Watched this with my family tonight. A very enjoyable film done right for mixed company. Some giggles ,good plot and action for what it was.The 110 minutes went more like 90, indicative of a better than average experience IMO.

The audio was fairly enveloping with a fantastic looking picture.LFE was solid but not overly aggressive even with the T Rex running around.

Generally images were sharp and I particularly enjoyed the very large 1.78:1( approx) image incorrectly labeled as 2.35:1 on the case. Most HD optical titles have been scope aspect ratio so this was a great opportunity to see what full vertical res looked like and it was not disappointing. Occasional instances of visible grain did not distract . The color saturation , clarity, and only occasional artifacting meant a great experience for me as my less discerning(AV wise) family enjoyed the film with me.

BD came through very nicely here in that no HDDVD or DTheater would dust this title. :)

Art

Thanks Art, this one is on it's way from Netflix.

Does this title have an uncompressed PCM track?

^Has DTS-HD MA (which down-converts to the 1.5 core).

i have to disagree if you mean no hd-dvd or blu ray will dust it in picture quality if thats what you mean. my brother bought it for my son and its okay but defiantly tier 2 and mid at best.

I thought this one looked great too. I already saw it in theaters so I just rewatched a couple of scenes and couldn't find any sign of the EE that everyone's been complaining about.

Agreed. Great looking PQ and a good family movie.

We watched it last night with our guests and they enjoyed it a lot. I liked the picture and the sound. The backs ended up getting a lot of action...

Watched this with my family tonight. A very enjoyable film done right for mixed company. Some giggles ,good plot and action for what it was.The 110 minutes went more like 90, indicative of a better than average experience IMO.

The audio was fairly enveloping with a fantastic looking picture.LFE was solid but not overly aggressive even with the T Rex running around.

Generally images were sharp and I particularly enjoyed the very large 1.78:1( approx) image incorrectly labeled as 2.35:1 on the case. Most HD optical titles have been scope aspect ratio so this was a great opportunity to see what full vertical res looked like and it was not disappointing. Occasional instances of visible grain did not distract . The color saturation , clarity, and only occasional artifacting meant a great experience for me as my less discerning(AV wise) family enjoyed the film with me.

BD came through very nicely here in that no HDDVD or DTheater would dust this title. :)

Art

Art,

I agree, a very solid release by Fox and Blu-ray. I felt the audio in the release is what really excelled. Here is my review:

http://www.upcomingdiscs.com/dvd_review.php?id=6789

~Josh

Very solid would mean BD-50, AVC + DTS MA, and all extras from disc 2 of the dvd. I wonder why the 2nd highest grossing film of 2006 didn't get the above specs the first time.

My copy just arrived yesterday from Amazon. Going to screen it tonight for the family when they come visit, and looking forward to it! :)

Very solid would mean BD-50, AVC + DTS MA, and all extras from disc 2 of the dvd. I wonder why the 2nd highest grossing film of 2006 didn't get the above specs the first time.

Why would it need to have a BD50 with AVC to be solid? This is a BD25 with MPEG2 and it shines. It also has a DTS-HD Lossless track. I think by this point in BD's history, it is quite clear that MPEG2 can and often does perform as well as AVC and VC-1.

Out of curiosity, what did you think of this release when you saw it? Have you seen it?

~Josh

Good to hear more positive things about this disc. I won't get to watch mine till next weekend. I have a friend from out of town visiting then who is anxious to see this in HD as well.

Why would it need to have a BD50 with AVC to be solid? This is a BD25 with MPEG2 and it shines. It also has a DTS-HD Lossless track. I think by this point in BD's history, it is quite clear that MPEG2 can and often does perform as well as AVC and VC-1.

Out of curiosity, what did you think of this release when you saw it? Have you seen it?

~Josh


Art/beatboy

The only thing that let me don in this movie was actually the lack of surrounds. In particular, the part where it's his 1st shift, and he uses the microphone and PA system to pretend he's the Monster truck announcer, I heard nothing from my rears. I would have thought that the whole thing taking place in a museum would have leant itself to the embience of echoes, etc.

I actually went as far as to check all of settings, and re-doing a calibration. Did I miss something?

check...check...Is this thing on? (sorry I could not resist)...hmm...I watched it on DVD and liked the movie (surprisingly) but I felt soem of the CG shots were just plain horrible and I find myself debating whether or not this is something I want on BD or not since Target still has it for $24.95 today only. I saw it at Best Buy for $34.99 and they had like 20 copies of it last night. Who the heck would pay that much for it?

I watched it last night and was amazed at all the 3D. I really enjoyed the movie.

^Has DTS-HD MA (which down-converts to the 1.5 core).

Ah, didn't realize this was a Fox title.

Bummer it is DTS-HD MA, since I have no way of accessing that format.

Ah, didn't realize this was a Fox title.

Bummer it is DTS-HD MA, since I have no way of accessing that format.
and no one does with either a ps3,panasonic,pioneer,sony,samsung,lg stand alone players (ps3 game console) or any stand alone...

Art,

I agree, a very solid release by Fox and Blu-ray. I felt the audio in the release is what really excelled. Here is my review:

http://www.upcomingdiscs.com/dvd_review.php?id=6789

~Josh

Nice review. :)

Art

Ah, didn't realize this was a Fox title.

Bummer it is DTS-HD MA, since I have no way of accessing that format.

The rumor is that the PS3 will have a firmware update shortly to allow DTS-HD MA.

~Josh

The rumor is that the PS3 will have a firmware update shortly to allow DTS-HD MA.

~Josh


Oh no another rumor :).. Well lets hope.

PQ was very good. Movie wasnt that good tho.

Isn't the actual title NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM? ;)

The rumor is that the PS3 will have a firmware update shortly to allow DTS-HD MA.

~Josh
and the rumor is that universal will go neutral by 2008 ces :rolleyes:

but yah i hope it does happen it would get me to finally buy fox titles...

Question.......Do you think it was worth a blind buy? I'm tempted because it's at Target for $24.99 and it's $34.99 at Best Buy......

Very solid would mean BD-50, AVC + DTS MA, and all extras from disc 2 of the dvd. I wonder why the 2nd highest grossing film of 2006 didn't get the above specs the first time.
Picked this up at Target on sale for 24.99. :) I actually thought it sounded good. You can hear the surrounds pretty well in several scenes. (especially the scene where the animals are running out of the museum.) I have to agree with the above statement. I am a bit surprised at everyone raving at the PQ. It wasn't even as close to as good as say The Prestige. The several BD's I have watched, the ones using AVC look much better than MPEG 2. Maybe it's just a personal preference. Great Movie though, definately worth a blind buy.

The rumor is that the PS3 will have a firmware update shortly to allow DTS-HD MA.

Now that's a rumor I believe will come to be true. Can't wait!

Question.......Do you think it was worth a blind buy? I'm tempted because it's at Target for $24.99 and it's $34.99 at Best Buy......

Only if you have children. You're not likely to watch it more than once unless you do.

I also thought pq was excellent but the movie itself was so so...not many laughs and Stiller's acting was sub par. Thank God it was a rental.

"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people." - V
[based on a Thomas Jeffereson quote]

Funny to read this signature today being that I just rewatched V4V last night and liked that line a lot. :cool:

Watched this with my family tonight. A very enjoyable film done right for mixed company. Some giggles ,good plot and action for what it was.The 110 minutes went more like 90, indicative of a better than average experience IMO.

The audio was fairly enveloping with a fantastic looking picture.LFE was solid but not overly aggressive even with the T Rex running around.

Generally images were sharp and I particularly enjoyed the very large 1.78:1( approx) image incorrectly labeled as 2.35:1 on the case. Most HD optical titles have been scope aspect ratio so this was a great opportunity to see what full vertical res looked like and it was not disappointing. Occasional instances of visible grain did not distract . The color saturation , clarity, and only occasional artifacting meant a great experience for me as my less discerning(AV wise) family enjoyed the film with me.

BD came through very nicely here in that no HDDVD or DTheater would dust this title. :)

Art

It took everything I could do to watch 45 minutes before I finally stopped the movie. It was boring me to sleep.

The only thing that let me don in this movie was actually the lack of surrounds. In particular, the part where it's his 1st shift, and he uses the microphone and PA system to pretend he's the Monster truck announcer, I heard nothing from my rears. I would have thought that the whole thing taking place in a museum would have leant itself to the embience of echoes, etc.

I actually went as far as to check all of settings, and re-doing a calibration. Did I miss something?

Hey! I thought the same thing at the same scene! You're right, they didn't mix in much surround info there

I thought it was a fun movie. The biggest laugh for me was when Stiller asked the Sacajawea how she knew the van crashed just by studying the tracks. I love that type of humor.

It took everything I could do to watch 45 minutes before I finally stopped the movie. It was boring me to sleep.

I think if you had three small boys who like to watch movies with their father you might feel differently. I'd never have watched it alone,with adult friends or just my wife and I but , in a mix like last night, it was a very enjoyable experience.



Art

I think if you had three small boys who like to watch movies with their father you might feel differently. I'd never have watched it alone,with adult friends or just my wife and I but , in a mix like last night, it was a very enjoyable experience.



Art
My son and I are looking forward to this movie tonight. He is seven and I am pretty darn sure he is going to like it. Poor guy has had to wait 4 days to see it since I have had to work. I'm also betting my wife and daughter will like it too. I though it was pretty good when I first saw it at the movies.

Just finished watching this bought it from bestbuy, PQ was solid, the sound was adequate as well. I put the pq slightly above Stranger than Fiction, but not close to a tilte I netflixed last week Goal.

Tonight was movie night and the selection was NatM in BD. I was pleasantly surprised that the PQ and AQ were pretty good despite hearing the moaning and groaning about it being BD25 and MPEG2(will it ever end??). There were some really good 3D images that made me think I'll keep my 720P pj another few months....I am fighting off the urge you know.
I felt blacks were crushed in some scenes(I hope someone else can confirm), which was distracting but the movie was enjoyable and the shortcoming are easily overlooked.
This film will take some lumps in a tier rating IMO but still does HD justice.

It took everything I could do to watch 45 minutes before I finally stopped the movie. It was boring me to sleep.

Thats ok...we're sure that some of the movies you like would make us puke. But that's the beauty of tastes. Would be a drag if we were all the same. I enjoyed the movie myself...A great family movie... :)

It took everything I could do to watch 45 minutes before I finally stopped the movie. It was boring me to sleep.

I didn't make it that far. I gave up after about 30 minutes.

I watched this in the theaters, and I gotta admit I enjoyed it more this time around on Blu-ray...the PQ was very very good, the special effects were outstanding, and it was funny at times as well. Reminds me of that other robin williams film, Jumanji....

I watched this in theaters, and watched it my second time on BD about 3 hours ago. I really enjoyed the film...but then I work in a museum. I thought the special effects were actualy pretty second rate, but the PQ was excellent. Sure there was some film grain, but that was there in theaters. The black levels were simply awesome, and the detail was on par with what I recall from the theater.

The AQ was ok, but I'd have preferred PCM. But then it's Fox. Speaking of which, I hope like all hell they get back in teh saddle pretty soon and start releasing BDs again.

I also thought the PQ looked great and on par with the upper level BD and HD-DVD titles I have in my library. Enough instances of 3-D effect to satisfy HD fans. Done right, MPEG-2 can look very good, indeed. The film itself is light, popcorn fair, but my daughter and I enjoyed the film for what it is. Some evenings the formulaic, escapist stuff is just what the doctor ordered after a long work-week. YMMV. Oh, and BB priced matched Target at $24.99...not bad.

So all NoTM's are really more like 1.78:1 ??? Mine was ..


==

Product Details

* Actors: Ben Stiller
* Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
* Language: English
* Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
* Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
* Number of discs: 1
* Rating PG
* Studio: 20th Century Fox
* DVD Release Date: April 24, 2007
* Run Time: 105 minutes

Watched this last night. Very fun film.

The film could have had a bit more clarity and depth given it's so new, but it was still a nice picture most of the time.

I watched this in the theaters, and I gotta admit I enjoyed it more this time around on Blu-ray...the PQ was very very good, the special effects were outstanding, and it was funny at times as well. Reminds me of that other robin williams film, Jumanji....


Jumanji is exactly what came to mind also, however the biggest difference is that Jumanji was actually pretty good.

Just watched this last night with the family. It does drag at times with the dialogue, but the film as a while is pretty entertaining, and kept my niece and my nephew amused once they got past the first 15 minutes or so.

PQ-wise, I also saw some crushed blacks, and what appeared to be a hint of EE (not much, just a hint... only place where I could really put a finger on it is one scene in the middle of the movie with a dawn shot of the city skyline where there looked to be some haloing going on with the building silhouettes). I didn't see any obvious macroblocking, but there's probably some going on in the more complex scenes that I just wasn't able to pick out in a casual viewing.

AQ is really really good. The scene near the end with the statue (no spoilers - you'll know what I'm talking about once you've seen the film) is particularly impressive.

No problem at all with DTS HD core. It's the comparable lossy to DD+ both running at about the same high bitrate. The fact any DTS decoder can decode the core is a plus. Very nice sound.

Watched this with my family tonight. A very enjoyable film done right for mixed company. Some giggles ,good plot and action for what it was.The 110 minutes went more like 90, indicative of a better than average experience IMO.

The audio was fairly enveloping with a fantastic looking picture.LFE was solid but not overly aggressive even with the T Rex running around.

Generally images were sharp and I particularly enjoyed the very large 1.78:1( approx) image incorrectly labeled as 2.35:1 on the case. Most HD optical titles have been scope aspect ratio so this was a great opportunity to see what full vertical res looked like and it was not disappointing. Occasional instances of visible grain did not distract . The color saturation , clarity, and only occasional artifacting meant a great experience for me as my less discerning(AV wise) family enjoyed the film with me.

BD came through very nicely here in that no HDDVD or DTheater would dust this title. :)


Art

Can't wait to get the new Sony player in July!! I'm all giddy :) :)

Wolfie

Picked up A Night at the Museum today for $24.99 at Target.....had a rain-check because they were sold out last week with the sale on.

Wasn't sure if I should do that or not, but it's on s shart wait from Netflix and I figured since it's a family film, we may watch it more than once.

Also, I just got two $10 ($20) back from the coupon book that a friend gave me from his PS3 box. He is impatient and would never fill out any rebate coupons.

So, did my part to add another sale to BD. :)

Watched this yesterday as well. MQ wasn't too bad... I enjoyed it. PQ was pretty good and I think the aspect ratio was about 1:85ish. It definitely wasn't 1:78 as there was some unused area at the top and bottom of my plasma (just a few lines).

Chris

For a family fare, I thought it would make a great family movie night. In fact, that's how I watched it.

Without the kids though, this is not a great movie for anyone in their late teens or adults, mainly because of the target audience.

I am however most pleased that the jokes were all clean (not rotfl funny, but the twelve year old found the miniature people very funny for some reason and wanted to watch that part again), there was nothing even remotely off color in it, heck even the bad guys were likable. Given the state of movies today, I'm not surprised this made 570M worldwide in the theatres. There's not that many fun movies you can bring little kids to.

The PQ was ok, as the average was low, but the bitrate peaks are up to above 30 in a few instances. Complex scenes have peaks at close to 30 very often. Other than the tell tale film grain in the sky in one scene, I can't say I agree with the people who complained about the PQ. I think it looks very good.

So all NoTM's are really more like 1.78:1 ??? Mine was ..


==

Product Details

* Actors: Ben Stiller
* Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
* Language: English
* Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
* Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
* Number of discs: 1
* Rating PG
* Studio: 20th Century Fox
* DVD Release Date: April 24, 2007
* Run Time: 105 minutes

I think there is a mistake on the aspect ratio 2.35:1 on the box. It was 1.85:1 when I watched it last night.

I think if you had three small boys who like to watch movies with their father you might feel differently. I'd never have watched it alone,with adult friends or just my wife and I but , in a mix like last night, it was a very enjoyable experience.That's the kind of perspective that's missing from a lot of reviews. As a father of 2 boys, I appreciate your review.

I saw it in the theaters so I might give it a rental to check it out on bd.