Okay I'm probably one of the few dorks that actually has every version of this movie out there. I got the PAL Region 2 version early last year and was turning friends on to the movie. Got the US version for Xmas from a friend and just got the BD version last week.

So far the PAL version is the worst. Very soft image and the blacks are totally crushed. The NTSC version is a bit nicer, a little more detail in the blacks and color saturation is good.

But OH MY LORD the BD version. Simply amazing. Everything is sharp without a bit of edge enhancement. There's so much more detail in the darker scenes that it's a totally new movie for me. Just amazing. Colors are rich without being oversaturated. Monochromatically lit scenes look much more natural. All around you just can make out more stuff. And zero noise in the black. Nothing but velvety blackness. YAY!! The earlier DVDs of this film really suffer with all the dark scenes. Not this BD disc. I'm still stunned at how much more detail HD pulled out of this film. My Panny AE900 has never had this hard a workout before.

I thought I'd just give the PS3 a 30 trial run and return it but this puppy is staying here... It's ramen noodles for the next 2 months.

Elio

Sweet, and The Descent is obviously a very dark movie too, which is harder to extract a great picture from.

Just out of curiosity, what did you use to watch the PAL version and were you watching it native or converted to NTSC? I have the R2 PAL and thought it looked excellent outputting from my oppo natively.
Looking forward to the BD version though...

:)

Just out of curiosity, what did you use to watch the PAL version and were you watching it native or converted to NTSC? I have the R2 PAL and thought it looked excellent outputting from my oppo natively.
Looking forward to the BD version though...

:)

I have a Denon 3910 and an Panasonic AE900 on a 100" BW Carada screen. The room is totally light controlled, black ceiling and walls, dark carpet. Windows blocked.

When you see it in BD you'll see how soft the PAL disc is. I originally thought it was a great pressing too. But the BD version is amazing. WAY more detail. You can actually make out what is going on when the crawlers are making lunch out of Holly.

Do you have the 3910 converting the PAL to NTSC or passing the native PAL to the projector?

I have found that PAL converted to NTSC is way inferior PQ-wise to native PAL even with a good converting player. Psyched about the BD, though!


:)

Thanks for the info, I'll be picking this one up.

Do you have the 3910 converting the PAL to NTSC or passing the native PAL to the projector?

Passing native PAL to the projector.

wow, gotcha. The NTSC must really be kickass then because I thought the PAL looked swell!

:)

i thought the PAL was good, too. turned off Levels corrections in FFDShow even. i wasn't about to double dip in standard def, tho. not THAT rich...

wow, gotcha. The NTSC must really be kickass then because I thought the PAL looked swell!

:)

The PAL version looked great to me too until I compared it to the NTSC version which I felt was just a tad sharper and had a bit more detail in the blacks. But neither compare to the BD version. I am looking at in on 100" screen from about 10 feet away so minor issues that aren't too noticeable on a smaller display are readily apparent on mine.

you beat me! I've only got a 92" screen (we're about 9 feet away though...)


:) time to get the BD methinks.

you beat me! I've only got a 92" screen (we're about 9 feet away though...)


:) time to get the BD methinks.

You're going to love it. You'll notice the improvement right away. Lemme know what you think.

will do, cheers mate!


:)

thanks for the info, i'll be adding this to my list of bd movies also. i missed the movie at the theaters but friends say it's a good movie.

it's an excellent little "ALIEN" type spooky flick. I think it got over an 80% on Rottentomatoes.com which is practically unheard of for a horror film!
I mean, don't go in expecting Shakespeare though!

:)

Ah crap, you guys are gonna talk me into getting rid of my Pal version... :D

I'll be right next to ya, pal!


:)

Ah crap, you guys are gonna talk me into getting rid of my Pal version... :D

Hehe... Well at least you'll only have 2 versions. I have 3. Soon I'll have to dedicate a shelf to this darn movie.