CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10270

I am looking to here what titles you own, and the reasons therein. I do not think buying into high-definition based on 'story' alone is sufficient of response. There must be a technical reason to ante-up to the next level of definition, right?

And yes, I do own several DVD titles for the shear visual and or audio aspects and not about the story or actors.

kschmit2 · Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 11:46 am Post subject:

Close to 100 titles now. Both BD and HD DVD.

Reason to buy them: they tend to look good Smile

Audio is rarely the reason to buy a specific title.
While I like good audio with my movies, I prefer to actually listen to CDs or the like when audio is important to me.

emdawgz1 · Joined: 14 Mar 2006 Posts: 7949

Casino Royale, B/D. Looks really good, good audio as well

Night at the museum, kids like it and it looks really good.

ecrabb · Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 2:48 pm Post subject:

I'm HD-DVD.

Corpse Bride is visually stunning and the PQ is absolutely gorgeous. It's all stop-frame animation and was all shot on Canon digital SLR still cameras, so there as no grain or noise whatsoever. Music is great, too.

I thought Miami Vice was incredible even though it got panned by some. I was a big fan of the original series, so I was pretty worried about how it would turn out. Even though it was all new, it still really worked. The PQ on a couple of night scenes might look a little weird to some people because of the response of the dcinema cameras (yes, it's grainy), but I found very little that was objectionable - literally only a couple of scenes that were less than excellent. The rest was beautiful. There's a gun battle scene in the film that is mind-blowing. The way they shot it, combined with the very realistic audio (gun shots weren't all pumped up to sound like cannons - they sounded like guns), made you feel like you were there. The dynamics blow you away.

The Matrix Trilogy. Freakin' incredible. Both PQ and sound are just amazing. Super-clean audio track with ultra deep bass, incredible dynamics. PQ is awesome, too - nice, deep blacks, really clean silky image.

V for Vendetta is really excellent - both sound and PQ. Lots of blacks to show off CRT.

Serenity great sound an PQ. Saw the 5 or so minute opening sequence of this on Art's stack and it's probably ruined me forever. I can't wait until I can afford a display that comes close to what that looked like.

SC

**kal** · Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 3:02 pm Post subject:

Another HD-DVD title that's worth owning just for demo material is KING KONG. It looks utterly phenomenal.

Kal

Mark_A_W · Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 3:21 am Post subject:

Yep, King Kong is awesome.

However I didn't think Matrix Revolutions or Serenity were as good. Matrix Rev seemed very grainy to me, whereas King Kong is clean as a whistle.

Tom.W · Joined: 09 Mar 2006 Posts: 6635

I would have to say Planet Earth by the BBC . Great transfer !

ADRIANKELLY · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 185 Location: Anchorage Alaska

Hd-dvd
Batman Begins is outstanding
BR- Planet Earth is a must Pirates OTC and Chicken Little look fantastic

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10270

So far the wife and I got:

Casino Royal
Hellboy
Full Metal Jacket
Blackhawk Down
Batman Begin
300
Planet Earth

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10270

Looking at Sleepy Hollow, Blade Runner, The Corpse Bride, Sky Captain (ATWOT), and several others.

oliverg · Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 10:58 am Post subject:

BR - 300 is amazing - Deja Vu also - Ghost Rider isn't the best film but visually its ok - Ultra Violet has some eye candy
HD-DVD - Matrix Trilogy - although I second that motion about the grain Smile

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10270

Is the grain deliberate (artistic like 300) or because of the trainfer process?

oliverg · Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 12:58 pm Post subject:

I haven't seen any grain in 300 - except in the 'extras' - the whole thing is absolutely incredible as far as PQ goes. Mind you, my Crystalio 2 makes even the worst SD images look good!!

**kal** · Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 1:13 pm Post subject:

You don't see any grain in 300? There's tons of very fine grain all over the place. Some people might find it distracting which I don't get... it's just a style choice. Works for me.

Kal

oliverg · Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 1:34 pm Post subject:

Its probably because my C2 thinks 'grain' is noise and smooths it out lol

I'll try watching it without any processing and let you know Smile

**kal** · Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 1:37 pm Post subject:

Possibly! I always turn that sort of processing completely off... but that's just me. I'm not a fan of anything that tries to smooth things out as (even though I know it uses some fairly complex algorithms to distinguish between film grain and content), I always want to see movies EXACTLY the way they were made. Grain, blemishes, and all.

The PS3 has some fairly simple noise processing... I keep it all completely off.

Kal

oliverg · Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 2:33 pm Post subject:

I used to think the same way until I saw what the C2 can do. Its so close to being natural.

If you ever find yourself in Australia, drop in - your jaw will drop!

I actually got the C2 to resell - but I couldn't resist and opened it up and tried it. MY jaw is still sore and has bits of concrete embedded in it. Needless to say, that was a 3k purchase I never thought I would make!

**kal** · Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 2:56 pm Post subject:

I've heard nothing but good things about the Crystalio C2 so I'm not surprised! I'm hoping to eventually get an Athem D2 which uses the exact same Gennum video processor as the C2 (just the interfact that's different), so if I do I'll try it out myself! Though a trip down under sounds nice too! Smile

Kal

oliverg · Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 3:04 pm Post subject:

You're welcome anytime Kal. I'll put a few coldies in the fridge for you.

rod · Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 11:48 pm Post subject:

what about music DVDs on BR or HD?