Introduction to the ChromaPure 2.2 Video Calibration System and Lumagen Radiance Mini-3D Video Processor

If you’ve read the previous DIY calibration articles here at Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity, then you’ve seen us cover ChromaPure and CalMAN calibration systems, and the DVDO Duo video processor. This time we’re going to look at the newest release of ChromaPure, version 2.2, as well as the Lumagen Radiance Mini-3D Video Processor, both individually and together.

ChromaPure has been through a few revisions since we first looked at it, with a lot of new features added. Some of the main new features we are looking at are:
- Auto-calibration for DVDO Duo and Lumagen Radiance users
- Quick Reports
- 5% measurements in addition to 10% for White Balance
- Advanced Color Management that measures saturations and intensities in 25% increments
- Contrast and Brightness Patterns
- Updated Contrast Measurements
- Support for RGB in addition to HSL for Color Management
- New Pro and Plus versions of the software for professionals

Some of these features were things that we asked for in our previous review. Some were certainly things that other users have asked for, and Tom Huffman has done a great job of listening to everyone and improving the product as quickly as he can.

Lumagen is a company that many people have heard of, as their Radiance external Color Management System (CMS, a.k.a., Video Processor) has been a category-leading product for a number of years now. They now have a new lineup of video processor models that includes support for 3D image formats, as well as a more compact model, the Mini-3D. All of the Radiance models have the same ability to correct your colorspace, gamma, and grayscale but vary in the number of inputs and outputs that they provide. For this review I used a Mini-3D as it, like all current Radiance models, supports the new Auto-Calibration feature in ChromaPure.