Blu-ray, HD-DVD & SD DVD Comparison Screenshots *WARNING - LARGE PICTURE FILES* - Page 11

Does PowerDVD output HD DVD at full resolution? I thought I remember seeing some post that it was limited to only 1/4 rez or something.

- Tom

Traffic has got to be the worst HD transfer out there. HD shots look almost identical to the SD shots. Even Spartacus, FE, and HoFD showed some increased resolution in HD, but I see absolutely zero improvement in HD for Traffic.

Traffic has got to be a joke. There is absolutely no additional detail in the "HD" version whatsover. The only difference is horrible oversharpening resulting in fugly double-contours.

This has got to be a simple upconversion, there's just no way that the "HD" version comes from an HD master, no frickin way.

Wow Traffic looks horrible. HOFD doesnt fare much better, though the closeup on her face show improvement.

Traffic is sourced from the USA Films master and is (most likely) an upconverted master. There is another master the distributor does NOT have access to. That master (IEG) is much better.

Showtime HD broadcast Traffic a while ago, and labeled it as an "Upconvert". That transfer had the USA Films logo at the beginning, just like the HD DVD transfer.

The BEV airing (some time before the Showtime HD airing and 720p "only") has the IEG logo.

See here for a comparison that was made a while ago:

Yikes. How does something that poor get approved? Was it one of the first titles for HD-DVD?

The HD-DVD of Traffic looks seriously wrong. I saw the 720p version mentioned above not too long ago and it looks much better than the obviously standard def mess on disc. Holy crap. It even looks like they threw in some nasty EE to try to conceal the lack of definition. Where's the quality control?

HOFD BRD looks about the same as the mpeg-2 broadcast. There's not a lot of high detail because of the film/DI but nothing warranting the kind of trashing it got. Slam Fifth Element for it's filtering. Kick Spartacus for it's ancient transfer. Destroy Traffic for being a waste of a HD-DVD. At least HOFD is what the film looks like.

Traffic got video reviews as high as 4 1/2 ????

From our friend Peter M. Bracke (highdefdigest PQ 4/5...)

"Bottom line, this HD DVD transfer delivers. The source material is as good as the film stock allow, with no major defects visible such as print tears or distracting blemishes, though grain is intentionally excessive for much of the film. Black levels are consistent throughout, while contrast is all over the map. Some story threads have whites so blown out that fine detail is all but obscured, while others are bathed in darkness or excessively saturated colors. Thus, there is some noise and smeared hues, but again it appears intentional. Overall detail and depth to the image is about as good as can be expected. No, I was never blown away by the presentation as I've been with other HD DVD releases, but then I never anticipated otherwise."



btw kschmit2 is absolutely right about the master. Universal only has access/rights to the USAFilms upconversion [NTSC 480i -> 1080i] master which was used for this HD-DVD Traffic release. It is subpar compared to the 720p BEV broadcast and even the PAL DVD IMHO.

In order to get a decent version of Traffic the upcoming Canal plus release is probably the safest bet.

I respect Joshua but, wow, what was he watching? Is there a different Traffic HD-DVD out there with a real HD transfer?

Those screenshots are painful. Shame on everyone involved in the decision to put that on a disc and call it HD.


The cover has more definition than the actual movie.

If it's been shown that a better master of Traffic exists (it has) then this one obviously does not represent the either directors intentions or a good purchase.

- Tom

Universal should acknowledge that they messed up with Traffic, take back the existing discs, re-do the transfer, and issue an exchange to all existing customers. This amounts to fraud selling what is obviously not a high def transfer as high def HD DVD.

I agree!

Someone has some serious explaining to do!

All this hate on Traffic is hilarious. You guys are going to be hating life when (if) Lionsgate releases Soderbergh "The Limey" on Blu Ray.

For more amusement on people's differing views on what the HD-DVD of Traffic should look like check out this thread from last year:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=722548

I actually saw Traffic in the theater when it first came out, and neither the HD DVD most certainly does not do it justice. Anyone who says the softness in the DVD / HD DVD versions are director's intent has never seen the actual film in its original state.

It's not that Traffic is a great eye candy film or anything, and I agree it was shot with a dark and gritty style... but it was still sharp in the theater.

Nonetheless, it's a really good film, though I can't imagine wanting to watch it more than once.

Those screenshots are scandalous, though. I thought Spartacus was bad, but it at least was grainier than the DVD. It's almost impossible to tell the difference between the DVD and HD DVD captures above.

Icemage,

I agree. I saw Traffic in the theater myself and while certainly not being "eye candy" by any means the level of detail and definition ("sharpness") was actually quite adequate - despite all the color filtering. Certainly exceeding the capabilities of an 720*480 frame

And sure it's "almost impossible to tell the difference between the DVD and HD-DVD captures" because the only difference there is is the upsampling quality (upsampled master vs your given DVD upsampling) and potentially a cleaner, higher bandwidth encoding.

Well, at least in that first "Traffic" capture you can tell it's cold out