Marvell Readies Its Video-Processing Test Disc
By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 8/24/2009
Santa Clara, Calif. — Marvell, the maker of chip-based video processing and up-scaling technology QDEO, recently revealed it has developed a Blu-ray test disc to help video enthusiasts objectively gauge the performance quality of the video-processing equipment, while at the same time offering an instrument to let observers visually measure the attributes of products carrying its Qdeo chip.
Initially, Marvell will make the disc available to dealers and product reviewers to gather feedback on the usefulness of the various test patterns, color bars and other tools its offers. Depending on what comes back, the company may decide to market the disc as a general setup and evaluation tool for end users, said Nikhil Balram, Marvell Semiconductor digital entertainment business unit, communications and consumer business VP and GM.
The disc was designed to provide “objective evaluation of the quality of video processing in HD audio/video products like Blu-ray players, A/V receivers and HDTVs,” according to Balram.
The HD test disc, which Balram said is being sent to key retailers for in-store demos, provides a means for comprehensive testing of the main elements of video processing, including noise reduction, format conversion and image enhancement.
The noise-reduction test patterns check the ability of the system under test to reduce analog and digital noise. The format-conversion test patterns provide a comprehensive test of the capabilities of the de-interlacing done by the system.
The enhancement patterns check for the presence and performance of a variety of leading-edge types of enhancements, including detail enhancement, adaptive contrast enhancement, intelligent color remapping and bit-resolution-expansion, according to Marvell.
The disk also includes a set of test patterns for calibration of the video settings of the system, as well as a demonstration section and an HD video montage to show the visual impact of high-quality video processing.
“Consumer demand for pristine image quality from HD video systems continues to grow and we're constantly striving to make home theater visual experiences better and better,” stated Balram. “In order to easily differentiate between inferior and superior video-processing solutions, and to better appreciate the advances that are being made, manufacturers and reviewers need a comprehensive objective benchmark for HD video processing.”
The company said its Qdeo video-processing technology is designed to clean and up-scale video from a wide range of formats and quality levels, including Internet-delivered content.
The Qdeo system uses a suite of advanced QuietVideo technologies, delivering per-pixel noise and compression artifact reduction, to remove noise inherent in digital video. It also provides per-pixel motion-adaptive 3-D de-interlacing to remove “jaggies” and feathering, in addition to enhancing colors in up-converted SD source material, using adaptive contrast enhancement and intelligent color remapping.
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