The Descent - 2 different Blu-ray versions CONFIRMED (MPEG-2 vs AVC encoding)

[Ettepet]

Update:

I just received the Australian version, which looks much, much better !!

Both the colors and detail level are a clear improvement..

Originally Posted by Ettepet

+1

I bought my copy from Amazon over a year ago, and was hugely disappointed with the PQ at the time.

Mine is also MPEG-2, but there is a lot more wrong than color fringing. A lot of detail is missing, even in outdoor shots. The colors are also way off the scale, but that could be my JVC HD1.

[DavidHir]

I really don't know which is correct, but I'm leaning on getting the AUS version.

I will say this: Lionsgate has done a poor job with A LOT of titles, including this one with the MPEG-2 version and color fringing, DNR, etc.....aside from other likely issues compared to the AUS version.

[Deviation]

Still no notification from CD WOW. Looks like their latest shipment wasn't enough to cover their orders.

[General Kenobi]

I've been doing some self calibration the last couple of nights just enjoying my new TV and think I've got things looking pretty natural. Since I've seen The Descent so many times (thanks partly to this thread) it was one of the discs I was using and what I did notice is that all the dark scenes are very black and the black are nice and inky but the scenes where flares or headlamps are lit do look a tad washed out. I should have my AUS copy tomorrow or Sat to compare but the screen caps mostly match what I am seeing so my money is on the AUS as being king.

[kobeson]

Originally Posted by gmontrone

Whiggles, these are all hotlinked to your pictures. If you'd prefer, I can copy them to my site. The other 4 someone posted earlier are not hotlinked and are in the database.

US VS AUS 1 US VS AUS 2 US VS AUS 3

US VS AUS 4 US VS AUS 5 US VS AUS 6

US VS AUS 7 US VS AUS 8 US VS AUS 9

US VS AUS 10 US VS AUS 11 US VS AUS 12

US VS AUS 13 US VS AUS 14 US VS AUS 15

US VS AUS 16

Spoiler  

US VS AUS 17

US VS AUS 18

US VS AUS 19

Spoiler  

US VS AUS 20

#9 appears to be lighter on the AUS version.

For the record, the picture on the left is the US. Picture on the right hand side is the AUS.

If you guys want to link any other pictures, use the format:
http://www.gmontrone.com/bdcompare/default.html?url1=___&url2=____

Also, you can enter the url of the pictures inside the app and hit the load button, and then if you want to link them, there is a button on the bottom that will create the url for you.

great way to view the comparisons gmontrone, would love to view more in this format

[Dave Mack]

What is microsoft silverlight and why do we need to download it?

[Deviation]

Originally Posted by Dave Mack

What is microsoft silverlight and why do we need to download it?

It's a free browser plugin similar to Flash and Shockwave for interactive software and streaming video.

[Dave Mack]

Thanks, D

[lgans316]

The AUS BD is miles ahead of the U.S BD in terms of visual quality.

Moral: There is always a room for improvement.

Studios need to stop conducting low bit rate experiments and inferior treatment to their BD releases if they want to position the format on top of customer's mind.

[bosng]

confusing

earlier in this thread pg4 us (mpeg / us?)

us version?



later in this thread pg10 us (us /mpeg?)


earlier pg4 (avc?)


later pg10 aus (avc?)





are we talking about 2 different mpeg encodes or
2 different avc encodes?

or both?

[kingkong650]

Originally Posted by bosng

confusing

earlier in this thread pg4 us (mpeg / us?)



are we talking about 2 different mpeg encodes or
2 different avc encodes?

or both?

There are two US releases that we know of and have confirmed, the original US avc release by lionsgate in 2006 and the inferior US MPEG-2 release with dnr (both using the same colour palette) that lionsgate released on the sly without telling anyone a year later I believe, exchanging the avc version for the mpeg-2 one and putting it off as the same product, hence this thread. A third version was released in December 2008, the australian avc release, that has a different colour palette that is darker, more saturated and contrasty than the us releases. It is also the same colour palette as used by the UK DVD and US DVD. It also has the grain back that was lost from the US MPEG-2 release.

The first and third pic you posted are comparisons between the us mpeg-2 release (the first pic) and the us avc release (the third pic). The second and fourth pic you posted are comparisons between the us avc release (second pic) and the australian avc release (fourth pic).

Here are the comparisons of these pics as mouseovers that I posted before:

Original image is US MPEG-2 release, mouseover changes it to US avc release:

US MPEG-2 to US AVC comparison 7

Original image is US avc release, mouseover changes it to australian avc release:

Comparison 5

[DCIFRTHS]

Originally Posted by kingkong650

There are two US releases that we know of and have confirmed, the original US avc release by lionsgate in 2006 and the inferior US MPEG-2 release with dnr (both using the same colour palette) that lionsgate released on the sly without telling anyone a year later I believe, exchanging the avc version for the mpeg-2 one and putting it off as the same product, hence this thread. A third version was released in December 2008, the australian avc release, that has a different colour palette that is darker, more saturated and contrasty than the us releases. It is also the same colour palette as used by the UK DVD and US DVD. It also has the grain back that was lost from the US MPEG-2 release.

The first and third pic you posted are comparisons between the us mpeg-2 release (the first pic) and the us avc release (the third pic). The second and fourth pic you posted are comparisons between the us avc release (second pic) and the australian avc release (fourth pic).

Here are the comparisons of these pics as mouseovers that I posted before:

Original image is US MPEG-2 release, mouseover changes it to US avc release:

US MPEG-2 to US AVC comparison 7

Original image is US avc release, mouseover changes it to australian avc release:

Comparison 5

Great post explaining the whole situation

[DavidHir]

So, the U.S. DVD shares the same color timing/contrast as the U.K. DVD and the AUS BD? Interesting.

[PooperScooper]

DVDcrave just shipped my AUS BD in case anybody needs to try to get one.

larry

[ChuckZ]

Wow! I'm reading through this thread to see what a mess this has become. I think in one shot (i.e. the outdoor river scene), the US version has slightly better gamma, but the AUS version destroys it in terms of compression transparency and contrast. The rest of the shots sure go in the AUS release's favor. Some of those shots I can't believe came from the same master. It's unreal. They're totally different in terms of style (these two especially stand out: http://www.criticalomen.com/comparisonthedescent10.html and http://www.criticalomen.com/comparisonthedescent15.html).

It looks like the AUS version is the way to go. Too bad it doesn't have 7.1 channel surround sound.

Actually I'd go so far as to say that the US release looks like it was handled by the same people who "re-invisioned" Coppola's Dracula on Blu-ray.

[TommyV]

Will the AUS version play in US players? The only info I can find is that it is region B coded.

http://www.dvdorchard.com.au/product.asp?PND=154485

[Whiggles]

Originally Posted by TommyV

Will the AUS version play in US players? The only info I can find is that it is region B coded.

http://www.dvdorchard.com.au/product.asp?PND=154485

It's Region ABC - plays fine in my Region A PS3.

[Deviation]

My Aus copy at CD WOW still shows as being on backorder but it has a dispatch date of February 2nd... Going by their 8-10 days thing, does that means I could expect it to ship by February 12th?

[raoul_duke]

Originally Posted by Deviation

My Aus copy at CD WOW still shows as being on backorder but it has a dispatch date of February 2nd... Going by their 8-10 days thing, does that means I could expect it to ship by February 12th?

If it still says 'backorder' in purple, then regardless of what it says in the dispatch date, it ain't shipped. Unless of coarse you got a shipping confirmation via email.

[Bleddyn H Williams]

... and I just got another "Order Delay" email from CD Wow.

[Deviation]

Originally Posted by Bleddyn H Williams

... and I just got another "Order Delay" email from CD Wow.

Same. Just minutes after I posted, in fact.

[raoul_duke]

Mine showed up today.

[General Kenobi]

If anyone wants to try their luck with another merchant I ordered my AUS copy from FBO on 1/30 and it was dispatched on 2/3, I'm expecting to get it today or tomorrow.

[AEguy]

I recently watched this movie for the first time using FearNet HD On Demand (Cox Cable), and it definitely looked like it was from the same, if not a similar, master to the Australian BD, judging by the screencaps posted in this thread; moreover, it was in its original aspect ratio.

[raoul_duke]

That sticker on the case is a pain in the ass to remove!

[PooperScooper]

Originally Posted by AEguy

I recently watched this movie for the first time using FearNet HD On Demand (Cox Cable), and it definitely looked like it was from the same, if not a similar, master to the Australian BD, judging by the screencaps posted in this thread; moreover, it was in its original aspect ratio.

I haven't seen a movie on FearNet HD in a while because I now use a cable card, but IIRC the few movies I watched were upconverts.

larry

[General Kenobi]

Originally Posted by raoul_duke

Mine showed up today.

If you've watched it please share some feedback. I was hoping to have mine yesterday but no go, fingers crossed for today.

[raoul_duke]

Originally Posted by General Kenobi

If you've watched it please share some feedback. I was hoping to have mine yesterday but no go, fingers crossed for today.

Well to keep it short and sweet, it looks gorgeous. I had the US MPEG-2 release and can't believe how better this disc is. You won't be disappointed.

[AEguy]

Originally Posted by PooperScooper

I haven't seen a movie on FearNet HD in a while because I now use a cable card, but IIRC the few movies I watched were upconverts.

larry

Well then, I can't say without a doubt that I was watching a true High Definition source because I was viewing it on my 30 inch bedroom CRT monitor instead of my main setup. The only thing I had to go on was their honesty in placing the film in the Freezone HD section of their On Demand service. Either way, it was still very detailed, maintaining natural grain, possessing deep blacks, and using a color source similar to, if not the same as, that of the Australian BD. I was pleased by the vibrancy of reds and greens (glowsticks) in the cave and the stylistic blue tint to the above-ground scenes.

-AEguy-

[General Kenobi]

Well I finally got my copy yesterday so that was a total of 11 days from order to door from FBO for anyone interested.

I didn't watch the whole movie but I skipped around and watched several scenes and then watched the same ones from the AVC version and then back again. In some scenes that were very dark I felt that some of the shadow detail was lost as the light did not extend out far enough to illuminate some of the additional rock formations. On the same token it felt more realistic this way and I really think it adds to the experience and realism of being in a cave like that with such limited light. The color palette on the AVS copy seems too cool now, the skin tones on the AUS appear more natural to my eyes. All the colors on the AUS came across just like in the screen caps on this thread and I really like them. Nothing feels over saturated it all fits very well and offers much more depth than the AVC version.

All in all I'm very happy and agree with most that the AUS copy is the best available. I don't know which is more "accurate" but I know for me that the AUS movie is they way I want to experience this movie.