Blu-ray Review HTF BLU-RAY REVIEW: Contact (1 Viewer)

[Ron-P]

I had no issues with the sound or having to turn it up past what I normally set it at.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

I did have to turn it up higher than usual. But then again, I seem to recall the same for the DVD too (and for very many WB DVDs for that matter).

_Man_

 

[Carlo_M]

Yes the volume is low for me as well. On my Pioneer SC-05 I usually watch movies at -20 to -27db setting [with DTS HD being the lower setting and TrueHD and LPCM being towards the -20 side] on the dial.

Contact I had to turn up to -12db

 

[Steve Tannehill]

Originally Posted by TonyD


All the way?
turned what all the way up.
Is this anything like the first batch of warner hd-dvd's?

The volume on my Denon 5803 receiver was set to maximum. The blu-ray player was a first-gen Sony BDP-S1. Looks like it is time to upgrade to something else.

This is worse than the first batch of Warner HD-DVD's.

But I got acceptable volume levels through a PS3 and Yamaha DSP-A1, just not with the speakers I wanted.

- Steve

 

[Brian Borst]

Originally Posted by Man-Fai Wong

I did have to turn it up higher than usual. But then again, I seem to recall the same for the DVD too (and for very many WB DVDs for that matter).

_Man_

The DVD did have the same problem. I had to turn the sound up the most of all the titles I own. I'm not surprised the Blu-ray would have the same problem.

 

[TonyD]

netflix --> my mailbox tomorrow.

 

[Brian Borst]

Got my copy today, I sampled some scenes of it and the audio is indeed quite low. I'm also wondering how those DVDBeaver caps were made, because those look absolutely nothing like the movie itself. I knew I shouldn't trust those, but this proves it once again.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Originally Posted by Brian Borst

Got my copy today, I sampled some scenes of it and the audio is indeed quite low. I'm also wondering how those DVDBeaver caps were made, because those look absolutely nothing like the movie itself. I knew I shouldn't trust those, but this proves it once again.

I found some of the red push to be there at certain moments, but no, it's not quite *THAT* prevalent throughout -- just certain moments are particularly noticeable (and moderately distracting).

Of course, you can't really directly compare what you see on the web w/ what you see in your HT since the displays are very likely set differently (and likely viewed under different lighting). Your computer display is most likely way off spec in terms of color, gamma and such (unless it's actually a quality display *and* you actually got it calibrated) -- and no idea how close to spec your HT display is either.

Also, I'm sure small diffs in color won't stand out that much unless you do a direct comparison like is done in those DVDBeaver screencaps. Our eyes/brains just aren't very good at determining color accuracy (and small diffs) w/out a whole lot of help in general.

_Man_

 

[TonyD]

Originally Posted by Steve Tannehill




The disc is mastered low. I had to turn it up all the way, and the sound was still too low.

- Steve

While I didn't turn it all the way up think the center channel is a bit lacking slightly low.

Originally Posted by Man-Fai Wong


Also agree that there were occasional muddiness in the image as well (and a few very brief shots of unexpected softness also).

Still a worthwhile release although not exactly great...

_Man_

This is what I saw.

Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein

What lies herein is one of the best Blu-ray transfers
I have seen to date. If there was a film destined to be watched
in high definition, it was CONTACT. It looks pristine and
sounds magnificent!
,
,
,
,


Gee, I still stand behind this Blu-ray as being one of
the best mastered catalog titles available. It's simply
perfect in so many ways.

I wouldn't go as far as pristine,or one of the best, but surely much better then the dvd.
Probably this disc presents this movie at the best they could have gotten it to look.
So I guess in that context it looks as good as possible.

Sound is very good but not as good as it should be but I did have to turn it up a notch or 2 more then normal.

Originally Posted by TonyD

netflix --> my mailbox tomorrow.

I love this movie and am thrilled to be able to watch it in true hd on blu-ray.

 

[Yumbo]

The sound is low. Had to pump it up 10db.

The Fiji beach scene was still cool, though the SFX was a bit obvious now.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Rewatched most of it w/ my 10-yo son yesterday -- he actually watched the whole thing while I had to step away now and then. And my son really liked it -- maybe even loved it. Certainly a very different take on (real) science fiction for him than the usual Star Wars type fare

_Man_

 

[Steve Tannehill]

Turns out, my sound problems were related to the way I had my BD player wired to my A/V receiver. Once I corrected an issue there, the sound from Contact came through loud and clear. I cranked the sound, and it rocked the house, especially during the secondary booster launch.

This is a great disc of an even greater movie.

- Steve

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Ya, for those with sound problems, are you certain you
have your output settings correct on your BD player?


I had stuff falling off my shelves because there was
so much LFE activity.

 

[Carlo_M]

I'm not sure about sound problems, but I'm one of those who found the overall sound to be low, for Contact my receiver has to be at -12db instead of the usual -17db to -27db for every other BD I own (in the low hundreds).

But that's just an overall sound level observation. Once I properly adjust the volume up, there is plenty of LFE, dialogue, surrounds, etc. So it's not that one aspect of the soundtrack is wrong, just the overall volume is set way lower than just about every other BD I own. Like Ron, if I play it at -12db on my receiver, the place is rocking during the action scenes.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Ditto what Carlo said. I bump mine up by ~6db higher than usual for Contact and don't recall *any* other titles needing such a boost -- and I haven't changed anything else before or after playing Contact (in part or in whole) 3x now. I usually have mine set at -6db to -10db, but had to go to 0db on Contact.

_Man_

 

[Citizen87645]

I had the same experience with the overall volume (and noted it in my review). I have experienced this to varying degrees with other titles, but Contact is probably one of the more extreme I've seen. Can't think of the other titles offhand, but it's definitely not unusual.

 

[Brian Borst]

With Forrest Gump you have to turn up the audio too, so maybe it's a Zemeckis thing?

 

[RMajidi]

Yes. This thread is about Gravity being released in 4K. There are Contact threads I’m sure where its fans (like me) can proclaim its greatness. Feel free to resurrect one of those threads.

Tino’s suggestion on the topic of Gravity kindly led me to this thread… and what a lovely thread it is too.

Lying peacefully undisturbed for over a dozen years, it contains various gems worth mining, and sits as a fine tribute to a wonderful film that is surely worthy of an update to 4K resolution.

Strangely, the original review atop this thread by Cameron Yee seems truncated. Various members posted about the quality of Cameron’s review, so it’d be nice to be able to access it.

 

[Tino]

And the current Blu looks great. But would love a 4K/Atmos release.

 

[YANG]

4K remastering is okay. and most likely, gritty grainy scenes gets some cleanup. HDR may make the color of the other dimension scene, where grown up Elanor gets to meet her dead father will have improved vibrancy... however, I'm concerned on how the HDR will have its dimming effects on the overall picture, like what the GodFather Trilogy and Silence of the Lambs had suffered...