DVD Etc Poll: List Your Favorite Demo Selection (1 Viewer)

[Brian Perry]

Audio:
IMAX: Super Speedway. When Mario takes his car underneath the overpasses (chapter 8?), the "whooshes" go down to something like 5 Hz!
Death of Sauron (LOTR) is pretty damn impressive as well.

 

[Ryan B]

My favorite has always been the Firebird Suite from Fantasia 2000. It sounds fantastic, looks great, and is self-contained.

 

[JeremySt]

Michael, actually.

But DITTO! Superspeedway, Mach II DTS. The "Once Upon a Time in the West" sequence.

U-571; Depth charges
Saving Private Ryan; Omaha Beach
THX Ultimate Demo: Pod Race DTS
Behind Enemy Lines: F-18 gets shot down
Ice Age: opening sequence
LOTR: Balrog

 

[Kelley_B]

I still use the Beach Landing scene on the Saving Private Ryan DTS.

 

[Michael Bailey]

Iam glad someone mentioned the opening sequence of Ice Age. If you havent seen this give it a look (Iam only refering to the WS). The video is reference all the way through. The LFE and surrounds are very active in the opening sequence.
I also use the Carthage battle in Gladiator and the defense of the bridge in SPR.
The ending chapter of Dinosaur (DTS) is also especially good for video.
For pure sonic impact I will sometimes use the lift off sequence in Apollo 13.

 

[Declan]

I said:

The ice sequence in Ice Age is great although i have only heard the DD5.1 off the R2, but (again) would love to hear the DTS track on the r1.

I ment Titan AE instead of Ice Age as there is no DTS on any version (i know of) of Ice Age.

Yeah Micheal the start of ice Age is great, Scrat the sabertooth squirrel is so damn funny.

 

[Matt Wallace]

I could drool on this one all day. My most recent picks are Chapter 2 from Blade 2 in DTS- the disintegrations are amazing! Toy Story 2 is another one that just grabs folks, starting from the THX robot intro on in.

I also use the Club Blood sequence from the first Blade to show center channel clarity.Here's a cut and paste from my website about it:
DEMO LIST
Color: Look at Chapter 3 for how well your set reproduces saturation of Red. The flashing titles will smear on televisions whose color, sharpness, or overall picture hasn’t been tweaked. When the club-goers start kicking their prey in Chapter 3 at 6:10 , you can see how accurate your reds and contrast are again through the constant scene cuts of glistening blood and varying degrees of darkness leading up to the Daywalker fight.

Sound: This whole movie is a test on the total range of a system, with techno bass as well as delicate foley effects. My favorite demo, however, is the second part of the Club Blood fight sequence, where you can see how accurate your center channel speaker is when Blade slowly pulls his sword out of the scabbard and draws a line on the ground (Chapter 4 at 8:42 in). A good speaker will reproduce every grainy nuance of the sword being withdrawn and will change pitch when dragged across the ground.

Picture: The dark atmosphere of the whole movie will give your TV a workout in how it renders black and differences therein. The many different shapes of the junkyard in Chapter 8’s opening minutes give your set a test on resolution and more importantly, how your good your downconversion is. The best test for this, on any system I’ve tried it, is in Chapter 5 at 10:44, where Blade is exiting a manhole and walking “with the wind”. As he walks, most players balk at the outlines of the cars in that alley and usually show some form of jaggies (artifacts along


These are my personal favorites from The Matrix:

Equipment Tests….

Subwoofer Tests - Chapter 1 at 3:03 and Chapter 3 at 1:45:23-37

Surround Tests – Chapter 28 1:38:47-53 and Chapter 3 at 3:00–10

Widescreen vs. Pan&Scan Fodder - Chapter 8 at 28:49 – 58

Reference Showcase –

Chapter 15 ( I know Kung Fu!)
Chapter 29 (Lobby Scene)

Long, but I had to share!

Matt

 

[Grant B]

The Phantom Menace Japanese Import LaserDisc (6.1 DD).
The Pod Race Scene's Low Gutteral Bass is the only thing that ever scared the Hell out of our Dogs. I think that's a good reference point!
Grant

 

[Bill_Moore]

Even though it's not my favorite film, I'd have to say Star Wars: The Phantom Menace....the pod race scene. Really sounds great and you can distinctly hear the pods racing by you. That's the scene that usually impresses people the most in my demos.

 

[Mike Cuvelier]

Hey guys, I need some help.
I just recently am putting together my first HT system. What dvd scene's out of my dvds do you guys think are the best for an audio demo. This is simply to show friends and family the benefit of surround sound over just two front speakers. No need for outstanding video or "speaker showoff volume" just good directional surround sound.
Thanks for your help and here is my very small collection (for now) of dvds My dvd's
-Mike

 

[Arif]

I just recently am putting together my first HT system. What dvd scene's out of my dvds do you guys think are the best for an audio demo. This is simply to show friends and family the benefit of surround sound over just two front speakers. No need for outstanding video or "speaker showoff volume" just good directional surround sound.

From looking at your list of DVDs, I would probably show them the opening battle sequence from "Gladiator".

 

[Mark Lensenmaye]

I use a number of different things for demos. I look for pieces that are somewhat self-contained and last no more than 15 minutes.

Two older titles are GOLDENEYE and LETHAL WEAPON IV. I have the laserdisc of GOLDENEYE, and it starts with the Dolby City Trailer, the THX trailer, the guy jumping off the dam scene and then, a brilliant opening title sequence that features a bullet from the center of the screen coming right at the audience.

(All other references are DVD)

LWIV has a guy with a flame thrower. Lots of booms, and some comedy. It stands by itself without knowing much about the rest of the film.

Want a boom that knocks people out of their seats? Try the bank explosion in THE MASK. It comes from silence, and it is louder than just about anything else I have. Also, the Cuban Pete chapter is fun.

Most of the things from Fantasia 2000 are good. I like the Firebird and the short one with the flamingos. Really, anything from this film is good, and there is a good surround demo when Mickey goes to look for Donald. I also have to show my personal all-time favorite Disney short, TOOT, WHISTLE, PLUNK AND BOOM, in all of its early 50's Cinemascope glory.

For a full-length experience, I like MOULIN ROUGE. Great sound, spectacle, and story. I find I enjoy this film more and more over time.

Lately, I've been showing off the incredible picture quality of SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, as well as the wonderful supplements.

 

[Andy Polo]

LOTR is amazing. The first scene that was alrady mentioned with the bass revert (or something) after Sauron is killed... amazing. Also gladiator has a really nice 6:1 shot when Maximus escapes from his execution. He throws a sword and it goes right over the camera and has an excellent rear center speaker sound.

 

[Josh Simpson]

Diana Krall in Paris: the DTS mix makes Eagles: Hell Freezes Over seem almost timid.

Timid? Wow, that's pretty bold. I thought both were great.

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Add another vote for Toy Story 2 from the Robot intro through chapter 1. The THX Robot intro really shows off all one's channels and the LFE and picture from the first chapter can also not be beat.

 

[EricW]

aside from the obvious movies (Toy Story2, SPR, Star Wars's, LOTR)) i like to show Final Fantasy's first scene, from the end of the dream sequence to the soldiers being air lifted out. the video is intentionally grainy, but it still produces alot of WOWs.

also, Austin Powers in Goldmember is great for the music surround as well as video.

 

[Neil Joseph]

I would have to say AOTC is the most pristine looking DVD that I have popped into my DVD player to date. The beginning scenes with the Senator's ship approaching and landing on Coruscant are a real sonic and visual treat.

 

[Josh Lowe]

LOTR:FOTR - From the moment the drums begin to the end of the Balrog.

Matrix - From the lobby to the helicopter crash (that last sequence still makes my heart pound)

And looking into my crystal ball I see in 8 months..

LOTR:TTT - Helm's Deep.

 

[BrettisMckinney]

For picture i'm going with LOTR Extended Ed - the whole thing looks amazing.

And sound wise, LOTR again for the cave troll sequence. Damn nice bass and surround effects.

Followed very closely for The fifth element. Love the colours

 

[Robert_Powers]

For Picture:

Star Wars EP2 AOTC
Monsters Inc.
Amelie
Gladiator
NIN Fragilty 2.0 Tour
Moulin Rouge
The Fifth Element (Superbit)


For Sound:

Star Wars AOTC - "This Party is Over" DD-EX
Star Wars AOTC - Clone War DD-EX
Gladiator - Battle of Carthage DTS-ES
Gladiator - Hell Unleashed DTS-ES
The Matrix - Lobby Scene DD 5.1
Toy Story 2 - Opening Scene DD 5.1
The Haunting - Bump In The Night DTS-ES
NIN Fragilty 2.0 Tour DTS
The Fifth Element - (superbit) DTS
LotR FotR - Extended Edition DTS
Bram Stoker's Dracula - (superbit) DTS


Robert