The New PQ Tier thread for Blu-Ray - Discussion - Page 59

Will be watching Hairspray in the next few days and will be sure to post MO. Also, I recommend we stick with the "rules" for Tier placement:

What do you guys think would be better, a Tier 4 BD or Upconverted DVD on a PS3? (Usual Suspects, Devils Rejects)

I cant belive you guys pulled 2001 off of Tier 0
it will be debated for ever but 2001 IMO is perfection, considering the time at which the film was made it blows me away how stunning the transfer is..and how well it holds up PQ wise next to stuff like Pirates

The Tier 4 Blu Ray, no questions asked.

The Tier 4 BD will look better, but not much better. In fact sometimes it won't be noticeable at all during regular viewing. Those movies don't justify a double-dip if you already own the DVD version unless there are other considerations (HD audio, HD extras, etc).

Brandon

I just finished watching 2001 (I finally got my copy from WHV) and I don't think the thread will benefit from any more discussion of where the BR should be in the ranking but I think the point that Stroke makes is very valid and important in the way the thread ranks discs; and that point is how can films with mostly live filming compare with films that are animated or employ extensive CGI and or "blue screen" techniques. With the rating scale and a lot of posters emphasizing "HD Pop" as the criterion for ranking, it is very hard for the films with more live filming and more difficult lighting to have that razor sharp quality that gives the 3D-pop; also older films with more pronounced film grain are not going to have that razor sharpness.

I guess I don't know if this matters much because I like to look at the ratings as a general guide to the disc quality (especially when considering a disc upgrade) but it might be important when considering how to revise the definitions of the tiers.

Just a thought.

I agree.


Nonsense.

There is always benefit to additional discussion on disc placements.

I would like to hear your thoughts on 2001 and where you think it should be placed. That's what this thread is all about, right?

I watched the first Harry potter last night (stone). I agree it was a bit disappointing in the PQ department. It was strange - parts of the movie looked REALLY good and then parts just looked horrible like I needed to clean my glasses. I think it's current placement is probably right.

Going to watch Chamber of Secrets today and I'll report back.

Chris

I find this an odd question. I rented Waiting before it was ranked the worse BD. I did not find it any worse than upconverted DVD.(Reon chipped Samsung BD-P1200)

I agree. I have not found any BD movie I have seen to be worse or the same quality as a DVD. All of them have been better, but some movies don't reap the benefits of going HD as much as others.

I voted for Waiting to be the worst rated...black levels sucked and it had a lot of edge enhancement, but it still looked better than the DVD...worth the upgrade IMO, if not just for the sound or the protective coating..

ID4 no detail in night or model shots others have strong colour and pop
Tier 3 high
Screen Resolution 720p watched at 1080i
Screen Size 42 3xlcd rp
Distance from Screen 1.5m

Well that's disappointing. I'm assuming this is an import version as I didn't expect the US version to be out yet. Do we know if the US version will use the same encode?

Brandon

I slightly disagree with the comments on ID4 by dvdmike007. Only the dark scenes post Area 51 seem to suffer from slightly crushed blacks. I don't think Fox will do a separate encode on the U.S version as I don't see any need for it. They have bumped the dates citing playback issues.

Chamber of Secrets placement looks good to me.

Chris

I'm thinking Mr. Brooks may have been placed a bit too high. Don't get me wrong, the detail in the movie was incredible, easily one of the most crisp and detailed live action movies I've seen, however there were several scene's in the movie where it looked very washed out. The only scene I can remember specifically is a shot from above the volvo(helicopter shot) while Mr. Brooks and Mr. Smith are driving around. There are several other scenes where there blacks weren't deep at all and it looked like I had the brightness set way too high on my set(I had to check a few times through the movie to make sure).

I still think the movie looks incredible, but those several scenes make me unsure if it fully deserves a Teir 0 placement.

I will add that I never saw the film in theaters so I'm not sure if the washed out scenes developed from the transfer or if it was there in the source. Other than those few scenes though the blacks are very deep and look fantastic.

In my opinion if there are only a few scenes in a movie that don't look good, those few scenes should be noted in the review, but I don't think would prevent a title from being in Tier 0 if 95% of the rest looks superb.

I agree with that. Plus, I think POTC 3 (and even more so POTC 2) are subject to a lot more criticism on the basis of some scenes than Mr. Brooks is.

I just got into Blue Ray..have had HD DVD for about a year.
Saw Cars and Ratatloie-awesome of course, TMNT was also very nice.

I liked Underworld, but was surprised to see it rated higher than Ant Bully. Are there issues with the BR version of Ant Bully? I have seen it on HD DVD and thought it would be rated higher than Underworld.

I will agree with that. I just wanted to make sure that was taken into consideration when Mr. Brooks was placed where it was.

Re tiers: Perhaps Tier 0 should be the top 3% or something like that instead of a hard and fast definition. Given we are closing in on 300 movies, there has to be 10 that are "demo material." Heck, we could do that for the entire list. top 3% tier 0, top 3-20% gold, 21-50% silver, 51-80% bronze, 81-97% copper bottom 3% coal.

Just a thought...

Chris

EDIT: Please don't confuse this post with not liking the current format. I figured I would mention this since we were debating the definition of Tier 0.

Better and more accurate representation of your Tier rankings instead of declaring - Completely flawless picture. No artifacts whatsoever, no matter how small. I don't understand we have that mantra here at AVS. Especially the AVS Tier rankings. All the live action titles listed on Tier 0 has noticeable artifacts especially the Pirate movies.

And if you read the reviews from AVS users the AWE movie is far from being Tier 0 and so is DMC. I really hope this is all about the real, honest PQ assessment . . . . from the caretakers of the TIER threads.

I just though I'd chime in and say that the placing of 300 is completely appropriate.

My wife and I watched the third Harry potter movie tonight. I thought it looked really good and definitely deserves to be in the Gold thread. I thought there where nice sharp shots in this movie - nothing like what I remember with Batman Begins or the Prestige.

Again, my setup is a 50" Pioneer 5070 plasma from about 7-8 feet depending on how I position myself on the couch.

Chris

If you could post screen caps of the artifacted frames or give timestamps, that would be great!

Troy DC same tier as Hairspray!?!?!?! Similar results?

Definitely a pattern here patrick99.

Anyone agree with him?

No! Although, I don't agree with you regarding AWE and DMC either. Guess I'm in my own little world.

I will eventually post more. I did post two screenshots and the usual place for AWE. You don't even need those screenshots to see them. Just read the reviews by AVS users and outside this forum.

Again ALL HD movies is not perfect - No artifacts whatsoever is reeeally reaching - look at the HD DVD TIER thread, no one is claiming artifact free because that is the awful truth.

One title at a time

Have at it.