The Dark Knight comparison *PIX* - Page 10

The disc is a mess, there is no consistancy from shot to shot.
The contrast and EE are just out of place, I am glad I got this discounted as I will only be using it as a stop-gap.
Why do they mess with the big releases and leave dross like Meet the spartans alone ?

A mess? Wow...

The saga continues.

Have I missed the "comparison" shots? I haven't seen one SD DVD pic yet....

Maybe Xylon and the others that have seen the disc are just messing with us, and these shots are really from the DVD.

Personally, I bet the SD DVD shots are so bad that Xylon doesn't want to post them.

Agreed, while maybe not "perfect", I think the HD DVD looked as good as it realisticlly could look.

- OR -

Various BD shots, like usual, look so good in comparison to the SD DVD, he doesn't want to post them and derail the screencap "sky is falling" mass panic that has set in...complete with people calling the BD "garbage" and "a mess" and "ruined" and how it "falls apart" in FP home theatres. Why would we want to lose that momentum?

I was talking about the scan for the IMAX DI. They couldnt scan it with high enough resolution, so thats why I think they could have applied sharpening at that stage. But the sharpening on the IMAX is noway close to what happend to the 35mm segments.


As I wrote, the upconversion to IMAX does use different filters, so Im 99% sure that most issues on this release is directly related to the IMAX master that was used (35mm segments). So this will not be standard practise to future releases unless they to have been IMAX processed. Of course if we see future releases from Warner with the same issues, then its a policy problem and not an IMAX master problem.

I'll wait for the "Explosive Edition" with a 3-D lenticular cover, coffee mug and pencil and No EE.

Very surprised everyone is pretty much giving this release a "pass" because it's the "The Dark Knight" on Blu-ray.

I have no need to drop $27 on a average transfer for one of the best films of 2008.

This is a rental at best.

In the past, I have decided not to buy certain BD's based on the opinions of others here. What a mistake that was! Based on the dramatics, overreaction, and just plain silliness on display here regarding TDK...I will have to rethink my past decisions. If a few of our self proclaimed "experts" can't be so far off the mark...I can only imagine what else they have been wrong about.

Is it perfect? No.

Is it a complete and total mess, as many here will lead you to believe? Absolutely not.

Is the sky falling? No.

Seriously folks, let's take the rethoric down a notch.

If people would actually read the thread, they would know that Xylon has said several times that he would get DVD captures up. Sorry to be harsh, but people really need to give Xylon a break.

Am I not entitled to my opinion having watched the disc?
I watched this after Wanted and Nikita and after my two new refrence discs this looks like, dare I say it again ? yes a mess.
The big thing HD media should have brought with its high bitrates and new codecsis some consistantcy and this disc has none.
The shapening used changes from shot to shot, the DNR changes from shot to shot, the picture is never the same for two and a bit hours.
So you like the disc, or are ok with it. good for you does not mean that others cannot see things that spoil their enjoyment of the movie.
Oh and to you too

So, you haven't actually viewed the BD yet? You're basing this on...screenshots?

The vast majority of people have already mentioned that the imperfections are relatively minor. Would we like to see a perfect transfer? Yes, of course. Let's not overreact however. This is not the disaster some have made it out to be.

Agreed.
Like I wrote before - they've taken the loner geek in the dark room thing way overboard.
Really I should stop reading this thread - it's like the negative cynicism of a leftover crew trying to ruin it for every1.

I go to AVS for serious audio visual opinions not amateur pettiness & nitpicking bordering on politicing.

I don't want to derail the thread with a discussion of The Thing, but I must comment on this. I just watched The Thing HD DVD for the first time a couple of days ago, and it is far from perfect. As others and screenshots have noted, it is a noisy presentation. However, the noise is not film grain, it's block noise. It's no wonder they tried to DNR it for the BD release.

Anyway, I'll gladly take this side topic over to one of the threads dedicated to The Thing if people would like.

I guess we're making progress. Despite getting very high marks in video (from most reviewers who've actually seen it) and even higher marks in audio, at least we've gone from "garbage" and "mess" and "ruined"...all the way up to "average"...sight unseen, of course.

But is it closer to a mess then it is to perfection? That subjective, I guess some people have their display on such settings that every movie looks like this. But what I dont like about the enhancments is that it really destroys the filmlook of the movie.

And BDs ability to capture the look of film is the nr 1 reason why I bought into this.

Sure, you are welcome to your opinion. I just happen to suspect that your opinion (based on how dramatic you feel the problems are) has been altered in some way by a display issue rather than simply the source. They just seem to be off base compared to most opinions. Simple as that. No offense intended.

In some ways i agree with you....The so called expert reviewers with their near to reference reviews got it wrong but then again so have the over reactionary it's so bad you shouldn't buy it crowd got it wrong.....The disappointment for many probably comes from the fact they watched the IMAX prologue on Batman Begins and expected perfection. Nothing wrong with wanting perfection but nobody will find it with this release.

I already posted my thoughts and a review i did earlier in the thread so won't rehash all of the old ground other than to say those who don't want to buy it can always rent it and form their own opinion.

The EE is in my opinion annoying on a handful of scenes....Just minor on many more...Inconsistency is there but then part of the film was shot in IMAX format and most with 35mm film so you should expect inconsistency and the 35mm shot scenes were degrained to make them more in line with 70mm film which has a finer grain structure....On the whole i found it watchable and like i have already said it's a handful of scenes which are the worst....They should have made this a reference Blu Ray release and didn't which is a shame but it's watchable...It wouldn't make my Film Grain thread though.

I don't think Blu Rays should be compared to the DVD equivalent...Waste of time...DVD is almost always found lacking against even the worst Blu Ray releases and even a bad release like Scary Movie probably looks better than the DVD equivalent thus it's a waste of time making comparisons to them and just gives fuel to the argument people will make saying "Oh it's better than the DVD"

I certainly don't think it's in any way as bad as a release like Basic Instinct ( terrible DNR smeariness )

Oh and not the best movie of the year either but an entertaining film nonetheless.

I too am curious where the DVD shots are. I mean, can we get an ETA on them or something? I mean, I am sure that WB treated the DVD with more care than the bluray version, and the DVD will be absent of all the "atrocities" found on the bluray...or not:

From a review of TDK on DVD:

http://hddvdreviews.blogspot.com/200...l-edition.html


So....can't wait to see those DVD shots....

Have I been "harsh" to Xylon? I know he works hard on these threads.

I am just waiting for the SD DVD comparisons. IMHO they are going to look really really bad.

It can take some time. He has a habit of choosing the best or worst frames...depending on which will support his own opinion. Take them with a grain of salt and view the disc for yourself if possible.

You and me both.

Put it this way...if those of you who think thr BR version looks bad...wait until you see the DVD version.

Unless WB somehow did a knock out job on the DVD but somehow shafted the bluray.....

There was no DI for the Imax Negative, it was contact printed. So there was zero sharpening applied to these scenes.

What is so irritating to me is that they even sharpened the IMAX scenes for the Blu-Ray - and probably the 35mm parts for a second time. This is inexcusable.

Agreed. I think once the SD-DVD shots come up it will put this all into a much better perspective

IMDB
Cinematographic process
Digital Intermediate (master format) (IMAX version)
IMAX (source format) (some scenes)
Panavision (anamorphic) (source format)

No worries, but if it was a display issue then all my discs should look as bad as TDK I would have thought.
I also watched it before I saw this thread, and did an A-B on the prologue BB, so my feelings are not coloured by any caps or internet hoopla

Come on....again, let's tone down the dramatics and the rhetoric. This isn't Gangs of New York. Let's stop treating it as if it were.

And so utterly unnecessary.

Darn it! I thought we were making progress.

We've gone from "ruined" and "mess" and "garbage" all the way up to "average"...but I guess we've fallen back down again...all the way to "atrocious."