F.A.Q.

What’s our purpose?

With the increasing influence of publishers on gamer-oriented sites, it is easy to lose track of the true quality of a game, as it may become buried under a clever layer of advertising that bolsters the game’s appearance. While aesthetically pleasing, this has no correlation between the relatively minor features on display and the actual experience of the game itself. This is why the Lens of Truth exists: to deliver gamers, both casual and hardcore, quality reviews, previews, and content that exposes a game’s quality for what it is, free of any external influences. This is made possible by a dedicated team of fellow gamers and developers who want to know just as bad as everyone else the answer to our most basic question: “Is this game worth my $60?”

How do we capture and stream?

We are constantly getting asked how we capture and stream our videos. So we whipped up a few nifty flow charts. As you can see, this is what we mean by source. Everything goes from the consoles to the capture box…there are no cameras involved.

lot_capture_flowchart_hdmi.jpg lot_justintv_flowchart.jpg


We have also had plenty of “it doesn’t look like that on my TV” comments, and we agree – it doesn’t. Having dealt with color correction and accuracy at previous studios we can tell you that it is no easy task. Each display will almost always produce an image differently. Color, contrast, brightness, sharpness all come into play. Not to mention the actual capabilities of the display (contrast ratio, black levels, etc.). Just understand that it may look better/worse depending on your home setup and settings. Here is an image to better display what is happening:

color_accuracy_between_devices

And rest assured, we know what we are doing in terms of system settings. Here are the details:

PlayStation 3 has RGB Full Range set to “Full” and Super White “On”.
Xbox 360 has Reference Level set to “Expanded” and HDMI Color Space set to “RGB”.

To ensure color accuracy from the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 output, using the above settings, to our capture card we have captured segments from the AVS HD 709 – Blu-ray, HD DVD, & MP4 Calibration suite. As you will see, each system matches each other at the source level.

ps3_color_0 xbox_color_0
ps3_color_1 xbox_color_1
ps3_color_2 xbox_color_2
ps3_color_3 xbox_color_3


How do we operate?

Completely out of pocket. Everything from servers, hardware and games we fund ourselves. Sure we make a couple bucks a month, okay like $5, in advertisements. Why do we do it? Definitely not for the money. We are gamers and consumers too and we want the best experience possible.


Aaron
Aaron also known as “Double Perfect Aaron” is addicted to playing video games. He religiously plays around 8 hours of games daily, only leaving his room to reheat his coffee. Its still remains undetermined how and when bathroom breaks occur. Aaron is responsible for the majority of our Review and Retro content.

Professional Experience: Aaron manages the largest arcade and vending distributor in the North East. After graduating Connecticut school of electronics Aaron continued his career modifying and converting arcade machines and mother boards. His tools of choice are a power meter and semiconductor tester.

Favorite Games:Super Metroid, Street Fighter (Series), Castlevania SotN

Currently Playing: Alan Wake, Red Dead Redemption, Chrono Trigger

Shawn
Shawn is commonly referred to as Jaime, only cause he looks exactly like Jaime. Shawn enjoys getting drunk and shooting his rifle at standing water, preferably small lakes that pose no threat. Shawn is mostly responsible for the backend of the website and likes to pretend programming is in his blood.

Professional Experience:Shawn is a programmer that has been in the industry about 7 years. After graduating Full Sail with a degree in Game Design and Development Shawn immediately started his career programming games for Merit Entertainment. Shawn is currently working on classified simulations for the military. His programming weapons of choice are C, C++, Lua, Vim, CEGUI and MFC.

Favorite Games:Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, GoldenEye 007, Gears of War, Metal Gear (series)

Currently Playing:Street Fighter IV, Killzone 2

Jaime
Jaime is commonly referred to as Jaime, but he’s usually late so chances are you’re talking to Shawn. Jaime enjoys NOT going to the zoo and NOT showing up for pretty much anything remotely important. Jaime is responsible for Head2Head comparisons and content….if he shows up.

Professional Experience:3D artist who has worked on many military simulations. His day job consists of developing simulations using CryEngine 2.

Favorite Games:Street Fighter (series), Left4Dead, Batman Arkham Asylum

Currently Playing:Batman Arkham Asylum, Call of Duty World at War

Jason
Jason is the epitome of a “hardcore” gamer by completely tattooing his entire body with his favorite video game characters. He is unbeatable in X-Men vs Street Fighter by exploiting a very difficult 2 button infinite combo. Jason is mainly responsible for the majority of our Review and Retro content.

Professional Experience: Jason manages the largest arcade and vending distributor in the North East. After 4 years as an electrician Jason took his electrical knowledge and now modifies and installs the latest and greatest arcade equipment the industry has to offer. His tools for creation are a soldering iron and his tool box.

Favorite Games:Final Fantasy 7, Ninja Gaiden Black, Street Fighter II

Currently Playing: Singularity, Crackdown 2, and Rayman 2 (DC) .

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