I just got my copy of Shooter delivered to me from my contact at Paramount.

Shooter
Picture Quality - 4/5
Audio Quality - 3.5/5
Special Features - 4/5
Overall - 4/5

Comments: Paramount went witha AVC encode for this transfer and a Dolby Digital+ 1.5Mbps sound format. There were moments where the image was inconsistent (sharp to soft) but all in all it is quite a decent encode, especially in the outdoor/mountain scenes. I did however find myself ocassionally checking my projector to make sure it was indeed 100% infocus. I noticed this "soft/out-of-focus" annoyance a few times in indoor/darker scenes. The colors were however spot-on and vibrant. The greens of the trees and the white of the snow-covered mountains REALLY pop in this release. In terms of AQ as mentioned before I listened using the DD+ 1.5Mbps option and it sounds quite good. I was especially surprised by the amount of LFE. Also the Surrounds get a nice workout with all the gunfire and the Center Channel shines as dialog is heard clearly and balanced. I heard little to no difference whatsoever in terms of AQ from both the Blu-ray and HD-DVD (DD+ 1.5Mbps) version of this film. I will however say in certain scenes the HD-DVD did make better use of the LFE. This release also includes some great HD Special Features. If you are a fan of this film or similar films (Commando, Rambo, etc.) I highly recommend this purchase.

http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/5360/shooter1aa7.jpg

http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/6587/shooter2wk6.jpg

~Josh

cool,thank you.

Let us know whether you notice any difference in the audio. The back covers show regular DD for BD, and DD+ for HD DVD, but I wonder whether the DD+ is really just a DD encode in DD+ clothing...

I need to order this, so I look forward to your review.

shinksma

Any idea why this title was not day-and-date with DVD?

The studios make a HUGE mistake in not being day-and-date.

If they really want Blu-ray to take off the BR discs should have at least a 2 to 4 week earlier release date than the DVD. Then every year after the gap should widen. If they don't, HD discs will be the new laser disc.

Argh, such a tough call on whether or not I am going to pick this one up. Looking forward to your impressions.

I have to get this one....the upconverted dvd looked great so I can't wait for the hi def

Good movie, should be good in hd-dvd

If they really want Blu-ray to take off the BR discs should have at least a 2 to 4 week earlier release date than the DVD. Then every year after the gap should widen. If they don't, HD discs will be the new laser disc.

"yeah I have a response.... ugh... what!?" -GEICO caveman

Let us know whether you notice any difference in the audio. The back covers show regular DD for BD, and DD+ for HD DVD, but I wonder whether the DD+ is really just a DD encode in DD+ clothing...

I need to order this, so I look forward to your review.

shinksma

it is a 1.5MBps DD+ soundtrack, so no it is not DD in DD+ clothing.

Hope it clears up the dialog; maybe it was the time of night, but I had a hard time figuring out through all the mumbling going on in this movie.

I'm hearing mixed thoughts on this flick so I'm confused on whether to get it or not.

I'm hearing mixed thoughts on this flick so I'm confused on whether to get it or not.
I really enjoyed it, and it looks like the HD DVD will have the better audio track as well.

Good but not great. Rented the DVD release week and the picture was pretty good on the A1. Not sure if I'd spend the $$ right now on the HD DVD. Give it a few months and it'll be in the $10 bin at Wally World.

I could use a contact at paramount.

Shooter
Picture Quality - 4/5
Audio Quality - 3.5/5
Special Features - 4/5
Overall - 4/5

Comments: Paramount went witha AVC encode for this transfer and a Dolby Digital+ 1.5Mbps sound format. There were moments where the image was inconsistent (sharp to soft) but all in all it is quite a decent encode, especially in the outdoor/mountain scenes. I did however find myself ocassionally checking my projector to make sure it was indeed 100% infocus. I noticed this "soft/out-of-focus" annoyance a few times in indoor/darker scenes. The colors were however spot-on and vibrant. The greens of the trees and the white of the snow-covered mountains REALLY pop in this release. In terms of AQ as mentioned before I listened using the DD+ 1.5Mbps option and it sounds quite good. I was especially surprised by the amount of LFE. Also the Surrounds get a nice workout with all the gunfire and the Center Channel shines as dialog is heard clearly and balanced. I heard little to no difference whatsoever in terms of AQ from both the Blu-ray and HD-DVD (DD+ 1.5Mbps) version of this film. I will however say in certain scenes the HD-DVD did make better use of the LFE. This release also includes some great HD Special Features. If you are a fan of this film or similar films (Commando, Rambo, etc.) I highly recommend this purchase.

~Josh

Josh,

This is almost word for word like the BD review. With MPEG2 vs VC-1 and DD 640 vs 1.5 DD+, are they actually that equal? I find that rather odd.

Josh,

This is almost word for word like the BD review. With MPEG2 vs VC-1 and DD 640 vs 1.5 DD+, are they actually that equal? I find that rather odd.

They really are, however I felt the AVC encode was softer then the high bitrate MPEG-2 encode. Other then that they are very similar.

~Josh

They really are, however I felt the VC-1 encode was softer then the high bitrate MPEG-2 encode. Other then that they are very similar.

~Josh
So the HD DVD is softer than the BD and the DD+ 1.5 mbps audio on HD DVD sounds the same as the DD 640 kbps audio on the BD? lol :rolleyes:

So the HD DVD is softer than the BD and the DD+ 1.5 mbps audio on HD DVD sounds the same as the DD 640 kbps audio on the BD? lol :rolleyes:

+1...but seriously, did you expect anything different?

Well - although I can understand that a major BR supporter hears "no difference" between the 1.5 mbps HD DVD version and the 640K BR version, I'll judge for myself, thanks... ;)

It almost seems like that is the main thrust of making this post?

Imagine if every first post on a new HD DVD release were to be made by someone who works against the format? Just a thought to consider. It might be better to let BR folks start titles threads in the BR section, and HD DVD folks start title threads in the HD DVD section...

Well - although I can understand that a major BR supporter hears "no difference" between the 1.5 mbps HD DVD version and the 640K BR version, I'll judge for myself, thanks... ;)

It almost seems like that is the main thrust of making this post?

Imagine if every first post on a new HD DVD release were to be made by someone who works against the format? Just a thought to consider. It might be better to let BR folks start titles threads in the BR section, and HD DVD folks start title threads in the HD DVD section...
Yep. Beatboy needs to stay in the Blu-ray section where he belongs. We see through his antics.

He's thinking up a clever, snide remark as I type this........lol.

Once again, Josh is trying to put the BD "spin" on things, when the HD-DVD has obviously upscaled the the BD, hands down.

Any idea why this title was not day-and-date with DVD?

The studios make a HUGE mistake in not being day-and-date.

agreed..I already rented the SD dvd...could care less now..

in fact, I'm feeling the same about a lot of movies now..since I never buy movies cause I never watch them twice, I have to try to rent them online from BB...for awhile now ALL HD dvds are on "long wait"..

I wonder if Ill EVER get to rent HD dvds in b&m stores

Im starting to not really care anymore...SD dvd is becoming good enough again now that I can never get any HD dvd sources to play...

I think I will buy both the BD and HD DVD version of this one and post my spin on things. I doubt very much there is a difference, yet the OP clearly feels there is a difference. Needing to check the focus on the his projector when watching the HD DVD version, but not the BD version?


Im interested to see this for myself.

Being such a recent film it looks like Paramount has screwed up in both the vital departments.

I don't know about the video (other than VC-1 encodes most of the time are observed to be of better quality), but for the Audio, there was someone who was an expert on the DTS, and AC-3 formats (and the newer ones I think) who wrote a big article detailing the way each compression scheme works. In his opinion anything beyond 640kbps (with either DD or DTS) pretty much would sound identical. I don't have the link handy, the original information was written in 2003 but the author answered in a thread discussings todays high-def audio formats. Of course it is entirely possible there is an audible difference, maybe most of us will not notice.

So maybe we can give beatboy the benefit of the doubt, at least on the audio. For myself, I didn't know this was coming to HD-DVD and went and bought the SD DVD... I thought it looked great upconverted. It's possible that newer movies filmed in high-def to begin with will be easier to encode/look good on HD-DVD or blu-ray.... as well as be the best they can be on SD DVD. (just a theory).

I suppose one way to look at a blu-ray supporters' comments on this (movie) was that at least he acknowledged HD-DVD looked and sounded just as good as blu-ray. That in itself could be considered praise. (since the typical fanboi just rattles how blu is always better blah blah)

(I guess I don't know beatboy well enough to know if he deserves a roasting is all :P )

I really did like this movie. I think I'll ebay the SD-DVD and get the HD-DVD =)

Cool, great review.

One question though: how was the movie? I'm a Walberg fan so this is an easy sell, but I never heard much about the movie as none of my friends have seen it. Is it a worthwhile pickup?

Also, is the jump to DD+ @ 1.5mbps that big over 448kbps? I like clean sound, but do you need an uber system to enjoy the higher bitrate audio?

Thanks chums.

didnt like the filme, to be honest. Marky Mark should go back to singing.

didnt like the filme, to be honest. Marky Mark should go back to singing.
So you don't think he's a good actor? :rolleyes: What about in The Departed?

Hey, I like Marky Mark (and I'm a hetero dude)!

I think he's quite charming and seems like a nice guy, too.

Update: This is an AVC encode on the HD-DVD side. I accidently put VC-1 in the mini-review. I have now updated the mini-review.

~Josh

didnt like the filme, to be honest. Marky Mark should go back to singing.

I have to really disagree, I think he felt the vibration and moved in the right direction.

I heard little to no difference whatsoever in terms of AQ from both the Blu-ray and HD-DVD (DD+ 1.5Mbps) version of this film. I will however say in certain scenes the HD-DVD did make better use of the LFE.

Okay, which is it? Little to no difference or the HD DVD has a better LFE?

"This is an AVC encode on the HD-DVD side"

So I guess your review will now change and the parts about being soft will be removed? Wow so AVC can be soft as well who would have thunk it, further proof that the look of the film has more to do with the master and the individual person making the transfer than the codec used.

Both of my reviews are on The Spot now. You can get to them from the link below...they are linked from the homepage.

Josh and I have exchanged some PM's on this title and I believe there is a big audio difference between the HD DVD and the Blu-ray...the sound-stage is compressed with the BD in comparison, as if dynamic range compression is on. If anyone cares to compare the two discs, use any of the explosion scenes in the movies to see how low the .LFE is on the BD compared to the HD DVD.

"This is an AVC encode on the HD-DVD side"

So I guess your review will now change and the parts about being soft will be removed? Wow so AVC can be soft as well who would have thunk it, further proof that the look of the film has more to do with the master and the individual person making the transfer than the codec used.

Not at all. The fact remains the HD-DVD version is less sharp then the Blu-ray version. You will see if you watch both versions of the film. I guess it boils down to this if you are format neutral; If you are an AQ guy, get the HD-DVD version and if you are a PQ guy, get the Blu-ray version.

Just My $.02

~Josh

Both of my reviews are on The Spot now. You can get to them from the link below...they are linked from the homepage.

Josh and I have exchanged some PM's on this title and I believe there is a big audio difference between the HD DVD and the Blu-ray...the sound-stage is compressed with the BD in comparison, as if dynamic range compression is on. If anyone cares to compare the two discs, use any of the explosion scenes in the movies to see how low the .LFE is on the BD compared to the HD DVD.

Dave, did you find the HD DVD version to be "less sharp" (as Beatboy put it) then the BD version?

*never mind just read your review.

"The Blu-ray Disc encode is slightly sharper than the HD DVD, but not necessarily in a good way. It’s edges are a little too sharp at times and doesn’t have quite as smooth of look as the HD DVD does, but some may want to criticize the HD DVD as being a tad soft in comparison."

So the HD DVD is softer than the BD and the DD+ 1.5 mbps audio on HD DVD sounds the same as the DD 640 kbps audio on the BD? lol :rolleyes:

:D

The review pointer is up in www.hddb.net.
The reviewer has mentioned that the uncompressed PCM track in the BD version is splendid but I don't think the BD has uncompressed PCM track.

So, one reviewer says the BD has a PCM track that is "spendid" - but no one else seems to think the BD has anything but a DD track,

another reviewer says the BD has a DD 640kbps track that sounds identical to the HD DVD DD+1.5mbps track,

and another reviewer says the BD video can be too sharp at times but some may criticize the HD DVd as being a 'tad soft'. :confused:

I think I'll hold off on pre-ordering this for now.

So, one reviewer says the BD has a PCM track that is "spendid" - but no one else seems to think the BD has anything but a DD track,

another reviewer says the BD has a DD 640kbps track that sounds identical to the HD DVD DD+1.5mbps track,

and another reviewer says the BD video can be too sharp at times but some may criticize the HD DVd as being a 'tad soft'. :confused:

I think I'll hold off on pre-ordering this for now.

I think you should just relax and order the movie if you want it. Paramount has done consistently well with their previous HD releases. It's not like people are saying the disc is a piece of crap.

There is no PCM track on the BD disc. The video encodes are damn close to one another and most people would be happy with either encode (Six in one, half dozen in the other). The audio on the BD sounds decent, and if you didn't have the HD DVD there to compare, you would be happy. I am lucky enough to have both on hand, and the HD DVD wins hands down. Generally, there haven't been much, if any, differences in the audio quality between HD DVD and BD, but in this case, there is.

I think you should just relax and order the movie if you want it. Paramount has done consistently well with their previous HD releases. It's not like people are saying the disc is a piece of crap.

I'm relaxed, thanks. :)

Having both an XA1 & PS3 like you, I'm just a little more discerning on Warner & paramount releases as I'm free to purchase the format that offers the most, and rely on reviews to determine that.

So, I was just pointing out the inconsistencies in the reviews so far, although I agree Dave Vaughn's sounds the most reliable so far.

Dave Vaughn's review seems to claim just the opposite in regards to video and audio. Two things DD 640 kbps audio is not the equivalent of DD+ 1.5 mbps audio and mpeg-2 is not the equivalent of AVC. Even at a high bit rate the 12 year old legacy codec leaves compression artifacts, the bluray crowd knows this as AVC is quickly becoming their codec of choice as it should be.

Also beatboy77, you claimed in another thread the superiority of AVC encodes over VC1 in Paramount titles. Which titles are these? The only title I can think of where the reviews differed was Coming to America and they were not in favor of the AVC bluray encode. The superior VC1 encode seemed to win hands down.

You've got to love the censorship on this forum. The point in my previous post was that David's review seems to be the best thus far. Instead of saying that the other reviews seem to have been written by someone who's in a drunken stupor, which I assume was the basis of my previous post's deletion, I will now say that the other two reviews are highly suspect in terms of reviewer intent and whether they actually watched the discs. I mean, come on, why did that one reviewer claim there to be a PCM track on the BD version?

Both of my reviews are on The Spot now. You can get to them from the link below...they are linked from the homepage.

Josh and I have exchanged some PM's on this title and I believe there is a big audio difference between the HD DVD and the Blu-ray...the sound-stage is compressed with the BD in comparison, as if dynamic range compression is on. If anyone cares to compare the two discs, use any of the explosion scenes in the movies to see how low the .LFE is on the BD compared to the HD DVD.
Thanks Dave, sound like the HD DVD is the way to go for format neutral owners.

Thanks Dave, sound like the HD DVD is the way to go for format neutral owners.

That's how I summed up my review. Generally, there is no difference on these titles, but in the past 2 months there have been two titles that favor HD DVD...this one and Coming to America. All of the others have been equal or close enough to equal not to matter.

Thanks Dave. Will be getting the HD DVD version. One of my top movies of the year so far. Great, intense action throughout.

didnt like the filme, to be honest. Marky Mark should go back to singing.


"feel,feel,feel.......FEEL MY HEEEEEAAAAAAATTTTT!" :D

I'm relaxed, thanks. :)

Having both an XA1 & PS3 like you, I'm just a little more discerning on Warner & paramount releases as I'm free to purchase the format that offers the most, and rely on reviews to determine that.

So, I was just pointing out the inconsistencies in the reviews so far, although I agree Dave Vaughn's sounds the most reliable so far.

I like your sig! :D

Yep....Going with the better audio (HD DVD) ;)

High-Def Digest (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/shooter.html) review is posted:

Video: "This HD DVD edition receives an 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode, while its Blu-ray counterpart gets the MPEG-2 treatment. Both transfers looked identical to me." Not enough of a difference for Bracke to notice or care to write about.

Audio: Audio on the HD DVD does in fact result in "a slightly improved sense of envelopment and power" over the Blu-ray version.

As far as the HD DVD is concerned, at the end of the day "this one's quite strong -- the video transfer earns four stars, the solid but unspectacular audio track edges out its Blu-ray counterpart, and the insightful supplements package is well presented in 1080p video. Well worth a look for fans of the genre and/or Mark Wahlberg."

Both of my reviews are on The Spot now. You can get to them from the link below...they are linked from the homepage.

Josh and I have exchanged some PM's on this title and I believe there is a big audio difference between the HD DVD and the Blu-ray...the sound-stage is compressed with the BD in comparison, as if dynamic range compression is on. If anyone cares to compare the two discs, use any of the explosion scenes in the movies to see how low the .LFE is on the BD compared to the HD DVD.

Nice unbiased review (unlike some others)

Shooter is a great movie and am very much looking forward to picking it up on the 31st :)

So, one reviewer says the BD has a PCM track that is "spendid" - but no one else seems to think the BD has anything but a DD track,

another reviewer says the BD has a DD 640kbps track that sounds identical to the HD DVD DD+1.5mbps track,

and another reviewer says the BD video can be too sharp at times but some may criticize the HD DVd as being a 'tad soft'. :confused:

I think I'll hold off on pre-ordering this for now.
People have different opinions ya know. Then you might as well hold off on all movies that get reviewed :p

I found it for 27 bucks.....is that the best price out there right now?

I found it for 27 bucks.....is that the best price out there right now?

Yeah, that's pretty good, it's going between $27.99 and $34.99 depending on where you shop.

"feel,feel,feel.......FEEL MY HEEEEEAAAAAAATTTTT!" :D

:D

Actors acting like actors who can not act and a singer singing like someone who can not sing.......

Boogie Nights is a masterpiece.

Cool, great review.

One question though: how was the movie? I'm a Walberg fan so this is an easy sell, but I never heard much about the movie as none of my friends have seen it. Is it a worthwhile pickup?

Also, is the jump to DD+ @ 1.5mbps that big over 448kbps? I like clean sound, but do you need an uber system to enjoy the higher bitrate audio?

Thanks chums.

rental at best. i had such high hopes for the film but was really disappointed. It seemed like it tried to be Bourne Identity but it comes nowhere near close.

Well I just watched the DVD of Shooter. Great movie. I'll have to get this one on HD-DVD, I'm going to wait for a used copy to pop up.

It appears that DVDTalk agrees with my assesment of Shooter on both formats giving the Blu-ray the slight edge in PQ and both a tie in AQ:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=29360

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=29340

~Josh

It appears that DVDTalk agrees with my assesment of Shooter on both formats giving the Blu-ray the slight edge in PQ and both a tie in AQ:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=29360

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=29340

~Josh
Different people reviewed the two titles and neither review mentioned the other version (that I noticed, at least.)

I find it very telling that you only post links to reviews at other sites when their findings gel with your opinions. When they don't (like with Waiting...) it seems that you tend to abandon the thread rather than address issues you may have overlooked/ignored.

The fact that upcomingdiscs allows you - a blatantly biased BD supporter - to review HD DVD titles is enough reason to give that site a wide berth.

It appears that DVDTalk agrees with my assesment of Shooter on both formats giving the Blu-ray the slight edge in PQ and both a tie in AQ:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=29360

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=29340

~Josh

Why is the movie reviewed by two different people? The movie is encoded in the same format so there shouldn't be any difference in PQ.

This was an amazing movie to watch on HD-DVD. I really liked this movie, the sound and the PQ is very good (IMO) even if it's h.264 (Mpeg-4). This movie reminds me of the BI. The BR version is using Mpeg2, why?

have a quick question about pricing for this movie that i'm confused about. i thought combo disk would be about 28.99 while the non combo would be 19.99. i bought this movie non the less for the price of 28.99 because i saw this movie in the theater and it was good. why do paramount charge so high for a non combo disk? i bought hot fuzz also for the same price as shooter and its a combo disk. i for one love combo disk since i only have 1 HD DVD player and its the 360 add on. didn't want to start a new thread on this. hopefully you guys can answer this for me.

have a quick question about pricing for this movie that i'm confused about. i thought combo disk would be about 28.99 while the non combo would be 19.99. i bought this movie non the less for the price of 28.99 because i saw this movie in the theater and it was good. why do paramount charge so high for a non combo disk? i bought hot fuzz also for the same price as shooter and its a combo disk. i for one love combo disk since i only have 1 HD DVD player and its the 360 add on. didn't want to start a new thread on this. hopefully you guys can answer this for me.

It seems the studios are charging $19.99 (average online price) for Catalogue Titles. Anything that is a Combo or New Release is average of $27.95. You're not paying a high price because of a combo on that one but rather a New Release.

oh kind of understand now. i just wish it was a combo disk also so that way i would be happy for payin that high price. there are some movie that are new releases that is only 19.99 also but i forgot which one.

I was blown away by shooter. I thought 300 was going to be all that, this is outstanding in terms of picture quality. It has great outdoor panoramas in Kentucky, Wyoming, Montana, and the image is exceedilngly sharp, excellent color definition. The sound is something to dye for, hearing the variou guns fired in surround sound. One of my top five hd dvd 's in terms of picture quality, Simply stunning pic quaility. Great movie held me on my seat, Bourne like to me

Great movie up until final 10 minutes. Uggghhh, why did they have to add in that dumb finale? Overall, though, very good disc. I agree with PQ and AQ assessments.

I was blown away by shooter. I thought 300 was going to be all that, this is outstanding in terms of picture quality. It has great outdoor panoramas in Kentucky, Wyoming, Montana, and the image is exceedilngly sharp, excellent color definition. The sound is something to dye for, hearing the variou guns fired in surround sound. One of my top five hd dvd 's in terms of picture quality, Simply stunning pic quaility. Great movie held me on my seat, Bourne like to me

I agree, watched this tonight with a friend and it was amazing. looked fantastic, exciting movie that looked great the whole way through.

Also cool is that all the special features are in HD as well! Nice work Universal.

I agree, watched this tonight with a friend and it was amazing. looked fantastic, exciting movie that looked great the whole way through.

Also cool is that all the special features are in HD as well! Nice work Universal.

Actually, Nice work Paramount ;)

Watched about 95% of this last night. Absolutely beautiful transfer.

I did have a lockup about an 1hr 15mins into the movie with an error message. I ejected the movie and blew on it then put it back in. It played just fine over the part that just threw the error.

/shrug.

I watched this last night.

GREAT MOVIE!

PQ is 4.5 and FANTATSTIC scenery for HD. TOns of landscape shots that are super CRISP!
SQ is 4 (probably 3.5 for some of you since it's DD)

This would be a real nice one for anyone's collection.

For blind buyers, the story is kind of a cross between >>> Bourne Supermacy, Rambo and The Interpreter. Much better than I expected. I'm surprised it didn't do better in the theaters.

It appears that DVDTalk agrees with my assesment of Shooter on both formats giving the Blu-ray the slight edge in PQ and both a tie in AQ:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=29360

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=29340

~Josh

Okay, Josh. You are totally wrong again.

1. The encodes are the same (AVC), only different reviewers. For your assertion to be correct, they would have to be reviewed by the same person. Other reviews and my own personal experience state that they are the SAME. Period. End of story. Only hardware might make a difference (for instance, the PS3 version may look a little better than played on an older A1).

2. The AQ - there is no way that they are the same. The HD DVD encode at 1.5mbs is noted to be much fuller with higher treble and better bass. The dialogue is noted to be clearer as well. It is noted time and time again. There are even multiple threads on here noting that the BD sounds "weak" with "weak surrounds" and "muttled dialogue." David Vaughn comments on this several times in a couple of threads here.

There is no question on this - why do you persist on this obvious bias? If you cannot distance yourself, you should not consider yourself a reviewer.

I loved this movie. The PQ was outstanding. Scenery was incredible.

Rented the SD DVD and thought it looked great upconverted on my HD-A20. Will probably get the HD version when it's $20 or less.

Watched this one last night, PQ was fantastic easily teir 1 if not better, the SQ did not fall short of outstanding. Bonus was the special features in 1080p. The movie itself I found more than entertaining and am ready to watch it again. I wouldn't consider this movie to be all that similar to Bourne Identity, I guess because people get killed in each movie and they are both on the run?

Great movie up until final 10 minutes. Uggghhh, why did they have to add in that dumb finale? Overall, though, very good disc. I agree with PQ and AQ assessments.

WIth out spoiling it for anyone, I could not have a thought of a better ending. Its the first I hear about anyone not liking the ending :cool:

why do you persist on this obvious bias? If you cannot distance yourself, you should not consider yourself a reviewer.


As I have said before, its like Ronald Mcdonald himself reviewing the Whopper :p

Just finished watching it. It's Paramount, no surprise here!

Got this from Walmart a few hours ago. Saw it on DVD before, great HD PQ! Even the extra's are in HD. Love it, wish others would make extras HD. Overall great disc. Well worth the $27 price tag!

I too watched it last night on both formats. The audio is incredible on the HD-DVD version and much higher fadelity. The BR version has audio and lip sync issues during the meeting at Walbergs house with the Danny Glover. As for picture quality the HD-DVD is better than the BR when played on my Samsung. I would however like to see them side by side on the newer Samsungs and the Panny.

the movie was alright, but i had serious issues with danny glover's lisp (which he never had in lethal weapon or any of his other movies) and marky mark's mumbled redneck drawl or whatever the hell that was.

I had to back up a lot of scenes and turn subs on to understand what the hell they were saying.

the movie was alright, but i had serious issues with danny glover's lisp (which he never had in lethal weapon or any of his other movies) and marky mark's mumbled redneck drawl or whatever the hell that was.

I had to back up a lot of scenes and turn subs on to understand what the hell they were saying.

I know. Speak up and speak clearly so we don't have to use subtitles. Subtitles are for foreign language films you know understand. :p

WIth out spoiling it for anyone, I could not have a thought of a better ending. Its the first I hear about anyone not liking the ending :cool:
I also found the ending a bit over the top and trite. Unfortunate, because up to that point the story line was pretty solid and kept my interest...
with the firing pin revelation providing a pretty good twist.

Kind of a mistake to kill off all the antagonists if you want to keep the door open for a Bourne-like franchise also.
the movie was alright, but i had serious issues with danny glover's lisp (which he never had in lethal weapon or any of his other movies) and marky mark's mumbled redneck drawl or whatever the hell that was.
I was scratching my head over this also, could not figure out if it was from being "in character" or if the impediment was from some neurologic event.

I was scratching my head over this also, could not figure out if it was from being "in character" or if the impediment was from some neurologic event.

Ya i thought about this too. After doin some reading on the net most things seem to be pointing towards a new set of dentures.

If thats the case then i am completely confused. WTF is a rich ass movie star doing getting crappy dentures when they can easily afford dental implants. I just don't get it.

WIth out spoiling it for anyone, I could not have a thought of a better ending. Its the first I hear about anyone not liking the ending :cool:

WIth out spoiling it for anyone, I could not have a thought of a better ending. Its the first I hear about anyone not liking the ending :cool:

Let this be the second time. This was one of those endings where...


...I have to ask why the main character didn't save himself some trouble and tell someone that key piece of info from the beginning. Why wait until that point to stage that little firing-pin demo? Because the movie would've only been an hour long.

And I totally missed why Bob had to destroy his recorded evidence. Whalberg muttered some excuse, but it didn't seem to make much sense...

Despite my problems with the movie, the disc looked and sounded amazing.

Let this be the second time. This was one of those endings where...


...I have to ask why the main character didn't save himself some trouble and tell someone that key piece of info from the beginning. Why wait until that point to stage that little firing-pin demo? Because the movie would've only been an hour long.

And I totally missed why Bob had to destroy his recorded evidence. Whalberg muttered some excuse, but it didn't seem to make much sense...

Despite my problems with the movie, the disc looked and sounded amazing.
Read below regarding Whalberg's excuse.

His quote/reference you didn't understand had to do when he was talking with that gunsmith which involved the Shooters on the grassy knoll being buried out in the desert in the place that he mentioned.

I just wish Amazon would hurry up and ship my copy!

I was blown away by shooter. I thought 300 was going to be all that, this is outstanding in terms of picture quality. It has great outdoor panoramas in Kentucky, Wyoming, Montana, and the image is exceedilngly sharp, excellent color definition. The sound is something to dye for, hearing the variou guns fired in surround sound. One of my top five hd dvd 's in terms of picture quality, Simply stunning pic quaility. Great movie held me on my seat, Bourne like to me

I agree this movie just plain rocks start to finish, the sniper shots whizzing past you in surround are just plain wicked, the HD PQ was stellar, it is definitely one of my top favorite movies

Add me to the list of impressed people.

I'd never heard of "Shooter" until I saw it on HD-DVD. It looked like the kind of movie I would love.

I bought it on HD-DVD last week, and finally watched it about 12 hours ago. Very nice! I loved it.

I was impressed with the movie more than anything. Why did I never see a preview for this title? Did it do well at the box office, and if not, why?

The PQ and AQ were also great. I loved all the outdoor scenes, too. Especially the opening scene when they're on the hill fully decked-out camo with plants/weeds on them. The detail in that scene is amazing.

I agree this movie just plain rocks start to finish, the sniper shots whizzing past you in surround are just plain wicked, the HD PQ was stellar, it is definitely one of my top favorite movies

Add another here!

Loved the movie. And I thought the HD-DVD was killer.

...I have to ask why the main character didn't save himself some trouble and tell someone that key piece of info from the beginning. Why wait until that point to stage that little firing-pin demo? Because the movie would've only been an hour long.

And I totally missed why Bob had to destroy his recorded evidence. Whalberg muttered some excuse, but it didn't seem to make much sense...

Given the trouble they went to frame him, had he revealed the firing pin issue quite early, my guess is the bad guys would have found a way to change the pins to finish the frame. Anyway - that didn't bother me much. Besides I don't think Bob's a real "rely on someone else to make it right" kinda' guy so it rang true for me that he'd wage his own war & only reveal on his terms when he was sure he could trust someone to get off.

With the recorded evidence it was just too much for the public to handle & likely would have resulted in lots of deaths - better to keep the secret than pay the price for bringing it to light.

And on another note - the author, Stephen Hunter, did write at least two other books starring "Bob the Nailer" and his adventures so there are opportunities for a sequel (or 2). Just a totally different adventure than this story. There are another 3 I believe with his Dad as the main character to boot.
Overall I enjoyed the movie - biggest disappointment was the modern day setting as in the book Bob was a Vietnam vet and his Dad was a WWII hero w/the main events set more in the '80s IIRC. The movie's opening sniper adventures in Ethiopa didn't have quite the same ring as Vietnam for me, but setting it present day had some other payoffs...

Picture & audio quality were both excellent...

You know, this reminds me of the early days of dvd when we all oohed and awed and were amazed at the PQ and AQ then. If you look at the first dvd's released and then the subsequental re-releases of the same films you will see a vastly improved transfer in most cases. It will probably be the same with HD media as well.

You know, this reminds me of the early days of dvd when we all oohed and awed and were amazed at the PQ and AQ then. If you look at the first dvd's released and then the subsequental re-releases of the same films you will see a vastly improved transfer in most cases. It will probably be the same with HD media as well.

I am not so convinced, with DVD you were always in the quest to release DVDs that featured transfers and audios that were as transparent as possible to the Studio masters, but few reached that quality level. With HD-DVD and BD we are already seeing releases that are truly transparent to the original Masters, so I see little room for improvement.

deez,

You got that right! I don't know how many movies I replaced from the late 90's DVD's that sucked picture wise after they received a new transfer w/ anamorphic versus letterbox only.

I am not so convinced, with DVD you were always in the quest to release DVDs that featured transfers and audios that were as transparent as possible to the Studio masters, but few reached that quality level. With HD-DVD and BD we are already seeing releases that are truly transparent to the original Masters, so I see little room for improvement.

well, we're going to have to have them REMASTER them then :D

Holy jagged artifacts. This is the first HD-DVD that I have seen filled with jaggies and moire all throughout the film. People actually thought this had good pic quality? Am I the only person seeing these artifacts on the same setup where I have not seen such artifacts on other titles? Very disappointed.

Holy jagged artifacts. This is the first HD-DVD that I have seen filled with jaggies and moire all throughout the film. People actually thought this had good pic quality? Am I the only person seeing these artifacts on the same setup where I have not seen such artifacts on other titles? Very disappointed.


I noticed some on top of buildings where the president was speaking, wasn't too distracting though. Do you have an A2?? could be a interlacing to 1080p causing it.

Yes, my parents have an A2 displaying 1080i to a 1080i rear projection CRT. There is no 1080p issue here. The roof tops you mention was the first scene I noticed it, and I saw the artifacts like these throughout the film. The shots of the helicopters when they were landing on the snowy hill were a jaggy mess. Didn't see anything like this in Troy or Smokin Aces when watching them on this setup.

I'm currently out of a TV, when I get my replacement back from Westy, I'll check it out again at 1080p from my XA2. Just surprised at peoples' reviews here, no way I would give the pic quality any higher than 3 out of 5 with artifacts like that.

You can notice similar jaggies in MI-3 (Vatican city scenes)

Yes, I've read about the MI3 issue, as well. But man, I saw these throughout Shooter, not just one scene. As I said, I'm disappointed in this one, sorry that I bought it. I'm considering returning it.

Just finished watching Shooter about 15 minutes ago. Not sure what artifacts you guys are referring to, the movie looked amazing from start to finish. Definitely purchasing this one.

No jaggies on my 1080p JVC HD-1.

Just finished watching Shooter about 15 minutes ago. Not sure what artifacts you guys are referring to, the movie looked amazing from start to finish. Definitely purchasing this one.

Ignorance is bliss I guess. I didn't notice anything either.

Just finished watching Shooter about 15 minutes ago. Not sure what artifacts you guys are referring to, the movie looked amazing from start to finish. Definitely purchasing this one.

I agree. Great looking film.

i thought it looked great and am trying to find the cheapest place to buy it. Anyone have any suggestions

Watched it last night. Awesome! Agreed, great looking film.

Side note. I purchased Shooter from Target (I wouldnt give BB my time if they were giving the freakin movies away). Once again I had to go to three different Targets to find one in stock. The Target I bought it from now only has one left. 3 Stores and one copy of Shooter on the shelves. When are the retailers gonna take note that in order to make sales there has to be something on the shelf.

Watched it last night (review coming, sorry it's late), and I was surprised by how compelling SHOOTER was. Fuqua is getting to be a hell of a filmmaker, and after this and Training Day I think he's added himself to my list of Guys Who You Need to Keep an Eye On.

Picture quality was quite good, better than Paramount's previous AVC releases, so I think they're getting the hang of it. A little softness in some of the landscape sequences (which might have been a focus issue---obviously I never saw this theatrically), but overall excellent. As good as the audio is, I did find myself wondering how it would sound in TrueHD.

I just watched this film after getting my 360 add on player back from the repair center.

I have to say this is one of the best looking and sounding HD DVD's that I own if not the best imo. The picture was clear and the landscapes shown were vibrant and breathtaking. The sniper outfits were really awesome. The explosion scenes were amazing, particularly the napalm explosion which was some of the best special effects I've seen. The movie's sound was top notch with bullet wizzes that sounded like they went right by your head and explosions that really rocked my room. I have to say though, throughout the film it was hard understanding what they were saying and had to keep putting subtitles on until finally I just left them on which was dissapointing.

This is one of those were you leave your brain at the door before watching. A lot of stuff didn't make sense and stuff just easily happened that would have never gotten by in real life. But I didn't let it bother me and I enjoyed the film.

The PQ and AQ alone made this worth the watch.