Patton, Gangs were both tragedies. This title looks phenomenal and should be considered an example of what a good release looks like. Yes, there are processing tools that can be used badly, but this whole DNR thing has become a witch hunt.

Ahhh....nice to enjoy some fresh air....things tend to get pretty stale with the usual suspects and the same old diatribe.... :confused:

Agree with the witch hunt analogy!!!

I thought I noticed something too. After 'this is halloween', when Jack is walking away and talking to the musicians. One of the words gets slightly chopped off.

Just finished watching my copy, Very satisfied.



I believe there was one audio glitch, but I'll double check to make sure it wasn't just in my head.

Does anyone else experience glitchy subtitles on certain scenes?? I noticed that a bit.. was curious if anyone else did :)

~Krissy

Can anyone confirm the above issues is in the disc before I buy it?

I just want to know where I can get this 76 minute catalog title for less than 25 bucks?

I just want to know where I can get this 76 minute catalog title for less than 25 bucks?

DOH!!!!!!

;)

(Hiya Oink!!!)

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/2166/img5029ku7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

You'll probably have to try your luck on eBay to get it for less than 25 bucks. Deep Discount and Amazon will get it to you for just under $28 shipped.

And if you add in the special features, you get closer to 150 minutes of video just in case you think they should charge by the minute. (And that's not counting the fantastic trailer for Beverly Hills Chihuahua, which you can consider a freebie.)

Tower.com has this for $25.86
http://www.tower.com/details/details.cfm?wapi=112200727

Seems this is the closest to the $25 you are going to get. Shipping is free though...so that's a plus.

Nightmare looks fantastic...perfect, no, but nearly perfect and to take a couple of screen shots and denigrate the entire encode from those is a bit anal-retentive IMO.

Who's denigrating the entire encode? Even those that are pointing out the flaws seem to say it's good overall.

You seem to be convinced that this is a horrible, horrible transfer. Have you watched the disc or not?

I have and my opinion is more or less the same as Whiggles and Lyris. The transfer is mostly gorgeous but it is inconsistent because of the DNR. 90% of the shots look very good to fantastic. It's that 10% that stick out and leave you scratching your head.

The opening This is Halloween sequence is a good example. Most of the shots are awesome but every now and then it'll switch from being pristine with just a little processing to muddy and fuzzy. The wide crowd shot at the end is extremely muddy looking with DNR processing while the shots afterward are mostly clean in comparison.

As for the dirt/scratch removal it was the most obvious to me in the shot that Lyris pointed out and it happens a bunch of times in the same scene. In motion it's not as horrible as the individual frames but it certainly looks odd seeing Jack's arms and legs blinking in and out.

Guys, why hasn't anyone pointed out Disney's response to the DNR critics?

http://images.dvdempire.com/gen/movies/1409853bh.jpg

The Blu-ray is just as Tim Burton originally envisioned it! Those grains, details, and limbs were never meant to be there in the first place! :D

BD:
http://www.lyris-lite.net/wordpress/wp_up/nightmare_bd_small.jpg

Scandinavian PAL DVD:
http://www.lyris-lite.net/wordpress/wp_up/nightmare_dvd_small.jpgCould you give me the time code for this shot, please?

Go to the "whats this" chapter. FWD to the scene where he jumps on the train and pause your player. Now use the slow/step on your remote. They'll be several spots where the leg and arm disappear. If you watch in real time it is hard to catch. If you look real close you'll see it maybe but don't blink. I agree that the DNR issue is blown way out of proportion. I watch movies in real time. I don't freeze every scene of a movie and while there are some examples of butchered transfers the positives that have come out out way the poor transfers either by source or that have been tampered with. I'll refrain from pointing any movies out as people need to make their choice of what they have bought. I received one of these hated movies as a gift from my 7 year old daughter and nobody sitting in there preservationists tower will diminish how much I love the movie and what it now represents as part of my collection. In this particular case I'll take this version to any of the non-anamorphic versions that have been previously released.

If you watch in real time it is hard to catch.

If you have to pause the player and use frame advance then this isn't a big issue. What happened to enjoying movies for their entertainment?

I love Blu-ray as much as the next guy, but I watch movies to be entertained...having them in HD is a bonus.

Ahh, here we go. Wow, that's really hard to spot if you're not looking for it, which is surprising since it's centered around the main character. I was looking for it while I watched the movie tonight and I missed it entirely. I did notice two scenes where DNR stood out but even combined with these artifacts/flaws, I'd still say the Blu-ray is better than 95% great. The instances of DNR in this movie are more rare than the instances of smudge-free clarity in Dark City. Would I like to see Disney fix this? Sure. But it's still a really great release of a really great movie. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this Blu-ray to anyone.

If you have to pause the player and use frame advance then this isn't a big issue.

It's noticeable in motion if you're paying close attention, especially if you have a bigger screen/closer viewing angle. It's pretty odd.

What happened to enjoying movies for their entertainment?

Didn't someone say that in the Patton and Gangs of New York threads? :D

Ahh, here we go. Wow, that's really hard to spot if you're not looking for it, which is surprising since it's centered around the main character. I was looking for it while I watched the movie tonight and I missed it entirely. I did notice two scenes where DNR stood out but even combined with these artifacts/flaws, I'd still say the Blu-ray is better than 95% great. The instances of DNR in this movie are more rare than the instances of smudge-free clarity in Dark City. Would I like to see Disney fix this? Sure. But it's still a really great release of a really great movie. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this Blu-ray to anyone.

This is one of my favorite animated movies and personally i think it's still very sloppy for a major studio to make mistakes like this.....I am also worried about the grain reduction after reading this thread....Unlike some i just don't have the money to make mistakes with my purchases and buy things which have had botched transfers. I do love this movie though.

So the question i have to those who are fussy about transfers is this - Will i be able to watch this on a 106inch screen and see a detailed film like transfer ( Taking the fact it's a stop motion animation into account ) Will the DNR bother me or is it really just minor ?

If you have to pause the player and use frame advance then this isn't a big issue. What happened to enjoying movies for their entertainment?

I love Blu-ray as much as the next guy, but I watch movies to be entertained...having them in HD is a bonus.

Obviously you don't see the issues because you're not watching it on a 540" screen at 6 feet with a 4k projector at 250 foot-lamberts..... :eek:

....or your mind simply isn't fast enough for that 1/24 second image to completely take you out of the movie... :confused:

Sheesh....how can you just sit there watching and enjoying a movie based on plot, dialogue and ambience without scrutinizing every single frame for miniscule defects???? :D

This is one of my favorite animated movies and personally i think it's still very sloppy for a major studio to make mistakes like this.....I am also worried about the grain reduction after reading this thread....Unlike some i just don't have the money to make mistakes with my purchases and buy things which have had botched transfers. I do love this movie though.

So the question i have to those who are fussy about transfers is this - Will i be able to watch this on a 106inch screen and see a detailed film like transfer ( Taking the fact it's a stop motion animation into account ) Will the DNR bother me or is it really just minor ?That's the thing... DNR doesn't exist for most of the movie. It's only present in a few brief cuts.

How about some more reviews including how the 7.1 surround sound is. This is shipping from Netflix today and it's one of my wife's favorites.

How about some more reviews including how the 7.1 surround sound is. This is shipping from Netflix today and it's one of my wife's favorites.

I only have 5.1 but the TrueHD track is amazing in my opinion. I am a big Danny Elfman fan so I have listened to this soundtrack many times on CD and on previous DVD. This version blows them away. The video quality is also way beyond the previous DVD releases I think. I thouroughly enjoyed it.

For those who've seen the movie, is The Nightmare Before Christmas considered a "halloween" movie ala The Corpse Bride or is it a Christmas themed movie?

I'm trying to decide whether to watch it this month or wait until the Holiday season...

It's both. But because of the very dark tone I would have to go with a Halloween viewing.

It's both. But because of the very dark tone I would have to go with a Halloween viewing.

Well, then I guess I'll watch it now & during the holidays... :)

For those who've seen the movie, is The Nightmare Before Christmas considered a "halloween" movie ala The Corpse Bride or is it a Christmas themed movie?

I'm trying to decide whether to watch it this month or wait until the Holiday season...

Both, so watch it twice. :p :D

EDIT: Whoops missed the page jump. But I see you've made the right decision. :D

It's both. But because of the very dark tone I would have to go with a Halloween viewing.

That's one of the great things about this movie. You can (and should) watch it anytime between October and December and it will be appropriate.

For those who've seen the movie, is The Nightmare Before Christmas considered a "halloween" movie ala The Corpse Bride or is it a Christmas themed movie?

I'm trying to decide whether to watch it this month or wait until the Holiday season...

Well, the story is set closer to Christmas, but the theme seems more appropriate for Halloween.

We usually split the difference and watch it around Thanksgiving. :D

If Disneyland is any indication, they have the "theme" in the Haunted Mansion from October through early January :D

As do Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland.

Watched tonite for the first time but having an odd issue....

I selected the DTS 7.1 track even though my receiver can't decode it, (4 year old Pioneer) but I figured I'd at least get the 1.5 mps DTS core. Well, the sound was really lacking, compressed with no bass. So I checked my amp and I was defaulting to DD on the amp. Now that NEVER happens on my amp with a DTS track. I toggled through the audio tracks, selected the DD5.1 and it sounded MUCH better. But that didn't make alot of sense. So I put on the "display" feature which tell you the codec and bitrate and track 1 which is SUPPOSED to be the DTS 7.1 track read as DD 640kps...!
What the flizzle...?!?!? My Ps3 has been updated in the last month and even if it couldn't decode the 7.1 DTS, wouldn't it still have shown up that way in the display...?

My amp has always identified a DTS master HD track correctly and just played it as DTS. (Just watched The Happening last nite) but that was only 5.1 Can the PS3 even detect 7.1? Is my disc wonky?

Help!

It's because its a Dolby TrueHD track and not a DTS-HDMA track.

Yep, you're right. My bad. But also only 640kps...?

Yep, you're right. My bad. But also only 640kps...?

640kbps is the maximum for Dolby Digital. DD+ can go higher, but there has been hardly any support for it.

For the True Hd track though...? That's what it reads on the "Display" info on the PS3, It just says Dolby Digital 640kps. I know that that's the max for regular DD.

For the True Hd track though...? That's what it reads on the "Display" info on the PS3, It just says Dolby Digital 640kps. I know that that's the max for regular DD.

Did you change your settings from "PCM" to "bitstream?" You didn't switch to using an optical connection, did you? Those are the only two things I can think of that would cause you to get the DD track instead of the DTHD track.

For the True Hd track though...? That's what it reads on the "Display" info on the PS3, It just says Dolby Digital 640kps. I know that that's the max for regular DD.

You said that you have a 4 year old receiver. That's not going to be compatible with TrueHD. As a result, the player will default to playing the "hidden" DD 5.1 track also on the disc.

Yes, and the PS3's display will show what track is playing, which will be the hidden or core track in these cases. Notice how on DTS-HD MA titles it will show DTS 1.5Mbps, even though the PS3 can now decode DTS-HD MA. That's how we could be reasonably sure it was working when they added it in the system update about 6 months ago.

Thanks Josh and Sir, that does make sense.

I know, time to upgrade. Love the sound of the amp (Pioneer 1014)

:)

Can anyone tell me why Nightmare Before Christmas Blu-ray shows black pillar bars on the side, about 1-inch wide?

I thought this movie was widescreen (ie. it would fill the entire picture on my HDTV).

It's in the 1.66:1 aspect ratio, slightly less wide than your HD set's ratio (1.78:1)

Can anyone tell me why Nightmare Before Christmas Blu-ray shows black pillar bars on the side, about 1-inch wide?

I thought this movie was widescreen (ie. it would fill the entire picture on my HDTV).

Widescreen never means that it's always 1.78:1

It's in the 1.66:1 aspect ratio, slightly less wide than your HD set's ratio (1.78:1)

Thanks for the info. Appreciate it.

But why would any director choose to film in 1.66 if it shows the pillar bars on the sides? How retarded...

Stay away from Night of the Living Dead, Casablanca, and any other "old" movie then. :D

Thanks for the info. Appreciate it.

But why would any director choose to film in 1.66 if it shows the pillar bars on the sides? How retarded...
Do you also consider letterbox bars on 2.35:1 films to be "retarded"?

Black bars, no matter where they are located, are sometimes necessary to preserve the original aspect ratio, whether it's wider or narrower than 1.78:1.

Thanks for the info. Appreciate it.

But why would any director choose to film in 1.66 if it shows the pillar bars on the sides? How retarded...

Because it was made for the theater. There are no "black bars" at the cinema.

I'm pretty sure most theaters cropped it to 1.85:1 though. Not that that is acceptable but it's what happens.

I like how 1.66:1 films looks on my 24" Dell (1.60:1 aspect ratio) so the more the merrier. :)

There were some other Disney movies at the time that got a 1.66:1 AR, and my guess is they were making it wide enough for theaters, but not so wide that they'd have to chop off much for home video (which was mostly 4:3 then).

Did they shoot this with SLR's like Corpse Bride? Might factor into the AR as well.

SirDrexl has it right. Disney mandated that their movies from this time period be animated in 1.66:1 as a halfway point between the 1.85:1 theatrical release and full-frame 1.33:1 home video. That way the animation wouldn't look noticeably compromised when matted for theaters or cropped for video.

Disney refers to 1.66:1 as the "Family Friendly" aspect ratio, under the reasoning that "families" don't like black bars.

Comparison of footage from the 1080i extra about Disney's "Haunted Mansion" vs the actual Blu-ray transfer. It looked like the footage in the extras was grainier (no DNR?), but at least one of the shots was actually zoomed in for some reason, so I couldn't find the matching frame there.

http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/tnbccomp/0-01-27_Extra.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/tnbccomp/0-01-27_BD.png

http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/tnbccomp/0-44-28_Extra.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/tnbccomp/0-44-28_BD.png

As do Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland.


Incorrect. So far, the "Haunted Manion Holiday" never been at WDW. There have been rumors about it, but it has never happened.

And it's awesome, so vistors to WDWare really missing out. But on the other hand, many don't want it there and wish it didn't take over DL either. Some don't like to go DL for Christmas and not see the "classic" Haunted Mansion. Same people who don't like the Small World holiday make over there either. Personally I enjoy both.

Wow. You'd think I'd know that considering my job. I sit corrected.

Did they shoot this with SLR's like Corpse Bride? Might factor into the AR as well.
No, Corpse Bride was the first stop-motion picture to do so. The Nightmare Before Christmas used dedicated video cameras.

Megabump for a sneak peak of the 3D lucasing (and a glimpse at the grain this film used to have). This is from the Christmas Carol Blu-ray 3D released in November.

Disney USA Blu-ray vs HD 3D promo (left/right)
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/6324/01bd.th.png (http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/6324/01bd.png)http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/2433/59072552.th.png (http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/2433/59072552.png)http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/4936/012zq.th.png (http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/4936/012zq.png)
http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/83/02bd.th.png (http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/83/02bd.png)http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/2813/59737978.th.png (http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/2813/59737978.png)http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/5885/022qd.th.png (http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/5885/022qd.png)
http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/4263/06bd.th.png (http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/4263/06bd.png)http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/6008/42368645.th.png (http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/6008/42368645.png)http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/4525/062l.th.png (http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/4525/062l.png)
http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/5305/05bd.th.png (http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/5305/05bd.png)http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/8224/35145865.th.png (http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/8224/35145865.png)http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/382/052a.th.png (http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/382/052a.png)
http://img607.imageshack.us/img607/1766/03bd.th.png (http://img607.imageshack.us/img607/1766/03bd.png)http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/4715/51544833.th.png (http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/4715/51544833.png)http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/9034/032sj.th.png (http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/9034/032sj.png)
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/8197/04bd.th.png (http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/8197/04bd.png)http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/1562/72835193.th.png (http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/1562/72835193.png)http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/5973/042p.th.png (http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/5973/042p.png)

Can't recall off the top of my head about where the scenes are, but the transfer looks like one step forward, one step back. The grain is present, but we've now got the dreaded teal & orange color scheme.

>msgohan

Well, if I'm not mistaken:
-1st: when Jack comes back from ChristmasTown and wants to make a town meeting 'immediatly!'
-2nd: during 'This is Halloween!' song (they're dragging scarecrow Jack)
-3rd: Sally's reaction when discovering Christmas stuff during Jack's Town meeting...

Yup, Henry Selick fan here...:D

Bingo on all counts Parotaku, thanks!

Nightmare Before Christmas in torch mode and fake cardboard cutout 3-D. Yuck.

Nightmare Before Christmas in torch mode and fake cardboard cutout 3-D. Yuck.

Since current 3D tech involves glasses that make the picture darker, would the torch mode at least be partially justified here?

Since current 3D tech involves glasses that make the picture darker, would the torch mode at least be partially justified here?

Two words. Directors intent.

Two words. Directors intent.

Do we know that Selick has had nothing to do with this?

Two words. Directors intent.
IIRC, re-releasing this film in theaters for 3D was the reason it got a new HD scan in the first place.

And, with the dimness filters that are 3D glasses, will the torch mode version then look basically correct? That's what I'm asking here.

"Director's intent" isn't for the picture to be dim.

Actually, that 2nd picture is very good for comparison:

- the 3D version seems to have no DNR (more small details in the picture, like on Dr Jekyll's coat) or at least, less than the Disney version :mad:
- it also seems to be slightly zoomed in (top & bottom are a bit cut) but show more picture on left & right sides (which is quite a surprise for me as I thought the 1.66 aspect ratio was accurate...)

BUT

- as noted, the picture (well, at least on this trailer) is in torch mode, with boosted colours & contrast pushed too high (take a look at the red devil's eye, the light reflection on it is completely gone in the 3D shots, it's now completely white)
- fake 3D... not much to say

So, I doubt we'll ever get a correct release for this film... (which make me sad as it's my favourite stopmotion movie...) :(