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Blu-ray Disc Reviews: Introduction - Page 2

post #31 of 111
5/13/08 at 8:23pm
Awesome job sir. When I popped in the other day, I saw the disc reviews and I was elated beyond belief. I commend you on sticking to the actual quality of the recorded content. This isn't an arts forum. There are several movie review sites where users can find that information. Is there a way you could add to the reviews information about the black and white level information on any particular disc? It is my understanding that the THX calibrations one finds on certain materials aren't necessarily the proper values for standard calibration. However, they tend to be more inline with the Lowest black and highest white levels present in that particular film. I think it could help a grand majority of people get the most out of their particular setup.

Thanks again for doing a wonderful job.
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post #32 of 111
5/13/08 at 10:32pm
is it just me or is it for real ??

Twister BD is the WORST sounding audio i ever heard. is this a defective transfer or did i get a bad disk ? have HIGH end 805/Polk setup and Audio especially uncompressed sounds mind blowing but the audio here was worse than any standard dvd. very poor, could hardly feel anything not loud, no dynamic range,lfe or anything in either dolby truehd or regular 5.1

dialog is very muddy and inaudible, effects are non existant!!
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post #33 of 111
5/13/08 at 11:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by NotSoCoolJ View Post

Awesome job sir. When I popped in the other day, I saw the disc reviews and I was elated beyond belief. I commend you on sticking to the actual quality of the recorded content. This isn't an arts forum. There are several movie review sites where users can find that information. Is there a way you could add to the reviews information about the black and white level information on any particular disc? It is my understanding that the THX calibrations one finds on certain materials aren't necessarily the proper values for standard calibration. However, they tend to be more inline with the Lowest black and highest white levels present in that particular film. I think it could help a grand majority of people get the most out of their particular setup.

Thanks again for doing a wonderful job.

Another bit of info would be whether or not the audio has been recalibrated for the home so we could set THX/Audyssey.... though I dont know how we would know that.
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post #34 of 111
5/14/08 at 12:06am
Six out of ten reviews are "reference quality" video and audio. Granted, the quality of the BD's that are rated are mostly above-average BD's, but I think that the top ratings are cheapened if any more than the top 10% of BD's are given the "reference quality" label.

The content of the reviews is great, but I think the scoring is a little generous.

Great job on separating the technical aspect (video/audio) from the 'film' and 'extras'. I disagree with a lot of the 'film' grades (for example Mrs. Doubtfire > No Country), but it IS subjective so adding them into the rating is redundant.
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post #35 of 111
5/14/08 at 1:54am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bokchoy View Post

Six out of ten reviews are "reference quality" video and audio. Granted, the quality of the BD's that are rated are mostly above-average BD's, but I think that the top ratings are cheapened if any more than the top 10% of BD's are given the "reference quality" label.

The content of the reviews is great, but I think the scoring is a little generous.

Great job on separating the technical aspect (video/audio) from the 'film' and 'extras'. I disagree with a lot of the 'film' grades (for example Mrs. Doubtfire > No Country), but it IS subjective so adding them into the rating is redundant.


Greetings,

Bokchoy, I suspect that once we get rolling and more reviews are posted things will even out. June will be busy and we will see how things shake out. Thanks for your input and check back often.

Regards,
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post #36 of 111
5/14/08 at 1:59am
Thread Starter 
Greetings,

I appreciate the feedback everyone. There have been some great suggestions and interesting requests. As we move forward I will evaluate them and see what works and what does not.


Cheers,
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post #37 of 111
5/14/08 at 3:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by falconba View Post

love your work.....any chance of adding if the title is region free and will play in playstations down under (aussie)
we are being starved with very little release's down here.

This site should be helpful in that regard if you aren't already aware of it.

http://bluray.liesinc.net/

Chris
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post #38 of 111
5/14/08 at 7:05am
Great Reviews...

What do you think of having a Sticky thread that would summarize the reviews, and have links to each review thread.
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post #39 of 111
5/14/08 at 7:41am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by JayMan007 View Post

Great Reviews...

What do you think of having a Sticky thread that would summarize the reviews, and have links to each review thread.

Greetings,

Thanks Jay. There will be a sticky thread that contains an alphabetized listing of the reviews with links to each. I have not gotten to it yet but will soon....


Cheers,
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post #40 of 111
5/14/08 at 10:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by matchan View Post

is it just me or is it for real ??

Twister BD is the WORST sounding audio i ever heard. is this a defective transfer or did i get a bad disk ? have HIGH end 805/Polk setup and Audio especially uncompressed sounds mind blowing but the audio here was worse than any standard dvd. very poor, could hardly feel anything not loud, no dynamic range,lfe or anything in either dolby truehd or regular 5.1

dialog is very muddy and inaudible, effects are non existant!!

Hi matchan,

I just watched this last night with the 805, Polk speakers & Outlaw sub.
THD rocked the House!!!!!!

Something is not right with your disc.

Larry
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post #41 of 111
5/14/08 at 10:37am
Hi Ralph,

Thank you so much for your reviews and the time you invest. Count me in as a loyal reader!

Larry
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post #42 of 111
5/14/08 at 10:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by laugsbach View Post

Hi matchan,

I just watched this last night with the 805, Polk speakers & Outlaw sub.
THD rocked the House!!!!!!

Something is not right with your disc.

Larry

Thanks I figured. Was shocked initially thinking my system was dying or my ears were getting feeble. RMA'ed Amazon..
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post #43 of 111
5/14/08 at 11:29am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by laugsbach View Post

Hi Ralph,

Thank you so much for your reviews and the time you invest. Count me in as a loyal reader!

Larry

Greetings,

You are more than welcome Larry.


Regards,
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post #44 of 111
5/14/08 at 2:41pm
will anyone else be submitting their reviews to this thread?

ok just read that only staff can start a thread and then others may post. so can certain movie reviews be requested of this reviewer to start off a thread?
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post #45 of 111
5/14/08 at 9:54pm
As you stated earlier, you know your equipment and room. Please let us know what they are. Perhaps you already have, and I have missed it.
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post #46 of 111
5/15/08 at 1:54am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by darryl b View Post

will anyone else be submitting their reviews to this thread?

ok just read that only staff can start a thread and then others may post. so can certain movie reviews be requested of this reviewer to start off a thread?

Greetings,

This area is set up for posting reviews and for discussion of the reviews posted. I explained in my first post which releases (studio wise) I currently cover. This will provide an idea of which reviews to expect. As things progress coverage may be extended though.



Quote:


As you stated earlier, you know your equipment and room. Please let us know what they are. Perhaps you already have, and I have missed it.

My equipment is listed at the bottom of each review article that I write. You can see my room if you click on the link on my signature.


Cheers,
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post #47 of 111
5/16/08 at 9:41pm
Hi Ralph,

Can you please review the below titles ?

1) Face/Off - Please confirm if DNR has applied and whether the bit rates on the opening credits exceeds the 36 Mbps mark. The import Blu-ray touches 49 Mbps during the opening credits. These 2 checks are required to confirm that the Blu-ray is a different encode from the HD DVD.

2) Next - Please check if the transfer suffers from aliasing/jaggies (Paramount logo and the restaurant scene). Also check if the bit rates exceed 36 Mbps mark in couple of spots. These 2 checks are required to confirm that the Blu-ray is a different encode from the HD DVD and the overseas Blu-ray.
LL
LL
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post #48 of 111
5/17/08 at 4:24am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by lgans316 View Post

Hi Ralph,

Can you please review the below titles ?

1) Face/Off - Please confirm if DNR has applied and whether the bit rates on the opening credits exceeds the 36 Mbps mark. The import Blu-ray touches 49 Mbps during the opening credits. These 2 checks are required to confirm that the Blu-ray is a different encode from the HD DVD.

2) Next - Please check if the transfer suffers from aliasing/jaggies (Paramount logo and the restaurant scene). Also check if the bit rates exceed 36 Mbps mark in couple of spots. These 2 checks are required to confirm that the Blu-ray is a different encode from the HD DVD and the overseas Blu-ray.


Greetings,

I have Next and will get to it this weekend.


Regards,
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post #49 of 111
5/17/08 at 11:45am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by lgans316 View Post

Hi Ralph,

Can you please review the below titles ?

1) Face/Off - Please confirm if DNR has applied and whether the bit rates on the opening credits exceeds the 36 Mbps mark. The import Blu-ray touches 49 Mbps during the opening credits. These 2 checks are required to confirm that the Blu-ray is a different encode from the HD DVD.

2) Next - Please check if the transfer suffers from aliasing/jaggies (Paramount logo and the restaurant scene). Also check if the bit rates exceed 36 Mbps mark in couple of spots. These 2 checks are required to confirm that the Blu-ray is a different encode from the HD DVD and the overseas Blu-ray.


Greetings,

OK, I saw no problems with jaggies/aliasing in either of those scenes or anywhere else. The video transfer rate hit a max of 50 mbps and a low of 14.2 mbps. It definitely exceeded the 36 mbps mark on several occasions. Overall average was 33 mbps.


Cheers,
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post #50 of 111
5/18/08 at 8:48am
Ralph,

On your initial post you state that 1 star equals poor, 3 stars equals good, 4 stars equals excellent, and 5 stars equals reference. What about 2 stars?

Thanks in advance.
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post #51 of 111
5/18/08 at 9:25am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crimson King View Post

Ralph,

On your initial post you state that 1 star equals poor, 3 stars equals good, 4 stars equals excellent, and 5 stars equals reference. What about 2 stars?

Thanks in advance.

Greetings,

Thank you for pointing that out. I updated it to relfect that a 2 Star rating = Fair.


Cheers,
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post #52 of 111
5/20/08 at 8:38am
So this is where the reviews are. I was looking in the wrong place for about a week. Cool, they are now AVS.

Ralph what do you think about adding the post date in the thread title? Since people can add comments it makes it a little more difficult to pick out the newest reviews. I can identify most by title, but I think it might help people pick the reviews they want to read.

Thanks for the accurate review by the way. I hope Paramount ships out a Cloverfield BD to you soon, I'm dying to listen to that TrueHD track.
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post #53 of 111
5/21/08 at 11:08am
Hi Ralph,

I've read several reviews and eagerly await more. From what my eyes and ears tell me, you're very reliable as far as ratings go -- I don't think I would disagree with any of the scores I've seen.

I am kind of curious though:

In your viewing experience (of all the BR titles you've watched, not just the reviewed ones), what are your favorites as far as PQ/SQ go?

Do you have any title recommendations of movies that probably aren't so widely mentioned (sort of lesser known titles that turned out to have fantastic PQ or SQ)? For example, a title that I think doesn't get much mention when good PQ titles show up is Identity (maybe I'm the only one? Have you seen it?)

Look forward to reading many more.
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post #54 of 111
5/21/08 at 12:25pm
Thread Starter 
Greetings,

Fronn, thanks for your comments. I own Identity on Blu-ray and I like the sound design used in the film quite a bit. There are many that I have not reviewed but own that I think are stand outs in audio/video quality. I have been considering the placement of a reviewer's recommended list of BD in this area but have not decided how I want to implement it.

This would also tie into reviews as I do them. When I come up with the right idea I will post it along with how it will be tied into reviews.

Regards,
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post #55 of 111
5/21/08 at 1:33pm
Just got wind of these BD reviews you are doing and I must say, they are great! Good details with very specific critique of the movies technical as well as content wise! Keep up the good work!

I would also like to suggest you have a seperate thread for your top rated movie reviews, especially the ones you would recommend as "reference" materials.
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post #56 of 111
5/23/08 at 4:48pm
Ralph, thanks for the reviews so far, keep them coming. All I ask when I read reviews all over the net is that they are honest, I must say yours are some of the best.
Thanks!
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post #57 of 111
5/23/08 at 5:17pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Al Kuenster View Post

Ralph, thanks for the reviews so far, keep them coming. All I ask when I read reviews all over the net is that they are honest, I must say yours are some of the best.
Thanks!


Greetings,

Will do Al. Thanks...


Cheers,
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post #58 of 111
5/24/08 at 9:30am
Ralph... thanks very much for the reviews! Any chance Enchanted is on the radar? I found it to be quite fun and Amy's acting is top-shelf!!! And the clean-up song should have gotten the Academy Award! I did have some (quite a few, actually) drop-outs on the DDTrueHD track using my Samsung BD-P1400 w/most recent firmware, however.
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post #59 of 111
5/31/08 at 6:26pm
Hi Ralph,

What happened to your review of Master & Commander?

TIA,

Larry
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post #60 of 111
6/1/08 at 4:21am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by laugsbach View Post

Hi Ralph,

What happened to your review of Master & Commander?

TIA,

Larry

Greetings,

Larry, see this thread for an explanation:

Thread


Thanks for checking.
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