Spears & Munsil Releases Expanded 2023 Test Disc Set

All Image Credit: BiasLighting/Scenic Labs (Spears & Munsil)

Stacey Spears and Don Munsil, the creators of the Spears & Munsil High Definition Benchmark series have released their 2023 vastly enhanced version of their Spears & Munsil Ultra HD Benchmark. A three-disc Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc set with more unique patterns than any previous calibration tool. This set of three Blu-ray discs provides an astounding 266 gigabytes (GB) of data, including 5,000 video and audio clips.

Whether you’re a home cinema enthusiast or a professional calibrator, you’ll find all the tests you need to set up, evaluate and adjust your Ultra HD TV or projector in the 2023 Spears and Munsil Ultra HD Benchmark three disc set. This new Ultra HD edition contains all-new patterns optimized for SDR, HDR, wide color gamut and UHD resolutions, it includes object-based Dolby Atmos and DTS:X surround-sound formats with tones covering setups ranging from 5.1.2 to 9.1.6 channels plus it includes pop-up help to simplify the calibration process.

Key features include:

• Calibration patterns to help set up displays for optimal clarity
• Evaluation patterns for motion, sharpness, color alignment & more
• Original demonstration clips shot and mastered in 8K HDR
• Demo material encoded in all supported HDR formats
• Audio tests available in Dolby Atmos and DTS:X
• Extensive selection of patterns for the professional calibrator

The suggested retail price is also very reasonable coming in at $59.94 and for a limited period it is available for the discounted price of $47.95 from BiasLighting/Scenic Labs.

According to the Spears & Munsil web site; “Every pattern has been rethought with High Dynamic Range and Ultra HD in mind,” said co-creator Stacey Spears. “We believe this disc completely changes the game for test and evaluation discs, by making use of all of the features and range that HDR and wide-gamut standards can offer.” Almost every pattern is encoded in multiple versions, with metadata and peak levels adjusted for HDR10, HDR10+, and Dolby Vision HDR display technologies.

These new discs contain patterns that were created similar to the previous discs using Spears & Munsil’s own in-house software, quote; “There really isn’t any other way to make patterns that we can stand behind,” said co-creator Don Munsil. “We build every pattern using our own tools, written from scratch in C++”.

These three discs include new editions of some favorite patterns from the earlier editions, plus many new patterns exclusive to Spears & Munsil. They also expand the range of video and audio formats and encodings supported to include; video in HD and UHD resolution, in SDR (encoded in both BT.2020 and BT.709 color spaces), HDR10 (with multiple target peak luminance options), HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. Plus audio support for object based Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, with tones covering setups ranging from 5.1.2 to 9.1.6 channels which are completely compatible with earlier iterations of Dolby Digital and DTS.

Finally, as with previous versions these discs contain patterns suitable for the professional calibrator or serious enthusiast who wants a complete suite of test patterns usable with spectroradiometers and colorimeters.