The only way to know how good of a television you have is to push it to its limits. Here are four DVDs to add to your library that will challenge your HDTV while also entertaining you:
The Fifth Element
This DVD has become the classic demo disc for home theater. The movie features the whole enchilada when it comes to movie sensory perception. The detailed and saturated visuals run the gamut of colors, and the soundtrack makes brilliant use of 5.1 audio, featuring a dynamic range of both highs and lows along with hundreds of individual sound effects. The disc is also good for experimentation if you want to mess around with your TV’s picture settings. Check out the Ultimate Edition for the best version.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
An early scene in this disc features the ship HMS Surprise sailing through a heavy fog at dawn as it’s being hunted by another ship. This challenging scene, with its range of grays, will test your TV’s ability to show grayscale, white balance, and subtle shadings. Lesser TV sets may display banding in these scenes. The movie is also a classic, well worth having in your library.
U-571
This disc will push your subwoofer to its limits, particularly in the scenes featuring depth charges. The picture has a pure film look and is filled with low-saturation colors. Plasma owners, in particular, can test their black levels on the dimly-lit scenes on the sub.
Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl
With its gorgeously detailed costume and set design, this DVD is perfect for testing your TV’s ability to show detail. It’s also good for testing the deinterlacing quality of your DVD player vs the one in your HDTV. Compare and contrast tiny details like the hairs in Captain Jack Sparrow’s dreads. If you own a Blu-ray player and you’re feeling especially nerdy, rent both the Blu-ray and DVD versions to see how much more detail you’re getting for your $1,000 Blu-ray player.