Journey To The Center Of The Earth (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review - Page 2

Darn you and your in depth analysis, and non half-assedness.

Thanks for the reply and, as usual, being on top of things.

Netflix may not carry the 3D version. I read somewhere that Blockbuster is carrying a 2D only version instead, presumably the same disc that will only be available once the 3D run sells out.

I saw this in the theater and I have to agree that there isn't much to the movie if you cannot relish the 3D effects. It appears to have been made specifically for 3D, so I'm not sure that being able to switch to 2D gives me any comfort. The revised story line with this version is pretty weak.

Thus far I don't think that any of the scant number of 3D movies available on Blu-ray is a winner when it comes to 3D effects. I suspect that either technology licensing is part of the problem, or simply that the 3D technologies do not translate well from film to pixel-based systems. Does anyone have any insight to offer about this?

I've been thinking about buying this one, but suspect I will be disappointed.

No, Netflix does not include glasses with 3D rentals. However, as an extra data point I just got this from Netflix today and it is indeed the "2D-only" version of the disc as listed here at WHV. As far as I can tell, no retailers are carrying this stripped down edition yet - not sure about other rental outlets like Blockbuster. If you're interested in the 3D-version, you might have to make it a purchase.

EDIT: Also, to confirm Chad's speculation, the 2-D version is a BD-25 with the same DD 5.1 640kbps audio - here is the Blu-ray stats analysis. It does still include the audio commentary and the three featurettes in 1080i.

If you were going to buy this movie would you spend the money on the blu-ray version or just get the dvd version $16.99 ?? is it that bad the blu-ray 3d is not worth the extra $$ . ??

I found the '3-d' effects to be good and at times great..
..But I can state if you ware glasses and or contact lens,, watching the '3-d' effects can be hard...
...Also I wished that the studio had a 'color blance / set up screen' to help ensure that the screen is adjusted for the correct colors, as if the 'Red' or 'Blue' is out of balance on the screen it can and does destroy the '3-d' effects.
As far as the audio on the disc.. I only have a 5.1 optical based system at this time and thought that the audio was just right for this type of movie.
--David

Is their some trick to watch the 3-D version?

My wife and I tried to watch this last night and besides the color looking off as noted above the colours were flashing in a strange strobe like manner. Strange colored outlines around objects and green and red flashes. We tried it on the projector and the plasma and found it to be the same. We kept taking the glasses off and on to confirm. It was very uncomfortable to watch so we only watched the first minute or so.

I tried pausing the film and when looking at the image I could see it as 3-d for a second then suddenly it would turn green again. It was like those pictures you have to stare at for the image to appear.

I was wondering if something was wrong with the way my brain and eyes were processing the image. I'm my wife wasn't seeing the same thing I would have thought I was nuts! Did anyone else experience this?

lookig forward in watching my copy when it arrives.

I haven't had the courage to view this updating, because of my LOVE of the James Mason version, as clunky as it is, sometimes.

It looks like one of those virtual reality rides.

Is it blu-ray and 3D at the same , or is the blu-ray version 2D ?

The blu-ray disk has the 2D and 3D version on the same disk. Both feature lossy DD5.1 audio.

and the Blu-Ray disc i rented from Blockbuster, yesterday, was the 2D ONLY version i should have asked first.

So the blu-ray is 2D and the DVD is in 3D ????

Just got my copy today and they do not include the glasses.

maybe if I just blink and shake my head back and forth the rainbow effect from the dlp will make everything look 3D

As an lcd PJ owner and sufferer of the rainbow effect, this is the funniest post I've read in quite a while. Thank you.

Loved the 3D effects in the theatres and kept the glasses (polarized). Sadly, the red/green glasses suck and all you get is 3d black and white with hazy colors throughout.

If anyone can figure out a way to calibrate their PJ so the colour wash and haze goes away, it would be awesome cause otherwise, it ruins a fun movie.

the rental versions (from blockbuster at least) seem to be 2D, but the Retail version have both the 2D and 3D versions of the movie.

why does everything seems to be washed-out looking as if the birghtness is turned up too high and the colours muted? I realize that from the review that movie can be muted but this is just bad.

BTW, I view the movie using Pioneer PRO-111 that's been ISF-ed.

I'll probably buy this one to check out the 3D novelty. Hope it's a bit better than the old Spy Kids 3 DVD when it comes to that effect.

Years ago at Disney in FL we saw the Honey I Shrunk the Kids 3D demo. That looked very good with a convincing effect and color. The glasses were the polarized type. I wonder why that process is not used on BD or DVD?

Joe

I had to turn the brightness up for this movie although thats because clearly the glasses do darken the image but the colors look good as does the image quality...Just slightly off in several scenes but still not at all washed out. I know others have reported this washed out effect so there must be a reason for it but i didn't experience that at all and everything looked very good.

My projector is calibrated using AVIA and its a 106inch screen.

The 3D effects are the best i have ever seen....Only negatives i have is some ghosting in a few scenes and some light strobing in a few scenes....You have to make sure you are viewing without moving your head.

The effects were truly fantastic....The mine cart sequence has a scene where near the end something is thrown off the cart and it comes right out of the screen at you....I nearly ducked....Oh and a cellphone seems to be hovering midair in your room as does a bird.....The dinosaur scene could have been better though....There is a tremendous depth of image to many scenes but not all scenes....When they are standing atop the mountain range near the start of the film it really has a sense of scale.

Best 3D i have seen as far as the home goes and if they could fix the slight strobing in a few scenes and the ghosting and perhaps put a calibration feature on the disc so you can get the colors and brightness spot on then it would pave the way for a certain standard for 3D for the home....The calibration feature would be great if they could do it.

Too many double images I see in the 3D version, I only watch it in 2D. Upon further reading of various reviews, it seems like this movies IS too bright. For example, the review on highdefdigest mentioned that problem as well.

It was too dark....brightness had to be turned up.

I'm sorry, it's impossible that the movie is too dark. I know that I'm the one who asked whether the movie is too bright, but in the worst case scenario the movie should be normal but not too dark. There is yet a single review, including this thread's review, mentioned that the movie is being too dark.

It's only when you wear the glasses it's too dark - The image still works and is acceptable but it's not how it's intended to look....Simply take the glasses off for a moment and you can see this easily enough for yourself or at least you can on a projection system....It even tells you this on the leaflet inside the Blu Ray box and again onscreen before the movie starts...You need to turn up the brightness.

please read my post VERY carefully. I'm talking about the 2D presentation.

Fair enough but i personally feel this movie's 3D is the selling point.

I understand, but I refuse to see a movie in its washed-out, whacked-out colours, and sometimes blurry 3D.

:edit: Looks like this was already answered, and I didn't notice it. I'll still post my reply, adding to the washed out look in 2D. Also, I think the Blu-Ray Blockbuster Online rental I got was both 3D and 2D, but I've sent it back already so I can't verify.

Does anyone else notice the colors getting grey and washed out in a good portion of the movie? (The 2D version) The picture gets very flat, lacking any pop, and skin tones and background scenery is very lacking in color saturation. I don’t notice this with other movies, and if so, it is very limited.

I just sent my Blu-Ray copy of Journey to the Center of the Earth back to Blockbuster this morning, so I can’t reference specific scenes. I noticed it the most in the mid brightness scenes when they were in the center of the earth.

I’m hoping this isn’t something with my Epson 1080UB projector or PS3. I have the projector fully color calibrated with a display gamma that is dead on 2.22.

To me, it looks like when you try to boost the gamma in a photograph using photoshop. The whole picture gets very washed out and grey.

Thanks!
Dan