# Lumagen Radiance Mini 3D Video Processor.



## tele1962

Great review here:

http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/lumagen-radiance-mini-3d-201210152092.htm


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## KelvinS1965

A little slow off the mark considering this product has been out nearly 2 years now (though the 125 point CMS is a recent improvement via a free software update as is typical for Lumagen to add free upgrades this way). I can't say I disagree with anything in the review though, the Mini3D is a cracking little device that can really improve the picture quality especially for those displays with limited or no CMS controls and oversaturated colour gamuts. 

I have three displays connected to mine via a HDMI splitter: A TV and projector in the same room and another smaller TV in a nearby conservatory. This way I can benefit from 'perfect' calibrations on all three displays (when I'm watching content from a HDMI source of course). All three displays have no CMS and oversaturated colour gamuts, but with the Mini3D I get well within the typical under 3dE target for greyscale and colours. The cropping/masking controls are handy for use with a projector too (I have an anamorphic lens, so the vertical stretch the Mini3D provides is better than any provided by my display or BluRay player). The 21 point greyscale controls allowed me to really play around with gamma so I could learn what effect this has on the picture by making small changes and saving them in a spare memory, then pausing different scenes at varying APLs. From this I found that I like to reduce gamma at 10% and below to 2.1 to aid shadow detail and the Mini3D makes this a doddle to do.

Without wanting to sound too much like I'm on Lumagen's payroll (I'm not by the way ) I've found the support to be great. I've owned a Video EQ Pro and a DVDO Edge before, so I know what poor support is like and how frustrating it can be. I once posted on the Lumagen website about an issue I was having and the same day they posted an updated firmware which resolved the problem. Basically I wouldn't be without mine.

I'm waiting for my new JVC X35 to arrive later next month, so last night I ran a fresh recalibration of my existing HD350 using the Mini3D. Unfortunately I didn't get the as found greyscale on this report, but for anyone who knows how bad a HD350 can be for colour gamut, take a look at my results (done from scratch in about 40 minutes too, so I'm quicker than the autocal. ). If I get chance I'll redo the report with the Mini3D bypassed for the 'pre' results to show the effect better (it was more a test of my new i1 display Pro sensor and to get the HD350 a bit closer to spec for the last few weeks I'll be using it).

I meant to add that I'll tweak the saturations of red, blue and magenta to make them positive (ie _slightly_ oversaturated rather than undersaturated. Then I'm going to run the 125 point autocal CMS and save to a spare memory so I can pause images and see if I can tell the difference of the extra colour calibration points. I could probably tweak the 70 IRE and above gamma a little higher, but I only spent maybe 25 minutes doing the greyscale, so it was a bit rushed.


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## tele1962

Sorry i didn't know there was a timescale for reviews and i thought this one was one of the best reviews it's had.


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## KelvinS1965

No, I wasn't saying there is, just that it's a bit behind the rest of the reviews having been out 2 years now. It's still a great bit of kit as I said.

At least it isn't as bad a HCC reviewing the JVC X30 in their December edition, just as the X35 comes out. :sarcastic:

I haven't seen a bad review of the Mini3D anywhere to be honest, though I bought mine before it had been reviewed (but based my decision on the reviews of the other Radiance models available at the time).


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## tele1962

KelvinS1965 said:


> No, I wasn't saying there is, just that it's a bit behind the rest of the reviews having been out 2 years now. It's still a great bit of kit as I said.
> 
> At least it isn't as bad a HCC reviewing the JVC X30 in their December edition, just as the X35 comes out. :sarcastic:
> 
> I haven't seen a bad review of the Mini3D anywhere to be honest, though I bought mine before it had been reviewed (but based my decision on the reviews of the other Radiance models available at the time).


No problem mate. One day i hope to get one.:T


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## KelvinS1965

I've seen a couple come up for sale on another Av based forum that I've seen you on, so might be possible to save a bit over the £1,500 retail price.

Haven't been on here for a while, is it UK based or somewhere else?


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## tele1962

KelvinS1965 said:


> I've seen a couple come up for sale on another Av based forum that I've seen you on, so might be possible to save a bit over the £1,500 retail price.
> 
> Haven't been on here for a while, is it UK based or somewhere else?


LOL i post in a few (not always welcome i know) but i mainly involved with HDTVTest.:shh:


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## AtomicAgeZombie

How well would something like this work with newer displays? Is it worth the investment for the UN60D7000?


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## KelvinS1965

I'd read up some quality reviews on your display first: The type that measure the greyscale, gamma and colour gamut if possible. From these you could determine whether there are sufficient controls in the display itself to achieve a good calibration (ie does it even have a CMS, if not is there a reasonably accurate mode you can use that is close to rec709).

The Lumagen does many other things apart from calibration: It can upscale without ringing, has quality deinterlacing, also has masking and aspect ratio controls that are very flexible. I believe it has various 3D options too, but that isn't something I've any experience of as I'm not into 3D myself. I believe (though would need to check) that it can change the type of 3D from input to output which might help with certain displays and sources.

It's a pretty expensive piece of kit too, but I'm not sure what this forum's policy is regarding prices, but AFAIK the UK list price is £1,350 I don't know what it costs elsewhere. For me it is worth it (plus it's linked to three displays so I get CMS and accurate greyscale/gamma control where I would only have a 2 point control and very oversaturated gamuts on all three displays) YMMV of course.


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## AtomicAgeZombie

Thanks for the reply, I'll dig a little deeper for more info.


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## AtomicAgeZombie

Do you think this would reduce or create lag while gaming?


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## David Mackenzie

Have a read of the HDTVtest review - I measured input lag in there. In the end I preferred sidestepping it for gaming (where I always prioritise speed over quality).

Seeing as it's an extra processing step, I don't think it could ever reduce the lag. Maybe if you had a 480i games console source and your TV's deinterlacing was really slow, a Lumagen processor could be faster. But like I say in the review, it only has HDMI inputs, so a 480i only source is unlikely. With the X360 and PS3 you can just send 1080p over HDMI directly to the display.



> Without wanting to sound too much like I'm on Lumagen's payroll (I'm not by the way ) I've found the support to be great. I've owned a Video EQ Pro and a DVDO Edge before, so I know what poor support is like and how frustrating it can be. I once posted on the Lumagen website about an issue I was having and the same day they posted an updated firmware which resolved the problem. Basically I wouldn't be without mine.


This was our experience too. We pointed out that 2-2 film cadence detection wasn't working for 50hz; Lumagen were on the case pretty quickly.


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