Re: DARBEE Visual Presence DVP 5000

[Anonymous]

@Doug Blackburn 3974 wrote:

You’re not forced to use the Darbee processing in the new Radiance processor(s), you can use it or not use it. There have been recent (unsubstantiated, but possibly true) claims that Darbee processing has been used by (pick 1 or more) directors / cinematographers / mastering houses during preparation of 1 or more Blu-ray releases. I don’t have a problem with that if the images look like the director/cinematographer want them to look after the processing is applied. But if the Blu-ray release was produced with Darbee processing, you would NOT want to Double Darbee the disc by using more Darbee processing at home. How do you know what disc titles have already been Darbee’d? I’ve never seen anything listed on a disc package (so far, but I don’t see even half the Blu-ray discs that are released) that would alert you to the disc already being Darbee’d. Unless there’s some metadata in a Darbee’d release that would temporarily disable Darbee processing at home, it would be difficult to avoid the Double Darbee problem. I find it difficult to watch cable/satellite programming without Darbee processing now… it helps a LOT as long as you don’t use more than 45% and stick with the HD user mode. For Blu-ray, it can often be set to 65% without seeing any problems in the images but I can’t stop thinking that the director/cinematographer didn’t see their movie this way and I get antsy to turn it off. In the Lumagen processor(s) that have Darbee processing, you can turn the processing on for all inputs or only for selected inputs so if you choose to stay a Blu-ray “purist” you can still do that very easily. Many times I have the Darbee box connected upstream of the Radiance processor connected only to the cable/satellite box where it does the most good and doesn’t bother me psychologically at all since everything is a bit off anyway and since cable/satellite programming doesn’t look much like real/full HD anyway.

This comes closer to describing for me a legitimate purpose for such a device. I function on a very restricted equipment budget. The only time I conduct really critical viewing of video programs, on my own time, is watching Blu-ray movies on the DLP front projection setup at my office. Both projector and screen are used in large-format post production QC applications. My cable TV viewing is mostly news and baseball at home, on a low-end 50″ plasma, at a non-critical viewing distance. The only way I would experiment with a Darbee product is if it was free.

I’m glad there are discriminating reviewers I find credible that have experience with the device. Most of the reviews I have read from trusted sources have said it isn’t necessary to use it on a high-performance display system with Blu-ray. Therefore, I haven’t considered it a priority for my budget. I’m also not swayed by anecdotal observations/opinions or popularity, most especially among the so-called videophile hobbyist community. Consumer video is still dominated by the thinking that if it dazzles the masses, it will sell. My focus is on authentic depiction of cinematic art, technical merit, and the truth, not if something can be sold.