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Total Recall HD DVD FYI

post #1 of 36
5/8/07 at 5:12pm
Thread Starter 
Hey, I'm sure most of this has been posted elsewhere, but for any noob's I thought I'd share some info...

I received my Total Recall import from Amazon France, shipping was pleasantly fast, took about a week. The HD DVD itself worked TOTALLY FINE 100% on my 360 Add on, no problems. When the disk is first popped in it gives an option for language, no need to worry about forced subtitles or lack of english audio. Btw I don't have The Pianist or T2 on HD DVD yet, but from the studio canal previews they both looked excellent PQ!
Total Recall has a very decent picture for its age, persistent film grain but thats no problem with me. I'd give it 8/10 considering how the SD looked. The audio was pretty impressive also. Although it is very "front heavy" throughout, the bass in particular is loud and booming, 7/10 IMO.
Do I think it was a worthwhile purchase? Yes definetly! I've always been a fan of the old Arnie movies and since I am HD DVD exclusive, importing was the only way to get this one.
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post #2 of 36
5/8/07 at 5:15pm
This the Lionsgates print is so full of dirt that it's worth it only for that IMHO.. the SC version have virtually no dirt..
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post #3 of 36
5/8/07 at 5:27pm
The studio canal version is great. Glad i purchased it before the price went up. I'm waiting for my 360 addon drive to arrive (distributor sold out) so i can do some screenshoots.
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post #4 of 36
5/8/07 at 5:40pm
Thanks for the thread, I love reading about user experiences when ordering from Europe. This is a title that I have been thinking about for sometime.
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post #5 of 36
5/8/07 at 5:46pm
Any issues with soundtrack speedup, as reported on the SC Basic Instinct?
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post #6 of 36
5/8/07 at 5:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tai4de2 View Post

Any issues with soundtrack speedup, as reported on the SC Basic Instinct?

It's definitely there on Total Recall. Buyer beware. Apparently it doesn't bother everyone, but it's extremely noticeable and distracting to me.
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post #7 of 36
5/8/07 at 6:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tai4de2 View Post

Any issues with soundtrack speedup, as reported on the SC Basic Instinct?


Yes, evenif you've never seen the movie on SD, you can notice that Arnold's voice is higher pitched than usual. It doesn't really bother me, and my roommate and friend who watched it with me had no clue it was there, but it's definitely present.
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post #8 of 36
5/8/07 at 6:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Claw97000 View Post

Hey, I'm sure most of this has been posted elsewhere, but for any noob's I thought I'd share some info...

I received my Total Recall import from Amazon France, shipping was pleasantly fast, took about a week. The HD DVD itself worked TOTALLY FINE 100% on my 360 Add on, no problems. When the disk is first popped in it gives an option for language, no need to worry about forced subtitles or lack of english audio. Btw I don't have The Pianist or T2 on HD DVD yet, but from the studio canal previews they both looked excellent PQ!
Total Recall has a very decent picture for its age, persistent film grain but thats no problem with me. I'd give it 8/10 considering how the SD looked. The audio was pretty impressive also. Although it is very "front heavy" throughout, the bass in particular is loud and booming, 7/10 IMO.
Do I think it was a worthwhile purchase? Yes definetly! I've always been a fan of the old Arnie movies and since I am HD DVD exclusive, importing was the only way to get this one.

Thanks for taking time out to share. I too was interested in this HD DVD, but I was a little concerned about PQ.
I guess this one is a buy then.
How was the PQ of T2?
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post #9 of 36
5/8/07 at 7:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Django View Post

Thanks for taking time out to share. I too was interested in this HD DVD, but I was a little concerned about PQ.
I guess this one is a buy then.
How was the PQ of T2?

T2 isn't out yet...............
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post #10 of 36
5/8/07 at 7:29pm
T2 footage on the HDDVD trailer looked very very nice. Definetly a title i'd pickup without worring about reviews first.
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post #11 of 36
5/8/07 at 8:12pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by gooki View Post

T2 footage on the HDDVD trailer looked very very nice. Definetly a title i'd pickup without worring about reviews first.

Yep I only saw the trailer, but it was very nice. I have it preordered, if it is truly a 2 disc set as mentioned previously and the "director's/extended" cut is included, then it will be a true step up from the blu ray version.
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post #12 of 36
5/8/07 at 8:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by junghu View Post

T2 isn't out yet...............

Thanks for answering my question to Claw97000.
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post #13 of 36
5/9/07 at 12:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by scitek View Post

Yes, evenif you've never seen the movie on SD, you can notice that Arnold's voice is higher pitched than usual. It doesn't really bother me, and my roommate and friend who watched it with me had no clue it was there, but it's definitely present.

I was under the impression that it was encoded at 24p? - speedup would only happen if it was converted to 25p.
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post #14 of 36
5/9/07 at 12:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rdjam View Post

I was under the impression that it was encoded at 24p? - speedup would only happen if it was converted to 25p.

The first batch of Studio Canal HD DVDs does have higher pitched sound *although* the discs are encoded at 23.976p. This is supposed to be corrected with the next batch of discs coming in May.
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post #15 of 36
5/9/07 at 5:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rdjam View Post

I was under the impression that it was encoded at 24p? - speedup would only happen if it was converted to 25p.

Yeah, but regardless it is still messed up. Since the PAL audio master was used, the audio was obviously already sped up. Instead of stretching it, they did a digital time stretch and maintained pitch which really throws things off. It has all the sound characteristics of a sped up PAL movie, yet it is now the length of the NTSC/Film version of the movie.

PQ totally makes it worth it IMHO, and I don't even notice the audio unless I look for it. I noticed Basic Instinct because of the trill sounds in the music cues.
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post #16 of 36
7/26/07 at 9:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by madshi View Post

This is supposed to be corrected with the next batch of discs coming in May.

Anyone know if the pitch issue has been corrected? I've seen/heard this film a million times, I will notice the pitch issue if it is there. I don't want to buy this if it hasn't been corrected.
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post #17 of 36
7/27/07 at 12:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sharkcohen View Post

Anyone know if the pitch issue has been corrected? I've seen/heard this film a million times, I will notice the pitch issue if it is there. I don't want to buy this if it hasn't been corrected.

As far as I know, never discs don't have this problem, anymore. However, I don't think that they'll go back and fix the discs which were already released. So with Total Recall you'll have to live with the audio problem.
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post #18 of 36
7/27/07 at 3:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by madshi View Post

As far as I know, never discs don't have this problem, anymore. However, I don't think that they'll go back and fix the discs which were already released. So with Total Recall you'll have to live with the audio problem.

The French Studio Canal import of Mulholland Dr definitely has the pitch issue. I've watched that movie probably 50 times and as soon as Laura Herring opened her mouth and spoke for the first time, I knew there was a problem.
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post #19 of 36
7/27/07 at 4:02am
I have the Studio Canal version (Australian Release) and I would rate this as the most disappointing HD DVD that I own (and I own a few, check sig for list), for both PQ and AQ.

I found the image to be very variable, but mostly quite muddy.

The action scenes sounded fine, but I was having trouble following any dialogue drive scenes.

Disappointing, because this is one of my favourite movies.
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post #20 of 36
7/27/07 at 4:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by AndrewWOz View Post

I have the Studio Canal version (Australian Release) and I would rate this as the most disappointing HD DVD that I own (and I own a few, check sig for list), for both PQ and AQ.

I found the image to be very variable, but mostly quite muddy.

The action scenes sounded fine, but I was having trouble following any dialogue drive scenes.

Disappointing, because this is one of my favourite movies.

Yeah, that is disappointing. TR is one of my all time favorites too. First I thought it wasn't available on HD-DVD, then I find out it is (import), but know I hear its no good. I could live with so-so PQ, but if the audio is pitch-shifted, thats a deal breaker. Well, at least T2 got good reviews.
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post #21 of 36
7/27/07 at 6:23am
I have a 360 addon and there is a noticible a a/v sync issuse with my UK Total Recall HD DVD....anyone else notice this?

I am going to be getting a Onkyo 605 receiver nect week. Is there a way I can put a delay on the sound with this receiver?
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post #22 of 36
7/27/07 at 8:26am
No the audio speed is fine, any slow down and it wouldn't match the video. The problem is with pitch correction.
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post #23 of 36
7/27/07 at 8:30am
I like this movie and regardless of the audio problem, im probably gonna pick it up anyways.

Is the pitch issue really that bad?
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post #24 of 36
7/27/07 at 2:58pm
I have it and liked it. The sound was more than satisfactory as was the picture.
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post #25 of 36
7/27/07 at 5:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave_6 View Post


Is the pitch issue really that bad?

Depends on your perception. Some people can't stand it. Some people will recognize it only if you point it out, some will never hear it.

If you have perfect pitch it could drive you up the wall. If you're a person who cannot sing/whistle/or hum in pitch or is unable to recognize when someone else or something else is out of pitch you may never know the difference.

When I first got the French import of Total Recall , immediately during the opening credits I realized something was wrong. The music was ruined, sounded terrible, and later when people started to speak, they sounded like chipmunks.

To remedy the higher pitched sound I grabbed an old DVD of Total Recall and synched it up to the HD-DVD.
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post #26 of 36
7/27/07 at 6:22pm
^Hmm. I may have to pass on this one then...
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post #27 of 36
9/5/07 at 11:58pm
Question: Total Recall
French vs Australian releases?

They both seem to be "Studio Canal" releases..
But the Australian release also has the "Universal" logo on the packaging while the French version does not?
I have been told that the Australian version has english menus while from what I have read the French version only has French menus?

So has anybody here reviewed/compaired the two versions?

--David
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post #28 of 36
9/6/07 at 3:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by junghu View Post

T2 isn't out yet...............

The French Two-Disk set has been out for months and the English release, which is the same as the French release sans Theatrical Cut, is also out. Look in the import thread for details.
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post #29 of 36
9/6/07 at 4:44am
I am fairly sure the Australian version of Total Recall I own is exactly the same as the French version except for the covers and printing on the disc.

There are studio canal logos on the cover and the disc, and the menus are in multiple languages including english.
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post #30 of 36
9/6/07 at 7:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by windsok View Post

I am fairly sure the Australian version of Total Recall I own is exactly the same as the French version except for the covers and printing on the disc.

There are studio canal logos on the cover and the disc, and the menus are in multiple languages including english.

Thanks for the reply!
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