This is Mei-Ah's first foray into HD and I had mixed expectations due to their spotty DVD mastering history and that they're a comparatively small outfit alongside Mega-Star/Media Asia. Thankfully however, I was pleasantly surprised. Considering the low budget nature of the film, it looks pretty much excellent throughout. Daytime shots and close-ups look fantastic, very sharp and detailed and there's a refreshing feint grain throughout the whole film. Even the many dark interior scenes look good, with decent grayscale depth and no compression artifacts that I noticed. The only slight issues with the video are that colour and contrast is a tad flat... By that I mean there's rarely any instance of the 'pop' many seek from HD. This is a typical look for HK films though, and the trade-off here is a refreshing film-like presentation due to the natural grain and plentiful detail. The second issue might be a deal breaker for some though...a watermark. Yes, there's a small Mei-Ah HD watermark that crops up twice throughout the film for a split second in the top left of the frame. No idea why they saw fit to do this and is a disappointing blemish on what might otherwise be the best looking HK Blu-Ray transfer I've seen to date.

As for disc specs, I suspect its a BD50... The video is an AVC encode and audio packs both DTS-HD MA 7.1 and PCM 7.1 tracks as well standard lossy DD 5.1 EX options. Bitrate is very healthy, averaging out in the late 20mbps/early 30mbps, even hitting the 40's on occasions. The English subtitles are perfectly serviceable and I only noticed a couple of instances of awkward grammar. They're also at the bottom of the frame not in the bottom black bar. Extras consist of a trailer and a 20 min unsubtitled making-of/interview with Johnny To, both in 480i.

Thanks omenII for the excellent review. Why don't you post the above in the PQ Tier thread and make some recommendations ? :)

Yes, there's a small Mei-Ah HD watermark that crops up twice throughout the film for a split second in the top left of the frame.

Does the watermark appear twice or throughout the film ? :confused:

Thanks omenII for the excellent review. Why don't you post the above in the PQ Tier thread and make some recommendations ? :)



Does the watermark appear twice or throughout the film ? :confused:

Thanks lgans...but its not much of a review just some quick impressions for those that were considering picking it up. I'm not too acquainted with all the technical stuff so wouldn't want to call where it sits among general PQ standards...I just call it as I see it, really :o

The watermark crops up twice for about a second each time. Bit of non-issue in context, but cant deny I were surprised and disappointed to see it...

Thanks buddy for the quick reply. Good that the logo appeared only twice and not throughout the presentation.

As for disc specs, I suspect its a BD50...

Flip the disc over and look at the inner ring. If there's just one row with the bar code, it's a BD25. If there are two concentric rows, it's a BD50.

Flip the disc over and look at the inner ring. If there's just one row with the bar code, it's a BD25. If there are two concentric rows, it's a BD50.

never knew it, very useful

as on the movie, i'll wait for UK's edition, don't like that watermark thing.

Yes, will wait for the UK release. Non-subtitled extras and a watermark,(no matter how long it's onscreen), equals a big no sale for me. Mei-Ah really are the lowest of the low. Deltamac and Megastar,(Infernal Affairs sequels aside), have their sh*t together at least.

this watermark, does it appear only when subtitle is turned on?
so if subs are off, is the watermark still showing up?

this watermark, does it appear only when subtitle is turned on?
so if subs are off, is the watermark still showing up?

I'll check and let you know sancho.

comparison of the MoC and Mei-Ah blu-ray of that movie (MoC's very first blu-ray release; jpegs only unfortunately):
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews39/mad_detective_blu-ray.htm

"The heavy (intentional) grain is an important aspect of the film and you don't want to mess with that. The MoC doesn't have any HD-DVNR or grain removal applied and they obviously didn't color or contrast boost. The HD master that they used was graded and approved by the director. Despite the Mei Ah appearing more like a modern Hollywood transfer, IMHO, it is really not as similar to the theatrical intent as the darker, damper, slightly greenish/blue Masters of Cinema encode... Another 3 significant black marks against the Mei Ah are that it is unhealthily cropped on three sides (bottom and side edges) - quite evident beside the Masters of Cinema disc - plus the instances of watermarks appearing early in the corner of the frame on the Hong Kong Blu-ray"

comparison of the MoC and Mei-Ah blu-ray of that movie (MoC's very first blu-ray release; jpegs only unfortunately):
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews39/mad_detective_blu-ray.htm

"The heavy (intentional) grain is an important aspect of the film and you don't want to mess with that. The MoC doesn't have any HD-DVNR or grain removal applied and they obviously didn't color or contrast boost. The HD master that they used was graded and approved by the director. Despite the Mei Ah appearing more like a modern Hollywood transfer, IMHO, it is really not as similar to the theatrical intent as the darker, damper, slightly greenish/blue Masters of Cinema encode... Another 3 significant black marks against the Mei Ah are that it is unhealthily cropped on three sides (bottom and side edges) - quite evident beside the Masters of Cinema disc - plus the instances of watermarks appearing early in the corner of the frame on the Hong Kong Blu-ray"I've ordered the UK disc for the extras and improved translation but I've no idea why DVD Beavers reviewers continue to 'approve' one colour scheme over another entirely different one, with absolutely no knowledge of a directors intent or even seeing the film theatrically. The Mei-Ah transfer might well be boosted, but the MOC transfer might well be washed out and improperly blue-tinted too. If the former is contrast boosted then there's no loss of detail in whites/blacks to show for it, believe me. They claim the MOC HD master is director approved but that doesn't mean the Blu-Ray encode/transfer is.

I'll reserve judgement until I have the disc and can compare both on my own set-up, but I'm not happy with how the MOC transfer has turned out based on those pic's. Although I can't honestly say I noticed either way, I certainly don't recall the film looking that blue and flat when I saw it theatrically. And I'm more likely to have noticed and remembered something like that if it did...

I guess at least one person there saw the movie in cinema and therefore can approx. tell how it was there (or if they are wrong, they might report about email corrections in the review perhaps few days later).

from my own experience with moc DVDs (not a ton thoug, but a few) I have yet to see one which was of bad quality (in terms of overall PQ) or somewhat against a director's intention with its presentation. in that respect I trust them even more than criterion (whose dics are often contrast boosted and (because of that(?)) also softer with less detail or a little too much sharpened).