Searched and did not see a thread for this. Post your Hustle and Flow reviews here. I purchased mine today from the Barnes&Noble website and should be getting it in approx 3 days. So far I read from another user here that he read a review that said that the PQ was not that great, but I read a review that said the PQ was good. Heres the link of the review I read.

http://www.digitalaudiovideo.com/hddvd_reviews_14655.htm

I just got finished watching the HD DVD. Yes, there is lots of grain and it's certainly not the best when it comes to clarity, but this is still good HD. The audio is great. Dialog is always intelligible and the music comes through beautifully. It's a shame, though, that Paramount didn't give us a lossless audio track.

High Def Digest gave it 2 stars for video. I was really hoping this was going to be a solid release. Not sure if it is the source material or a crappy transfer. I've only seen it on TV in fullscreen non-HD. I was looking to get it but sounds like I may be better off just renting it.

Two stars for video is ridiculous in my opinion. There are no noticeable encoding issues (like compression artifacts), nor are there any signs of excessive post-processing (like edge halos). I'm sure it's the source that has the "problems" that these "professional" reviewers are mentioning. Yet, what we have doesn't look as bad as some would lead you to believe.

Also, I recommend that you read David Vaughn's review here (http://www.hometheaterspot.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/137662/). He has good sense when it comes to reviewing a transfer like this. He obviously doesn't aspire or expect everything to look like King Kong like some reviewers do.

Also, I recommend that you read David Vaughn's review here (http://www.hometheaterspot.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/137662/). He has good sense when it comes to reviewing a transfer like this. He obviously doesn't aspire or expect everything to look like King Kong like some reviewers do.

Pretty good review. I do hate grain, and Vaughn specifically said to stay away from this movie if you hate grain. Oh well, I already purchased it. He did say that overall the video quality is solid taking the intent of the film into consideration so hopefully it'll do it for me.

Pretty good review. I do hate grain, and Vaughn specifically said to stay away from this movie if you hate grain. Oh well, I already purchased it. He did say that overall the video quality is solid taking the intent of the film into consideration so hopefully it'll do it for me.
If you truly like this movie, then the video quality will definitely do. Trust me, be happy that Paramount didn't opt to have the grain removed through DNR. The results would have been terrible no matter how much you dislike grain.

If you truly like this movie, then the video quality will definitely do. Trust me, be happy that Paramount didn't opt to have the grain removed through DNR. The results would have been terrible no matter how much you dislike grain.

Your right. PQ does come in second to me with the actual DVD content coming in at first. As long as it looks better than a SD DVD than I'm happy.

Anyone got this at home right now? If so what's your take?

Also, I recommend that you read David Vaughn's review here (http://www.hometheaterspot.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/137662/). He has good sense when it comes to reviewing a transfer like this. He obviously doesn't aspire or expect everything to look like King Kong like some reviewers do.


MSmith83,

Thanks for the kind words. I was afraid when I wrote the review that I would be butchered by some as to grading it too easy. But I actually contemplated rating it at 4.5/5.0 due to how well both the AVC BD encoding and the VC-1 HD DVD encode handled the excessive grain. And your right, I don't expect everything to look like King Kong...grain is part of film and I don't want that filtered out at all.

Best,

Anyone else see it yet?

Well, the review (HDD) I read states the BD and HD DVD look exactly the same. Filmed in 16 mm. That's the source. So if you don't like the look of the source you won't like the look of either format's presentation.

I just purchased this movie tonight from Fry's. This movie was shot on 16mm, so there WILL be grain regardless of the transfer. I agree that is was most likely intentional to support the feel of the movie. I personally love this movie, and accept the grittiness of it.

Is this the same issue that 'We Were Soldiers' has...?

MSmith83,

Thanks for the kind words. I was afraid when I wrote the review that I would be butchered by some as to grading it too easy. But I actually contemplated rating it at 4.5/5.0 due to how well both the AVC BD encoding and the VC-1 HD DVD encode handled the excessive grain. And your right, I don't expect everything to look like King Kong...grain is part of film and I don't want that filtered out at all.

Best,

I couldn't agree with you more. I LOVE the way this film looks. It reminds me of the D-Theater tape "21 Grams". The look is perfect for the subject matter. By the way, I watched on a Sony Pearl with my scope screen masked off for a 16x9 size of 45"x80".

Tom

They shot this in 16, not 35mm. This is the best it will ever look.

We shot this in 16, not 35mm. This is the best it will ever look.

Were you involved in the production?

I just checked status of my order and I should be getting this movie in on Monday. Anyone else care to share their opinion?

I just got done watching H&F and thought the movie itself was good. The PQ was grainy as some critics mentioned, but defenitley not bad. Overall, I'm happy with my purchase.

I think the disc looks great. Yes, it's grainy, but that was clearly intentional to give the photography a gritty, '70s style. As Dave mentioned, there are no encoding issues with compression artifacts. The grain looks like film grain, not video noise, as happens on too many discs.

I think the disc looks great. Yes, it's grainy, but that was clearly intentional to give the photography a gritty, '70s style. As Dave mentioned, there are no encoding issues with compression artifacts. The grain looks like film grain, not video noise, as happens on too many discs.

Yep, I agree. Overall, the film still looked miles better than what it would look as a SD DVD. The grain was so consistent throughout the film that its quite obvious that it was intentional. The colors were great too. Thumbs up from me.

DVD doesn't do a good job with grain at all because of the lower bitrates it comes out looking like video noise as the MPEG-2 encoders get confused.

My full review is up now:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=29020

Nice review Josh. And I pretty much agree with everything you point out.