a little finagling to finally get their equipment at optimal video and audio levels. Spears and Munsil have provided a "do it yourself" option with this disc, though my hunch is even some ardent videophiles are going to want a little expert advice as they navigate a rather impressive array of calibration options on this disc.

The disc has an impressive number of calibration options on it, with each of the following Menus typically leading to elaborate Submenus, though many of those simply start a slideshow at a different point (see the last "screenshot" accompanying this review for one of the Submenu options):

• Configuration
• Video Setup
• A/V Sync
• Advanced Video
• Video Processing
• Windows
• SDR BT.709
• Demo Material

The disc offers all of its wide array of calibration patterns in 600, 1000, 2000, 4000 and 10,000 cd/m2 versions, and there are some manifest differences with different luminances, especially in calibration patterns helping to delineate black levels and grayscale. The configuration menu also allows for choices in HDR Gamut and Audio Codec. The demo material is advertised as having been finished in 8K HDR, and it is provided in both HDR and SDR for comparison's sake.

Spears & Munsil UHD HDR Benchmark 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

UHD HDR Benchmark is presented on 4K UHD courtesy of Spears and Munsil, with Fidelity in Motion, Scenic Labs and ColorFront also receiving logos on the back cover. The calibration patterns are a varied lot, many of which will be familiar to videophiles who have experienced other calibration discs. As I've tried to indicate in some of the "screenshots" (more about that in a moment), the patterns are in both black and white and color, and several of them have "moving" parts, as in the small boxes visible in the second image in the YCbCr Clipping section. The patterns were razor sharp on my display, though as I mentioned above, I found a rather wide if expected variability depending upon luminance chosen. The video montages that are part of the Demo Material are great looking in that old school "ambient video" manner (to re-coin a phrase I invented years ago here when reviewing a bunch of Topics releases). In these brief videos, detail levels are routinely very high, with a natural looking palette and consistent contrast and fine detail levels. I will caution those who have to take seizure warnings seriously that the A/V Sync material has bright flashing lights with very loud sonic pops, and it was actually a little hard for me to keep watching and listening, even though I suffer from no such maladies.

A Note on the "Screenshots": While obviously far from optimal, these were snapped by my Google Pixel 2 in front of my 4K display, which was the only way I could think of to provide those interested with at least some idea of what the disc contains. Therefore these are obviously rough (some might say extremely rough) approximations of what you see on this 4K UHD disc.

Note 2: Since there is obviously no 1080p Blu-ray included with this release, a 1080p video score is not applicable.

Spears & Munsil UHD HDR Benchmark 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The only audio I found in my travels through the highways and byways of this disc were the expected mutant ping pong pop that accompanied the A/V Sync calibration options, as well as some instrumental backing that accompanies the Demo Material, which is an amalgamation of various nature shots (see the first "screenshot" in this review). The A/V Sync material is rather boisterous, though obviously intermittent. The orchestral backing for the short videos is nicely full bodied and expansive in either of its lossless surround renderings.

Spears & Munsil UHD HDR Benchmark 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no real "supplements" on this disc, but that is not to say there isn't a wealth of submenu material here.

Spears & Munsil UHD HDR Benchmark 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you've had your equipment professionally calibrated, this disc may not be absolutely necessary, but it's still kind of fun to go through all of the choices here if for no other reason than to see how your calibrator's choices line up (figuratively or literally as the case may be) with the patterns and other options on this disc. I found this an at times mind boggling array of material, but it at least confirmed that I seem to have things adequately adjusted. The release might have been aided by more complete documentation for those unacquainted with some of the calibration options this disc does offer. For those interested in this kind of technically minded disc, UHD HDR Benchmark comes Recommended.