Mastering Your Home Theater: A Review of the Disney World of Wonder Disc

Setting up a home theater system, whether it’s an HDTV paired with surround sound, often feels more complicated than it needs to be. Unlike simple DIY home improvement tasks that shows make look easy, the world of audio and video calibration is often shrouded in technical jargon. Consumers face confusing choices at electronics stores, bombarded with upsells on cables, warranties, and expensive calibration services. This leads many to simply connect their new equipment, decide the picture and sound are “fine,” and miss out on the full potential of their investment. Getting your TV and speakers properly configured isn’t inherently difficult, but it does require some time, understanding, and the right tools. While professional calibration by ISF- or THX-certified experts offers the ultimate precision, it comes at a significant cost. For those seeking a more budget-friendly, do-it-yourself approach, Disney’s World of Wonder (WOW) disc presents itself as a compelling alternative. This review examines the Disney World Of Wonder Dvd (or rather, the Blu-ray version’s content relevant to those searching for this calibration tool) as a potential solution for optimizing your home entertainment experience.

The case for the Disney World of Wonder WOW Blu-ray calibration disc

The Disney World of Wonder disc, structured into three main sections—Discover, Optimize, and Experience—represents Disney’s notable effort to demystify HDTV, Blu-ray, and surround sound technologies for the average consumer. While it contains genuinely valuable information and useful calibration patterns, some elements fall short of perfection. Let’s delve into each section to understand its strengths and weaknesses.

Discover: Home Theater Basics with a Disney Twist

The “Discover” section is designed as the educational core of the Disney WOW disc, particularly aimed at those new to home theater technology. It kicks off with “Home Theater Basics with Goofy,” an animated segment explaining system components and connections. While potentially engaging for very young viewers, Goofy’s interjections can quickly become tiresome for anyone over the age of 10. A more mature or less grating animated host might have made this segment more broadly appealing.

A notable drawback in this section is the pervasive Disney marketing presence. For instance, a menu item titled “The Power of Blu-ray, Simple as 1-2-3” is essentially a minute-long commercial reinforcing the need to buy Disney Blu-ray Discs after setting up your system. While expected to some extent, the overt sales pitch detracts slightly from the educational mission.

Optimize: The Heart of Calibration Tools

The primary value proposition of the Disney World of Wonder disc lies in its “Optimize” section on Disc One. This is where Disney provides a wealth of video and audio calibration information and test patterns. Compared to older, often frustratingly designed calibration discs like Joe Kane’s Digital Video Essentials, Disney’s WOW disc excels in presentation. The menu design is attractive, intuitive, and consistent, making navigation straightforward – a significant improvement over the labyrinthine menus found on some competing discs.

The disc includes numerous useful test patterns for adjusting your display’s picture settings (brightness, contrast, color, tint, sharpness) and your sound system’s levels and speaker placement. The disc makes a sincere effort to explain the purpose of each pattern and what the results indicate about your system’s current state. However, having test patterns is only half the battle; understanding how to interpret them and make adjustments is crucial. Fortunately, one of the most valuable assets accompanying the Disney World Of Wonder Dvd (or the Blu-ray reviewed) is the included 53-page booklet. This well-written guide, filled with screenshots, provides detailed instructions for using the on-disc utilities, bridging the gap between pattern and practical application. Even with experience and certification in display calibration, having clear instructions like these is invaluable for a DIY approach.

Experience: Demonstration Material Hits and Misses

After calibrating your system, the natural next step is to watch some demo material to evaluate the results. Unfortunately, the “Experience” section is where the Disney World of Wonder disc truly disappoints. The majority of the thirty-odd film clips provided are animated or heavily reliant on CGI. While visually impressive, computer-generated imagery is not ideal for evaluating the accuracy of skin tones, realistic textures, or natural motion – crucial elements for assessing calibration effectiveness. Clips featuring characters like Mrs. Potato Head or Davey Jones are poor choices for this purpose.

Thankfully, there are a few exceptions, such as sample footage from Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige. This live-action film features excellent cinematography and looks spectacular on Blu-ray, serving as a much better example of real-world video performance. More clips of this nature would have significantly enhanced the utility of this section.

Disc Two of the Disney WOW set is a 60-minute nature presentation titled “VISIONS: Inspired by Nature.” Presented as a loop of landscapes and tranquil music, it functions as an extended demo reel. However, similar to Disc One’s demo section, it incorporates both natural and digitally created or enhanced landscapes. While beautiful, the inclusion of digitally manipulated imagery again makes it challenging to use as a definitive tool for evaluating display accuracy against real-world visuals. As the producer/director clarified, some segments are purely natural, and these indeed look superb, but the prevalence of digitally altered content limits its effectiveness for critical evaluation.

Final Thoughts

For many consumers, the intricacies of video formats, audio codecs, and system calibration can seem incredibly dry and complex. The fact that it took a major studio like Disney to create a calibration disc aimed at the average user is somewhat surprising, given the long-standing need for such a tool. Despite some notable flaws—namely the irritating Goofy segment, the heavy-handed sales pitches, and the questionable choice of demonstration material—the educational content and, more importantly, the intuitive test patterns and comprehensive accompanying booklet offered by the Disney World of Wonder disc make it a worthwhile investment for anyone looking to optimize their home theater setup without the expense of professional calibration. For those searching for a reliable DIY home theater calibration tool, considering the Disney WOW DVD or Blu-ray disc is a sensible step towards unlocking your system’s full potential.

Product Details (Based on the Reviewed Blu-ray Version):

• Audio/Languages: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, 5.1 and 2.0
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 and 2.35:1 (varies)
• Region: A
• Number of Discs: 2
• Rating: Not Rated
• Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
• Blu-ray Disc Release Date: November 2, 2010
• Run Time: 240 minutes
• List Price: $39.99
• Extras:
  • Bonus Disc: “Visions: Inspired by Nature” (60 minutes)
  • BD LIVE