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The New PQ Tier thread for Blu-Ray - Discussion

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#14,361 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jedimasterchad /forum/post/17609127


...

I'd like to hear more about Rome. Is the series good? I want to check it out sometime.

Imagine the death of the Republic and the birth of the Empire. Picture two characters, two plebs, two of Gaius Julius Caesar's legionaries at the end of his campaign in Gaul: Lucius Vorenus, first a Centurion and later an Evocati Prefect , an upright priestly citizen dedicated to the ideals of the Republic but consigned by fate to serve a tyrant; Titus Pullo, Hero of the 13th Legion, a rogue and a drunk, a cunning everyman, a lowbrow Ulysses dedicated to what is good (for himself); two men, first commander and soldier, then partners in misadventure, and later best friends. Now follow these men as they wander through all strata of the Roman world, from emperors-in-waiting and Egyptian queens to gangsters and slaves. Watch them as they struggle and agonize, as they rise and fall, as they become inadvertent agents of change, as they save the Roman treasury, and as they cuckold an emperor. Add in skulduggery, backstabbing, political intrigue, civil war, murder in the sewers and murder in the Senate, and pagan gods and curses written on sheets of lead. Season that with liberal doses of melodrama, and R-rated nudity, sex and violence. Leaven it all with adept direction, lush production values, a large budget, and a literate script. The result is the 22 episode HBO phenomenon that is Rome. You probably guessed that I'm a fan.
Highly recommended.

Quote:
Gods of the inferno ... Let dogs rape her. Let her children die and her houses burn. Let her live a long life of bitter misery and shame! Gods of the inferno, I offer to you her limbs, her head, her mouth, her breath! her speech! her heart, her liver, her stomach. Gods of the inferno, let me see her suffer deeply and I will rejoice and sacrifice to you.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by daPriceIs /forum/post/0


... I haven't put disc #1 to a really critical examination yet, but the initial impression is pretty favorable. Not Tier Blu or upper Tier Gold certainly, more likely 1.75 to 2.25. (By the way, that's an impression not a recommendation.) The color and contrast are excellent. Detail is OK. Noise, crushing, etc.? Dunno. Like I said I wasn't watching that close. I was paying more attention to the action, but nothing offended. ...

Thursday night I watched the second disc: episodes 3 - 5. My original impression of lower Gold to upper Silver seems overly optimistic. It's not bad but there are just too many issues for it to reach the Gold.
  • There is some minor crushing and what may be compression noise. Though it's hard to see why given that there are only two to three episodes on each BD-50; the bitrates ought to be high enough to prevent that kind of thing.
  • Plenty of grain, which sometimes explodes outrageously in very dark shots.
  • Those sensitive to EE may see it where I do not, but I never noticed anything significant. There was some ringing at very high contrast boundaries, especially around strongly backlit silhouettes. Seemed minor to me. YMMV.
  • Close-ups when in proper focus are very good, but there are many medium to close shots that have shallow DOF and inexact/inconstant focus.
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Well two discs down and only eight more to go!


I'd like to be able to say that I'm going to get through at least one disc per day over the next week, but that would surely be a lie. For a sales junkie like me this time of year is a trying/exhilarating time as I try to exercise some discipline while still spending like a drunken sailor. So over the next few weeks I'll be distracted by the delivery of new releases and catalog titles and upgrades of a lot of my DVDs. Can't promise when the real review will come.


As someone in the Blu-ray Specials & Deals thread said:
Quote:
Originally Posted by dad1153 /forum/post/17613033


... I am losing so much money on all the things I'm saving money on it's getting ridiculous!
 
#14,362 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by spongebob /forum/post/17614859


Is there any reviews for Up? I watched the SD version tonight and was blown away!

...

Most of the discussion and reviews of Up happened between pages 470 and 474. I'll have another review in a few days.


Your comments remind me of my reaction to the Kung Fu Panda DVD. It is superb. But the BD totally destroys it.
 
#14,364 ·
The Ugly Truth

Quote:
Originally Posted by deltasun /forum/post/17610117

The Ugly Truth


Fine grain apparent throughout. Facial details really varied for this title from low Tier 0 to low Tier 1. Yes, there were some softness. When done right, even Katherine Heigl's fine facial fuzz was evident. I would say the scene in the balloon produced the best results. Actually, that particular sequence had a lot going to for it - great panoramic depth of the other colorful balloons framed by the bay in the background, excellent dimensionality, and of course, superb facial lighting and texture.


Blacks were bold, but sometimes too bold in the form of crushing on Katherine's outfits. Shadow details again were few, but seemed to hold their own. Contrast was passable for the most part. I really disliked fluorescently lit indoor shots, specially in how skin tones were portrayed in a golden hue. This was not always the case - e.g., scenes in the studio. Unfortunately, the golden hue phenomenon made up over half the movie's shots. This is, after all, a romantic comedy. Most medium scenes offered palatable depth.


Overall, this was a fine Sony presentation. Definitely not their best, but there were some beautiful HD moments. I will give this a solid, high Silver:

Tier Recommendation: 2.0


Nothing new here - just your average, predictable romantic comedy. There were some funny dialogue moments and witty quips. Still, I think I've reached my chick flick quota for the year. Oh wait, I see Four Christmases in a Netflix wrapper on my table...

ln46a650 - 1080p/24 - 6'

I'm going to take the easy way out on this one too, and say that I do agree with most of your comments on this one, but I am not going to go as high as you did.


I would also mention that the colors were "off" in many scenes.


The movie was very predictable, and only somewhat amusing as a chick flick simply due to the fact that it was rated "R"!



Tier Recommendation: Tier 2.5
 
#14,365 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob Tomlin /forum/post/17615064

The Ugly Truth




I'm going to take the easy way out on this one too, and say that I do agree with most of your comments on this one, but I am not going to go as high as you did.


I would also mention that the colors were "off" in many scenes.


The movie was very predictable, and only somewhat amusing as a chick flick simply due to the fact that it was rated "R"!



Tier Recommendation: Tier 2.5

Fair enough. Had to pipe in about the bolded entry above. Yes, that definitely played a huge role. Not much of a Katherine Heigl fan, but that "restaurant" scene was well done.
Almost too well done. Okay, I may even throw in the tree scene as well.
 
#14,366 ·
Alpha Dog (UK Import)


recommendation: Tier 2.25



Icon Home Entertainment in the U.K. decided to release Alpha Dog, a film from 2006, on Blu-ray in a region-free edition on August 20, 2007. The 117-minute main feature is encoded in AVC on a BD-50. The video encode averages 24.99 Mbps according to the BDInfo scan. Picture quality is relatively strong for a catalog selection with one notable exception. An egregious application of digital filtering is the only noteworthy detriment that prevents the image from a ranking in tier one.


Produced from a clean-looking Digital Intermediate with no visible flaws or anomalies, the level of clarity is generally strong. The transfer shows no signs of deterioration and generally reminds one of a brand-new release on Blu-ray. The image is suitably crisp and sharp, with perfect contrast for most of the movie. A lone exception is the most critical shot in the entire movie, where due to directorial intent the picture turns washed out and dull. Incidental amounts of ringing occasionally show up that rarely intrude or distract from the viewing experience. As the action shifts to under the bright light of the California sun, the quality easily qualifies in most respects for solid tier one-status.


Black levels are strong and shadows contain a wealth of subtle detail in most frames. There is a small bit of banding and macroblocking in a few scenes. That begs the question why more space was not allocated to a video encode that leaves half of the available space empty on the disc.


The main complaint regarding picture quality here is the application of filtering throughout the movie. One key failing of the transfer is the obvious lack of the best high-frequency detail. Frequently the characters are in various states of undress, with skin on constant display. What is revealed are the missing signs that the transfer has been untouched by digital noise reduction. The visible textures can not be characterized as smeared or waxy, but it does not compare in any way to the better, unfiltered transfers. Rarely are the pores and other minor features visible on the facial features, even in close-ups that should demonstrate them.


The presentation is also slightly flat and uninvolving. Rarely does the picture display the depth and dimension needed for suitable demo-material. Other than that, many will find the transfer generally pleasing to the eye. It is a strong upgrade over standard-definition, while being just a touch above-average in comparison to other movies on Blu-ray for picture quality.


Watching on a 60 Pioneer KURO plasma at 1080p/24 fed by a PS3 (firmware 3.10) at a viewing distance of six feet.


BDInfo scan (courtesy of Stephen Dawson):
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...1#post17212301
 
#14,367 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by deltasun /forum/post/17562165

Fight Club

My God, I haven't been f***** like that since grade school


Wow, what a beautiful dark presentation! Someone hold me back, 'cause I'm about to get really generous with my rating.
A healthy layer of grain present throughout, resulting in a very satisfyingly filmic look. I guess the first thing to talk about is the darkness. Blacks were inky and deep. Yes, there were plenty of crushed blacks, but medium indoor shots still held appreciable depth. Shadow details still existed, but not as prominently. Shadow details were rather selective.


Indoor scenes have a greenish, fluorescent tint. Facial details were well-rendered (outside of the crushed blacks, of course) and really embraced the spotlight (or what available light was present). Contrast was a bit boosted, but not too bothersome. Colors were subdued befitting the story's tone and demeanor. When vivid colors did show up, they leaped off the screen. Skin tones were also spot on.


Overall, a very gritty presentation. I would hope that when Se7en finally comes out, it adopts this look. I did spot some ringing in high contrast scenes, but looked like a product of the stylistic look. As promised, my generous rating...

Tier Recommendation: 1.50
Fight Club


2.40 : 1



At the risk of sounding redundant, I agree mostly with everthing you mentioned. We disagree on the Tier placement.


The PQ somewhat resembles The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions. IMO, the basement and night scenes dropped Fight Club into Silver. Soft spots show up every now and then. Even though FC has never looked better, I would not consider this reference.


By no means am I knocking your placement. I just see it in a different light


Fight Club

Tier Recommendation: Tier 2.0

PS3-Samsung 46" 1080p-seven'
 
#14,368 ·
Angels & Demons


Fine grain present throughout. Black levels on this film really shone - I really enjoyed the color scheme and felt it complemented the story perfectly. Contrast and shadow details were very good for the most part.


Medium shots exhibited decent depth; panoramic shots were superb - St. Peter's Square and most of Rome showed almost unlimited depth and dimensionality. Skin tones were faithful and colors were also, for the most part. Regarding the "red" garb of the cardinals, I had to recheck my calibration because it was coming out almost bright orange (except for the Pope's in the beginning, which was crimson). Still closer to bright orange than crimson red.


Now to my main gripe - the pervasive softness throughout the film. I agree that there were easily some high Tier 1 / low Tier 0 facial details. However, it was also ripe with soft-focus shots. It was enough for me to knock down to almost Silver. I believe the positive merits do save it though.

Tier Recommendation: 1.75


I don't know if it's because I didn't read the book prior, but I found that this movie was paced better than The Da Vinci Code. I did pick up on the twist towards the end but had a different ending in mind:

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show) Spoiler  
Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show) Would have been better, in my opinion, if they did not find out about the Camerlengo till he was already made Pope. Of course, then that would have questioned the authenticity of the Conclave


ln46a650 - 1080p/24 - 6'
 
#14,369 ·
Star Trek (2009)
Quote:
I'm impressed. For a moment there I thought you were just a dumb hick who only had sex with farm animals.

Well, not only.

The BD looks excellent and is clearly demo-worthy and thus by definition belongs somewhere in the Blu or Gold tiers. There are many Tier 0 shots and scenes but there are issues, as well. The only significant ones fall under the category of director's intent, namely the excessive use of shaky cam and lens flare.
  • Shaky cam: Just too damned much of it! This technique damages the overall PQ more than any other element in the film, perhaps more than all of its other faults combined. It happens even when it's clearly pointless
  • Flare: Some of it is natural and appropriate given the way that the sets are lit and shot, but much of it is little more than a directorial affectation. The flares caused by off-camera light sources and that look like thin, sometimes discontinuous, bars stretching horizontally across the frame are the most bothersome and clearly the most artificial. The most jarring of these happens at 0:17:34 in chapter 2 just before the cut to a close-up of Spock and his mother; it is so brief and jarring that it seems like some kind of video anomaly, perhaps it is. In the initial viewing of the movie I was not much bothered by all the flares, but the more I watched it the more annoying it became, especially when multiple viewings occurred in immediate succession.
  • Color and saturation: both are excellent, though the color scheme is overall fairly cool. Flesh tones look good except for some of the aliens (most notably the Romulans), no doubt that's the way they're supposed to look. The only the color was unpleasant is when Kirk and old Spock enter the Star Fleet outpost on the ice planet: the green fluorescents look dreadful.
  • Softness: Not really soft, just inconsistently sharp. Once again, as in so many films, several close-ups are marred by shallow DOF. At its best the detail easily reaches levels at least as good as Prince Caspian.
  • Black level: Blacks are deep and well delineated when not washed out by the ubiquitous flaring. There are many shots on the Romulan ship that show this. One of my favorite shots is the one at the very beginning of chapter 3 with the sun setting behind the clouds and the car approaching the bar where Kirk ends up having a fight.
  • Encoding: There is some very minor banding at the end of chapter 1 where the Star Trek title appears. Mixed in with the light natural grain is some slight quantization noise but it is virtually unnoticeable under normal viewing conditions.
Recommendation: Tier 1.75

Panasonic TH-42PZ77U, 1080p @ 4'

Quote:
I presume you've prepared new insults for today?

Affirmative.

129 years from now a star will explode and threaten to destroy the galaxy. The star went supernova. Using red matter I would create a black hole that would absorb the exploding star. I had to extract the red matter and shoot it into the supernova.
WTF? I know that Star Trek's science has only a tenuous connection to reality, but really they would have embarrassed themselves considerably less had they left out this bit of incredibly BS exposition. Granted it's not really worse those episodes of Star Trek that feature the energy barrier at the edge of the galaxy."
 
#14,372 ·
^^ Thanks for the heads up, Phantom. Just ordered this from Amazon UK a few minutes ago. It's dirt cheap (relatively speaking) even with the current exchange rate and shipping. I read on blu-ray.com that there were some issues with some PAL trailers on the first disc. What was your experience?
 
#14,373 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Phantom Stranger /forum/post/17629464


The U.K. edition of Red Cliff is magnificent and stands shoulder to shoulder with other top-notch BDs like Domino and the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. While only through part one so far, my initial impression is a placement in the upper third of tier zero. A more formal review will show up in the future.

Once again you have me spending my money across the BIG POND Phantom!



Seriously though, thanks much for the heads up. I did a quick Google Search and read some reviews and those who commented on the PQ were very impressed. I'm quite sure I'll also love the movie as well.


I was able to get it from the UK Amazon website for under $19 (including shipping), which is a VERY good deal. BTW, I'm still waiting for my copy of Seraphim Falls, but I plan to watch it as soon as it comes (with a review immediately afterwards).
 
#14,374 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Phantom Stranger /forum/post/17629464


The U.K. edition of Red Cliff is magnificent and stands shoulder to shoulder with other top-notch BDs like Domino and the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. While only through part one so far, my initial impression is a placement in the upper third of tier zero. A more formal review will show up in the future.

Surely a U.S. release can't be far behind?!
 
#14,375 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob Tomlin /forum/post/17630100


Surely a U.S. release can't be far behind?!

I tried finding a U.S. release Rob and so far it's only been released in the UK and Hong Kong (if one can believe what they read online). So, even if the U.S. release turns out to be as good (PQ-wise) as the International releases, you will have to wait awhile. Plus, the odds are the price will be higher for the U.S. release, especially for the 2-disc Special Edition.
 
#14,376 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by daPriceIs /forum/post/17629547


^^ Thanks for the heads up, Phantom. Just ordered this from Amazon UK a few minutes ago. It's dirt cheap (relatively speaking) even with the current exchange rate and shipping. I read on blu-ray.com that there were some issues with some PAL trailers on the first disc. What was your experience?

There were no problems on my Region A PS3. Simply fast forward through the trailer that precedes the main menu and it plays fine. Anyone with a taste for historical epics on a grand scale should at least investigate the special edition release from the U.K. Stunning picture and audio quality spread over two discs.
 
#14,377 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Phantom Stranger /forum/post/17630946


There were no problems on my Region A PS3. Simply fast forward through the trailer that precedes the main menu and it plays fine. Anyone with a taste for historical epics on a grand scale should at least investigate the special edition release from the U.K. Stunning picture and audio quality spread over two discs.

Is that the shortened International cut as well or the original? I watched the International cut on HDNet the other night and enjoyed it, but it really, really rushed. The first hour or so was tough to follow, but the second cleared it up a bit. Still, it's obvious to tell a lot was cut.
 
#14,378 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gamereviewgod /forum/post/17631268


Is that the shortened International cut as well or the original? I watched the International cut on HDNet the other night and enjoyed it, but it really, really rushed. The first hour or so was tough to follow, but the second cleared it up a bit. Still, it's obvious to tell a lot was cut.

The Special Edition I own is the full, uncut Red Cliff 1 and Red Cliff 2 together in one package. At least that is my understanding. The first disc runs 145-minutes in length, while the second disc runs 141-minutes.
 
#14,380 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Phantom Stranger /forum/post/17631391


The Special Edition I own is the full, uncut Red Cliff 1 and Red Cliff 2 together in one package. At least that is my understanding. The first disc runs 145-minutes in length, while the second disc runs 141-minutes.

The one (2-disc set) I ordered this evening has a running time of 293 minutes, so I'm assuming it is, as you say, the "full, uncut Red Cliff 1 and Red Cliff 2."
 
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